From the moment Walt Wilson took over as the head coach of the Calhoun County football program, Black Friday has been a day that has been circled on his calendar.

No, he isn’t worried about the sales at retail stores and beating the holiday traffic from department stores. Instead, he’d rather be hoisting the Class A state championship trophy and celebrating with his players. Wilson and the Region 5-A champion Saints hope to make that a reality as they officially began their title quest with Monday’s practice.

“Every week from now on is a privilege,” Wilson said. “It’s ride or die time because there are a lot of teams that wish they could practice this week. So, every week from now on is a privilege.”

Calhoun County (9-1, 5-1) earned the second seed in the Class A Division I Upper State bracket behind defending champion Chesterfield. Although the Saints have a high seeding in this year’s playoff tournament, they can’t take anything or anyone for granted.

“You’ve got to dot all of your I’s and cross all of your T’s,” Wilson said. “You go in definitely knowing definitely what you’re going to get and knowing what’s your plan. Right now, there’s no place for mistakes.”

The Saints will open the playoffs hosting C.A. Johnson, a team that reached the .500 mark for the first time since 1986. While the Hornets enter the playoffs after dropping two of their last three contests, Wilson and his players realize that they have their work cut out for them.

“The bottom line is they play really hard,” Wilson said. “They don’t quit. They’re a scrappy bunch. They’ve got some good athletes. It’s going to be a good matchup.”

While the Saints prepare for their home game against the Hornets, Andy Palmer and the Cougars are gearing up for their first round showdown away from the friendly confines of the Cougar Den.

Edisto (4-6, 3-2) have had their share of ups and downs during their regular season campaign. However, Palmer and his squad hope to make the most out of the opportunity they’ve earned after playing 10 tough opponents this year.

“We get to play another game,” Palmer said. “So, the season keeps going and we try to get a little bit better. So, we’ve gone out there with the approach that this is just another week to play another football game. So, let’s go about getting the process done for winning.”

The Cougars will travel down to Byrds to face Woodland, who has won four of their last five games.

“They’re very athletic,” Palmer said. “They spread you out on offense and throw it down the field. They also do a good job with their running game. They do a lot of different things offensively. Robert Smith got hurt earlier in the year, but the kid they have at quarterback right now is doing an outstanding job for them. We’ve got to be prepared for what they do on offense. Defensively, they come at you. So, we’ve got to be able to block what they send at us and try to do a good job of making sure we hold on to the football and do all the things we’ve talked about since Week Zero.”

Although the Cougars will be on the road, the thought of playing at another team’s stadium doesn’t bother them. Edisto is 3-2 in road games including a forfeit they picked up after initially falling to Barnwell nearly a month ago. The success that they’ve had on the road will hopefully help them this Friday.

“Our road games provide less of a distraction,” Palmer said. “With home games, the last two have been Homecoming and Senior Night. A lot of times at Edisto, there are a lot of different good things going on at home games, but they can also provide some distractions. When you get on the road...it’s less of a distraction. That part tends to help us out.”

The work that the Cougars are able to accomplish this week will also help as they prepare for the Wolverines. With that in mind, each day will be crucial leading up to Friday--especially for his younger players.

“Every day of practice is a chance to get a little bit better,” Palmer said. “When you make the playoffs, you get to bring up kids from JV and give them more reps. Some kids were getting reps against our starters today. We’ve got a great bunch of seniors, but these underclassmen are getting to practice a little bit more and a little bit more and try to get a little bit better.”

      T&D REGION FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

      S.C. HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE

      CLASS 1-A Division I

      C.A. Johnson at Calhoun County

      Landrum at Bamberg-Ehrhardt

      CLASS 1-A Division II

      McBee at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler

      Blackville-Hilda at Scott’s Branch

      CLASS 2-A

      Edisto at Woodland

      CLASS 3-A

      Lake Marion at Myrtle Beach

      SCISA

      8-Man

      Jefferson Davis at Wardlaw Academy

      Andrew Jackson at Patrick Henry

      CLASS 2-A

      Calhoun Academy at Hilton Head Christian

      Colleton Prep at Dorchester Academy

 

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com.

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