Week 6 Recap

Dorman 34 Boiling Springs 0

A year ago, these two squads had their regular season matchup canceled in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Instead they met in the first round of the playoffs with Boiling Springs eliminating Dorman in their first victory over the Cavaliers since 2013. Fast forward to now and these 2 sides could not be heading in more different directions.

The Bulldogs entered the week still down linebacker Jeremiah Favorite and Safety Tyvion Hall. But over the course of the buildup to Friday night, they lost both starting cornerbacks, could not even play a JV game on Thursday due to both quarterbacks being injured and so many junior varsity guys having to be moved up to fill vacancies created by the injury bug. In short, it could be said that Coach Matt Reel and his staff were another key injury or two away – particularly in the secondary – from either needing to check and see if anybody in the band or cheerleading squad could play DB or start vetting fans to see if they might still have some eligibility.

Things only got worse for the vastly outmatched Bulldogs as both quarterbacks Imri Logan and Josh Kahl ended up leaving the game worse for the wear and they lost yet another defensive back that forced Wide Receiver Grayson Crowe to take some reps on the opposite side of the ball.

Dorman lived in the backfield and kept the BSHS quarterbacks on the run. At one point, the stat sheet was the only thing uglier than the scoreboard. The Cavaliers had nearly 300 yards of total offense compared to 23 with just 4 first downs for the Dogs late in the 4th quarter. In the end, BSHS tallied just 80 yards – most of which came on 2 deep pass plays late in the game and averaged a smidge better than a yard and a half per play. On the other hand, Dorman had 368 yards of total O as they just overpowered the Bulldogs to the tune of a shutout to remain unbeaten in region 2-5A and go to 5-1 on the season.

The Cavs were led by running back Nick Means with 17 carries for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. All three Dorman tailbacks had > 50 yards – Isaac Tate with 87 and a score on 8 touches and freshman Carter Nash with 9 attempts for 53. Quarterback Meek Slydell was 8 for 13 passing for 113 yards and a touchdown. Tre’Gan Mickler accounted for 80 of those – including a 57 yard catch and run for a touchdown on Dorman’s first play from scrimmage of the night.

Boiling Springs’ offense, dismal as the numbers may be, was led by running back Izael Johnson, who notched 43 yards on 12 carries. Josh Kahk completed 2 of 6 passes for 33 yards and Tre’Sean Suber was their leading receiver with 2 snags for 33 yards.

The Cavaliers will now turn their focus to the annual City Rivalry next week at Spartanburg while the Bulldogs will host a contest that, fortunately for them, is very winnable regardless of their health situation with the Wade Hampton Generals.

Gaffney 40 Riverside 35

This game was surprisingly close for a while.. Until it wasn’t. And then it was again.

The Indians improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the region with a scorigami. It all started when Gaffney’s defense came up with a safety just over 3 minutes into the game. About 4 minutes later, Banks Bouton stretched the lead to 9-0 with a 15 yard touchdown run.

The Eagles then struck back, cracking the scoreboard on a 70 yard Lucas Tankersley TD run that made for a 9-7 Gaffney lead through a quarter. The game devolved into a back and forth from there with the Indians holding a 26-16 lead at the half.

Eastside scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to tie the game, later capitalizing on an interception with a fieldgoal to claim their only lead of the night. After 14 unanswered pushed the Indians to a 40-29 advantage, Eastside pulled back to within a score on a touchdown with just :38 to play in the game, but no further as Gaffney held on for the win.

The Indians amassed 366 yards of total offense – 258 of which came via the ground game. Josiah Hill and Banks Bouton both ran for over 100 – Hill with 120 and 3 touchdowns on 17 carries and Bouton with 104 and a pair of scores on 11 rushing attempts. Bouton complemented his good night on the ground with 10 completions for 108 yards in 16 passing attempts. Quentis Hines and Joe Bauman combined for 76 yards on 6 catches to lead the aerial attack.

The Indians will now face Byrnes in a critical showdown at the Reservation next week as they look to keep their hopes of a potential date with Dorman for the region championship on the 24th alive.

