For nearly 46 minutes, it felt like BHP was about to make a statement. A statement more than six months in the making. But 24 yards and a kicker with ice in his veins, in the sweltering South Carolina heat, left the Bears three points short.
And yet the statement got made anyway. Even in a loss, it got made. This Bear team showed that no matter how many players graduated or left the program, the heart and the fight of this group runs deep. They showed that talent still abounds here at BHP. They showed they can still line up and play with the big boys.
A lot got made of this opener, and I'll admit we had a hand in that. But the excitement that came with the game was matched by the excitement in the crowd. Bear fans and Jacket fans packed the stadium and made the night special for everybody in it. And the Bears came out swinging to reward the folks in Navy and Red.
On the fifth play of the game, Rylan Crooks got flushed out of the pocket. With the poise of a super senior, he kept his eyes downfield and found Malachi Bohler for a 55-yard touchdown. The home sideline erupted. Turning hope into passion with one spiral of the ball.
From there the BHP defense clamped down on a run-heavy Hanna squad. The Bears allowed 71 total yards in the first half, a 2.4 yard per play average, which is the kind of number that wins football games. Then with just over three minutes left in the first quarter, Rylan found Malachi again, this time for a 75-yard pitch and catch. BHP walked out of the opening frame up 14-0.
And then the game slowed down.
In the second quarter, BHP managed just one offensive yard across two drives. Hanna, meanwhile, sat on the ball for more than nine minutes of that quarter, and there is the whole game in miniature. The Bears still carried the 14-0 lead into the locker room, but the shape of the night had started to change.
The third quarter kept the same rhythm. BHP got squeezed in the run game, and Hanna kept the offense parked on the sideline. Then, with just over two minutes left in the third, the Jackets put together a five-play, 62-yard drive and finally got on the board.
BHP had its chances to answer. The Bears reached inside the Hanna 30 twice more in the fourth quarter, and each time penalties or a defensive stand kept those drives from turning into points. Leave points on the field against a team built to grind clock, and eventually the math comes for you.
Hanna took the ball with 8:15 to go and drove 67 yards over four and a half minutes to tie it leaving just under four minutes left. BHP got the kickoff, went three and out, and had to punt it right back, handing the Jackets one last possession. Hanna took the invitation and marched 43 yards in two minutes and 29 seconds. They called timeout with 1.7 seconds on the clock, sent their kicker out, and Bear fans did everything short of breaking out voodoo dolls to bend that ball wide. Corban Lack drilled it. A 24-yard walk-off, and the season opener belonged to Hanna, 17-14.
Here is the thing about a night like that. The scoreboard says the Bears lost by three, and the scoreboard is not wrong. But with as much as BHP graduated, sitting on a 14-0 lead deep into the third quarter of a game everybody spent the summer circling, does not let a team walk away from that empty-handed. The depth ran thin and the offense went quiet for a long stretch, and those are real problems to solve. They are also the problems of a team that was a 24 yard kick away from starting the year with a signature win. The Bears did not get the result. They got the proof of concept. Now they get to see what they do with it.
Week 2 Preview
Bear fans, no matter what last week gave us, a new week brings a new opportunity. And this week's opportunity is a big one. The number two ranked team in 3A, the Daniel Lions, are on the schedule. BHP has faced Daniel 53 times over the years, the second most of any opponent. But this year's Lions team might be one of their best.
Daniel is coming off a 10-2 season that ended in the second round of the playoffs. They opened this year against Wren and handled the Hurricanes 42-28.
Offensively, the Lions bring back all of their skill-position leaders. Jace Grass runs the show at quarterback, and the numbers prove it. Last season he threw for 2,779 yards on a 62.1 percent completion rate, with 31 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. His top target, Trey Wimbley, hauled in 57 passes for 1,072 yards and 14 scores. And leading rusher Kingsten Bibb, now a sophomore, is back too, bringing 607 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns of his own.
The stats tell one story. The way they run the thing tells another. This offense operates at a level and with a precision that makes it hard to find anyone better in the classification this year. They are so good at getting the ball into their playmakers' hands, and all of it flows from Grass mastering the operation. The part that keeps coordinators up at night is their commitment to the run. Last week they ran it 33 times against 22 pass attempts. That balance is what keeps the throwing lanes and the deep shots open all night long. This will be, without question, the best offense BHP sees all season.
Then you turn to their defense, and it matches the offense stride for stride. They field maybe the best defensive player in the Upstate in Christian Chancellor Jr., the number 19 player in South Carolina by ESPN's recruiting rankings. Alongside him, defensive tackle Delone McWhorter is a problem in his own right. He is agile, quick, and big, and he is not a space-eater who just clogs a gap. He is a play-wrecker. When McWhorter comes off the field, the line tends to get leaner and quicker, and that group is anchored by defensive end Caesar Oglesby, who had 11 total tackles last week.
The offense gets the headlines and Chancellor Jr. is becoming a household name, but this defense is the real deal. They held an explosive Wren team to 28 points and shut out Dorman in a half-game scrimmage in the preseason. This side of the ball deserves just as much of BHP's attention as the offense does.
So what does that leave for the Bears. Three priorities stand out to me this week.
