Week 1 Recap

Irmo 35 Byrnes 32

The 2nd game in the New Nixon Field was a matchup of 2 top 10-ranked teams in class 5A. The #8 Rebels welcomed the #4 Irmo Yellow Jackets to their new digs, hoping for an upset. Things got off to an ideal start towards making that happen for Reggie Shaw’s squad as Byrnes went 73 yards in 3 plays, scoring on the first of several big plays that came from short yardage passes in this game – a 66 yard dump pass from backup QB Walker Burdette to Choo Harris, who got to the near sideline and took off untouched thanks to a nice block ahead of him in the flat. However, another storyline from this game reared its head early as well. Kicker Logan Neely missed the extra point – the first of 2 from him on the night. Neely also missed a 31 yard fieldgoal later in the game – one of 2 by the Rebels all night. If you are counting at home, that is 8 points off the board.

But missed kicks were only a small part of the reasons this game did not go Byrnes’ way.

The Rebs had a golden scoring opportunity that would have stretched what was an 18-14 Byrnes lead – driving all the way to the Irmo 5. But, neither running back could get enough push from their offensive lines on 4 straight rushing attempts, ultimately turning the ball over on downs. The Yellow Jackets later busted off a big play – a slant and go where the receiver slipped right past a Byrnes linebacker and took off. He got into the red zone before being forced out of bounds, setting up a 4 yard Dre Dopson TD rush to put Irmo in front 21-18 heading into the half.

The Rebels went on to score 14 unanswered to take a late lead with about 2 minutes to play in the game, later forcing an Irmo 3 and out to give them a chance to melt the clock. However, rather than run the ball, Byrnes passed the ball on 1st and 3rd downs – the first pass being dropped by Choo Harris and the other going nowhere after a holding penalty. In the end, the rebels were forced to punt, giving the Yellow Jackets a chance to go down the field with about a minute to play. They did just that – and quickly.

An 8-play, 72 yard drive was capped by a 12-yard TD pass to give Irmo a 35-32 lead that they would not relinquish. Byrnes got the ball back with about 40 ticks left on the clock and the game in the hands of Caine Rogers. They could not move the ball down field and it came down to a 3rd and long where with nothing going on down field, Caine ran it out of bounds after tucking and running to end the game.

Caine Rogers finished the night 16 for 28 passing with 122 yards and no TDs to go with 3 rushes for 32 yards and a score. Despite limited carries, Tre Segarra still racked up over 100 yards with 144 on 17 touches with a touchdown while Jacobi Fuller complemented him well with 18 carries for 83 yards. Choo Harris was the leading pass catcher with 6 snags for 97 yards and a score.

Byrnes will have an extra week to put this one behind them with a bye this Friday before taking on the Greer Yellow Jackets on September 12th on the road at Dooley Field.

Dorman 30 Catawba Ridge 7

The Cavaliers dominated the line of scrimmage yet again, very nearly pitching another shutout in week 1. Dorman tailback Nick Means absolutely shined with 3 rushing touchdowns, amassing 141 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Meek Slydell was only 7 for 9 passing with 58 yards and no touchdowns added to his 71 yards on 4 rushing attempts. As you might expect with the low passing figures for Slydell, no Dorman receiver had more than 50 yards, the leader among them being Tre’Gan Mickler with 48 yards on 3 catches. In total, Dorman had 310 yards of offense.

The Cavaliers will get a good barometer for where they truly stand next week as they host the Greenwood Eagles.

Dutch Fork 54 Spartanburg 21

The Vikings made the trek down I-26 this week to continue their slate of tough non-region contests with the next installment of what has become an annual tradition for Mark Hodge. The old saying goes that to be the best you have to beat the best, and Coach Hodge is always adamant that he and his team always wants to play Dutch Fork. It has not yielded great results for the Vikings with only one win over the Silver Foxes in the last 4 years. But, to be fair – it seems a rarity that the Vikings meet them with the team healthy. Trey Burke returned this week for Spartanburg, which was a boon to them, but he was held to less than 100 passing yards (95 to be precise) with an interception and a touchdown, going 10 for 20 through the air.

Running back Trenton Lynch was solid, toting the rock 13 times for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns – both coming in the 2nd quarter, which gave the Vikes a 21-17 lead. But, the Silver Foxes scored the next 37 unanswered en route to a convincing win. Nonetheless, Lynch’s performance, the fact they led, and that Burke is back give plenty of evidence that Spartanburg should be just fine going forward and should be a major confidence builder for them as well.

Spartanburg will return home next week to take on their 3A neighbors from Broome.

Mauldin 21 Boiling Springs 14

In what most are calling the most surprising result of the night, the Mavericks took the lead on the first play of the 4th quarter and never looked back.

The Mavs drew first blood in the contest when former Landrum Cardinal Micah McClintock hauled in a 16-yard TD pass, and after Boiling Springs fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set Mauldin up with a short field, upped the ante to 14-0 on a 20-yard TD pass to running back Taurus Thomason waiting in the flat.

The Bulldogs finally got going on offense with an 82-yard drive capped by a 9 yard touchdown pass from Josh Kahl to Grayson Crowe. A little later, Tyvion Hall came up with his 2nd pick 6 in as many games to tie it at 14. But it was not enough as the Bulldogs failed to find paydirt the rest of the way.

Kahl amassed 144 yards and 1 score on 11 for 22 passing. Broome transfer Tre’Sean Suber led the receiving attack with 5 catches for 84 yards.

