I have sat down to write this part of the post more than a few times now. Every time, I got stuck before I could even start describing what happened last Friday.
For years I have called Palmetto the rivalry in proximity only. With BHP now holding a 55-7 edge in the series, I don’t think that’s an unfair label. Friday night did not feel that way, though. It felt like two evenly matched teams taking turns grabbing hold of the game right up until the final snap. For anyone wearing navy and red, it has been a long, long time since we’ve had to feel that against the Mustangs.
It started the way it’s supposed to. Palmetto went three-and-out on its first possession, and BHP answered with a 5-play, 57-yard touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard scoring pass to your coach’s favorite player, Brody Riddle. If you’re wondering about the title, Riddle is the kind of player coaches love to coach. He does the dirty work and never once asks for the spotlight for it.
Then, like most games this year, the defense hunkered down (please read that in your best Larry Munson voice). The next five combined possessions went punt, turnover, turnover on downs, punt, punt. Neither offense could find any footing until BHP got the ball back with just under seven minutes left in the half. Them Bears went 30 yards in 7 plays, enough to set up a 42-yard field goal from James Johnson that made it 10-0 with 3:32 left before halftime.
Can we take a second to talk about how good James Johnson has been this season? He is perfect on extra points and 2-for-3 on field goals. He has 6 touchbacks on kickoffs while averaging 50.3 yards per kick. That 42-yarder also put him in some rare company. Before Friday, Peter Bertoni, Jeff Carnley and Chase Reeves were the only kickers in BHP history to make a field goal of 40 yards or more, and now Johnson’s name sits right there with theirs.
Back to the game.
Palmetto needed exactly two plays to answer. With just over three minutes left in the half, Bryson Arflin found Adrian Anderson for a 71-yard touchdown, and just like that a comfortable lead was 10-7. BHP got one more crack at it before the break, but the drive stalled near midfield.
Coming out of halftime, BHP did what it has done nearly all season and put points on the board. The Bears went 50 yards in 8 plays to push the lead to 17-7 with just over nine minutes left in the third quarter. The teams traded punts from there, and Palmetto took over with 3:40 left in the third.
What came next is where the night started to turn. The Mustangs went 67 yards in 16 plays, chewing up nearly seven and a half minutes of clock, before a 10-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 17-14. On the ensuing kickoff, Palmetto pulled off a near-perfect onside kick. It looked like a short wedge shot from Scottie Scheffler, landing right at the 50-yard line and hopping back toward the Palmetto kick team like it had been hit with backspin, and the Mustangs came up with it. Eight plays and 42 yards later, a 30-yard field goal tied the game at 17, and BHP got the ball back with 5:21 to play.
From there BHP put together what looked like the game-winning drive, marching 67 yards in 11 plays and using up nearly the entire clock. With 3 seconds left, the Bears lined up for a 30-yard field goal to win it. What happened next belonged in a horror movie for Bear Fans. The snap got away, the kick never got off, and time expired, so off to overtime the two teams went.
By then momentum, and maybe even fate, seemed to be standing on the Mustang sideline. BHP went on offense first in overtime anyway and made it look easy, scoring in 2 plays to go up 24-17.
Palmetto’s possession opened with an incompletion, followed by a 1-yard run and then a 6-yard run. That left the Mustangs facing fourth-and-3 in overtime, with a chance to beat a team they hadn’t beaten in nearly two decades. With the cool of Broadway Joe and the arm of Brady, Arflin found Logan Newsome in the back of the end zone. It was 24-23, and Palmetto wasn’t kicking.
Neither team had a timeout to call, and the Mustangs kept their offense on the field to win it. They lined up with one back and trips to the away side and threw a quick slant to the inside receiver. BHP’s Amire Rosemond got a hand in front of it, the ball hit the turf, and BHP won.
You know me and naming things, and this play might just need one. Hand of God is already taken, so maybe Five Fingers from Five. Whatever we end up calling it, we can all agree on what it was, another BHP win over Little Brother Palmetto, that was just a bit too close.
Before moving on, I want to step back and talk about one thing I saw Friday that I think makes BHP dangerous the rest of the way. Malachi Bohler moved back to quarterback and took direct snaps.
Before anyone reads that the wrong way, it is not a knock on Rylan Crooks in any sense. Crooks went 7-for-8 for 67 yards and a touchdown in the first half, which might be one of the best halves he has played.
