Match Point

Bluffton High School has looked darn near unstoppable two weeks into the season, outscoring Hilton Head High and Ridgeland by a combined score of 136-14. The Bobcats look to extend their home winning streak to three when Hardeeville visits Friday night. The Hurricanes lost their season opener to Beach (Ga.) last week.

Hilton Head High is headed in a completely different direction. The Seahawks have been outscored 130-0 in two weeks, so it’s safe to say nothing has been going in their favor. They broke out of an offensive slump in last year’s matchup with Ridgeland High School, and they will hope for a repeat tonight.

Here are the keys to victory for both teams tonight:

Hilton Head High has been fined $200 and placed on “warned status” for one year as a result of infractions its football team committed, the S.C. High School League ruled Wednesday.

In a letter to Hilton Head High principal Amanda O’Nan, SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton said the fine comes as a result of the football team playing an ineligible student in two varsity competitions.

I spoke with S.C. High School League commissioner Jerome Singleton this afternoon, who said he expects to rule on Hilton Head High’s case by the end of the week.

As you probably know by now, Hilton Head High self-reported potential infractions its football team committed by playing transfers Philip Harris and Justin Jenkins in a scrimmage before they had been ruled eligible by the League. Both players have since been cleared to play.

Thanks to the threat of Hurricane Irene, it looks like most of this week's high school football games will be played under the Thursday night lights.

Hilton Head Island High School has suspended head football coach Tim Singleton for two weeks for his role in possible football infractions, according to a release from the Beaufort County School District.

Singleton will not be able to attend games or practices until Sept. 5 and will sit out two games.

UPDATE: Find Tuesday's printed version of the story here.

If you've been following my blog lately, you already know the drama surrounding tonight's Bridge Bowl matchup. (Or does this Week Zero matchup technically not count as a Bridge Bowl?)

Anyway, with that story line already well-documented in the print publication over the past two days, let's take a moment here to focus on the football game.

Hilton Head High has filed a report to the state’s governing body for athletics, requesting a ruling on actions its football program committed that may have constituted rules violations, principal Amanda O’Nan confirmed Wednesday.

UPDATE: An update to this story can be found here.

O’Nan said the school reported the potential violations to the S.C. High School League this morning.

I'll have more on this in Wednesday's copy of The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette, including a look at every region in the state.

For now, here's a look at the region opponents for area public schools: