By Mitch
Week 4 of the High School football season offers exciting matchups, it is the first week of region play for teams in a 5A and a fun rivalry game for our one 4A team. Let’s take a look at the matchups this week.
Gaffney @ Mauldin
The Gaffney Indians will look to bounce back from last week’s loss to Mallard Creek, and start region play on the right foot with a win.
Maudlin Last week is coming off a come from behind win over the Greer Yellow Jackets and will look for that momentum they had late in the game to carry over this week. Mauldin is a solid defensive team but they certainly do have their struggles on the offensive side of the ball and against a strong Gaffney defense things won’t get any easier for them.
I see the Indians having no problems with Maudlin and see them winning comfortably to start region play 1-0.
Dorman @ Hillcrest
Last year Hillcrest really battled Dorman tough but in the end, it was Dorman that was able to pick up the victory. Hillcrest went on to have a disappointing season a year ago, but this year they are off to a 3-0 start with wins over Mauldin (Non-Conference Game), Woodmont, and Laurens.
Dorman is fresh off their bye week and is also off to a 3-0 start and they haven’t been tested so far this year with three blow out victories. I believe this will be the Cavaliers first test of the season and I see Hillcrest playing them tough for four quarters. The Cavaliers haven’t had to play their starters for a full game yet, this might be the first time this year they have to.
I do see Dorman picking up the victory on the road and starting region play 1-0.
Riverside @ Boiling Springs.
The Bulldogs have had a difficult stretch the past few weeks as they played a powerhouse in the Chapman Panthers and Dutch Fork. The Bulldogs have themselves a very winnable game to start region play as they will play host to Riverside.
Riverside finished at the bottom of the region last year and was winless, unfortunately, again I see that being the case with them this year. The Bulldogs have had their struggles offensively this season, but I think this week is great week for them to establish some confidence on that side of the ball and pick up the win.
Spartanburg @ Byrnes
Both of these teams are coming off their bye week and should be fresh and ready to go. The Vikings are entering the game at 1-2, while the Byrnes Rebels are unbeaten.
Byrnes has looked really good to start this season and hasn’t really shown any weaknesses and like Dorman have made winning look real easy. Byrnes is very balanced offensively, the Vikings defense will certainly have a test this week, as the Rebels are able to move the ball down the field with both their passing game and running game.
The Vikings also face a tough test against a very fast and physical defense the Byrnes Rebels have. In the season opener, the Vikings against Nation Ford struggled on their offensive line and if that happens in this game it will be a long day for the Vikings offense.
In the end, I like the Rebels in this one, and see them winning by double digits.
Greer @ Union
Greer looked like they were going to pick up their second straight victory last week against Mauldin, but their offense stalled and allowed Mauldin to hang around the game, and Mauldin took advantage of that and was able to pull ahead late in the fourth quarter and escape Dooley Field with a win.
Union has had a tough start to their season, but playing in their first home game of the season, they were able to pick up their first win of the year, blowing out Broome for the second straight year. Union played well on both sides of the ball last week.
I like the momentum that Union has coming into this game, I am leaning towards them on winning the Jacket Bowl as Greer is still going through some growing pains and are still very inconsistent on offense.
