There will be a heavyweight fight Friday night in the Mitchell Enterprises Game of the Week at Strom Thurmond High School when long-time rival and Region 3-2A foe Saluda Tigers. Both schools are ranked in the top 10 in the state in the latest media poll. The Tigers and Rebels are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the weekly poll put out by state-wide media.
Storylines abound in this rivalry. Saluda County was originally part of Edgefield County before it was broken off to form its own county. And who can forget that it was Saluda County deputies sent in to arrest Sue Logue. As those deputies surrounded the house, it was ole Strom Thurmond himself who went in and convinced Logue to give herself up.
In 2019, the Tigers scaled the mountain and won the 2A State Championship. It was Saluda head coach Stewart Young’s first title. The offensive coordinator on that team? None other than Rebel head man Andrew Webb.
See? Lots of history.
On the gridiron, history has been lopsided the Rebels way. They hold a 42-14-3 record over the Tigers.
But this is the present day. The teams are 4-4 over the last eight contests against one another, with the Tigers taking three of the last four, including a 28-0 shutout of the Rebels at Strom Thurmond High School in the third round of the playoffs with a berth in the Upper State Championship on the line.
The winner of this one has the inside track to a region title in what appears to be a three-way race between Saluda, Strom Thurmond, and Silver Bluff. The three teams will mix it up with each other across the next three Friday nights.
The Rebels have playmakers all over the field on both sides of the ball. Most notably, they have weapons on the outside in Tennessee-commit and 2023 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas selection Braylon Staley and 6-foot-4 Demarius Tolen. As defenses have keyed in on the two wideouts, Jay Sewell has stepped up and become a valuable target for quarterback Quan Edmond.
That’s right up the Tigers alley. They will rely on long, athletic defensive backs across the secondary such as Jordan Haigler and lockdown corner Vic Gaines. JT Lott leads an aggressive Tiger pass rush that can be incredibly disruptive to the timing of a pass-oriented offense.
On defense, the Rebels have struggled to stop the run. They have given up more than 200 yards on the ground per game so far in 2023. With players like Darius Simpkins and Nate Stephens on the line and Mike Blocker and JuJu Stevens at linebacker, the Rebels should be a lot tougher against the run and are going to have to be in order to pull out the win Friday night.
Running the football just happens to be what the Tigers do well. Despite losing electric running back Kyree Etheredge to a season-ending injury, the backfield remains in the very capable hands of senior Kenmane Brunson and junior Brayden Williams, both of whom can grind between the tackles or pop a big run. The Tiger passing attack does not come with all the pizzazz of the Rebel attack, but Josh Uhlar has emerged as a threat across the middle for quarterback Drew Arant. Uhlar is fearless across the middle of the field and is a perfect complement to Gaines and Jaylen Nick on the outside.
The matchup everyone wants to see will be between Braylon Staley and Vic Gaines. The Rebels like to move Staley around and line him up in the slot a bunch where Gaines is unlikely to follow in the Tigers typical defensive scheme. There should still be some great one-on-one matchups between the two that are likely to get even the most casual football fans excited.
The key matchup for both teams will be the performance of the offensive lines against the defensive lines. Which team can move the other one out of the way? For different reasons, both teams need to establish the run and winning in the trenches will be critical to success.
Prediction: Buckle. Your. Seatbelt. This game will be an instant classic. The game will be back and forth. The Rebel offense will make some plays, as will the Tiger offense. A late turnover leads to a score and the Tigers pull the win out late, 28-24.
