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Teams face region opponents tonight

Published Thursday, October 02, 2008 11:29 AM

By Roger Lee
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Region contests and a unique ceremony are on tap tonight.

Summerville and Ashley Ridge all host region opponents tonight. Meanwhile, Fort Dorchester and Pinewood hit the road for their own region games. Kickoffs are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Green Wave (3-2, 1-0) will host West Ashley (2-3, 0-1) and one of Summerville’s favorite sons at Memorial Stadium. At half time, the school will retire the No. 1 jersey of A.J. Green, the player who re-wrote the Green Wave record book. The All-state, All-American, All-everything athlete was a four-year starter for both the Green Wave football and basketball teams before joining the Georgia Bulldogs this fall. Tonight will mark the first time the school has retired a football player’s jersey.

Considering what West Ashley did last week, Wave coach John McKissick is probably wishing he could suit up Green one last time. The Wildcats came within inches of upsetting undefeated Beaufort when they moved the ball just shy of the goal line, but couldn’t punch it in as they fell 28-23 to the Eagles.

“West Ashley is real big on the offensive line; they run the ball well; and they can get to you on defense,” McKissick said. “They came within six inches of beating Beaufort and seem to get better and better each week. Based on the video we’ve seen, they are probably the best team we’ve faced this year.”

West Ashley has two monsters on the offensive line, three-year starter Cedric Chisolm (6-6,285) and sophomore Brandon Shell (6-7, 295). Tailback Rodney Scott followed them for 75 yards last week while quarterback K.J. Cohen completed 14-of-25 passes against the Eagles for 160 yards.

The Wildcats have two, three-year starters on the defensive line, Donovan Pinckney (6-2,295) and Eduardo Curry (6-4, 295). Another defensive returner is DB Trey Livingston, who led the team in tackles last season.

West Ashley’s wins were over Baptist Hill and Battery Creek while the other losses came to Wando and Berkeley.

Summerville has wins over Goose Creek, Fort Dorchester and Stratford. The Wave lost games to Conway and Irmo, by a total of only three points. The Wave put together its first back-too-back wins of the season last week and seems to be hitting its stride.

The Wave’s passing attack hasn’t been consistent, but last week Marlon Pryor, Levon Ravonell and Kevin Baker all had multiple receptions as QB Donny McElveen completed 14-of-23 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. McElveen added 90 yards on the ground while De’angelo Henderson added 70 rushing yards.

Fort Dorchester

The Patriots (2-3, 0-2) travel to Walterboro to take on Colleton County (1-4, 0-0). Both teams are looking for their first region win tonight.

“They are very athletic and their season has not gone as planned so I’m sure coach (Leroy) Riley will have his boys ready to play,” Fort coach Steve LaPrad said. “We are still not doing what we need to do offensively, but hopefully we will start. I expect a tough game because both teams really need a conference win.”

The Cougars win came over James Island, while their losses were to Lakewood, Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Goose Creek and Wando. The Patriots defeated Irmo and Goose Creek, but fell to Greenville, Beaufort and Summerville. Neither team has been blown out this season.

The Cougars have five starters back on offense this year and four on defense. They are experienced on the line on both sides of the ball and at the quarterback, receiver and safety positions. If the Colleton line can hold off the Fort defensive front, the Cougars will likely attack the Fort secondary with its passing attack. If it has trouble moving the ball in the red zone, kicker Brantley Wiggins is seasoned and could make a difference.

The Pats have seven returns on offense and six on defense. The team is all about speed and will likely run right at the young Colleton linebackers. If that doesn’t work, Patriot QB Galen Bennett completed 13-of-30 pass attempts for 156 yards in the air last week. Since Bennett has returned from injury, the Pat receivers look improved.

Other games

Ashley Ridge (1-4, 1-0) hosts Garrett Tech (1-4, 0-0), which will open region play tonight. Garrett won a pre-season scrimmage with Ashley Ridge early this year, but the Foxes seemed to hang with Garrett fairly well in the scrimmage. The Swamp Foxes are coming off a 14-12 win over region foe Cane Bay while Garrett hasn’t won since its opener against Academic Magnet.

Pinewood (2-3, 0-1) travels to Manning to take on Laurence Manning (2-1, 0-1). The region loss for both teams came at the hands of Orangeburg Prep. Laurence Manning has wins over Williamsburg Academy and Robert E. Lee Academy. Pinewood has victories over First Baptist and Colleton Prep.

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.

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