This week in high school football could be summarized with one word. Unconventional.
It started on Tuesday night with one local region scheduling games that were postponed due to Helene and finished with a low-scoring upset and even some “scorigami.”
Since the scorigami didn’t involve any of our teams or regions, I’ll just say it briefly – Southside Christian and Christ Church Episcopal School battled to a halftime score of 7-4 and a final of 11-7. That means that the only offense to be found was mostly defense with a couple of safeties.
The Tuesday night game DID feature one of our teams, and set up a showdown with a region title on the line next week.
Greer 42 Pickens 21
The Yellow Jackets remained undefeated in region 2-4A play with a convincing road win over the Blue Flame. Greer put up 505 yards of total offense behind a 285 rushing yard effort where 2 different backs went over 100 yards. Nick Holmes continued his solid season as the leading rusher with 139 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Ty Breeze added 110 yards on 12 attempts with a TD. Calvin McCoy and Kaden Rowland also added a rushing score each.
In the passing game, Kaden Rowland was 6 for 8 with 134 yards and a TD. Breeze also contributed with 9 completions in 17 attempts for 86 yards and a score. Mikey Williams was the leading pass catcher with 105 yards on 3 snags and a touchdown. Brock Diggins also had a TD reception in the Jacket’s victory.
The win sets up a showdown on the road next Friday night as Greer takes on the Daniel Lions for the region championship.
Dorman 9 Gaffney 7
Continuing the theme of lack of conventionality, this game was simultaneously the biggest upset and slobberknocking rock fight of the week.
Gaffney has had offensive issues become prevalent ever since quarterback Jayvon Gilmore served a suspension for an incident against Boiling Springs the week prior to Hurricane Helene altering the season. Prior to the suspension, despite decent numbers, Gilmore had only a few eye-popping moments/explosive highlight reel type plays, with the Indians’ offense relying on simple short-yardage plays to consume clock and move down the field.
That offense got even more simple in his absence, featuring a lot of direct snaps and run plays with Jamarcus Smith in the backfield. Ever since Gilmore resumed the reins, the Indians’ offense has continued to regress to the point where it felt like they may have trouble against a decent defensive front.
Dorman and Gaffney had one thing in common coming in, and that is what the strength of their teams are. By and large, that is their defenses right now. So the expectation was that this game could be a low-scoring affair, and a winnable game for Dorman if they could avoid overtime and run the ball enough to wear down the Gaffney front 7.
That is exactly what they did. The Cavaliers ran the ball 47 times for a net gain of 91 yards and ran 17 more offensive plays than Gaffney, which helped them play clock control. They held the ball for just shy of 30 minutes whereas the Indians’ offense had the ball for just over 18 throughout the course of the game.
Probably the most telling stat from this one aside from the time of possession and number of plays is the turnover margin. Gaffney coughed up the rock 3 times in the game, losing 2 of them to directly lead to 6 Dorman points. One of those 3 was met with some controversy, as it appeared the Indians were about to add to their 7-6 lead at the time, but fumbled on the 1 yardline trying to stretch across the goal line for the score. Instead, Dorman would go on to take the late lead on a 41 yard fieldgoal by Ranson Farr, who was 3-3 on the night. Yes, that is right. Dorman won this game without a touchdown. All their points were on fieldgoals. Unconventional.
The stat line was fairly balanced for the Cavs, with 2 running backs in double figures. Nick Means amassed 50 yards on 15 touches while Enahjay Fowler logged 41 on 15 attempts. Keenan Arcega-Whiteside was the top receiver, hauling in 3 balls 35 yards. Quarterback Brice O’Neal had over 50 passing yards, with 58 on 6 completions in 13 attempts.
Jayvon Gilmore was 11 for 21 through the air with 161 yards and a touchdown. Jamarcus Smith led the way with 6 catches for 93 yards and the lone Indian TD.
Gaffney will have a great chance to rebound and try to figure some things out on offense next week as they take on Wade Hampton on the road. Dorman will wrap up their regular season Friday as they host Eastside.
Spartanburg 58 Byrnes 14
Is there a team playing any better/hotter right now than the Spartanburg Vikings? After dominating Boiling Springs a week ago, many may have been quick to write it off as Boiling Springs not being as good a team as originally thought. Afterall, the Vikings made the Bulldogs look like they were playing in quicksand and left Lincoln Huskey staring at the stars in the sky so much he had happy feet trying to get the ball out and sense where the pressure was coming from by the end of the 1st quarter.
But, if you had any doubts about just how good this team really is, they backed up last week’s dominant performance with yet another – granted against a Byrnes team they should beat handily, but they dominated nonetheless.
Spartanburg set the tone early, scoring on their opening drive of the game when Trenton Lynch busted off a long run to set up an 8-yard TD strike from Trey Burke to Justin Rice. After forcing a three and out on Byrnes’ first offensive series, Byrnes made it seem like they had hope of making it close when Burke was picked off by Emerson James, who took it 60 yards to paydirt for a game-tying pick 6 with 6:25 to play in the first quarter.
That was as close as it ever got. Spartanburg went on to score the next 38 points unanswered with rushing TDs from Trenton Lynch (2 of them) and Cam Smith, a Quincy Haywood pick 6, a Calvin Choice TD reception, and a record-breaking 54 yard fieldgoal by Will Love.
The Vikes cruised to the win and (unofficially) a first round bye in the playoffs behind 393 yards of total offense — 314 of which came in the run game. Trenton Lynch tallied 186 yards on 14 carries with 2 TDs. Four other Viking backs logged double digit yards, with 3 combined TDs. Trey Burke finished the game 11 for 16 passing with 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Justin Rice and Calvin Choice combined for a pair of scores and 36 yards on 6 receptions.
