Nov. 24—High school football season continues for at least one more Friday in the Aiken Standard coverage area.
The Strom Thurmond Rebels, the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA, are back in the state semifinals for the first time since 2012 after exacting a measure of sweet revenge against Chester, the team that eliminated the Rebels last year, in the third round.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPaying a visit to the peach fields the night after Thanksgiving will be sixth-ranked Fairfield Central, which blew out defending state champion Clinton in the third round. The Griffins (10-3) are the No. 2 seed from Region 3-AA, having lost to Chester on Oct. 10, but have won five consecutive games since then by an average margin of 34.6 points per game.
Strom Thurmond (11-2) has won eight games in a row, and the Rebels are a perfect 8-0 at home. They've outscored their opponents 368-49 on their home field with four shutouts, and last week's win was on its way to being the fifth before Chester broke a long touchdown run late in the fourth quarter down 31-0.
The Rebels are looking to make it to the state championship game for the first time since 2005, when they beat Clinton for the Class AAA title. Third-ranked Central and No. 5 Hampton County meet on Friday for the Lower State championship. The Class AA state championship is scheduled for 4 p.m. Dec. 6 at South Carolina State's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
Strom Thurmond is the last area team standing in the playoffs following North Augusta's 49-14 loss at South Florence in the third round in Class AAAA. The sixth-ranked Jackets (11-2) had their six-game winning streak snapped by the second-ranked Bruins (12-1), who knocked out North Augusta in last year's Lower State title game on their way to a state championship.
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