GREENWOOD, S.C. — Two Lakelands football teams posted shutouts Friday night and kept their postseason plans on track, while Emerald took a loss that raises the stakes for its regular-season finale in Greenwood.
Abbeville 53, Thornwell 0. The Panthers had little trouble with Thornwell and head into the last week of the regular season with a region title on the line. Abbeville and Ninety Six meet Oct. 30 with the championship at stake, and both are expected to make the Class 1A Division I field comfortably. Abbeville entered the week fifth in the division’s RPI standings and Ninety Six ninth. Division I sends 18 teams to the playoffs, and the top 14 seeds skip the opening round.
Dixie 49, Calhoun Falls 0. The two teams met in what amounted to a playoff elimination game, and the Hornets left no doubt. Dixie began the week 26th in the Class 1A Division II RPI, one spot behind Calhoun Falls, with 22 of the division’s 34 teams set to qualify. The Hornets can still climb inside the line with a win next week and only a little help from elsewhere. Calhoun Falls needed to win out to stay alive.
Powdersville 41, Emerald 21. The Vikings came up short on the road, and their playoff positioning now rides on the Oct. 30 home game against Belton-Honea Path. The Bears also lost Friday, falling 41-21 to Wren. Belton-Honea Path had moved past Emerald into fourth place in the Class 3A Upper State RPI before this week, a spot that would currently earn the last first-round bye. That bye is very likely to go to the second-place team from Region 2, the league both schools play in, so next week’s meeting could decide it.
Seeding is new for most of the area this fall. For the first time, every one of the five South Carolina High School League classifications is using RPI, not just Class 5A and 4A, to set the playoff brackets.
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