Saturday Morning Punter: A fast and furious finish to the regular season

Strap yourself in, football fans, because this regular-season finale edition of the Saturday Morning Punter comes at you at 75 mph from somewhere on Interstate 26. (Don't worry, I'm in the passenger seat.)

And we have plenty to talk about, because the season came to a fast and furious finish, kind of like my wife's driving (kidding, kidding). Hilton Head Christian Academy wrapped up a region title and the top seed in the SCISAA Class 2-A playoffs with a thoroughly impressive victory at Northwood Academy, Hilton Head High continued its dominance in the intra-county rivalry known as the Bridge Bowl, Beaufort High had the region title snatched away by Summerville (again) and Battery Creek, Hilton Head Prep, Ridgeland and Hardeeville locked up playoff spots.

We'll have plenty the rest of the week on next week's playoff matchups, but for now, let's dispense with a few ...

THINGS I (THINK I) KNOW

• This year's Hilton Head Christian Academy team might be the best one yet. The Eagles have had some great teams in recent years, including the 2004 squad that went undefeated in the regular season and the 2006 state championship team. But this one is starting to look like the best bunch yet. The Eagles are balanced on offense and the defense is downright nasty. They held 2,000 yard rusher Uriah Singleton to less than 100 yards last night and dominated a Northwood Academy team that up to this point had been, well, dominant.

• Beaufort High's present situation seems awfully familiar, and that's not a good thing. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, Eagles fans, but after a 33-3 blowout at the hands of Summerville, don't you agree this looks a whole lot like last year, when Beaufort lost three in a row to end the season, including a first-round playoff exit? Maybe the Eagles will prove me wrong and bounce back this week against Goose Creek and go into the playoffs with some positive momentum, in which case all bets are off.

• Hilton Head High has been a different team since Jeff Homad regained the starting quarterback job. I've never been a fan of rotating quarterbacks, and the Seahawks' situation is a perfect example of why. Under the pressure of what amounted to an open audition every week, Homad struggled in his first go-round as the starting quarterback and eventually lost the job to Jon Bever. But when Bever left the team and the pressure was off, Homad has been solid, if not spectacular. He tended toward the latter last night, completing 9 of 13 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns, and he still hasn't thrown an interception this season.

• Carlos Cave must be a heck of a motivator. I was sure as could be that Cave's Battery Creek team had given up on its season after a crushing 22-21 loss to Bluffton and a 27-0 defeat at the hands of Hilton Head High. But the Dolphins proved me wrong by pounding Lake Marion 54-6 last night to claim a playoff spot. Next up is Lake City, which should be on notice that the Dolphins are not laying down, after all.

• Beware the team that sneaks into the playoffs on the last night of the regular season. Any time you're dealing with high school athletes, emotions play a big role, and teams like Battery Creek, Hilton Head Prep and Ridgeland -- all of which needed wins Friday to make the playoffs -- become awfully dangerous when they ride into the postseason on a wave of positive emotion. Hilton Head Prep looks to me like an especially perilous matchup for Thomas Sumter, as the Dolphins have won four in a row and hope to get quarterback Matt Layman back this week. it's probably too early to talk about another cross-island title game, but it's not as much of a longshot as you might think.

• Bluffton has a legitimate beef with the Region 8-AAA tiebreaker system. The region's tiebreaker says that when three teams are tied and the tie can't be broken by head-to-head competition or the point system (which it almost never can) the team that has allowed the fewest points in region play gets the highest seed at stake and the remaining tie is broken by head-to-head results. It didn't pass the smell test when the Bobcats were burned by the three-way tiebreaker two years ago (losing out on the fourth spot to a team they had beaten) and it still reeks this time around. You can either break the tie by head-to-head or you can't, so to revert to that tiebreaker after moving down the list doesn't seem fair.

• Speaking of systems that need an overhaul, this Class 1-A playoff system is ridiculous. If Blackville-Hilda had won its semifinal game last year, it would have faced region rival Williston-Elko in the Division II state championship game, because although both play in an Upper State region, Blackville-Hilda is a Lower State team for the playoffs. This year's bracket is no better, as Hardeeville's playoff debut will come against Cross, a fellow member for Region 6-A.

That's all I have for you today. But as I look out the car window to see various hues of leaves rushing past, it's unmistakable that the high school football playoffs lie just ahead. So keep yourself strapped in, because the ride is just beginning.

Till Friday,
JJ

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