Round 2 5A Preview

​Hope your favorite team survived the first week of the playoffs. Byrnes and Dorman, welcome to the playoffs. Let’s get into it.

Spartanburg @ Ridge View

​The Spartanburg Vikings took down JL Mann last week at home to advance to the second round with a 45-3 win. The Vikings held the Patriots to just 172 total yards in the game, and just 40 yards rushing. RB Trenton Lynch returned from injury to make six carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Lynch’s return sparked a new dynamic for the Viking offense that had been missing for the multiple games he did not play.

​With the added help offensively in Lynch’s return, Spartanburg will look to go down to Columbia to beat a Ridge View team that lost its quarterback early in the season and still finished with the #3 seed in the bracket. The Blazers went 7-3 and 5-1 in Region 5-5A, losing the region title late in the season to Sumter who went to the lower state bracket. The other two losses for the Blazers came in non-region play against Northwestern 35-28 and Dutch Fork 28-21. All three of Ridge View’s losses came by just seven points each, and all seven of its wins have been by 20+ point margins.

​Ridge View’s leading passer is Ashton Chapman, who has played in 8 games and is completing 64% of his passes for 824 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. RB Spencer Bobian has 1174 yards rushing in the regular season with 17 touchdowns. Ridge View is undefeated at home this season.

Boiling Springs @ Dutch Fork

​The Boiling Springs Bulldogs got a first round playoff win last week against the Mauldin Mavericks on the road 16-14. QB Imri Logan scored the game winning touchdown in the final minute of the game to give the Bulldogs its fifth win of the season and first since taking down Wade Hampton on October 10th. Logan ran for 78 yards to lead Boiling Springs in the win.

​The Dutch Fork Silver Foxes earned a bye in the Division 1 playoffs with a 8-1 regular season, and 5-0 region title in Region 4 capped off by a narrow 28-21 win at Irmo in the last week of the season. In region play the defending state champions outscored opponents by a combined score of 205-45. Dutch Fork is not entering the playoffs undefeated however, after a mid-September loss at Oceanside Collegiate. Dutch Fork QB Jaxon Knotts has completed 65% of his passes this season for 1642 yards, 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Rock Hill @ Byrnes

​The Byrnes Rebels are back after earning a first round bye as the #4 seed in the Division 1 playoffs. The Rebels finished in a tie for third in the region with Spartanburg, but got the bye based on their head-to-head win against the Vikings breaking the tie. The Rebels are riding a three-game winning streak and have won four of their last five, putting up 84 points in their last two games in wins over Spartanburg and Boiling Springs.

​RB Tre Segarra has run for 1252 yards this season and 16 touchdowns, and just in the last two games has scored 7 total touchdowns. The Rebel defense has allowed 27 points in the three game winning streak.

​The Rock Hill Bearcats got the #5 seed in the 5A Division 1 playoffs after going 6-4 in the regular season, with a 4-2 region record in Region 3-5A. The Bearcats smashed Spring Valley last week in the first round 47-0 at home, and now hit the road to take on Byrnes. In the regular season Rock Hill has wins over Catawba Ridge, Clover, Lancaster and River Bluff, and key losses to South Pointe, Hartsville, Indian Land, and Northwestern. Rock Hill QB Jonah Young is just a sophomore and has completed 60% of his passes this season for 1573 yards, 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

Blythewood @ Dorman

​The Dorman Cavaliers are co-region champions in Region 2, and their head-to-head win over Gaffney helped them get a first round bye in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs and the #2 overall seed in the bracket. Dorman finished off its regular season with wins over Gaffney and Eastside to end with a record of 8-2 and 6-1 in region play. RB Nick Means carried it for 1,092 yards in the regular season with 17 touchdowns to pace the offense.

​The Blythewood Bengals are the #10 seed in the Division 1 bracket, and struggled to a 3-7 regular season record and 1-5 region record in Region 5-5A. The Bengals had a winless October and hadn’t won a game since September 26th against Spring Valley, until a 42-23 road playoff win at the #7 seed Clover. The defense struggled late in the season, giving up 47 points to Sumter and 39 points to Ridge View in region games.

Gaffney @ Greenwood

The Gaffney Indians are through to the second round of the Division 2 playoffs after a 28-10 home win against the #12 seed Eastside. Gaffney got the #5 seed in the bracket after a 6-1 region record to be co-champions of Region 2, but the head-to-head loss to Dorman ended up costing the Indians a chance at a first round bye. In the win, Gaffney RB Josiah Hill ran for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns against Eastside.

The Greenwood Eagles are the #4 seed in the Division 2 bracket and got a first round bye after a 9-1 regular season and 6-1 Region 1 finish. Greenwood and Gaffney share a common opponent being Dorman, with the Eagles beating them by 1 point in overtime and the Indians being shutout 20-0, both games in Roebuck. Greenwood’s lone loss came by one point at TL Hanna 22-21, and are led by Gamecock-committed QB Triston Lewis. Lewis is setting Greenwood single season records with 2993 total yards this year.

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