In terms of school size, they were two of the littlest guys on the block.

But, there they were Friday evening having fought through a 13-team field, storm clouds looming in the distance, staring one another down, Allendale-Fairfax versus Calhoun County for the championship of the Garden City Shootout.

“When we went to the playoffs (for the Shootout) we both looked at each other and said let’s have a Region 5-A championship,” Calhoun County head coach Walt Wilson said. “I think it just says a lot about our region.”

So, when Calhoun County, the fourth seed in the tournament’s final four, finished off top-seeded Spring Valley 25-13, and Allendale-Fairfax took down third-seeded Darlington 19-17, the two teams met, slapped hands and made a few challenges. All the suspense, and neither team even had a chance to make it into the end zone before the clouds became not-so-distant and the lighting ever-to-close, causing Orangeburg-Wilkinson head coach and tournament organizer Tommy Brown to postpone the finale, tied 4-4 with 13 minutes to play. Action is scheduled to pick back up at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.

It was more than numbers that made the title pairing improbable. Allendale-Fairfax, sporting highly recruited tailback Jerrel Priester and quarterback/safety Bashaud Breeland, a Clemson commit, features a run first, second and last, double-wing offense.

“Yeah, it was kind of surprising,” Wilson said of the Tigers advancing to the title game. “But, they have a lot of great athletes, and they do a lot of things. (Passing) is just another aspect of their game.”

Calhoun County made the title game despite the fact that Brandon Thomas, a rising junior who had been seeing most of the snaps at quarterback, didn’t play a single down. In his stead stepped, perhaps, the littlest man on the field, 5-6, 110-pound freshman Terrance

Whitmore. Whitmore, the step brother of former Calhoun County quarterback, 2008 T&D Player of the Year and Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket, David Sims, showed a surprisingly strong arm. He also displayed great legs, rolling to his left and right, and throwing with great accuracy. With each touchdown the little man erupted like an emotional bottle rocket, throwing his arms in the arm, jumping high and bumping chests with teammates, making an argument for the starting position.

“I thought he looked real good,” Wilson said of his quarterback. “He made some good reads and some good throws. I think he’s a good kid trying to get better.

“We did some good work today,” Wilson said. “We got better. We are not close to where we need to be, but I was proud of them for the effort they gave today. But, I was not totally happy because I am not close to satisfied.”

The Region 5-A rivals battled through a field that included AAAA schools Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Colleton County, Spring Valley and Ridge View; AAA schools Darlington, Wilson Hall and Battery Creek and AA schools Woodland, Edisto and Keenan. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler was the only other Class A school to take part in the day’s action. The teams played 25-minute games with the top four teams record-wise advancing to the final four.

Spring Valley and Allendale-Fairfax finished 4-2, but Spring Valley received the top seed after beating the Tigers head-to-head. Darlington was the third seed after going 3-1 and Calhoun County was 3-1 and the fourth seed.

“It went well,” Brown said of the tournament. “The coaches were excited about it. Having this many teams, being able to go so smoothly and get out of there, normally a tournament like that might take two days.”

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553.

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