By Cole Bryson:
A snap of the fingers and the HS Football season is almost over. Teams are still trying to push their way towards a region title. We have another great slate of games this week.
We start with Gaffney at Boiling Springs. This is a monumental game for both teams. Gaffney is coming off of a win over Riverside where the Indians had no trouble routing the Warriors. Gaffney only has one loss in region play coming to the Byrnes Rebels. Boiling Springs is coming off their best game of the season with a route of the Hillcrest Rams. Gaffney still has a shot to win the region, and Boiling Springs is playing for second place. Mathematically, the Bulldogs can still win the region but Dorman is expected to beat Mauldin & Riverside the next two weeks. Boiling Springs Aaron Thomas has been very efficient over the last two weeks throwing an 82% completion rating in the wins over Spartanburg & Hillcrest. Gaffney comes into this game with a lot of speed, and good quarterback play. The Bulldog defense will have to play lights out another week to keep this game close. Gaffney’s defense is small, but very quick. If Boiling Springs can effectively run the football, the Bulldogs will have a shot to win. I like the Bulldogs to pull the upset this week and take down Gaffney in a game that comes down to the fourth quarter.
Byrnes & Hillcrest will battle this week in another big region game where Hillcrest is in complete desperation mode. Byrnes is coming off of a loss to Dorman & Hillcrest comes off of a loss to Boiling Springs. Hillcrest needs Will Watts, Quarterback, to be healthy this week to have a shot abasing Byrnes. Does Byrnes bounce back after playing Dorman tough? If Will Watts can go for Hillcrest, the Rams will be able to keep it close in the first half but I like the Byrnes offense to be too much for Hillcrest to handle. Greg Porter & the Rams have gotten one win in region play, over Riverside, and I don’t think they will get their second win this week and Byrnes will just out man the Rams. Rebels bounce back and take down Hillcrest.
The Mauldin Mavericks are coming off of a huge win over Spartanburg, but the task is taller this week as they go to Dorman. Having seen both teams, Mauldin will be able to fight Dorman in the trenches, but how will they stop Thomas Morgan four quarters in a row? Mauldin’s defense is very solid, but Dorman likes to wear down their opponent. Matthew Powell connects to Black, Pinckney, & Desor too many times in this game and the Maverick secondary will have no answer for that. All of the pressure now falls on the Mauldin offense who hasn’t been able to light up the scoreboard much this season. Mauldin won last week over Spartanburg in a low scoring game with a big defensive play in overtime, but Dorman offense is too much for Mauldin to handle and that is why the final score will not be close. Dorman pulls away after the halftime break and never looks back.
Spartanburg will play their final game this season at Gibbs Stadium on Friday night as Riverside comes to town. The Vikings are having one of their worst seasons in years, but Riverside is a different story. Spartanburg will simply out man the Warriors on Friday nights and many of the second string Vikings will be able to play in the second half. Riverside has an athletic Quarterback but Spartanburg’s defense is too good and will force turnovers to give the Viking offense the ball plenty of times throughout the game. Expect Keonte Cartledge and the Viking offense to roll and find the offense a good bit on Friday. Riverside works hard and I feel for their kids, but they simply are out manned in every game in this region.
Greer is on the road this week as they take on Eastside. Eastside is a very good football team that has been able to keep many games close against several good football teams. Greer has rolled through their season schedule and looks to win the region championship as they try to take down Eastside. A lot of people think this will be a low scoring game, but I am going the opposite. I think this is a high scoring affair where Greer eventually makes a few plays to take the lead and are able to win the football game. Greer gets another win on Friday, one step closer to the region title.
