Byrnes @ Spartanburg
In a matchup that usually delivers a close matchup, the Byrnes Rebels will meet the Spartanburg Vikings this Friday night at Viking Stadium. Both teams took care of business last week, as Spartanburg rolled past Boiling Springs a week ago to a 27-7 win, while Byrnes took care of Eastside 28-9.
The Vikings defense showed its teeth by racking up many sacks on the Bulldogs, and the linebackers especially shined. Cam Smith was named the Broad River Electrifying Player of the Week for last Friday who had 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks in the win. The Viking defense as a whole have kept four straight opponents to 7 points or less. On the offensive side of the ball, RB Trenton Lynch ran for 125 yards and a touchdown as well.
Meanwhile, Byrnes led throughout in its win over Eastside. Despite losing three fumbles, the Rebel defense held the Eagles to just 2.7 yards per play to stall the opposing offense. Byrnes hauled in two interceptions and notched five tackles for loss. On offense, QB Caine Rogers threw two incompletions by going 12-14 for 90 yards through the air and handed off to his stable of runners led by Ty’Lik Dawkins 41 yards on the ground and 13 receiving yards.
The Rebels and Vikings have played some classics, and with two very strong defenses taking the field, I expect another one this Friday.
Riverside @ Boiling Springs
Boiling Springs will look to get back up off the mat after its loss to Spartanburg, going back home to take on Riverside. The Bulldogs have dropped two of its last three and will look to get back to the early-season version of its electric offense.
Boiling Springs never had enough time to set up its deep threat passing plays with Spartanburg constantly in the backfield. To the Bulldogs credit, most of the damage down against their defense was in the first half and the secondary still has skill in it. Now they will have to face a Riverside offense with some elite players, despite dealing with a key injury to some of its speed.
The Warriors still feature highly-sought-after TE Mikkel Skinner, but lost WR Speedy Taylor to a season-ending injury this week. Riverside had Gaffney on the ropes, going into the fourth quarter tied but a late Indian touchdown pulled out a 28-21 win. Riverside picked off Gaffney twice, but struggled mightily to move the ball on offense as most teams do when they play Gaffney.
If Boiling Springs can tighten the screws on its offensive line, its defense should be good enough to grab a win at home.
Dorman @ Gaffney
The Dorman Cavaliers and Gaffney Indians meet on Friday night at the Reservation. Gaffney remains undefeated, but the last two wins have been more escapes than the dominant early season wins the Indians enjoyed. Two weeks ago it was a double overtime win against Byrnes, last week it was another one score win against Riverside.
Gaffney has not looked the same on offense since the Boiling Springs game. Against Riverside, the Indians completed two passes and threw two interceptions for seven yards. Jamarcus Smith rescued the Indians with another big night, running 14 times for 203 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, Viante Robbs returned an interception for a touchdown to help Gaffney to a win. It’s unclear which direction the Indians will go under center for this week’s game, but any time the defense and Jamarcus Smith take the field they will have a great chance to win.
Dorman rolled over Wade Hampton 58-0 last Friday, piling up 365 yards of total offense and going a perfect 5-5 in the red zone. QB Brice O’Neal returned to go perfect through the air at 8-8 with 128 yards as well as adding 81 yards on the ground. Now at 4-3 and 2-2 in region play, Dorman will feel that they can catch Gaffney at a vulnerable time with the close calls the Indians have had the last few weeks.
