Times have changed.

Cross Creek (5-0) enters sub-region play this week against perennial behemoth Washington County. The Golden Hawks have beaten Cross Creek by 48, 36 and 49 points in three previous meetings.

But South Effingham's 23-14 win at Washington County (1-4) raises an interesting question. Should the Razorbacks be favored against a team they've never come within 30 points of beating? Cross Creek beat South Effingham on the road last week, 27-21.

It's not just a one-team comparison with a common foe.

Washington County managed a 41-19 decision against Richmond Hill this year. Cross Creek beat that same team 26-0 Friday night.

"The more we win the more confidence we get," Cross Creek coach Scott Tate said.

WORK HORSES: Evans coach Marty Jackson said at the beginning of the year his rushing attack would be a committee approach. It's apparently one with unlimited membership. The Knights ran for 166 yards in a 35-0 region win over Richmond Academy on Friday night.

No tailback ran for more than 35 yards.

A total of eight different Knights ran the ball, and four of them had more than 30 yards. At least 12 players have carries. Senior Trey Henderson leads with 242 rushing yards, but that's not even a third of the team's 832 total rushing yards.

Sophomore Jonathan Finch said the split workload is no problem.

"It's a good thing, he said. "Everybody's equal."

BUFF BLUFF: Silver Bluff recorded a curious win Friday night.

The Bulldogs had fewer first downs, rushing yards or passing yards than Wade Hampton. Yet they won 17-2 and were never in serious jeopardy against the visiting Red Devils.

The credit goes to an attacking defense that yielded plenty of yards, but made key stops.

"We're pleased to be 5-2 right now," Silver Bluff coach Al Lown said. "Our coaches did a good job on our game plan."

Lown's team is 2-0 in Region 5-AA play, said his smaller players could have trouble down the stretch.

"Every game in our region is going to be tough," he said. "We just don't have enough firepower on offense."

SPREAD THE WORD: South Aiken rallied late at Irmo, but wasn't able to pull out a victory in the Region 4-AAAA opener.

The Thoroughbreds fell 28-21, but their fans have good reason to be optimistic about the team's short- and long-term hopes.

That's because they found some offense. All-Area linebacker Jamal Davis, who had 177 receiving yards, said the team installed its spread offense last Tuesday.

It looked like they had been practicing it all year.

South Aiken (3-4, 0-1) often lined up with three, four and five receiver sets on the way to 326 total yards of offense. The team recorded 16 first downs. Irmo (6-1, 1-0) managed 13 first downs and 285 yards by comparison.

The most impressive revelation was the play of freshman quarterback Tanner Hawley. He shined while spelling Bucky Washington, throwing for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Staff writers John Boyette, Chris Gay, Billy Byler and Steve Sanders contributed to this report.

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.