Back in 2006, Pelion was a member of Class 2A when it claimed the 2nd region title in school history.

On Thursday, history repeated itself for the 3rd time for the Panthers. They defeated Wade Hampton 12-6 at home to win the Region 5-2A title.

Azwan James accounted for both touchdowns for Pelion. His 2-yard run gave the Panthers a 6-0 lead against the Red Devils, coached by former Batesburg-Leesville, Spring Valley and Northside Christian Academy head coach Jerry Brown.

Wade Hampton answered with a reverse touchdown run in the 2nd quarter to tie the game at 6-6.

James’ 2nd touchdown run with 7:25 left broke the tie. Pelion’s defense forced a turnover on downs with less than a minute remaining to preserve the victory and region title.  

The championship journey for Pelion started with a 2-week quarantine following their Sept. 24 season-opening loss to Ridge Spring-Monetta due to covid-19 exposure. The Panthers (4-2) are 3-1 since resuming region play and will play host to Phillip Simmons in the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs on Nov. 13. 

Orangeburg-Wilkinson 37, Airport 18

A 3-touchdown performance by Bruins quarterback Anthony Mack sent the Eagles’ to a season-ending 4-game losing streak.

Airport (2-5) led 6-0 after an opening drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Immanuel Bovain.

OW answered with a scoring drive to take the lead for good. Mack found Maurice Livingston from 2 yards and the PAT put the Bruins ahead 7-6 with 1:57 left in the 1st quarter.

Antonio Williams’ 6-yard touchdown run with 8:25 left in the 2nd quarter put OW ahead 14-6. Airport answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass by Tyler Dasher to Landon Smith on 4th and goal to get within 14-12 with 3:37 left in the 1st half.

With 26 seconds left, Mack found an open Horace Jacques for a 26-yard touchdown to send the Bruins into the lockerroom up 21-12.

In the 2nd half, OW recorded a safety off an errant snap to the punter to take a 23-12 lead. After the free kick, the Bruins pushed their lead to 30-12 on Mack’s 3rd touchdown pass, this time to Jordan Perry from 9 yards. 

The Eagles got a touchdown with 2:16 left after recovering a blocked punt by Kane Williams in the endzone. The ensuing kickoff was a line drive caught on the run by Daylen Buckery. The senior defensive back sprinted past his teammates and the Airport defenders untouched for a 60-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.