Week 0 Recap

Byrnes 30 TL Hanna 10

After a tough season of being forced to play every game on the road, the Rebels finally got to experience something a long time in the making. A home game at a beautiful new Nixon Field. It was a night that was filled with emotion for fans and players alike. For many on a team with some youth, the heavy sentimentality of the moment and being under the bright lights for the first time where it actually counts makes for a challenge with keeping focus. But, fortunately for Reggie Shaw’s Rebels. They looked to be fully focused.

Tre Segarra is back to full strength after returning at the end of last season from an injury, and his presence in this game was a key factor. After a scoreless first quarter, Segarra broke the goose egg with 8:19 to play in the first half on a 1 yard TD run to cap an 11-play, 80 yard drive. Byrnes added on their next possession with a 55 yard scoring drive that was capped by a 2 yard Jacobi Fuller touchdown rush. The Rebs made it 20 unanswered on their next series when Tre broke off one of his standard 90+ yard scampers, busting loose for a 91 yard score with :48 to play in the half, making for a nice cushion at the half.

TL Hanna outscored Byrnes 10-3 in the third quarter, but that 42-yard fieldgoal from Logan Neely at the :43 mark of the period was arguably the big momentum changer that helped push the Rebels to the finish line, as with 6:12 to play in the game, Rebels QB Caine Rogers put the game on ice by connecting with Chu Harris for a 78 yard TD pass to put the exclamation point on a 5 play, 85 yard drive and make for the final margin.

Byrnes amassed 415 yards of total offense with 167 coming in the ground game and 248 passing. Rogers was 13 for 19 through the air and Segarra had 12 carries for 126 yards. Fuller also added 47 yards on 14 rushing attempts.

Next week, the Rebels faithful will get to experience the highs of playing at home again with another tough test as the Irmo Yellow Jackets make the trek to Duncan.

Dorman 34 Greenville 0

A week ago, there was an emerging narrative that Dorman’s offensive line may have some issues. But, it goes without saying that a Jason Farmer offensive line – especially one that has been dubbed “The Roebuck Moving Company” – is gonna be pretty good. While the Cavs do have a new offensive coordinator in Farmer and Michael Lancaster back on their staff – all to go with a new transfer quarterback in Meek Slydell, it goes without saying that there is not much reason to read deeply into a jamboree under those conditions – especially one where they were taking on a perennial midlands power in Ridge View.

The Cavaliers made the trek over to historic Sirrine Stadium on Friday night to take on a Greenville team that is under a new coach who has brought in a lot of transfers to bolster the roster. But, they still have their question marks. In the end, this game could be copy/pasted as the above summary of the jamboree last week. Week zero games are not something to read too deeply into, and the key takeaway is that Dorman’s offensive line as well as their defense did what they needed to against a Greenville team that may not be very good, and gained some confidence to build on going forward.

On defense, the Cavs forced 5 turnovers – three interceptions (one from Jaylen Farrington, another from Micah Savage, and one more from Corey Cole) and 2 fumbles, leading to 15 of the points they hung up. On the offensive side of things, running back Nick Means ran the ball 11 times for a net gain of 151 yards and 3 touchdowns. Slydell showed more of his potential with his arm, completing 7 of 10 passes for 108 yards. All of that en route to a shutout win to open the season.

Dorman will look to keep proving themselves next week, getting to do so in front of their home crowd against the Greenwood Eagles.

Boiling Springs 23 Greer 18

The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets have opened against one another now for each of the last 3 seasons, and 2 of those games have been close. This one did not seem like it was going to be with the Bulldogs absolutely dominating the first half at Dooley Field with 23 unanswered points – including a 35 yard pick 6 from Tyvion Hall.

Bulldog Senior Quarterback Josh Kahl was 7 for 11 passing with 103 yards and a TD. Running backs Tamaje Williford and Kyron Tobler combined for 78 yards and a score on 15 touches. In total, the Dogs put up just shy of 200 yards of total offense at 197. The defense notrably came up with 3 interceptions (including the Hall pick 6).