The Bulldogs will look to put this one behind them next week as they host the Chapman Panthers, who are still searching for their first win of the season, and would love to do it against their friendly backyard rival.

Gaffney 28 JL Mann 0

The Indians, despite a season-ending ACL/MCL tear for running back Jaiden McDowell, got things back on track this week and earned Donnie Littlejohn his first win as head coach with a solid win at home thanks to some solid defense that made this game very different from their thrilling overtime win in week one at Mann a year ago.

Gaffney drew first blood when Jayvon Gilmore hit Shun Rogers on a screen that went for a 49 yard touchdown, making for a 7-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Their next strike came on the defensive side of the ball when Kendaris Bailey stripped the ball on a run up the gut and recovered it for a 75 yard scoop and score. Backup QB Banks Bouton added another TD late in the half on a 3 yard rush, making for a 21-0 halftime lead.

Josiah Hill put the finishing touch on the scoring late in the 3rd quarter with a 5 yard run, but for the most part, the 2nd half (and really most of the game) was all about trading punts. Gaffney’s defense held the Patriots to just 126 yards of total offense, including a whopping 3 for 15 on third down. Jaleel Tate logged 3 sacks while Zyon Ratchford added nine tackles for the Indians in the slugfest.

Gilmore went 6 for 11 passing for just 66 yards with a TD, while the other QB Bouton ran for 91 yards and a TD in the contest.

The Indians will hit the road next week to take on Greenville, who defeated Riverside 28-0 Friday night for their first win of the season.

Belton-Honea Path 42 Greer 19

The Yellow Jackets rallied last week to nearly come back from a 23-0 deficit against Boiling Springs. This week, they once again found themselves in an early deficit as the Bears scored the first 34 points of the game unanswered. Greer did not crack the scoreboard until the 10:34 mark of the 4th quarter, mustering 2 more garbage time scores to make it look more respectable. But they were absolutely dominated. The Jackets had just 12 first downs and 226 yards of total offense – most of which came in the late minutes of the 4th. Quarterback Dawson Fowler was 12 for 22 passing for 144 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. Zay Moseley led the receivers with 4 catches for 57 yards and 2 TDs. Calvin McCoy led the ground game with 19 rushing attempts for 66 yards and a score.

Things don’t get much easier for Greer as they hit the road next week to take on another 5A foe in the Hillcrest Rams.

Broome 35 Chesnee 34 (OT)

While Byrnes’ matchup with Irmo was the biggest battle of ranked foes in the area, the best game this week was the rivalry game between the Broome Centurions and Chesnee Eagles.

Last week the Eagles beat a 3A foe and looked to make it back to back. They struck first on a Kale Thrift 25 yard touchdown run, missing the extra point to go up 6-0. But, things spiraled on them after that, allowing Broome to score 14 unanswered. Chesnee eventually found the endzone again early in the 2nd quarter when quarterback Evan Reece-Lawter punched it in from 4 yards out. In chasing that missed PAT, the eagles went for 2, once again coming up short. Broome once again scored the next 14 without a peep from Chesnee to build their largest lead of the night at 28-12, but the Eagles began a furious comeback midway through the 4th quarter, rallying to tie the game at 28 with :43 to play in regulation. In the end, it would take overtime to decide the winner.

Tyqwon Booker gave the Centurions the lead with a 3 yard TD run. Reece-Lawter answered with a 10 yard scoring scamper, but with the game on the line on the road, Brett Chappell opted to go for the win. The two point conversion was stopped and Lynn Fleming’s squad hung on for the win.

On Chesnee’s end, Reece-Lawter was 9 for 15 with 125 yards and a TD through the air to go with 21 rushing attempts for 96 yards and a pair of scores. Blake Cochran led the ground attack with 7 carries for 109 yards. Thrift notched 67 yards on 8 touches. Receivingwise, Braylon Blanton was the only one with more than 50 yards, hauling in 4 passes for 78 yards. It was Max Cantrell that had the lone receiving TD for Chesnee – a 14 yards snag for his lone action of the night.

Broome QB Jameson Dearybury was 13 for 20 passing with 124 yards to accompany his 10 rushes for 43 yards and a score. Ty’Qwon Booker ran the ball 21 times for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Broome will make the short ride up East Main Street next week to battle Spartanburg while Chesnee will log some mileage on the buses with a trip to Walhalla.

St Joe’s 35 Chapman 34

In similar fashion to Chesnee, this game also came down to a 2-point try for the road team, although this came in regulation.

The Panthers went toe-to-toe with the Knights, but came up just short despite a nice performance from quarterback Bryson Cothran, who was 15 of 23 for 301 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He also had a rushing score on 5 attempts for 34 yards. Jasiah Copeland led the way in the ground game with a touchdown on 14 carries for 58 yards. Keilon Tucker caught 3 passes for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the aerial attack. Caden St Charles also logged a receiving score as part of a 2 catch, 29 yard night.

Again, the Panthers will take another crack at getting their first win next Friday against the Boiling Springs Bulldogs.

Elsewhere in 3A, MVP defeated Southside Christian 43-14 and Union County was blanked 35-0 by Fairfield Central.

In the 2A ranks, the Landrum Cardinals moved to 2-0 with a dominant 39-0 win over Berea. They will make another lengthy road trip to take on Ware Shoals this week to try and go to 3-0.