The “2nd season” is upon us with all our local squads except for Chesnee and Landrum (More on why at the end of this article) as well as the Gaffney Indians (on their bye week) getting region play started this week. The implications were heavy already, particularly on the 5A level, which, unsurprisingly, was where the best games were on Friday night. The rest of the state and our local area were chock full of ugly blowouts. Let’s dive into what happened.
Byrnes 21 Spartanburg 9
The story of the season up to this point with the Spartanburg Vikings has been that they have one of the best defenses in the area, if not in the whole state, but have been unable to get much going on the offensive side of the football. They had given up an average of just over 10 points per game through their first 6. In their 2 losses, both were by just 2 points. But, on the flipside, their offense has only mustered just over 11 and a half points per game, an average that is frankly very much bolstered by back to back games against bad teams over the last 2 weeks in Mauldin and Riverside.
The Rebels have been a bit more productive on offense, but still have proven to be similar to the Vikings with a solid defense.
In short, this game had old school football written all over it.
The Rebels took the lead early on a long TD run by freshman Running Back Tre Segarra with 3:28 to play in the 1st quarter. That would be all their offense would muster. It was the Rebels’s defense that made the difference on the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Spartanburg was putting together one of their best drives of the night when Knai Cook laid a monster hit on a screen pass to Ra’el Senghor. He fumbled it, and as the ball kicked around, Cook recovered it on the run and went for a 58 yard scoop and score to make it 14-0 in favor of the Rebels with 4 and a half minutes to play in the 1st half.
The Vikings managed to hang around after that, breaking the goose egg when a snap on a Byrnes punt sailed out of the back of their end zone for a safety. The Vikes added on with a TJ Johnson TD rush on the first play of the 4th quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-9.
That score held until the waning moments of the game, where once again the Byrnes defense made a big play that ultimately sealed it. Spartanburg was once again moving the ball when TJ Johnson threw a pick 6 to Byrnes Senior Linebacker James Oates, who housed it from 80 yards out.
The Rebels will hit the road next week to take on Boiling Springs. The Vikings will host Gaffney.
Dorman 14 Boiling Springs 10
In a battle of 2 teams that are almost as evenly-matched as they come for what may be for 4th place and playoff berth, it lived up to the hype.
From the preseason, there was uncertainty as to who the Qb would be at Dorman as well as who the running back would be. Over the course of the non-region season, that question still has not been answered. The Cavaliers have used their entire stable of running backs interchangeably, and after Friday night, have now used 3 different starting QBs – David Sorenson, Riley Scruggs, and now Brice O’Neal.
O’Neal’s night didn’t get off to a very ideal start. On the Cavaliers’ first play from scrimmage, his first pass went for a 65 yard pick 6 down the left sideline to Boiling Springs cornerback Amyajai Boyd to give the Bulldogs the lead around 3:00 into the game.
It would take until the very first play of the 2nd quarter for the Cavaliers to answer, as Jarvis Pearson took a direct snap from the wildcat for a 4 yard TD run to tie it at 7, capping an 80 yard drive during which the Cavs established their game plan – running to the outside on nearly every play via a halfback sweep, which Boiling Springs had no answer for all night.
The 2 sides exchanged punts before Boiling Springs managed to reclaim the lead, capping a 6 play, 34 yard drive on a 36 yard fieldgoal from Michael Dueck with 2:11 to play in the half, a lead they carried to the half and up until the final 25 seconds of the ballgame thanks to some heads up plays on the defensive side – most notably a big stop on a fake fieldgoal from 24 yards out that gave the Bulldogs the ball at their own 7 yard line.
Needing a first down to all but seal the game, Boiling Springs was unable to pick up a yard, trying to run the ball between the tackles and eat clock. That was one of the stories of the night for BSHS. They were unable to establish their run game. Javen Chhim was made a non-factor with 25 yards on 16 touches, and their leading rusher, RyShaun Morgan, had just 34 yards on 5 carries. Instead, they were forced to play into the strength of Dorman’s team – their secondary. The Bulldogs tried to use the middle of the field with slants and quick passes, with very little success.
