Rock Hill rivals paired in II-AAAA title clash

The field is set for the Weekend of Champions, which will be held at Death Valley this year.

Action gets under way at 8 p.m. Friday with the battle of Rock Hill. Northwestern plays South Pointe in the Division II-AAAA championship game in what should be a memorable matchup. Northwestern is making its first appearance in the state title game since 2001, while South Pointe is making its first trip in the school's four-year history.

The Stallions already own a 28-7 victory over Northwestern, and the three-touchdown margin of victory is the Stallions' closest game this fall.

In Saturday's Division I-AAAA championship, Byrnes plays Sumter.

Byrnes beat Dorman, 24-13, in a game that will be memorable for the size of the crowd, if nothing else. An estimated crowd of 17,000 showed up at Cavalier Stadium in Spartanburg and watched Byrnes get revenge for its only loss of the year as the Rebels posted a 24-13 victory over the Cavaliers. The Rebels, who are seeking their sixth state title in seven years, have been known for their passing game. But Friday night, it was Marcus Lattimore's running that made the difference. He had 268 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns.

Sumter advanced with a 35-14 victory over Rock Hill.

In Class AAA, Chester will play Myrtle Beach for the championship.

In Class AA, Dillon, a 28-27 double-overtime winner over Timberland, will play Central.

It marked the third time in this decade that Dillon played and defeated Timberland in the playoffs. The Wildcats won 27-14 in 2003 and 13-12 in '05.

Region 8-AAA stars

Region 8-AAA has announced its all-star team in football and volleyball.

League champion Hilton Head had eight players on the all-region football team: Ahmad Aiken, Marcus Green, Dylan Hannon, Kenny Anderson, Neco Driessen, Octavious Logan, Clifford Morrow.

North Charleston's selections include Denzel Myers, Kayron Smith, Lamar Gadson, Richard Holmes and Armonti Norris.

Battery Creek's picks include Antonio Wiggs, Tavarus Pinckney, Nigil Fripp and Norman Jenkins.

Stall's selections are John Gadson, Brian Brown and Zeke Mackey.

Rounding out the team are Lake Marion's Nicolas Williams and Steven Mack, and Bluffton's Ethan Green and Timmy Smith.

Region champ Hilton Head landed three players on the volleyball team: Emily Natoli, Nysa Hicks and Carly Ledbetter.

Bluffton's picks include Shey Peterson and Haley Sulka.

Rounding out the team are Lake Marion's Raenita Clark, Stall's Telesia Ifale and North Charleston's Jelisa Jackson.

Nominations

The Post and Courier will announce its All-Lowcountry Football Team in the Dec. 25 edition. Coaches should e-mail the player's, size, weight, position and grade with all pertinent information and statistics to pbowman@postandcourier.com by Dec. 12.

Reach Philip M. Bowman at pbowman@postandcourier.com or 937-5592.

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