Here’s a look at what’s coming up in our area in 5A for Week 5.
I’ll start with one of the bigger games in the state, as Spartanburg is at Dutch Fork. The Silver Foxes are coming off of a 56-16 win over Greenwood, while the Vikings were off last week.
Spartanburg has been fantastic on offense the past few games with Raheim Jeter leading the way. The highly touted Junior has thrown the ball well during the Vikings win streak, as they rolled up 97 points over the past two games. He will need to be outstanding once again if they hope to have a chance to keep up with Dutch Fork. The Silver Foxes come in as the top ranked team in the state, and are averaging over 60 points per game during their 3-0 start.
I’ll think Coach Hodge and his team will put up a good fight for the first half of this game, but the talent of Dutch Fork will come through in the second half. Spartanburg will put up some points on Friday, unfortunately I don’t think it will be enough to pull the upset against a loaded Dutch Fork team.
Another team returning to action this week is the Dorman Cavaliers as they are at Ridge View. Ridge View lost to Gray Collegiate last week, while the Cavaliers were off.
Coach Gutshall appears to have found his quarterback in Hudson Talley, as he has thrown the ball effectively through the first three games this season. Surprisingly, the issue for the Cavs on offense the past few games has been the running game. It won’t be easy to fix this Friday, as they face a Blazers team that is 2-0 at home this year.
I like Dorman to be more balanced on offense this week, and if they can refrain from committing multiple turnovers, I think they come away with a close win on the road. The Cavaliers will start feeling good about themselves as they head into region play.
A pair of undefeated teams will face off as Gray Collegiate is at Gaffney. Gray Collegiate won 28-18 over Ridge View in Week 4, while the Indians defeated Byrnes 45-15.
Gaffney comes into this week after getting an impressive victory over one of their biggest rivals. They took advantage of a short field several times, and ended up pulling away from the Rebels in the second half. Points will be tough to come by this Friday as the War Eagles are allowing just 11.5 points per game during their 4-0 start, while Gaffney is allowing just 12 points per game.
Gaffney has been consistent on offense through the first month of the season and they have been especially efficient in the red zone, where they are scoring touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. They will need to continue that trend to come away with a win on Friday.
I think the Indians will rely on the run game, led by Tyler Smith, and I expect the defense be strong once again, as they will come away with a win in a low scoring game.
Also this Friday Boiling Springs is at Mauldin. The Bulldogs fell to Hillcrest 37-0 last week, while Mauldin defeated Carolina Academy 48-13.
Boiling Springs offensive struggles continued last week as they were shut out for the second time this season. I’m not sure this week will be much better as they face a Mavericks team coming off of back to back big wins.
Mauldin’s defensive line isn’t as good as Hillcrest’s from last week, but I still think they will apply enough pressure to force the Bulldogs into some negative plays resulting in several third and long situations. That is not a great recipe for Boiling Springs and I think they fall behind early and are unable to recover. Coach Tate and his team will head into Week 6 still searching for their first win of the season.
You can get a breakdown of the Greer/Woodruff game in the 2A/3A article. The Byrnes Rebels are off this week.
