What a monster week of high school football we just had. An all-time classic in a storied city rivalry, another high-stakes edition of a classic game between two of the most successful programs in the state, and a team on the rise taking a shot at the defending state champions. Now as we plow ahead to the finish line of the season, more and more is at stake with the playoffs in sight. Let’s dive in.
Spartanburg @ Boiling Springs
The Spartanburg Vikings won a game of the year candidate in the City Rivalry last Friday night, as Will Love knocked in a 52-yard kick as time expired to beat Dorman 33-30. Another chapter that will be talked about among the other great nights of games between the Vikings and Cavaliers. RB Trenton Lynch carried the rock 28 times in the game for 176 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a huge run on the final drive to set up the game-winning kick.
Now riding a stretch of four wins in its last five games, Spartanburg travels to Boiling Springs to play the Bulldogs. Boiling Springs has alternated wins and losses every week of the season since starting the year with a win at Greer and are now 4-3 with a 2-2 region record. Injuries have played a big role in the season the Bulldogs are having, and now could really use a win to solidify its playoff positioning to hold on to a home game in the first round.
Last year the Vikings shut down an explosive Bulldogs offensive attack, this time on the road has all the elements of a potential letdown spot for Spartanburg. Off of a monster win, on the road, and an opponent that has had its fair share of struggles. Boiling Springs really needs to get healthy to finish the season strong.
Eastside @ Byrnes
The Byrnes Rebels got off to a good start last week at Gaffney, leading 10-0 into the second quarter, but couldn’t hang on in a 28-16 loss at the Reservation. The Rebels struggled in the little things that end up being big things in big games. That being the red zone, making three trips with no touchdowns, and turnover margin at -3. WR Channin Harris scored a 70-yard touchdown in the game as well.
With the loss Byrnes is now 2-2 in Region 2, in a tie for fourth place with Boiling Springs. Good for the Rebels however, is they start a stretch of back to back home games with the Eastside Eagles.
Eastside dropped a somewhat surprising game to Riverside last week by a final score of 49-36. The Eagles are now 0-4 in region play and are in danger of missing the Division 2 playoffs should they not win 2 region games. Riverside got three turnovers out of Eastside in the win, and the Eagles defense will have to be much better to get a positive result against Byrnes.
Dorman @ Wade Hampton
How does one move on from one of the more hard-fought, well-played, heart-breaking rivalry losses I’ve ever seen. Dorman will try and do just that after last week’s loss to Spartanburg, where the difference ended up being getting 3 points instead of 7 late in the fourth quarter and the team on the other sideline having the top-ranked senior kicker in the country.
Luckily for the Cavaliers they play Wade Hampton who is still winless in 2025, and Dorman still played very well last week. They struggled to run in the first half, but still erased a big early deficit behind the play of QB Meek Slydell. The rushing offense picked up the slack late, but the defense needed just one more stop to end Spartanburg’s win streak head-to-head.
Expect Dorman to use this game to get a lot of players in the game and fix some of the things that cost them last Friday, and cruise towards a win.
Riverside @ Gaffney
With Gaffney’s win over Byrnes combined with the Dorman loss last Friday night, it means the Indians are now in first place in Region 2 with three weeks left. However, they do not control their own destiny for the outright region title since there is still a matchup with Dorman to come. Last week, QB Banks Bouton ran for 132 yards on 11 carries in the win over Byrnes and Gaffney continued its roll with its fourth win in a row.
Now in prime position for back to back region titles (even with a loss to Dorman it’s highly unlikely the Indians fall worse than a tie for the region championship), Gaffney hosts the Riverside Warriors. Riverside just got its second region win of the year against Eastside, and are 2-2 in region play tied with Byrnes and Boiling Springs. As of now, Riverside is in the Division 2 playoffs with last week’s win being a big boost to those hopes, but need to show some growth and find another win down the stretch to potentially earn a home playoff game.
The Indians are starting to get close to peaking if they haven’t already, and playing your best in October and November is the name of the game. Look for Gaffney to play another ground-and-pound type of game and even shutout the Riverside offense.
Greer @ Seneca
The Greer Yellow Jackets climb towards the playoffs continues with a monster opportunity on the road against the Seneca Bobcats. Seneca is clearly an improved team even from last year, where it finished third in the region. Greer has won four straight, all of them region games, and is coming off of a thrashing of Blue Ridge by a final score of 61-21.
It was another huge number for RB Calvin McCoy in the running game, 23 carries for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns, who has led the offensive outburst for Greer in this winning streak. QB Dawson Fowler did not appear in the contest, and the backup Xavier Sammet went 11-16 through the air for 177 yards and a touchdown as the Yellow Jackets cruised to the win.
Seneca is 7-1 this year, and 3-1 in region play with its only loss to Daniel on the road by single digits 27-16. The quantity of wins are great, the quality is a little different. The best two wins on the slate for Seneca is away at Powdersville and home against Woodmont. Greer will clearly be the second best team Seneca will play all year after Daniel. The Bobcats boast an explosive offense that has been crushing teams all season. QB Gavin Thomas already has 1918 yards in 8 games with 29 touchdowns, three games with 5 touchdowns. RB Amari Verner has ran for 110 yards in every game so far, at 1271 on the year and 16 touchdowns.
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