By Alex Smith
It’s Week 7 of high school football and this week all the teams in our area are in region play. Here’s a look at what’s coming up this Friday.
I’ll start with our Fox Sports Game of the Week presented by TCB Towing, which is Woodruff at Union County. Woodruff is coming off of an impressive 38-14 win over Newberry a week ago to open region play 1-0. Union was dominant as well earning a 54-21 victory over Clinton, led by running back Junior Owens who finished with 179 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground to earn our Player of the Week award for Week 6. The winner of this game will be in prime position to win the region title as these two teams have been the favorites in Region III-3A since the preseason. I think this game will be a high scoring affair, and could possibly come down to which team has the ball last in the fourth quarter. I expect both teams to load the box defensively and make the quarterbacks make throws over the top of the defense. For me, this game is a coin flip and when it comes down to it, I’ll take the Yellow Jackets at home in a what I expect to be a great game.
Another game featuring two local teams will be the Chesnee Eagles hitting the road to take on the Broome Centurions. Chesnee is coming off of back to back wins, while Broome has been struggling losing four straight contests. Chesnee has been the more consistent team this year, and I see that trend continuing this Friday night. The Eagles have scored 35 points in each of their last two games and I think quarterback Jacob Kimbrell will have another good night against a Centurion defense that has surrendered at least 49 points in three straight weeks. If Chesnee can limit the turnovers, I like them to come away with their third straight road victory and be in great position to open the playoffs at home.
Elsewhere in Region II-3A the Chapman Panthers will play on the road at Carolina Academy. Coach Mark Hodge’s team has been rolling this season, and I don’t see any reason this week will be any different. Chapman is led by Mr. Football finalist quarterback Mikele Colasurdo, and with the talent around him I don’t see this game being competitive for very long. Panthers win big again.
In 2A this week, the Landrum Cardinals will open region play on the road against a 5-1 St. Joseph’s team. The Cardinals are coming off of a bye week, while St. Joe’s enters after their first loss of the season to Southside Christian. Cardinals’ quarterback Cooper Gentry has been outstanding recently, and I look for another great game from the talented junior. I like the Cardinals to come out looking sharp following a bye, and with the big play ability of L.C. Williams I think Landrum will be able to score enough points to earn a tough road victory. This game should be very competitive, but I like Landrum to come away with a win to open region play at 1-0.
We are now past the halfway point of the season and every game from now on will have huge playoff implications for our local teams.