Byrnes 42 Riverside 27

If you were looking solely at stats, these 2 seemed close to even in a few categories. Byrnes put up 351 yards of total offense to Riverside’s 306. The Warriors threw the ball for 189 yards while Caine Rogers tossed for 168. Riverside sacked him 3 times for a combined loss of 30 yards. So, what were the key differences? The Warriors were penalized 12 times for 131 yards while Tre Segarra added 179 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 18 touches. Rogers threw for four touchdowns – 2 of them to Jackson Buckley to mark his first multi-score game as the Rebels were able to pull away and bounce back from a tough loss to Dorman a week ago to go to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in region 2-5A play.

Spartanburg 52 Wade Hampton 0

The Vikings went on the road for a nice tune up to build some confidence going into next week’s rivalry tilt in which they are trying to kill the “You have a Dorman hump you can’t get over” narrative. They held the Generals to just 50 yards of total offense while hanging 434 themselves in absolute domination. The Vikings’ offense was fairly balanced with 221 rushing yards and 213 passing. Trenton Lynch tallied 127 and a score on 8 carries. Ruben Landrum also was over 50 yards with a TD on 9 touches. Zymil Hill also ran for a 16 yard score. Quarterback Trey Burke was 10 for 15 passing with 183 yards and 4 touchdowns to 4 different receivers.

Greer 60 Pickens 14

After the Yellow Jackets had to go without quarterback Dawson Fowler last week against Travelers Rest due to an undisclosed injury suffered in practice, he returned this week. Like the rest of his team, there was no trouble to be had against a Pickens defense that, well simply put, can’t stop anyone.

Fowler completed 7 of 12 passes for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also adding 77 yards on the ground in 5 attempts. His backup Xavier Sammet went 4 for 8 with 32 yards and a touchdown as well as 49 rushing yards. Three of the 4 Greer players to tab a rushing stat in this game had in excess of 50 yards. Calvin McCoy led the way with 12 carries for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns and Zy Foster was just shy of the century mark, logging 97 and 2 scores on 9 attempts. Three different Yellow Jacket receivers had a touchdown snag in the game, with Tucker Hudson and Zay Moseley tying for the team lead with 51 yards on a combined 7 catches.

With a third straight region victory under their belt, the Jackets are currently atop region 2-4A as they prepare for a short trip up to Blue Ridge for a rivalry battle next week.

Woodruff 49 Broome 14

In the region opener for both squads, it was the Wolverines that got the better of the Centurions. Broome was held to just 261 yards of total offense thanks to Ty’Qwon Booker being contained. He notched just 45 yards in a game where Lynn Fleming’s offense was limited to only 47 rushing yards. In the passing game, Quarterback Jameson Dearybury was 17 for 28 with 214 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Reece Waugerman was his leading receiver with 6 receptions for 69 yards, but it was Brayden Simpson that had the lone receiving TD with 3 snags for 65 yards.

Woodruff’s offense was without a key piece thanks to an injury to wideout Kori Moates. Despite that, they put up 408 yards of total offense with 298 coming through the air. Junior Quarterback Connor Davis went 18 for 24 passing with 5 touchdowns. Recently-named Shrine Bowl Tight End Kam Taylor was his leading target with 5 catches for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns. Receiver Dre Jenkins was not far off, hauling in 4 passes for 102 yards and a score and Curtis Bell had the other TD snag to highlight a 5 catch, 56 yard game. Jaylen Lyles led the way on the ground with 12 rushing attempts for 83 yards and a touchdown.

The Wolverines’ slate rolls on with what may very well be for the region title next week as they host Makorean Anderson and the MVP stars, who defeated Union County 64-14 at home Friday night. Speaking of the Yellow Jackets, that will be Broome’s next contest as they hit the road to Union County Stadium.

Chesnee 48 Blacksburg 19

After an extra week to marinate on a 52-17 loss to Woodruff, the Eagles opened region 1-2A play in ideal fashion Friday night on the road at Blacksburg. Chesnee scored 21 unanswered to start the game, which was more than enough to propel them to a win. Blake Cochran was the key for the Eagles with 140 yards and 3 touchdowns on 8 carries. Evan Reece-Lawter was also over 100 rushing yards with 106 and a score on 6 touches. Lawter was also 8 for 11 passing with 129 yards and 2 scores – both of which were to top receiver Braylon Blanton (6 catches, 90 yards).

The Eagles will have a tough home test next week as they welcome the Clinton Red Devils to town looking to go to 2-0 in the region.