First, blocking as a unit. I am not going to sit here and second-guess specific plays from last week because I have no idea assignments, formations, defensive looks or any of that. However this as a team priority is the area that has to take a step forward, and this is the week to do it. BHP will be the heavier line across the board when they have the ball. They have to let that size advantage take over. Mash, maul, and punish all night, and see how that pays off in the fourth quarter.
Second, the defense faces a completely different puzzle than it did a week ago. Every opponent looks different, but few contrasts are as stark as the gap between Hanna's ground-and-pound and Daniel's spread precision. BHP played beautifully last week, and Ty Dubose was Superman out there, but the question is how that carries over when the field gets stretched and the passing concepts get more layered.
Third, and I want to be careful here, conditioning. This is not a knock on how ready these players are to compete. It is a roster-math reality. BHP dressed 39 players last week against Hanna's 60 and Daniel's 61 this week. Yes, only 11 play at a time. But modern football is built on quality depth that lets you rotate and keep people fresh, and that is simply not a luxury this Bears team has this season. Finding a way to keep the starters' legs under them into the fourth quarter may matter as much as anything on the whiteboard.
I can't believe it took me this long to bring it up. We all know what happened the last time these two teams played. The biggest "what if" play in BHP history. Personally, I believe that if that handoff is clean, BHP wins the state championship that season. But football is fickle like that, and it shines brightest in exactly those moments. But here is what I remember just as clearly as that play itself. I remember Bear fans lined up at the away ticket booth nearly two hours before kickoff. I remember the entire away stands packed, people standing on the fence line. I remember the roar when Quise took the wildcat snap and went 20 yards for the opening touchdown. I remember Omri Jackson's strip sack setting BHP up with one final drive, and the way the trees shook with the sound of Bear fans. I remember all of it, because that is what BHP does. They show up for a team that means so much to them. I hope you do it again. No, this game does not carry one percent of the weight that one did, but these players deserve that same kind of fandom. And I know for a fact, Them Big Bad Bear Fans are going to show up this Friday night ready to back Them Bears from BHP.
Previous Matchup: 2023 Upper State Championship Game
Score: BHP 23 -- Daniel 28
2023 Upper State Championship BHP Stats:
Team Rushing: 44 rushes for 242 yards and 3 TDs
Team Passing: 5/9/0 for 42 yards
Team Total: 53 plays for 284 yards and 3 TDs
Rushing Leader: #3 Marquise Henderson - 30 rushes for 221 yards and 3 TDs
Passing Leader: #7 Noah Thomas - 5/9/0 for 42 yards
Receiving Leader: #6 Qua Alexander - 4 receptions for 26 yards
Defensive Leader:
#2 Omari Jackson - 4 Hurries, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 Forced FB, 1 Fumble Recovery
#18 Tye Kelly - 6 Solo, 4 Assist, and 1 TF
2023 Upper State Championship Daniel Offensive Stats:
Team Rushing: 37 rushes for 167 yards and 3 TDs
Team Passing: 16/26/1 for 128 yards and 1 TD
Team Total: 63 plays for 295 yards and 4 TDs
Rushing Leader: #14 Kolton Chapman - 13 rushes for 86 yards and 2 TDs
Passing Leader: #14 Kolton Chapman - 16/26/1 for 128 yards and 1 TD
Receiving Leaders: #2 Sam Earle - 5 receptions for 48 yards
Quick Stats
- BHP has faced Daniel 53 times in school history with a 20-33 record against the Lions.
- Location has not mattered much historically: BHP is 10-16 at home and 10-17 away against Daniel.
- Since 2000, the series has been considerably more competitive: BHP 10, Daniel 13. BHP in the 2000s were 5-5, the 2010s were 5-5, and Daniel is 3-0 in the 2020s so far.
- Scoring 20 is especially important in this rivalry: when BHP scores 20+ against Daniel, the Bears are 16-4 (.800).
- The Week 2 meeting is the earliest BHP has ever faced Daniel.
- Since 2000, BHP is 40-12 (.769) in its next game after a loss when the next game occurs in the same season.
- Since 2000, when BHP scores 21 or more points they are 228 and 20.
- Since 2000, when the game is decided by 7 points or fewer BHP is 41-23.
- BHP has now scored in 151 consecutive games. The last shutout was a 10-0 loss to Daniel in 2013.
- BHP’s longest home winning streak was 29 consecutive home games, beginning in 2022 and ending last week against T.L. Hanna.
Wrap Up
Because that is the truth of a season. One Friday does not define a team any more than one kick defines a season. The Bears have 53 games of history with Daniel behind them and a fresh chapter waiting to be written this week, and beyond Daniel sits a whole fall of Fridays nobody has lived yet. A team that stood toe to toe with a bigger program and led into the fourth quarter is not a team measuring itself against one scoreboard. It is a team finding out, week by week, exactly what it is made of. The lights come back on Friday and the Bears head to Central. Somewhere down this schedule is the night this group tells us who they are going to be. Andy my question, why can’t it be this Friday!
Prediction: BHP 31 - Daniel 28
We want to see every Bear Fan packed into those away stands this Friday to support Them Big Bad Bears. If you can't, stay connected and get instant notifications when our posts drop by following us on Facebook and X. Stay plugged in, because come Friday, we'll be dropping the GameDay Graphic and providing final stats after the game.