Milestones within reach as playoffs continue

Strom Thurmond quarterback Raleigh Yeldell is 76 yards shy of eclipsing the 1,500-yard mark for the season. Staff photo by By Mike Adams.

While the main focus for area football players this week will be helping their teams advance in the playoffs, there are also some important milestones that could be reached.

On the Class AAAA level, there are several important marks that could be reached in North Augusta's meeting with South Florence.

Running back Vinny Miller is looking to pass 2,500 yards on the ground. He's currently at 2,454 and needs just 46 yards to reach that milestone.

Teammate Montez McGuire is within easy striking distance of 1,000 yards receiving. He currently has 986, needing just 14 more yards to get to the magical number. With a 15.7 yards per catch average, McGuire could get there with just one reception Friday.

On the Class AA level, Strom Thurmond running back Malcolm Watkins could pass 1,000 yards on the ground with a great game. His 824 rushing yards leave him 176 yards short, but with an average of seven yards per carry and the other top running back, Darius Hammond, out of the lineup, reaching 1,000 is entirely possible.

Quarterback Raleigh Yeldell is nearing 1,500 passing yards. He needs just 76 yards through the air this week against Emerald to reach that mark.

Nick Clark has a chance to reach an impressive number on defense, as well. His 91 tackles leave him nine short of 100. James Bates can get into double digits with a sack on Friday. He currently has nine.

One milestone has already been passed as Williston-Elko running backs Kendric Salley and Jarius Jenkins have both topped 1,000 yards on the ground this season. Salley, who is returning from a knee injury, has 1,198 on 139 carries, while Jenkins has 1,163 on 142 carries. Both will get the ball on Friday, and the battle for the team rushing lead could be an interesting one.

No television

As advertised during last week's Mr. Central Game of the Week, Aiken Standard Television had plans to cover Friday's Class AAAA, Division II second-round playoff matchup between North Augusta and South Florence, but those plans have fallen through, and there will be no television coverage for the contest.

ASTV covered the Yellow Jackets' first-round matchup with approval from the South Carolina High School League and had an agreement with the organization to cover the second round if NAHS was still playing.

On Monday, however, ASTV was informed that Play On! Sports, a digital media organization based in Atlanta, Ga., has exclusive rights to all SCHSL playoff games, an agreement not mentioned in the Audio and Video Broadcasts portion of SCHSL handbook. That section of the handbook lists rights fees for live radio and internet and delayed television for the playoffs but states that live television and streaming video fees are negotiable.

ASTV followed that negotiation process for the opening round and carried the game live on ASTV, WRDW my12 and the www.aikenstandard.com website but was informed that option was not available for the second round, and that negotiations should be made with Play On! Sports, not the SCHSL.

Multiple calls to Play On! Sports to try to negotiate a deal to allow ASTV to cover the game went unreturned, leaving ASTV no choice but to cancel Friday's planned broadcast.