By Alex Smith
Here is what to look for in the Week 4 games involving 3A and 2A teams in our listening area.
First we will look at our Fox Sports/TCB Towing Game of the Week which will be the Chesnee Eagles at the Landrum Cardinals. This should be an excellent game that features two talented quarterbacks in Chesnee’s Jacob Kimbrell and Landrum’s Cooper Gentry. Both teams will look to establish the run in this one, but look for Cardinals’ wide receiver L.C. Williams to get involved early, as he has been a big play machine early this season. The Eagles have had a tendency to struggle stopping opponents in the fourth quarter this year, and I believe they will need to grab an early lead if they want to have a chance to hold off the Cardinals on their home field. In my opinion third down will be a key factor in the outcome in this game. If Landrum’s defense can keep Chesnee off schedule, and force them into third and long situations, I see the Cardinals being able to pull out a close one to move over .500 for the first time this year.
Another great matchup between two area teams is the game between Woodruff and Chapman. Chapman has unsurprisingly been a juggernaut on offense this season, led by Shrine Bowl quarterback Mikele Colasurdo and running back Dante Smith. Woodruff’s offense has been impressive as well, with first year starting quarterback B.J. Bailey playing well, and running back Shamare Dendy averaging over 10 yards per carry on the season. Last week Dendy was named our Player of the Week after churning out 207 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Seneca. The Wolverines are a team that I believe will challenge for a region title, but I don’t think they have quite enough firepower to stick with the Panthers for four quarters. This game will be close for a while, and while I don’t see Chapman matching the 80 points they scored last week against Blue Ridge, I think they will score more than enough to pull away in the second half.
The 2019 version of the “Jacket Bowl” will be played this Friday with Union County hosting Greer. This is another game featuring two excellent quarterbacks, with Freshman Raheem Jeter of Greer, and Senior KeSean Glover of Union. Glover was outstanding in last week’s win over Broome, finishing with 155 yards and a touchdown rushing to go along with his two passing touchdowns. I think Union will once again be able to run the ball with success, and I expect Glover to find the endzone multiple times once again. This should be a very competitive game, but if I’m force to pick a winner, I’ll take the team that’s playing at home with a senior quarterback. Coach Brian Thompson’s team will be playing well as they enter region play after a bye next week.
In the other game in our area this Friday, the Broome Centurions will be hosting the Eastside Eagles. Broome struggled to stop Union County last week, and ended up falling by a score of 34-7. I expect the Centurions’ offense to look better this Friday, but I’m not convinced they will be able to slow down an Eagles team that comes in averaging over 40 points a game, and put up 63 in their last game two weeks ago against Wade Hampton. Broome quarterback K.J. Morgan will need to play mistake free if they want to keep this game within reach, and C.J. Littlejohn will need to be outstanding on both sides of the ball if Broome wants to pull off a win over a 3-0, 4A opponent. Coach Lynn Fleming will have his team prepared, but it will take near perfect execution to knock off this talented Eastside team.
Should be another exciting week of football as we get another week closer to region play.