Byrnes quarterback Zy Landrum was just 9 for 21 with 115 yards and a TD, which was thrown to leading receiver Chanin Harris (2 catches, 80 yards).
Byrnes will wrap up their regular season “road warrior” campaign as the designated home team next week at Boiling Springs while Spartanburg goes on the road to Riverside.
Boiling Springs 41 Riverside 6
After getting absolutely dominated last week by Spartanburg, the Bulldogs had a great opportunity for a bounceback game in hosting Riverside. Boiling Springs celebrated a small village of 27 guys on senior night and those guys had fun from the opening whistle.
Less than a minute in, Lincoln Huskey connected with Kyle Patterson for a big gain that set up a 1 yard TD run by Javen Chhim. That was as close as the game would ever be. After forcing a punt, Boiling Springs struck again on their second offensive series of the night, which started in plus territory at the Warrior 46. Huskey would later connect with Kyle Patterson for an 11 yard TD reception to go up 14-0, and the rout was on.
Riverside mustered their lone score of the game right before the half, but missed the PAT to make for a 28-6 halftime score. Boiling Springs scored 2 more TDs in the 2nd half en route to doing exactly what they needed to.
Huskey was 16 for 20 passing with 290 yards and a TD, being taken out midway through the 4th quarter with the game well out of reach. Among the other Bulldogs with a TD were Eli Mobley (26 yard reception), Javen Chhim (12 yard halfback pass from Ry’Shaun Morgan who also had a pair of TD runs – one from 4 and the other from 6 yards out).
Woodruff 44 Chapman 10 (Final in 3 quarters)
The Wolverines also had a big bounceback game opportunity after a tough defeat at the hands of MVP last week. The story of this game, although it should be about Woodruff’s offense, unfortunately ended up being how this game was cut short after just 3 quarters due to a serious injury to Woodruff backup tailback Jalen Roberson, who got his head turned on a facemask and had to be transported to the hospital. Fortunately, Brett Sloan says that he was released and appears to be doing just fine.
Woodruff’s offense was absolutely dominant, not unlike what we have seen from them all season long. Quarterback TJ Morris was 20 for 28 through the air with 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Aiden Gibson ran the ball 21 times for 101 yards and 4 scores. Prior to his injury, Roberson tallied over the 50 yard mark with 66 on 5 touches. Hunter West and Kam Taylor logged the receiving TDs for the Wolverines with a combined 61 yards on 4 catches, but it was Kori Moates and Snoop Green that were the yardage leaders. MOates logged 59 yards on 5 receptions while Green hauled in 4 passes for 52 yards. In the course of 3 quarters, Woodruff’s offense put up 447 total yards in the victory.
The Wolverines have 2 more home games to wrap up the regular season, starting with Union County next week and closing with Broome on November 8th.
Speaking of Broome..
MVP 49 Broome 20
The Stars just keep sweeping through the competition. Ok, yes. That was cheesy. But I was just channeling the MVP twitter account during the game on Friday night. They are entering their bye week as the region 3-3A champion in their inaugural season at 8-0 overall and 3-0 in region play following another offensive explosion.
MVP QB Bryson Drummond completed 14 of 18 passes for 296 yards and 4 touchdowns. KD Hainsworth had the most receiving TDs with 2 to go with his 93 yards on 7 catches. But it was Kaevon Washington that led the receiving yards with 141 on 5 snags and a TD. Jaylen McGill averaged over 13 yards per carry in his first battle against his former team, tallying 144 on 11 carries with a pair of rushing TDs. He also caught 2 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Broome’s Jameson Dearybury was 12 of 18 passing for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brayden Simpson and Reece Waugerman were his top targets, with each tallying 58 receiving yards. Simpson had 5 snags and 2 touchdowns while Waugerman had 3 receptions and 1 score. In the ground game, Ty’Qwon Booker ran the ball 22 times for 114 yards.
Broome hosts Chapman this week on Halloween at Spartanburg’s Viking Stadium. MVP is on bye.
Crescent 21 Chesnee 10
This game was not conventional in that it lacked the offensive firepower we have seen from Chesnee for much of the season. It was also a random non-region game this late in the season that was NOT a make up.
Chesnee led this game 10-0 early in the 3rd quarter, jumping ahead on a 33 yard Benji Lazarin fieldgoal at the 7:24 mark of the 1st quarter, carrying that lead to the break.
Out of the intermission, Jayden Williams added on with a 45 yard TD rush with 10:18 to play in the third. But, it was the Tigers that got the final word, scoring 21 unanswered in the final 12 minutes of the game.
KJ Proctor continues to be the heart and soul of the Eagles, completing 5 of 11 passes for 110 yards. The blemish is that he threw 2 interceptions. Evan Lawter also threw a pair of costly picks in his 4 for 13, 17 yard night.
Braylon Blanton was Chesnee’s leading receiver with 4 snags for 73 yards while Jayden Williams led the ground attack with 7 carries for 45 yards and a TD.
Chesnee gets back to region play while looking to get back on track in general next week as they head up highway 11 to take on one of their most bitter rivals in the Landrum Cardinals.
Speaking of Landrum..
Liberty 42 Landrum 24
The Cardinals dropped their 2nd straight game (as well as consecutive region game) after starting 5-1 overall.
Landrum drew first blood with a Joey Martinez fieldgoal. But, the Red Devils answered with a long TD drive. The Cards had a shot to trade blows, but in similar fashion to Gaffney’s attempt to take the lead on Dorman that fell short with a red zone turnover, AJ Lindsey fumbled the ball a yard from the endzone, leading to a 97 yard scoop and score. Liberty never looked back from there up 14-3.
Ty Foster still added a couple of touchdowns – one to Micah McClintock through the air, and the other on a 22 yard run. Aiden Kelley also added a rushing score.
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