The Catawba Ridge Copperheads cruised to an easy first round 4A playoff win defeating the Wade Hampton Generals.
Catawba Ridge won 81-38 and will now face the Greenwood Eagles in the second round on Saturday.
Copperheads head coach Brett Childers said his team finally got back to playing the way they are used to playing.
“That looked more like us,” Childers said. “We had fresh legs tonight. We have to compete for four quarters.”
Wade Hampton had only won three games on the season coming into their first-round game against Catawba Ridge and finished 1-7 in their region, so to say they had their hands full was an understatement.
The Copperheads opened the game on a 9-0 run. While Wade Hampton scored, it was merely a stopgap for the Copperheads who ended the first quarter up 22-5.
Catawba Ridge continued to push the pace that has led them to be the No. 1 team in 4A in the latest coaches’ poll.
The Copperheads went on a 18-0 run after Wade Hampton hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter.
The Generals played better towards the end of the first half as they outscored Catawba Ridge 8-4 in the final minutes, but the Copperheads took a 44-16 lead at the half.
The second half started slow for both teams. When the scoring began, Catawba Ridge started the third quarter with a 7-0 run to continue their dominance. Barnes, Quh Webb and Zyan Hager led the Copperheads in the period as they provided the offense for the home team.
The Copperheads had a 32-point lead to enter the fourth quarter. Catawba Ridge pulled their starters and still managed to outscore Wade Hampton 22-11 in the final period.
Webb led with 19 points for Catawba Ridge with Barnes dropping in 18 points and Hager had 17 points. Catawba Ridge is now 23-3 on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
