Week 8 Recap

Woodruff 49 MVP 28

I know we normally start these with 5A and work down, but since this was the biggest game in the area – a de facto region title game – it was just fitting to start here.

Last year, these 2 budding rivals met at Newberry College for a close contest that ended in a 2-point win for the Stars. This year, they converged at Willie Varner Stadium after a week of speculation – particularly on the Woodruff side of things. Both Wide Receiver Kori Moates and Running Back Aiden Gibson were “listed” (if such existed in high school football) as questionable.

Any question of their status was quickly answered in pregame with both dressed out and warming up.

As far as the game itself goes, it started off fast and physical. Woodruff got the ball first and went three and out. On the other side, they forced one of their own. However, the Wolverines muffed the ensuing punt, recovering it deep in plus territory after getting kicked around several times. In spite of that, they had a touchdown taken off the board by a hold, bobbled a snap for a loss of 7 yards, and then missed a 50 yard field goal try wide left. That missed opportunity due to mistakes would be a recurrent theme for the night with the Stars.

Woodruff finally got their offense in gear with a 38 yard unencumbered touchdown run by Gibson on what was his first touch of the game. That touchdown opened the floodgates for him as he took over as the star of the show. He tallied 3 more long TD carries as well as a 50 yard receiving score, accounting for 289 rushing yards by himself. Behind him, the Wolverines opened up a 36-7 halftime advantage and never looked back.

MVP got punched in the gut early on and having never been in a position where they trailed in a big game this season, showed they did not know how to respond. They were unable to move the ball for much of the game and failed to capitalize on opportunities when they were presented – thanks to Woodruff’s managing to keep pressure on junior QB Makorean Anderson. The Stars’ offensive line struggled, which kept Anderson scrambling – essentially making MVP 1-dimensional, and while Mak made some plays with his legs, the Stars were only able to make it look better on the scoreboard against the Wolverines’ backups with a pair of garbage time TDs.

Woodruff is now in the drivers’ seat for the region title with a favorable matchup coming up next week against Chapman at home while the Stars will hit the road looking to bounce back against Broome.

Seneca 42 Greer 14

The Yellow Jackets came into Friday night on a 4-game win streak since region play started. The bugaboo for them was just that – that the 4 victories came against competition that they outmatched.

That is the annual narrative with Greer. Play a brutal non-region schedule and then either run the table to play for a region title or go on a streak only to fall flat on their faces against the top teams in 2-4A – which this year is very top-heavy. Daniel and Seneca are the class of the region while most would agree that Greer is a solid #3. That was proven to be true on Friday night as the Yellow Jackets got drubbed by the Bobcats.

Seneca jumped out to a 35-0 lead before Greer found the scoreboard in the 4th quarter. Xavier Sammet once again got the start for the Jackets. He was 7 for 28 passing with 66 yards and a touchdown to go with 15 rushes for 59. Calvin McCoy toted the rock 27 times for 125 yards while Zy Foster had 13 touches for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Greer will get a week to regroup and refocus before a crucial showdown with Daniel at Dooley Field on Halloween night for their regular season finale.

Spartanburg 21 Boiling Springs 7

The biggest 5A matchup of the week was between 2 foes in similar shoes. Boiling Springs, beat up as they have been, is getting healthy at a good time. Both Tyvion Hall and Jeremiah Favorite played in this game. But, with 2 region losses under their belt already, they are playing to try and avoid being the last playoff team from region 2-5A. Spartanburg came in with a 3-1 region record, but just as banged up, making this a game that either team could win.

Boiling Springs had a clear game plan in this one – keep the Vikings’ offense off the field with long drives. They succeeded when you look at time of possession. Spartanburg held the ball for just over 12 minutes while the Bulldogs guarded the rock for 35 minutes. If you were to ignore sacks, former Viking Quarterback Imri Logan ran for 100 yards on 14 carries (he ended up with a net gain of 60). He was also 50% through the air (11-22) with 110 yards.

Unfortunately for BSHS, the Vikings jumped out to a 14-0 lead – more than enough to win this game with the Bulldogs’ red zone troubles. They went 1 for 3 in scoring range, never finding the endzone once despite what the final score would lead you to believe. All of Boiling Springs’ points came on a field goal and a pair of safeties in the 2nd quarter.

Spartanburg was led by Trey Burke – 7 for 14 with 111 yards and a pair of scores – one to Zeke Bell-Boyd and the other to Torrean Davis. Trenton Lynch added 150 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 touches.

The Vikings will now turn their attention to their first trip to battle Byrnes at the new Nixon Field while the Bulldogs go to Riverside.

Elsewhere in the 5A ranks, Byrnes, in spite of some injuries and guys sitting out this week, pulled out an 18-6 win over Eastside. Jacobi Fuller carried the ball 28 times for 110 yards while Caine Rogers, who was backup to Walker Burdette, came on to throw for 157 yards and a pair of scores in a 10 for 17 effort. Kaylin McDowell and Choo Harris each notched a receiving score – McDowell with 4 receptions totaling 96 yards and Harris hauling in 5 passes for 63 yards. Dorman rode a 45-0 run spanning the first 2 quarters – including 74 rushing yards and 2 TDs from freshman Carter Nash as well as 63 yards and a score on 4 carries from Nick Means – to a 2nd half running clock victory. Gaffney also took care of business despite Riverside making things interesting in the 2nd half of a 49-20 decision. That all keeps the de facto region title game between Dorman and Gaffney in line next week in Cavalier Stadium.

Chapman 30 Union 27

These 2 teams have had a tough season. Understatement of the century. But, with the 2 playing each other Friday night, one of them was going to get their first region win. In the end, it was Chapman that earned not just that, but their first victory of the 2025 campaign, on homecoming night in Inman.

Senior QB Bryson Cothran tossed three touchdowns as part of an 11-18 night with 162 yards. Jyssiah Copeland was the leading rusher with 9 carries for 43 yards. Blake Williams, Keilon Tucker, JT Rollins, and Caden St Charles each notched 1 TD reception, with Williams being the lone pass catcher to tally over 50 yards (65).

The Panthers go on the road to Woodruff next week while Union will be on a bye.

Our lone other 3A team (Broome) was off this week, but will get back to region action next week as they host MVP at Royal Stadium.

Neither of our 2A teams fared well this week. Chesnee fell 35-6 on the road at Liberty, marking their 3rd loss in the last 4 games. The Eagles cracked the scoreboard first on a 5 yard TD rush by Blake Cochran, but would not find paydirt the rest of the way. Evan Reece-Lawter ran for 49 yards on 13 attempts while Cochran totaled 42 on 6 carries. Passingwise, Lawter was just 5 for 9 with 50 yards – most of which came on 1 play to leading receiver Carson Gossett (24 yards). Landrum mustered more than 1 score in a 56-14 defeat down at Clinton. One of the Cardinals’ two scores was on a 91 yard kickoff return by Trey Nesbitt. The other was on a 37 yard connection from Ty Foster to Aj Lindsey. Foster was actually the leading rusher with 59 yards on 6 touches while Lindsey tallied 25 on 18 attempts. Braylon Revis hauled in 8 passes for a team-high 65 yards while Lindsey had 4 receptions for 61. Foster aired it out 31 times with 16 completions for 153 yards and 3 interceptions.

Chesnee takes one last step out of region next week, hosting the Crescent Tigers while Landrum will play Liberty at the “Campobello Coliseum.” But, what it really boils down to is Halloween night, where the annual Highway 11 Rivalry between Landrum and Chesnee will likely be for a spot in the playoffs.