By Alex Smith
Time to take a look at what is coming up for Week 3 in 3A and 2A football in our listening area.
I’ll start with the Fox Sports 1400 TCB Towing Game of the Week, which is the Broome Centurions taking on the Union County Yellow Jackets. Last week Broome rolled over Clinton by a score of 49-20, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 5A power Gaffney 42-21. Union played well and had a first half lead over the Indians, before Gaffney eventually pulled away in the second half. Union’s brutal non-region schedule doesn’t get much easier as they look for their first win of the season against a Centurion team that looked great a week ago. This game appears to be pretty evenly matched when you compare athlete to athlete, so mistakes like penalties and turnovers could be a key factor in determining who comes out on top. I see this one coming down to the wire, and I like Union quarterback to make some big plays late to lead the Jackets to their first victory of 2019 in what I expect to be a great game.
The Chapman Panthers appeared to be unstoppable again in Week 2, as they ran away with a 48-0 win over Boiling Springs. This week the Panthers will be back at home to take on a Blue Ridge team that escaped with a win over Chesnee 22-21, by virtue of a two point conversion in overtime. While this Blue Ridge team is more talented than most people expected, I don’t think they’ll be able to keep it close against a dynamic Chapman team that has an undefeated season in mind. Last Friday running back Dante Smith was impressive again finishing with 284 yards rushing to go with 3 touchdowns. I see the Panthers jumping out to another early lead in this one, and they should cruise in the second half as they move to 4-0.
Last Friday the Woodruff Wolverines dropped their first game of the season, falling 37-10 to Southside Christian. Running back Shamare Dendy was out with an injury last week, and Woodruff struggled to move the ball on offense without one of their star players. This week they will host a Seneca Bobcats team that is still searching for a win in 2019. I like Woodruff to bounce back and win a tough game on Friday, and I expect Wolverine’s quarterback B.J. Bailey to have an excellent game to lead the way. If Dendy is unable to go in this game I see it being very close, but I foresee Woodruff getting the win regardless of whether he plays or not.
The Chesnee Eagles fell in heartbreaking fashion last friday as Blue Ridge converted a two point conversion in overtime to come away with a one point win. In Week 3 Chesnee will be at home to take on R.S. Central. Eagles’ quarterback Jacob Kimbrell has played well for Coach Clay Lewis, and I don’t expect to see anything different this Friday. Chesnee has had trouble holding off teams in the second half of games this year, and this week poses another tough test. The Eagles depth will again be tested late, but this week I like the Eagles to get it done and hold off a late rally from R.S. Central and come away with the win.
Last Friday wasn’t great for the Landrum Cardinals falling to Walhalla 69-14. I like Coach Jason Farmer’s team to get back in the win column this Friday as they host Spartanburg Christian Academy. I see running back Cam Wilson to have a huge night and lead Landrum to a comfortable victory at home to even their record at 2-2.
Looking forward to another great week of high school football in the upstate.
