Region play begins this week. Here is a look at what’s coming up this Friday.
Region II-5A
Spartanburg (4-2) at Byrnes (5-1)
Both teams cruised to wins last week, Spartanburg 57-0 over Mauldin, and Byrnes 49-0 over West Florence.
This is our Game of the Week, and with good reason. This will feature two teams with state title aspirations and two of the best defenses across South Carolina. Spartanburg struggled early in the season on offense, but has started to find their groove over the last two weeks against Riverside and Mauldin. The Rebels defense is loaded with speed and athleticism all over. It’ll be interesting to see how Spartanburg attacks with the passing game. Do they take shots downfield to Justin Rice? Or do they go with routes to get the ball out of Johnson’s hands quickly? Quarterback T.J. Johnson has been deadly accurate this year (78% completion pct) and he’ll need to continue that against a stout Rebels secondary if they want to get in the endzone this week.
Byrnes, like the Vikings, has a first year starter at Quarterback in Andrew Stevens. After a bump in the road against Chapman, Stevens has played lights out. He has a ton of playmakers at his disposal and the Rebels do a great job spreading the ball around. If they feature someone against Spartanburg, it will probably be Freshman running back Tre Segarra. He is averaging 100 yards per game this year, at 8.1 yards per carry. He can hit you with a big play at any given moment, and he will need a few big ones against a Vikings defense that has already shut down some great running backs against South Pointe, Dutch Fork, Grayson and Broome.
This game should be tight throughout and I think it will come down to red zone play. Which team can get 7, and which team can get stops? Either way I expect this to be a defensive struggle with a few big plays mixed in. Get your tickets now, this should be one of the best games all year.
Boiling Springs (3-3) at Dorman (1-4)
Both teams are coming in this one off of a loss. The Bulldogs fell to Clover, while Dorman lost a heartbreaker to River Bluff 29-28.
Dorman couldn’t hold on to a 28-16 lead last week, as the offense stalled in the second half leading to the collapse. The Cavs were great on that side of the ball in the first half, even running the football effectively for the first time this season. Despite the loss, there were still some positives to take away from the game. Wide receiver K.D. Hainesworth topped 100 receiving yards again, and looks to be the game-breaker on offense as he had his fourth touchdown of over 60 yards on the season. Dorman will need to be better at sustaining drives, especially in the second half. Last week they were 1-7 on third downs after halftime. That will need to improve drastically this week if they want to keep their defense fresh down the stretch.
The Bulldogs have shown great improvement in year 2 under coach Matt Reel, and they have already topped last year’s win total before getting to region play. Junior quarterback Lincoln Huskey can beat you with his arms and his legs, and is excellent at turning a broken play into a positive gain. He’ll need to make some of those plays to extend drives against a good Dorman front seven.
This one will be a physical game, and could very well end up deciding who gets the 4 seed out of Region 2. I expect Dorman to come out with some new wrinkles on offense, while the Bulldogs will look to remain balanced. Both teams’ defenses have shown a tendency to wear down late, so time of possession could be a big factor as to who comes out on top.
Region II-4A
Greer (1-5) at Laurens (0-6)
Both teams struggled in the non-region, although Greer played a much tougher schedule. The Yellow Jackets put up 42 points in a loss to Westside last week, and that should roll over into this week against a porous Raiders defense that is allowing nearly 45 points per game.
Look for Greer’s run game to dominate, as they will roll to a big win to get to 1-0 in the region.
