Fort Mill Climbs To No. 5 In 5A As Rock Hill And South Pointe Slide

Fort Mill moved up two spots to No. 5 in Class 5A in this week’s South Carolina high school football media poll, while Rock Hill and South Pointe dropped after losses.

Five teams from York and Lancaster counties remain in the top 10 of their classifications. Fort Mill (5 and 0) is now the only unbeaten team among them, and it jumped past Rock Hill, which fell from No. 4 to No. 7 after its first loss of the season.

The rankings cover the five classifications of the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL). Records appear in parentheses in each list below, followed by the number of No. 1 votes where applicable. Last week’s ranking is noted for teams that moved.

Fort Mill Rises, Rock Hill Falls In 5A

Dutch Fork (5 and 0) stays at No. 1 in 5A with 15 of 16 votes for No. 1. Northwestern (4 and 1) holds second and again received the other No. 1 vote.

Fort Mill climbed from No. 7 to No. 5 after improving to 5 and 0. Rock Hill (4 and 1) slid three spots to No. 7.

Five teams in the 5A top 10 are unbeaten: Dutch Fork, Dorman, James Island, Fort Mill and Boiling Springs. Sumter, No. 10 last week, dropped out. River Bluff (5 and 1), which received votes last week, entered at No. 10.

1. Dutch Fork (5 and 0), 15
2. Northwestern (4 and 1), 1
3. Dorman (5 and 0)
4. James Island (5 and 0), up from 5
5. Fort Mill (5 and 0), up from 7
6. Boiling Springs (5 and 0), up from 8
7. Rock Hill (4 and 1), down from 4
8. Berkeley (4 and 1), up from 9
9. Byrnes (3 and 2), down from 6
10. River Bluff (5 and 1), new

Indian Land Up, South Pointe Down In 4A

Westside (4 and 1) remains No. 1 in 4A with 12 votes for No. 1. Gaffney (4 and 1) moved from fourth to second and took the other four No. 1 votes.

Indian Land (5 and 1) rose one spot to No. 4. South Pointe, which was second last week with six No. 1 votes, fell six spots to No. 8 after dropping to 2 and 2.

North Myrtle Beach (6 and 0) is the only unbeaten team left in the 4A top 10. Lugoff Elgin, sixth last week at 4 and 0, lost and fell to No. 10.

1. Westside (4 and 1), 12
2. Gaffney (4 and 1), 4, up from 4
3. Irmo (3 and 2)
4. Indian Land (5 and 1), up from 5
5. T.L. Hanna (4 and 1), up from 7
6. Hilton Head Island (5 and 1), up from 8
7. North Augusta (5 and 1), up from 9
8. South Pointe (2 and 2), down from 2
9. North Myrtle Beach (6 and 0), up from 10
10. Lugoff Elgin (4 and 1), down from 6

Daniel Still Unanimous In 3A

Daniel (5 and 0) again received every No. 1 vote in 3A. Wren (5 and 1) moved up to third, swapping places with Hanahan, which slipped to fourth despite improving to 6 and 0. No York or Lancaster County team is ranked in 3A.

1. Daniel (5 and 0), 16
2. Bishop England (6 and 0)
3. Wren (5 and 1), up from 4
4. Hanahan (6 and 0), down from 3
5. Chapman (6 and 0), up from 6
6. Camden (4 and 2), down from 5
7. Loris (5 and 1)
8. Emerald (5 and 1), up from 9
9. Oceanside Collegiate (2 and 3), down from 8
10. Gilbert (4 and 1)

Tie At No. 4 In 2A

Strom Thurmond (5 and 0) is again the unanimous No. 1 in 2A. Mid Carolina (5 and 0) and Orangeburg Wilkinson (4 and 0) share the No. 4 spot. Clinton fell from fourth to seventh after its second loss.

1. Strom Thurmond (5 and 0), 16
2. Marlboro County (5 and 0)
3. Dillon (3 and 1)
4. Mid Carolina (5 and 0), tie, up from 6
5. Orangeburg Wilkinson (4 and 0), tie, up from 5
6. Woodruff (3 and 2), up from 7
7. Clinton (3 and 2), down from 4
8. Keenan (4 and 1), up from 9
9. Saluda (3 and 2), down from 8
10. Battery Creek (5 and 0)

Fairfield Central Holds In 1A

Fairfield Central (6 and 0) received all 16 No. 1 votes in 1A. Blackville Hilda slipped from eighth to 10th after its first loss.

1. Fairfield Central (6 and 0), 16
2. Central (5 and 0)
3. Bamberg Ehrhardt (4 and 1)
4. Lamar (5 and 1)
5. Hampton County (4 and 2)
6. Abbeville (3 and 2)
7. Carvers Bay (5 and 1)
8. Wagener Salley (6 and 0), up from 9
9. Lake View (5 and 1), up from 10
10. Blackville Hilda (5 and 1), down from 8

The full panel: Mac Banks, Fort Mill Prep Sports; Lou Bezjak, The State; Jed Blackwell, SC Prep RedZone; Travis Boland, The Times and Democrat; JB Brown, Blue Ridge Tigers Sports Network; Tyler Cupp, WRHI; Chris Dearing, SC Prep RedZone and The State; Jordan Ferrell, Fox Sports Spartanburg; Thomas Grant, Irmo News and Cola Daily; Ian Guerin, SC Prep RedZone; Travis Jenkins, The News and Reporter; Wes Kerr, LowCo Sports; James McBee, Boiling Springs Sports Journal; Chris Miller, WRHI; Brett Shugart, WBCU Radio; Brandon Stockdale, SC Prep RedZone; Rob Williams, Fourth Quarter Friday; Pete Yanity, WSPA.