By Tyler Shugart
Week three of the High School Football Playoffs is here, and we are lucky enough to still have four Spartanburg County teams alive in the playoffs. Three of those teams are in 5A and Chapman remains alive in the 3A playoffs.
We knew there were some good teams in region 3 5A. How many people expected them to be this good? Four teams left in the Upperstate and all four are from region 3 5A. There will be a region 3 5A team in the State Championship. Which one will it be. Boiling Springs won this region in the regular season, so one would have to assume they are the favorite to make it to Columbia, but Spartanburg, Dorman, and Gaffney are all playing really good right now. This week is going to be awesome.
Spartanburg vs Dorman
These two crosstown rivals got together back in mid-October. Dorman had a slight lead at the half before Spartanburg put their foot on the gas pedal and never looked back and won the game by twenty at Dorman High School. This game will be on Spartanburg’s home turf at Gibbs Stadium. With that being said Dorman has actually been better on the road than they have been at home this season. The Vikings on the other hand have been great at home. Two weeks in a row Spartanburg has been forced to try and stop a very good rushing attack, and they have struggled doing that. If Dorman can establish a ground game they could pull of the upset in this game. I don’t know if they are physical enough to get that done. I do think this game will be closer than last time.
Pick Spartanburg
Boiling Springs vs Gaffney
Gaffney barely made the playoffs. Now they are in the third round. There is probably nothing more dangerous in football than a team that has gained a lot of confidence and really believes in themselves. Gaffney is just that. After an opening round win over top-seeded Northwestern the Indians are playing really good. Tyshun Sarratt is playing like a seasoned veteran. The Indians lost to Boiling Spring in the regular season 38-0. Looking at that score many would say, that Boiling Springs is a lot better and should win easily. They may in fact do just that, but the same Gaffney team also lost to Northwestern 56-2 before knocking them off in the first round of the playoffs. I think this game will be closer than the regular season meeting between these teams. I just think Gaffney has found their flow. However, I still like Boiling Springs to get the win. Mason Streeter is a very talented and experienced QB and I think the experience is what gets Boiling Springs this win.
Pick- Boiling Springs
Chapman at Powdersville
The Chapman Panthers and their high-powered offense did it again last week. They went on the road and knocked of Seneca, who just one year ago put Chapman out of the playoffs in the second round. The Panther offense lead by Colton Bailey and DJ Twitty has been firing on all cylinders as of late. Last week DJ Twitty became the all-time leading rusher at Chapman High School. Look for Chapman to score a lot again tonight against the Patriots who last week gave up 49 points in their second round win over Chester. These two teams have played one common opponent this year and that was Seneca. Powdersville beat Seneca 38-31 in early September and Chapman beat them 47-34 and 41-18. These two teams are built on offense but I think the difference in this game will be Chapman can also play a little defense. Look for some points to be put up in this one, some of those points by the Panther’s defense.
Pick-Chapman
