LAURENS, S.C. — Laurens Academy will not make a third straight trip to the SCISA 8-man football title game. The Crusaders lost 36-20 at Jefferson Davis Academy in Blackville on Friday night in the state semifinals.
Laurens Academy came into the game 10-1 and finishes the season 10-2. Jefferson Davis, the top-ranked team in the bracket, entered at 12-0 and stays perfect.
The Crusaders had reached the semifinal round by routing Wardlaw Academy 42-8 a week earlier, a game in which senior Caleb Hardy produced four touchdowns and the defense picked off four passes. Jefferson Davis had opened its playoff run with a 52-7 win over Cambridge Academy.
Laurens Academy knew the challenge going in. The Raiders lean on a ground game that has piled up 3,225 rushing yards this fall, led by sophomore Marquel Williams and his 1,628 yards. The Crusaders had pulled off semifinal upsets in each of the previous two seasons but could not do it a third time.
Jefferson Davis now advances to the SCISA 8-man championship game, where it will meet the winner of the W.W. King Academy and Newberry Academy semifinal.
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