Here’s a look at what’s coming up for Week 2 in 4A/5A in our area.
I’ll begin with our Spartanburg Nutrition game of the week – Dutch Fork at Byrnes. The Rebels are coming off of a dramatic 37-27 win over Chapman, while the Silver Foxes were off, after the tragic passing of offensive lineman Jack Alkhatib. The Rebels moved to 2-0 behind a resilient effort from quarterback Gabe Rogers, and running back Mack Long who finished with over 200 yards of offense, to go along with a game saving interception on defense in the fourth quarter. They will need another heroic effort from those two if they want to keep up with top ranked Dutch Fork. The Silver Foxes rolled 70-8 in their opener before the events of last week. This will no doubt be an emotional game for them, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for these players and coaches to go back to practice this week.
I think Byrnes is able to keep it close, but Dutch Fork will pull away late to keep their long winning streak alive.
The game you can hear this Friday on Fox Sports is Hillcrest at Spartanburg. The Vikings fell to 0-2 after falling to Mauldin 14-9, while Hillcrest moved to 1-1 on the year with a 41-24 win over Woodruff. Spartanburg quarterback Raheim Jeter is expected to make his first start of the year after seeing limited action last Friday against the Mavericks. After a full week of practice with the other starters, I foresee both Jeter, and the Vikings offense as a whole to take a big step forward in their third game of the year. The defense will have their hands full with Rams running back Logan Coldren, who finished with over 180 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Wolverines last week. The defense has been a bright spot for the Vikings so far, and I think they will have another good performance this Friday.
This should be a very competitive game, and it will probably come down to a few key plays late. While I could see either team winning, I’m leaning towards Coach Hodge’s team getting their first victory of the season.
Another big game on the schedule this week is Dorman at Fort Dorchester. The Cavs got their first win of 2021 defeating Boiling Springs 33-0. The Patriots are 1-0 with a 58-26 over Carolina Forest. Dorman looked much more like what we’re accustomed to seeing under Dave Gutshall last week, rolling up 249 yards on the ground in the shutout win. It will be tough for the Cavs to duplicate that performance against a talented Patriots defense, but it should still look much better than what fans saw in the opener against Clover. For the Cavaliers to get a victory, they will need to control the ball and have long, time consuming drives in hopes to keep Fort Dorchester’s explosive offense off of the field. I predict this one comes down to a one score game late, and I’ll take the home team come away with a close win.
Also in action this Friday is Gaffney at Rock Hill. Gaffney improved to 2-0 with a 35-7 win over Summerville, while the Bearcats dropped to 0-2 after falling to Northwestern 48-14. The Indians were led by running back Tyler Smith once again, and I think he has another impressive night against a Rock Hill team that has had trouble against the run early in the season.
I’ll take the Indians, and I don’t think it’s particularly close.
One of the few games involving two local teams this week is Chapman at Boiling Springs. The Panthers dropped a game to Byrnes, while the Bulldogs were shutout by Dorman. The Bulldogs were held to less than 100 yards in their opener, and I think they struggle on that side of the ball again this week. Chapman has a dynamic offense led by quarterback Drew Settle and wide receiver D.J. Black who had 8 catches for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns against a very good Rebels defense.
Chapman will score early and often, and won’t have any trouble putting the Bulldogs away in the second half.
In 4A this week Greer is scheduled to host Westside. Greer was off last week after falling to Byrnes in Week Zero. Westside is also 0-1, losing 23-20 against Belton-Honea Path.
I like the Yellow Jackets to fix a few issues that they had against the Rebels, and with two weeks of practice, I like Coach Young’s team to bounce back and win a tough game on the road.
