It has been the best of times for unbeatens Calhoun County and Bamberg-Ehrhardt.

With two weeks before their long-awaited rematch in St. Matthews, the Saints and Red Raiders remain the T&D Region’s lone unbeatens. Standing in the way of that “Last Team Standing” matchup are fellow unbeaten Allendale-Fairfax for Calhoun County and Military Magnet for B-E.

Also enjoying its success are Dorchester Academy and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler who continue to ride big performances at the skill positions.

For winless Branchville and Denmark-Olar, it’s still the worst of times as both seek to end long losing streaks. It was definitely not a good time for Woodland last Friday in Duncan where they were overwhelmed by a swarm of Rebels from J.F. Byrnes, 85-8.

For Woodland, Lake Marion and Edisto, this week marks the last chance to right the ship before entering region play. From here on in, the race to the championships heads into overdrive.

And now, a look back at some of the top Week Four performers in this week’s Thursday Morning Quarterback.

Team of the Week

S.C. High School League - Calhoun County

The Saints continue their march to another undefeated regular season with a 13-6 victory over Estill. Their 22-game winning streak will get put to the test in Allendale going against the Tigers.

SCISA - Dorchester Academy The 2007 season is a distant memory for this year’s Raiders’ team which has averaged 35.2 points through their first four games in improving to 4-1 on the season.

S.C. High School League - Cyril Davis (Orangeburg-Wilkinson)

The platoon system at quarterback has paid dividends for the Bruins the past two games. A week after K’sone Williams put up numbers in a comeback win over Lower Richland, the junior Bruins’ quarterback had a five-touchdown, 314-yard effort against Lake Marion.

SCISA - Trevor Davis (Dorchester Academy)

The Raiders’ running back has more than provided senior leadership for the Raiders. He rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns and caught a score in the 42-21 win over Colleton Prep.

Week Four Gridiron Giants

Justin Long (Andrew Jackson Academy) - 29 carries, 148 yards, TD

Ronnie Thomas (Blackville-Hilda) - 3 TDs

Montaurus Gleaton (Hunter-Kinard-Tyler) - 20-30 passing, 400 yards, 4 TDs

Troy Jones (Hunter-Kinard-Tyler) - eight catches, 150 yards; 70-yard punt return TD

Schwan Jamison (Hunter-Kinard-Tyler) - five catches, 120 yards, two TDs

Henri Peoples (Hunter-Kinard-Tyler) - 14 tackles

Chris Jenkins (Lake Marion) -- Jenkins carried 18 times for 142 yards and was 10 of 15 passing for 69 yards in his team’s loss to O-W.

BY THE NUMBERS

Branchville owns the T&D Region’s longest losing streak at 31, dating back to the 1991 season ... Calhoun County owns the T&D Region’s longest regular-season winning streak at 22 games ... Dorchester Academy head coach Stanley Gruber owns the most victories by a T&D Region head football coach with 291 ... Andrew Jackson Academy’s Justin Long has rushed for 607 yards in four games this season ... Calhoun County’s Brandon Golston has 14 sacks in four games ... Orangeburg-Wilkinson’s Kintrell Disher has 31 catches for 387 yards and three TDs in four games ... Irmo leads the series with O-W 16-15 ... Since snapping a 15-game losing streak to Blackville-Hilda in 2000, North has dropped the last eight meetings ... The series between Bethune-Cookman and Denmark-Olar is tied at 7-7.

TMQ T&D Region Rankings

S.C. High School League Top 5

1. Bamberg-Ehrhardt

Calhoun County

3. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler

4. Orangeburg-Wilkinson

5. Blackville-Hilda

SCISA TOP 3

1. Dorchester Academy

2. Calhoun Academy

3. Orangeburg Prep

QUOTABLES

“I didn’t feel in any way that they ran up the score on us. You can’t ask a third-string guy who breaks into the open to just fall down. You coach your guys to play, and we have to be able to make the tackles.” - Woodland head coach Reed Charpia in a telephone interview with the Spartanburg-Herald Journal following the Wolverines’ 85-8 loss to defending Class 4-A champion J.F. Byrnes.

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Read his blog, Following the Bulldogs, on-line at TheTandD.com.

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