Three Midlands football teams headed to semifinal round of SC playoffs

Three Midlands high school football teams are headed to the state semifinals.

Dutch Fork, A.C. Flora and Saluda all punched their tickets to the next round of the S.C. playoffs Friday night with convincing victories.

Dutch Fork defeated Spartanburg 63-14 and will play for the Class 5A Upper State championship against Gaffney next week. It’s a rematch of last year’s state championship game.

A.C. Flora defeated West Florence 50-19 and will host South Florence in the Class 4A Lower State finals. South Florence and A.C. Flora are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Class 4A poll.

Saluda defeated Strom Thurmond 28-0 and will travel to Abbeville for the Class 2A Upper State championship.

The winners of next Friday’s semifinals advance to the state championship games the following week.

Dutch Fork 63, Spartanburg 14

Quarterback Aliam Appler and running back Jarvis Green turned in huge performances in the Silver Foxes’ victory.

Appler was 8-of-13 passing for 214 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for a TD. Green rushed for 191 yards and scored three times. All of their yardage came in the first half as Dutch Fork led 49-7 at halftime.

Isaiah Jones caught four passes for 76 yards and a TD and Jacob Hamilton had a 79-yard TD catch. Dutch Fork gained 528 yards of offense in the win.

AC Flora 50, West Florence 13

Running back Markel Townsend had his eighth 200-yard rushing game of the season for A.C. Flora in the third-round win over West Florence.

Townsend finished with 206 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Carew Bates threw for 154 yards and three scores, two to Jack Purdy.

Aidan Moseley also had a 94-yard touchdown run.

Saluda 28, Strom Thurmond 0

Tyleke Mathis ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns in Saluda’s third-round victory.

KeMane Brunson had a TD run and also returned an interception for a touchdown. Saluda’s defense picked off three passes in the game.

It was the second meeting between the two teams this season. Saluda lost 6-3 to the Rebels on a late field goal earlier this year.

Dillon 31, Camden 14

The Bulldogs led the game 14-10 in the third quarter but couldn’t hold on and were eliminated from the Class 3A playoffs.

Camden was looking for its third-straight state championship appearance. Dillon will host Beaufort for the Lower State championship next week.

Grayson White had touchdown passes to Jaquarius Myrant and Cortez Lane for Camden. The pass to Lane put Camden up 14-10 with 4:06 left in the third quarter.

But Dillon answered with a score and then Camden fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Chris McCollum had a TD run to put the Wildcats up 24-14.

Beaufort 31, Gilbert 21

Colton Phares had the go-ahead kickoff return for a touchdown and had a key interception late in the game as Beaufort eliminated Gilbert from the 3A playoffs.

Gilbert led 21-17 on Jaden Allen-Hendrix’s 6-yard TD run with 11:24 left. But Phares, an Appalachian State commit, took the ensuing kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles the lead.

Gilbert got the ball back with four minutes left but its drive ended as Phares picked off a pass with 2:25 left. Running back Kacy Fields added a TD run to make it 31-21 with 2:09 to go. Fields finished with 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Beaufort quarterback Samari Bonds rushed for 73 yards and a TD.

Alias Graham-Woodberry had a TD run and also caught a TD on a shovel pass from Drake Braddock for Gilbert. Graham-Woodberry finished with 166 total yards. Braddock was 11-of-19 for 147 yards.

Abbeville 45, Fairfield Central 14

Jha’Louis Hadden ran for two scores as four different Abbeville players had rushing touchdowns as it defeated Fairfield Central in the third round of the 2A Upper State playoffs.

Hadden finished with 62 yards. Jamal Marshall, Ty Cade and Antonio Harrison all had TD runs. Zay Rayford threw a TD pass to Karson Norman.

Fairfield Central QB Cam McMillon had a TD pass and CJ Sampson had a TD run.

Holly Hill Academy 68, WW King Academy 20

Quarterback Tyree James ran for five touchdowns as Holly Hill won its third straight SCISA 8-man championship at Charleston Southern.

James finished with 321 yards rushing. Tyler Wright added three TD runs for HHA.

Ben Sauls had a TD run and catch for WW King.