Bear Tracks Round 1 | 2018

BHP knew for the last 3 weeks of the season that they would be in the playoffs, but with each win they improved their seed position. With the exclamation mark the Bears put on the end of the regular season, they became the first overall seed and ensured home field games throughout the playoffs.

Round 1 Preview

BHP’s first round matchup will be against Westwood, one of the two upper state at large teams. Westwood came in 5th in Region 3 4A behind South Point, York, Ridge View, and Lancaster. Region 3 4A is one of the best regions in all South Carolina classifications, that being proven by a 6-4 team needing an at large bid to make the playoffs. This will be the first time that BHP and Westwood have ever played.

Round 1 Quick Stats

• BHP will be playing Westwood for the first time in school history. In school history BHP has played 12 opponents only once. In those 12 games BHP is 8-4.
• BHP is 24-25 in playoff games in the school history.
• Since 2000 BHP is 20-17 in playoff games. 76% of BHP’s playoff games have come since 2000.
• 83% of BHP playoff wins have come since 2000.
• Since 2010 BHP is 10-8 in playoff games.
• Since 2010 BHP averaged 28.4 points per playoff game. In that same time period BHP is 68-5 in games where they score 27 or more points. 2 of the 5 losses were in the playoffs.
• Since 2010 BHP is allowing 25.8 points per game. In that time frame BHP is 11-17 in games where they allow 25 or more points. 6 of the 17 losses came in the playoffs.
• There have been 8 BHP teams with exactly 8 regular season wins. Those teams are 5-3 in their first round playoff games.
• There are only 6 BHP teams to win two or more playoff games in one season (all since 2000).
• The most points scored by BHP in the playoffs is 63 against Woodruff in 2012.
• The most points allowed was 59 points the next week against AC Flora. The largest winning margin for a BHP playoff game is 49 points (1997 - BHP vs Eastside 56-7).
• The largest losing margin for a BHP playoff game is 42 points (2017 - BHP vs South Point 45-3).
• The closest playoff win in BHP history is the 1998 14-13 win over Chester in a first round match up.
• The closest playoff loss in BHP history is the 2001 36-35 loss against Union and the 1989 21-20 loss against Clinton.
• BHP is 14th in all of 4A in points differential (326 points scored and 225 points allowed). Westwood is 13th (280 scored and 153 allowed).
• Westwood has more season wins than Region 3’s second place team York.
• Westwood has given up the 6th least points this season in 4A.
• Westwood has a better record than 10 of the 31 other playoff teams.

Conclusion

BHP has put themselves in a position to make a deep run into the playoffs, but that cannot happen if they mentally check out in this first game. Building momentum and winning the region championship in dominate fashion combined with having a week off and playing a team that came in 5th place in their region could put the Bears in a mindset ripe for an upset.

But if BHP enters the game in the same frame of mind they had the last 4 games of the season, the 4A state champion has to come through BHP.

We see BHP showing up and taking care of business. BHP wins 42-14 over Westwood.

Nevertheless, this will be a great game and we should all support the team by showing up at BHP for the opening game of the playoffs. But if you cannot make it, be sure to follow us on @bhp_bears for live updates.

Let us know if you agree or disagree with our prediction in the comments below or on our social media pages (@bhp_bears or /howboutthembears).