Big day for Newberry’s Phil Strickland, plus weekly picks for Midlands football games

Friday night might be the last time that Newberry’s High School’s Phil Strickland coaches a game at Mike Ware Field.

Strickland announced over the summer that he will be retiring at the end of the season, and Friday against Batesburg-Leesville is the Bulldogs’ last home game of the year. Newberry will make the playoffs but likely will be on the road for much of the postseason.

The school is asking all former players under Strickland to attend Friday’s game, and a gathering to honor him will be held afterward. The game is an important one, with Newberry 2-1 in Region 3-2A and Batesburg-Leesville 1-1.

Strickland has 338 wins in his career and won state championships with Batesburg-Leesville (1995, 1999) and Gaffney (2003, 2005, 2006). He took Newberry to back-to-back state championship appearances, and his teams also were runners-up on three different occasions.

— Bezjak’s prediction: Newberry

This week’s top Midlands football games

▪ Irmo at Westwood: Irmo wins Region 4-4A championship with a victory. A Westwood win would create a three-way tie for first-place with A.C. Flora. South Carolina commit and Irmo linebacker/safety Nick Emmanwori had 15 solo tackles last week against Flora and has 106 solo stops on the season. Irmo QB Izyah Whiteside has thrown for 1,516 yards and 16 touchdowns. Westwood receiver Noah Jennings has 334 yards receiving and four TDs over the last two games. Bezjak’s prediction: Irmo

▪ Lexington at Dutch Fork: Battle of top two teams in Region 5-5A. Dutch Fork cliches the region title with a victory. Lexington needs to win Friday and next week against Chapin for the region championship. Dutch Fork running back Jarvis Green needs 93 rushing yards for 1,000 on season and has four straight 100-yard games. DF receiver Antonio Williams has 1,478 all-purpose yards and 11 TDs on season. Bezjak’s prediction: Dutch Fork

▪ River Bluff at Chapin: Chapin clinches a playoff spot with a win and has a chance to finish No. 2 in region with a win next week. River Bluff can help its playoff chances with a win Friday but its playoff chances likely will come down to next week’s matchup with White Knoll, with the winner likely being No. 4 seed in region. Chapin quarterback Jayden Bradford has 1,399 total yards and 17 touchdowns this year. RB’s Apollos Cook leads the team with 608 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns. River Bluff won last year 37-7. Bezjak’s prediction: Chapin

▪ Spring Valley at Blythewood: Spring Valley secures No. 2 seed and a home playoff game with a win. SV quarterback DQ Smith threw for season-high 335 yards and three total TDs last week against Northwestern. Blythewood linebacker Myles Cotten became the school’s all-time leading tackler last week. He has 260 for his career, breaking the old mark of 245. Blythewood won last year’s game 21-17. Bezjak’s prediction: Spring Valley

▪ Strom Thurmond at Gilbert: Teams are part of four-way tie for lead in Region 5-3A. Winner of the game clinches a playoff spot. Gilbert running back Alias Graham-Woodberry has seven straight 100-yard rushing games and has 1,259 yards on the season. The last four meetings between the two teams have been decided by seven points or loss. Strom Thurmond is giving up just 163 yards a game. Bezjak’s prediction: Gilbert

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE, PICKS

All games at 7:30 p.m. unless noted

Barnwell at Pelion

Bezjak’s prediction: Barnwell

Columbia at Saluda

Bezjak’s prediction: Saluda

Dreher at Richland Northeast

Bezjak’s prediction: RNE

Eau Claire at Gray Collegiate

Bezjak’s prediction: Gray Collegiate

Hammond at Cardinal Newman

Bezjak’s prediction: Hammond

Jefferson Davis at Richard Winn

Bezjak’s prediction: Richard Winn

Lakewood at Keenan

Bezjak’s prediction: Keenan

Laurens at White Knoll

Bezjak’s prediction: Laurens

Lewisville at CA Johnson

Bezjak’s prediction: CAJ

Lugoff Elgin at AC Flora, 7 p.m.

Bezjak’s prediction: AC Flora

Manning at Camden

Bezjak’s prediction: Camden

Newberry Academy at WW King

Bezjak’s prediction: WW King

North Central at Cheraw

Bezjak’s prediction: Cheraw

Porter-Gaud at Ben Lippen

Bezjak’s prediction: Porter-Gaud

Rock Hill at Ridge View

Bezjak’s prediction: Ridge View

South Aiken at Airport

Bezjak’s prediction: South Aiken

Swansea at Brookland-Cayce

Bezjak’s prediction: Brookland-Cayce

Wilson Hall at Heathwood Hall

Bezjak’s prediction: Heathwood Hall

Last Week: 16-5

Season Totals: 158-43