In spite of all that, Greer shut them down in the 2nd half, nearly completely erasing the 23-point deficit with 18 unanswered thanks to quarterback Dawson Fowler, who led the team in rushing with 59 yards on 14 attempts with a touchdown. Fowler was also 16 for 33 with 187 yards and a score en route to Greer hanging 267 yards of total O on the highly-touted Boiling Springs defense.

Boiling Springs is back on the road next week as they face Mauldin while Greer will go to Belton Honea Path.

Independence 27 Gaffney 21

The Indians, like Dorman, entered “week zero” with some question marks after a tough scrimmage last week against Dutch Fork. The biggest question mark was at quarterback with a struggling Jayvon Gilmore getting outshined by a transfer in Banks Bouton. It was Gilmore that new head coach Donnie Littlejohn gave the nod to.

In the end, offense was not much of a story – much less a quarterback controversy. Gilmore went 5 for 13 with 57 yards and no touchdowns. Bouton was 2-5 with the lone passing TD and 43 yards. No running back had more than 20 yards with the leading rusher being Jaiden McDowell (5 carries, 17 yards, TD) – who was injured once again. Josiah Hill had 16 yards on 7 rushing attempts, and Chapman transfer Justin Dawkins had 15 yards on 4 touches. Receivingwise, Hill topped the chart with 42 yards and a score on 2 catches. McDowell and Brady Smith each had 24 yards on a combined 4 snags.

Gaffney had just 153 yards of total offense while Independence racked up 377. At the end of the day, circumstances aside, this game is not much to read into. Gaffney is stacked, but for sure the key going forward aside from quarterback play is whether or not Jaiden McDowell is able to return.

More will be learned about the Indians next week as they host the JL Mann Patriots in a rematch of an overtime week 1 win on the road last year.

Northwestern 39 Spartanburg 7

The Vikings once again started the season without their QB1. Trey Burke was banged up in the jamboree a week ago, meaning the duty to lead the offense would fall on the shoulders of sophomore transfer Chris Colin, who just arrived on the SHS campus 3 weeks ago. When you add in the general youth of this Spartanburg roster as well as the limitations on the offense with a QB that has not learned the playbook and you get.. Well, a not fun night.

Colin went 11 of 24 for 116 yards and no TDs with 2 interceptions. Running back Trenton Lynch did his thing in spite of the restriction, racking up 138 rushing yards on 22 touches and a score. He also had 82 receiving yards on 3 receptions to lead the aerial attack.

Spartanburg amassed 226 yards of total offense. But, Northwestern showed they are going to be just fine without Finley Polk, their star QB that graduated after last season. The Trojans put up 385 total yards and ran for 224 of them behind tailback Quay Mobley who had 120 yards on 12 touches with 3 TDs.

So long as Burke is out, their non-region slate is not going to be one to read into. Especially this game where they were totally outmatched. But, nonetheless, they will get back at it next week at Dutch Fork, looking for some positive momentum.

Woodruff 21 Clinton 13

It’s a rivalry matchup that rarely disappoints. Seemingly every time these 2 take the field against one another, it is a close affair. This time was no exception, albeit a lot lower scoring than we have been accustomed to seeing these last 2 years.

These 2 sides are dealing with some new faces in key roles – most notably at quarterback. TJ Morris and Ty’Shuwan Richardson both graduated, leaving Woodruff under the leadership of sophomore Connor Davis and Clinton under junior Owen Glenn.

Davis, oddly enough has a very similar build to his predecessor while also wearing the number 14, and in this game, despite some first start sophomore moments, he showed some potential to be as good as Morris in the future.

This game started out as a field position battle. For the entirety of the opening 12 minutes, the Red Devils were living on plus side of the 50. Woodruff had an interception, a shanked punt, and a partially blocked punt set Clinton up in good field position 3 times. Yet they failed to score because they could not get out of their own way, with holding calls killing 2 drives and a turnover on downs marring another. Clinton consistently found themselves in third and long situations well behind the sticks where they were forced to throw the ball, and Glenn struggled.

