Bulldogs, War Eagles clash for Class AA championship

Dec. 3—When De'Angelo Bryant was introduced as Silver Bluff's head football coach in March of 2018, he said one of the things he wanted to do was come back home and rebuild a winner, to carry out the mission that is the Bulldog tradition.

Now, in his fourth season, his Bulldogs are a win away from the program's sixth state championship.

Third-ranked Silver Bluff (11-0) and second-ranked Gray Collegiate (13-1) tee it up at 7 p.m. Friday at Benedict College for the Class AA title in a high-profile matchup that will either be a tradition-rich powerhouse's return to glory or a new juggernaut's big breakthrough.

"I just keep telling the guys to really embrace this moment," Bryant said. "I know so many people are telling them to go win the game, and that's good, but I also want them to be able to embrace this moment and also seize the moment. We talk about opportunities all the time, and we just think that this is a wonderful opportunity to play against a great Gray Collegiate team that's going to give us a lot of challenges, as well. We're just very appreciative of the opportunity, and we want to go out and make the best of it."

Bryant was a member of the Bulldogs' last two title teams in 2000-01, when Silver Bluff won 30 consecutive games in dominant fashion. The Bulldogs returned to the state championship game in 2013 and '15 but didn't return home with the trophy they wanted.

Tuesday was an emotional run up Bulldog Hill for Bryant, who said he saw his seniors attack that post-practice run harder than they did when they were freshmen.

Friday will be their final hill to climb on a revenge tour that has brought them back to Columbia.

Silver Bluff has won 15 consecutive games dating back to last season, and this year the Bulldogs have played like a team on a mission. Six of their 11 wins have been shutouts, and those victories have been by an average margin of 38.8 points per game.

Standing in the way is a War Eagles team that looks like a mirror image of Silver Bluff — tons of senior leadership, an explosive offense and a fast, physical defense.

Gray Collegiate has taken another step forward by reaching its first state title game, knocking off top-ranked Abbeville two weeks ago in the third round of the playoffs before beating Newberry for the Upper State title.

Senior running back KZ Adams eclipsed 3,000 yards for the season in last week's win for the War Eagles, and the Mr. Football finalist has been unstoppable the last two weeks despite everyone in the stadium knowing he was going to get the ball.

It will take a full four-quarter effort from the Bulldogs, which is something they hadn't had to do all season until last week against Barnwell in the Lower State championship game. There had been previous challenges, but early third-quarter deficits in the regular season against Wade Hampton and Barnwell were quickly turned into blowouts. Last week's rematch with the Warhorses, however, was tied heading into the fourth before the Bulldogs got one more score and one more stop than their rivals in a 42-35 win.

"In my opinion, I think we needed a challenge like that on Friday. It forced us to play four quarters of football, which is something that we preach all the time," Bryant said. "We've been very fortunate that we've got out on some teams early or had to battle from behind. I think this was kind of that final tester that we needed to give us what I call completion in a lot of different areas. I think Friday night's game definitely prepared us to play four quarters this Friday."

One point of concern in that game was some uncharacteristic mistakes by the Bulldogs, like some special teams miscues and misalignments. That nearly cost them their season last week, and it absolutely can't happen Friday.

"When you get to this point in the season, it's about who makes the least amount of mistakes and also who can make plays," Bryant said. "That's something that we've been doing a really good job of taking advantage of this season, causing turnovers and being able to control the football. That's one of the things I tell our players all the time — we need to take care of the things that have taken care of us all season long."

That means one more night of relying on an ornery defense that's allowed only 8.2 points per game and a versatile offense that's scored an average of 47 per night. That means trusting that veteran offensive line to clear the way for sophomore running back Traevon Dunbar (1,833 yards and 28 touchdowns) and junior quarterback Maleik Williams (1,745 yards passing, 653 rushing and 27 total touchdowns) to operate the way they have all season. That means counting on disruptors like defensive end Jaden McLeod (41 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, four forced fumbles) to wreak havoc one final time.

That's the recipe that's gotten them here, and Friday they'll mix up all those ingredients one last time to try to return Silver Bluff to the pinnacle of Class AA football.

"I'm just really happy to see the program back restored," Bryant said. "For these guys, I couldn't ask to have a better group of guys to be a part of it. These are young men with very high character and a competitive edge. That's what Silver Bluff has always been built on, and that's what it's always going to stand for. Just being able to get back to this point where the pride and tradition of excellence means something means a lot to me personally as a coach, and I know it means a lot to the community."