Back to the final moments, Boiling Springs was forced to punt from the back of their own endzone, with the 60 yard point being returned all the way to the Bulldogs’ 20 yardline. Dorman drove it all the way to the 2, where the game really came down to a 4th and goal. Dorman brought in 5’ 7” junior running back Nahjay Fowler, who bowled his way in behind the right side of the Dorman O-line for the TD that ultimately decided the game.
Boiling Springs got the ball back at the 20 following a touchback and quickly got to midfield. With no timeouts, they were forced to spike the ball, stopping the clock with a hundredth of a second to play. Lincoln Huskey put up a nice rainbow of a throw on the Hail Mary, but right to a waiting Dorman defender who picked it off to end it, ensuring the Cavaliers can finish no worse than 4th in region 2-5A.
Husky finished the night 15 of 29 for 201 yards. Kyle Patterson led the receiving attack with 76 yards in 4 catches for Boiling Springs.
Dorman was led by Freshman running back Nick Means, who tallied 116 yards on 21 carries. Jarvis Pearson wasn’t far behind with 93 yards on 17 touches. Brice O’Neal would have just 32 passing yards on 5 of 13 with 2 interceptions. Senior Middle Linebacker Brannon Teamer was the biggest star for the Cavs on the night, hauling in a pair of interceptions with 7 tackles and 3 passes broken up.
Dorman will look to make it 2 in a row next week, taking a step out of region play to host the Mauldin Mavericks. Boiling Springs will host the Byrnes Rebels.
Greer 49 Laurens 7
The Yellow Jackets got back on track in a good way, opening their region slate with a much-needed win on the road, albeit against a struggling Laurens team.
It was a big night for LaDainnian Martin. He tallied 240 yards on 13 carries with 3 TDs along with 2 catches for 28 yards and a TD. Chris Hall and Nick Holmes combined for 3 more rushing TDs in the win. Hall was also 7 for 13 with 102 yards through the air.
Greer will look to go to 2-0 and stay atop the region 2-4A standings next week as they host Eastside at Dooley Field.
Broome 46 TR 7
The Centurions keep on making a case for being the best Broome squad since the team that won the 2004 state championship, racking up 378 yards of total offense – the least the have had since they lost to Spartanburg narrowly a few weeks ago. (It is crazy to say that nearly 400 yards of total offense is one of their worst games, but they have been around 500 the last few weeks).
Kamajay Brackett-Brannon and Jaylen McGill continued to do their things. KBB was 14 for 16 with 156 passing yards to go with his 59 rushing yards on 11 carries. McGill tallied 152 yards and a pair of TDs on 17 rushing attempts.
The Centurion aerial attack was led by Tre-Sean Suber, Xavier Hill, and Greyson Bradley, who had 49, 47, and 36 yards respectively.
Broome will stand a good chance to keep rolling to 2-0 in region on the road next week against a struggling Blue Ridge.
Chapman 57 Carolina 0
The Panthers cruised to 1-0 in region with a road win over the Carolina Trojans, setting the tone very early after Coleman Gray ran for 40 yards on their first play from scrimmage of the night to set up a 7 yard Mathai Scott TD run. As has been the trend for Chapman lately, they went for 2 afterwards, going up 8-0 as Hudson Moss threw to Scott to convert.
They only added on from there. Coleman Gray finished the night 7-9 with 73 passing yards and a TD as well as 43 yards on 3 carries. Keanu Na led the rushing attack with 96 yards on 8 attempts and a TD. Eight different Panthers hauled in at least 1 reception in the game.
Chapman will be off next week, but will pick back up with Travelers Rest at home the following week.
Elsewhere in the 3A ranks, Union hung an impressive number on the road at Clinton, but not enough, as they fell 51-28. Woodruff fell 44-6 at home to Chester, whom Union will once again take to the road next week for a battle with. Woodruff, on the other hand, goes to Emerald next week, looking for their first region win.
*Landrum and Chesnee did not play this week as scheduled due to a tragic accident involving students from Chesnee that happened earlier on Friday. It is currently unknown if or when the game will be made up. But, this is not about football. Our prayers are with the Chesnee community, Chesnee High School, and the families and friends of all affected.*