In the 2nd quarter, the field position game flipped thanks to a couple of Clinton turnovers – which led to 15 Wolverine points that ended up being the difference in the game. Clinton was able to get their typical rushing offense going on a worn-down Woodruff defense that found themselves on the field a lot in the 2nd half, but in the end, Woodruff had to rely on their best playmaker – Aidan Gibson – to be the key. Woodruff was able to sustain 2 critical drives thanks to a couple of wide open pass plays to him. They also got one long run out of him. In the end, after Clinton turned the ball over on downs midway through the 4th quarter, the game came down to getting the ball in Gibson’s hands and working the clock.

On the plus side of the 50 with a minute and a half left in the game, Woodruff faced a 4th and 5. They opted to go for it, and the sophomore quarterback took matters into his own hands with the game still in the balance to put it on ice. He took off towards the near sideline and managed to muster the gut to take a huge shot as he was stretching out to convert the first down, and the Wolverines were able to melt the clock from there to go to 1-0.

Davis was 9 of 16 for 132 yards with a pick and a touchdown as well as a rushing score on 12 attempts for 11 yards. Gibson had 20 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown to go with 4 receptions for 99 yards. Jaylen Lyles also had a rushing TD on 4 carries for 18 yards. All that to the tune of 252 yards of total offense.

The Wolverines will host the Fountain Inn Fury next week.

BHP 49 Broome 9

The Centurions offense took a huge hit when Tresean Suber transferred to Boiling Springs. Despite that, they retained quarterback Jameson Dearybury, Receiver Ty’Qwon Booker, and running back Brayden Simpson. Unfortunately, roster and roster turnover mattered very little with this matchup.

Broome did compile 210 yards of total offense in a fairly balanced attack. They had 107 rushing yards and 103 through the air. Dearybury was 12 of 19 passing with 103 yards and an interception. Booker ran the ball 9 times for 38 yards to go with 2 receptions totaling 30 yards. Reece Waugerman had 11 carries for 31 yards and a touchdown. Simpson added 43 receiving yards on 5 snags.

But, in the end, Belton Honea Path was all over them as expected. The Centurions will host a rival next week in the Chesnee Eagles, who are coming off a huge win over Pendleton to start the season.

Elsewhere in 3A, MVP defeated Atlantic Collegiate Academy in a rain-shortened 2.5 quarter game on Thursday night, Daniel shut out Chapman 43-0, and Newberry was all over Union County 62-14.

Next week, the Stars will go to Southside Christian, Chapman will hit the road to face St Joe’s, and Union goes to Fairfield Central.

Chesnee 35 Pendleton 21

The Eagles avenged a season-opening road loss to the Bulldogs a year ago in impressive fashion via a mostly ground and pound type of offense. Quarterback Evan Reece-Lawter ran the ball 27 times for a whopping 191 yards and three touchdowns. Backup Keedyn Platt also ran for a score with 21 yards on 4 touches. Kyle Thrift was the 2nd leading rusher with 54 yards on 13 attempts. Platt was also 2 for 3 passing with 47 yards and a TD. Braylon Blanton was the leading pass catcher with 5 snags for 78 yards and a score.

In total, the Eagles had nearly 400 yards of offense while their defense held Pendleton to just north of 200. Blanton had 3 tackles and an interception while Jared Bishop logged 6.5 tackles, Benj Lazarin-Chavez had 5.5 tackles – 2 for a loss, to go with a forced fumble.

Again, the Eagles will look to go to 2-0 next week with a short road trip to Broome.

Landrum 20 Walhalla 13

The Mike Reid era as head coach began with a long road trip from one South Carolina border town to another as well as a hard-fought win for the Cardinals. Landrum took a 6-0 lead with 5:02 to play in the first quarter on a short 4-yard touchdown pass from Ty Foster to JP Branyon. That score held until the 10:29 mark of the 3rd quarter when the Razorbacks took the lead on a 4 yard TD rush.

Landrum soon answered when Foster hit Braylon Revis for a 53 yard touchdown, but only to go up 12-7 because of a failed 2 point conversion. A 21 yard scoop and score gave Landrum a cushion in the early 4th quarter, going up 20-7 following the 2 point try. The Razorbacks cut the deficit with just under 3 minutes to play in the game, but missed the extra point, making for the final margin.

The Cardinals will have a good chance to make it a 2-0 start next week as they host the Berea Bulldogs.