Strom Thurmond gets rest thanks to early bye week

Strom Thurmond won’t play this week thanks to a Week 0 game on the schedule that will give the Rebels a chance to rest.

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Coach Lee Sawyer said he’d prefer not to play that Week 0 contest, but it does make for a much-needed break at an opportune time.

“I don’t like to start that early, but it did give the kids and the coaches a three-day weekend here,” he said. “That’s pretty rare during the season.”

Sawyer said senior quarterback Raleigh Yeldell was beat up a bit in the team’s 35-0 win at Saluda, and the break will give him time to recover.

The week off will also give the Rebels another key advantage. Strom Thurmond will go to South Aiken next week and play host to Silver Bluff the following week. Those two opponents happen to play each other this Friday, meaning Sawyer and his team will have an ideal seat in the bleachers to size up their opponents.

“I hear South Aiken is 180 (degrees) from what they’ve been, and Silver Bluff is always Silver Bluff,” Sawyer said. “It’ll be good to get to see them play.”

After the two rivalry games, the Rebels will begin Region 3-AA play against Columbia, a team Sawyer said is expected to contend for a region title.

NO REST: North Augusta didn’t have time to enjoy the Labor Day holiday this year. The Yellow Jackets were already scheduled for a short week of practice thanks to a rare Thursday night game at Lakeside.

The Yellow Jackets and Panthers will meet for the second consecutive year. Lakeside crossed the state line last year and lost 34-7 to North Augusta.

The Yellow Jackets scheduled games with two Georgia teams this season, including a Sept. 23 game against Evans.

UNDERDOGS NO MORE: Fox Creek is 3-0 for the first time in school history and will enter this week’s Region 4-A game against Wagener-Salley as a heavy favorite.

It’s rare territory for the Predators, who hadn’t won four games in a full season until going 8-4 last year.

“I like winning, but I’d rather be an underdog,” coach Russ Schneider said. “When our kids step up and play, they’ve got some potential.”

The Predators are averaging 36 points per game and beat region opponent Blackville-Hilda for the first time in school history last week with a 48-20 blowout.

RARE TERRITORY: After taking a week off, Barnwell will return to action this week boasting an undefeated record.

The Warhorses will play host to Bamberg-Ehrhardt with a chance to improve to 3-0 for the first time in 10 years.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt has won the past seven meetings between the two schools, according to scfootballhistory.com.