School is back in session and that means the return of High School Football is back! We have survived the long wait and Friday Night just can’t come soon enough. Let’s take a look at the matchups from Friday night from the 2A/3A teams in our local listening area.
Chapman @ Woodruff
What a game to start the season as our game of the week! Chapman and Woodruff have had many great battles over the years and hopefully, we get another one in Woodruff come Friday night. Last year was a defensive struggle between these two teams and Woodruff did something I have not seen a team do since I have been at this station for 5 years and that is holding the Panther’s offense to just 7 points as the Wolverines won in overtime 13-7.
The Chapman Panthers are returning a lot of seniors this year with Coleman Gray, who is their quarterback, and their leading wideout Shawn Cunningham. On the defense side of the ball, they are returning guys like Harrison Bridges and linebacker Mathai Scott, who is also a solid running back. The Panthers will look to lean on that experience in this game and in the season.
The Wolverines have a new head coach with Brett Sloan taking over the program. Woodruff has lost several of their senior leadership from a year ago so they will be looking for players to step up and produce. They do however have 4 of their starting offensive lineman returning so they are going to lean heavily on the guys up front to give protection and open up holes for some of the Woodruff’s playmakers.
Right now I think Chapman has a little bit more experience and is a little bit deeper so I am leaning to them on winning a hard-fought game.
Broome @ Powdersville
These two teams meet to open the season once again and I know in the last 3 matchups between the two teams Powdersville has been victorious so the Centriouns will look to change that trend and get a victory on the road to open their season.
The Centurions are led by their explosive QB Kamjay Brackett-Brannon. Kamjay is always capable of making a big play throughout the course of the game we saw it so many times last year and big things are expected from him in his senior season. The Centurions also have a star running back Jaylen McGill who burst on the scene last year as a freshman. Look for the Centurions to put that ball in these guys’ hands as much as possible.
Powderville is coming off a really solid season as overall they were 13-2 and went to the state championship game but fell to Beaufort 41-31. Based on looking at their roster from a year ago they are returning a lot of players so this team could be a team to watch out for once again and they can make another run.
This is a tough challenge for Broome right off the bat but I do believe Broome will put up a good fight right now I am leaning toward Powdersville to win the football game.
Blue Ridge @ Chesnee
Blue Ridge and Chesnee open the season last year and it was a close game but Chesnee fell 42-37. The Eagles had many chances in that game but just fell short of getting the win, so they will look to reverse the script this season and get the victory on their home field.
The Eagles had a tough season a year ago but they did fight and were in just about every game they were a young team that was developing its talent and that means this year they are returning a lot of players and starters. They have nine starters on offense and 6 starters on defense. I look for the Eagles to give the ball to their senior running back Adonis Burgess.
Blue Ridge was 5-6 last season and did make the playoffs but lost in the first round to Chester. The Tigers did lose some players last year but they are also returning a good bit as well.
I look for Chesnee to once again have opportunities to win it’s simply about whether will they take advantage of those opportunities.
Newberry @ Union
Last season Union was successful on the road against Newberry defeating them by a final score of 30-14. So Union will look to open this season with similar success and win on their home field.
Union will look to bounce back after a couple of rough seasons back to back as they won 1 game a couple of years ago and only two games last year. This year Union is expected to be a team that is really looking to run the football using their running backs of course but also their QB
Newberry finished the year at 4-8 but they did make the playoffs and won their first-round playoff matchup before losing to a really good Abbeville team. I don’t know much of their outlook this season but one thing I expect to see from them is to run the football and control the clock.
I look for Union to beat Newberry for the second straight year and open this year’s campaign with a win.