What I saw was a new layer for this offense. Bohler ran 3 times for 25 yards out of the quarterback spot in the first half, then 9 times for 91 in the second. We knew from the start of the season that Bohler had to be a focal point of this offense. Putting the ball in his hands on direct snaps uses everything he can do and forces a defense to account for him on every play, which opens things up for every other runner on the field. Stack that on top of the way Crooks is playing, and even in a game this tight, you can see things starting to show through on offense that should have every Bear fan excited. Especially when both can make an impact on the game in different ways.
Bear fans, a win is a win, no matter how many years it takes off your life expectancy. Another senior class will graduate without ever losing to Palmetto, and just like the last 18 seasons, BHP still owns the rivalry in proximity only over Little Brother Palmetto.
Week 7 Preview
BHP closes out its 2026 home slate Friday against Powdersville. The Patriots haven’t been around all that long, but they have quickly turned into one of the more competitive opponents on the schedule. Powdersville opened as a school and started fielding a team in 2012. It took four seasons for the Patriots to get the Bears on the schedule, but the two have met every year since except 2020, and BHP holds a 7-2 edge in those games.
The stakes in this one have only grown. The last two meetings both came in the playoffs, a 35-14 BHP win in the third round in 2024 and a 35-7 win in last season’s Upper State Championship. Before that, in 2022 and 2023, the two shared a region, and whoever won this game went on to take the region title. Both teams come in this year carrying some losses, BHP at 4-2 (1-0 in region play) and Powdersville at 4-3, but the game still has that feeling.
Don’t let Powdersville’s record fool you. The Patriots opened with a 28-12 win over Seneca, then dropped back-to-back games to two of the top teams in the Upper State, 30-7 to T.L. Hanna and 56-34 to Daniel. They got back to winning in a big way, beating Pendleton 57-0, Broome 49-0 and Newberry 38-7. Two weeks ago they opened region play against fellow Anderson District 1 rival Wren, who won 34-10. Those three losses came against teams with two combined losses between them. Hanna and Daniel are the same two teams responsible for BHP’s losses this season.
It all starts on offense for Powdersville, and the name to know is Xavier Huggins. Huggins was picked for the South Carolina side of the Shrine Bowl. He, teammate Jayden Wertz and former BHP Bear Tajeh Watson-Martin are the only Anderson County players selected for that all-star game.
He plays like it. Huggins is fast and shifty and can make people miss at the drop of a hat, and once he gets a step, he simply outruns everybody. He didn’t play against Wren, but with a bye week built into the schedule since then, I’d expect Powdersville to get him involved early and often Friday.
Alongside him are two more top-end weapons. Nasir Waldrop is the featured back, and last season he accounted for 16 total scores, 1,072 rushing yards and another 279 through the air. He’s not the biggest back you’ll see, but he is one of the most elusive in the Upper State.
Riggs Savage is a different story in the size department. He stands 6-6, 235 pounds as a junior and already holds a stack of Division I offers. The 247Sports rankings have him as the No. 1 tight end and No. 4 overall prospect in his South Carolina recuriting class.
Dashton Brown runs the offense, and he can hurt you with his legs, but lethal with his arm. His ability to spread the ball to all of his weapons is something that makes this offense so potent. Don’t be shocked to see Waldrop or Huggins take a wildcat snap, either, and change the math on a given play.
The real star, though, might be the offensive line. It’s built in the same vein as Daniel’s, athletic up front, with the ability to create angles and get up to the linebackers, which gives Waldrop just enough space to pile up big yardage. BHP has already seen that blueprint up close once this year.
On defense, it’s all about speed. Powdersville plays mostly out of a three-down-lineman front so it can get more defensive backs on the field, then uses that speed to disrupt plays before they get started. Wertz, the Patriots’ other Shrine Bowl pick, is a prototypical middle linebacker with the size and power to stop the run and the ability to drop into coverage.
Personally, the player who jumps out most on that side of the ball is defensive end Jaison Fuller. He’s listed at both defensive end and running back. He’s on the smaller side for a lineman, but he surely doesn’t play that way. He’s fast and uses his leverage to move nearly every lineman I saw him go against. More than anyone on that defense, Fuller is the one BHP will need answers for Friday night.
So what does BHP need to close out the home slate with a win?
