Byrnes bulldozes past Rock Hill, Fort Mill in playoffs

Byrnes won its first two playoff games - against Rock Hill and Fort Mill - by an average of 35 points.

So far, so good for the Runnin’ Rebels.

Byrnes took out Rock Hill and Fort Mill in the first and second rounds of the Class 5-A playoffs, respectively, to advance to the upper state semifinals.

“I thought we defended really well in both games,” said Byrnes head coach Layne Fowler. “We struggled a little more offensively against Fort Mill. We just weren’t as crisp as we had been. But we still found a way.”

93-46 over Rock Hill. 66-43 over Fort Mill. The Runnin’ Rebels won both games by an average of 35 points.

Senior Will Fowler averaged 18 points between the two games. Now, he and Byrnes will face a familiar foe in the upper state semifinals: T.L. Hanna.

On Jan. 4, Byrnes and T.L. Hanna faced off at Schofield Gymnasium in a game where Will posted a career-high 41 points. Now, they meet again with the stakes much higher.

Layne saw the rematch as a possibility since that game.

“I’ll be honest, after that night, it occurred to me that we very well may run into this team again,” said Layne. “They compete really hard every night. We know we’ll have our hands full. They’re a lot like us—they love to get up the floor and run. We’re the Runnin’ Rebels and they’re the Runnin’ Jackets.”

Layne said he hopes the team finds more balance in scoring this time around, though proud of Will’s 41-point heroics last time out.

“For us, we’re typically more versatile,” said Layne. “Hopefully we’ll have more balanced scoring this time.”

The Runnin’ Rebels tip off against T.L. Hanna at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20. The winner will move to the Class 5-A upper state championship in Florence on Feb. 23 at 4 p.m.