2022 Week 8 Bear Tracks

BHP took the shortest bus ride of the season up to Palmetto and secured the largest win of the season. The Bears’ firepower showed from the first offensive play and never stopped firing. In the end, the Bears outscored the Mustangs 63-10 bringing their season record to 6-1 and region record to 1-1.

The Bears were too much for Palmetto in every facet of the game. BHP rushed for 292 yards being led by you know who, Marquise Henderson with 131 yards on only 5 carries and 2 TDs.

The air game was not to be outdone. AJ Pendleton passed 15 times, completing 10 of those and of the 10, 4 found the endzone. Pendleton’s favorite target, Eli Strickland, caught 5 of the completions and scored 3 of the TDs.

The defense also made their voice heard Friday night. After a long passing TD, BHP locked down the Mustangs. The Bears only gave up 194 total yards but 100 yards came from just 3 passes. And as dominant as the Bears were in the first half on defense, BHP clamped down even more as the game continued, allowing only 32 total yards in the second half.

The Bears totally outmatched Palmetto, but that is what we expected. For the next couple of weeks, we should see the same.

And with that, BHP will turn their attention to a new school and new opponent the Fountain Inn Fury.

Week 8 Preview

BHP will head to Fountain Inn High School for their first-ever matchup. This is FIHS’s first football season and they will be fielding only sophomores and freshmen.

FIHS comes into the game without a win this season. The Fury’s losses have come against West-Oak 9-6, Woodruff 31-0, Crescent 49-0, Carolina 20-7, Pendleton 43-7, Wren 49-7, and last week against Powdersville 55-14. In their game against Powdersville, they gave up 4 non-offensive TDs (3 Pick Sixes, and 1 Kickoff return).

In the next few games, BHP must focus and have the mentality of a nameless faceless opponent. The Bears are playing themselves and they have to strive to play with no mistakes and dominate every aspect of the game.

2022 Season Stats

Avg Points Per Game: BHP 39.3 -- Opponents 19.3

BHP Yardage:

BHP Season Yardage:
Team Rushing Totals: 282 rushes for 1,907 yards and 23 TDs (40.3 rushes, 272 yards and 3.3 TDs per game)

Team Passing Totals: 77/114/4 for 1046 yards and 15 TDs (11 / 16.3 / .6 for 149.4 yards and 2.14 TDs per game)

Rushing Leader: #3 Marquise Henderson - 69 rushes for 755 yards and 9 TDs
Passing Leader: #7 AJ Pendleton - 71 / 105 / 4 for 1020 yards and 15 TDs
Receiving Leaders: #4 Eli Strickland - 17 receptions for 329 yards and 7 TDs
Defensive Leader: #2 Omri Jackson - 21 Frist Hits, 10 Assist, 11 Solo, 5 TFL, 131 Defensive points

Quick Stats

• The 545 total yards against Palmetto was only the 10th time BHP has gained 500 or more yards in a game since 2014.
• Since 2014 BHP has had 250 or more passing yards 8 times. The 253 against Palmetto was the most recent.
• Eli Strickland’s 131 receiving yards is only the 12th time since 2014 that a BHP receiver had gained over 100 receiving yards in a game.
• Eli Strickland is 6th all-time in career receptions with 57, only 8 away from 5th place.
• BHP’s Nevada Billups currently has 49 career receptions which is now 8th all-time and 4 receptions from 7th.
• BHPs Drew Taylor is 9 receptions away from having the 8th most receptions in a season at 35 (he currently has 26).
• BHP’s AJ Pendleton currently has a 68% completion percentage for the season. That is only 0.4% behind the completion percentage season record set in 2015 by Kameron Burton.
• BHP’s Marquise Henderson is 353 yards away from 2000 career rushing yards.
• BHP is averaging 39.3 points per game, up by 11.6 points per game over last season.
• BHP has gained 20 or more rushing yards on 17 plays while only allowing 5.
• BHP has only allowed 1 offensive TD in the 3rd quarter this season.
• The 39.3 points per game would be the 4th most in BHP history if the season ended now.
• Since 2014 BHP has had 14 quarters where their opponents gained negative total yards; the 4th quarter against Palmetto was one of them (-4 total yards).
• BHP has thrown 4 or more passing TDs in a game only 4 times since 2014, twice coming this season.
• BHP has scored 8 offensive TDs in a game only 4 times since 2014. Friday against Palmetto was the most recent.
• BHP has the 7th largest points differential in all SC 3A this season (140 points).

Conclusion

Coming into the game against Fountain Inn the match-up will be more mental than actual gameplay. The Bears have to focus on being mistake-free and dominating by their technique and not only by their athleticism. We give credit to Fountain Inn for the work they have put in and it will not be long until they will be a true contender in the region. However, that time is not quite here for the Fury.

Prediction: BHP 55 - Fountain Inn 0

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Go Bears!