First, the Bears have to keep the big play off the board. Palmetto needed two snaps to turn a 10-0 lead into a one-score game. Powdersville has even more players capable of that, with Huggins likely back and Waldrop able to turn a sliver of space into a long run. Tackling in space and keeping everyone in front will matter more than usual this week.
Second, the battle up front has to go BHP’s way, starting with Fuller. A defense built on speed wants to be in the backfield before a play has a chance to develop. That’s exactly where the new look with Bohler taking snaps could pay off, since it gives the Patriots one more runner to account for before they can pin their ears back.
Third, the BHP defense has to keep its eyes disciplined. Between Brown’s arm, Savage’s size and the chance of Waldrop or Huggins taking a direct snap, Powdersville will try to make defenders guess. The best answer is a defense where everyone trusts the assignment in front of them instead of chasing the ball.
Records aside, this matchup has looked like a playoff game for nearly half a decade now, mostly because it has been one. Win it Friday, and BHP heads into the final stretch of the regular season at 5-2 with the home schedule closed out the right way.
Previous Matchup: 2025 Upper State Championship Stats
Score: BHP 35 -- Powdersville 7
2025 Upper State Championship BHP Stats:
Team Rushing: 52 rushes for 360 yards and 5 TDs
Team Passing: 3/11/1 for 15 yards
Team Total: 63 plays for 375 yards and 5 TDs
Rushing Leader: MJ Earl - 21 rushes for 212 yards and 4 TDs
Passing Leader: Noah Thomas - 3/11/1 for 15 yards
Receiving Leader: Cam Robinson - 1 reception for 8 yards
Defensive Leader: Ty Dubose - 3 solo, 1 assist, 3 QB hurries, and a pass breakup
Powdersville Team Yardage:
Team Rushing: 20 rushes for 62 yards
Team Passing: 9/25/3 for 96 yards and 1 TD
Team Total: 45 plays for 158 yards and 1 TD
Rushing Leader: Keagan Reid - 5 rushes for 28 yards
Passing Leader: Keagan Reid - 6/13/2 for 90 yards and 1 TD
Receiving Leaders: Steele Gamble - 3 receptions for 46 yards
Quick Stats
- BHP is 7-2 all time against Powdersville, 1-1 when meeting in a region matchup.
- 8 of BHP’s 62 games against Palmetto have been decided by 1 point. BHP is 6-2 in those games.
- BHP has won 18 consecutive region games, the longest such streak in school history since records began in 1966.
- With one more win BHP will be guaranteed a .500 season win percentage. There has only been 15 losing seasons in BHP history.
- The overtime win last week against Palmetto was BHP’s 3rd time playing in an overtime game since 2014. BHP is 2-1 in those games (2014 - South Pointe - 20-23, 2016 - Lancaster - 41-37, 2026 - Palmetto - 24-23).
- James Johnson is currently 16 for 16 in PAT attempts, only one other kicker since 2013 has finished a season with at least 10 PAT attempts and no misses (Zack Morrison 15 for 15 in 2020).
- BHP has outscored opponents 49 to 10 in first quarters, and 24 to 7 in third quarters this season.
- BHP has been outscored 57-16 in 4th quarters this season.
- Since 2013, only once has BHP had more passing TDs than rushing TDs (2018 - 23 passing - 19 rushing). Currently this season, BHP has 6 passing and 5 rushing TDs.
- BHP has not allowed a 100 yard rusher on the season, and only 1 100 yard receiver.
- Cam Robinson has all 5 BHP rushing TDs.
- Since 2014 BHP is 41-1 when they have a +2 or better turnover differential in a game, the only loss coming against T.L. Hanna 14-33 in 2017.
- Since 2014 BHP is 40-4 in games they have zero turnovers.
Wrap Up
Friday against Palmetto aged every one of us, and I won’t pretend I enjoyed all of it. Still, there’s something worth holding onto from a night where almost everything broke the wrong way late. The lead slipped away and the kick never got off, and the Bears answered anyway on their first possession of overtime, then made one more play when it absolutely had to be made. Add an offense that looks like it’s still finding new ways to stretch a defense, and this team feels like it’s getting better at the right time of year.
Now Powdersville comes to town, and records aside, this has become the kind of game you circle when the schedule comes out. The Patriots have enough playmakers to make it a long night. BHP has handled this matchup on bigger stages than a mid-October Friday, though, and the Bears will have the home crowd behind them one last time this regular season to help them do it again.
Prediction: BHP 21 - Powdersville 14
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