Week 2 5A Preview

Someone reset the counter on consecutive days without weather nonsense in high school football. After lightning disrupted many season-opening games last Friday, we go again in Week 2 with some more big games under the bright lights. Let’s get in.

Byrnes @ Dorman

Two teams last week that were both affected by the weather match up this week in a marquee game. The Byrnes Rebels were awarded a win over Independence in Week 1 despite playing less than one quarter of the game, and now they go to Roebuck to take on the Dorman Cavaliers this Friday night. 

The recap of that one is quick, as the Rebels and Patriots only combined to run nine plays before the game was called. Byrnes got the ball first, and just two plays later Tre Segarra ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run to give the Rebels its only points of the game. After the Byrnes defense got a stop and forced the punt before the night was over. Walker Burdette took the first snaps at quarterback for Byrnes as he was in a preseason position battle with Gideon Merhib.

The Cavaliers got back out there in their Week 1 game against Hillcrest last week after a long delay, going up 20-3 at one point and wrapping up a 40-30 win late into the Saturday morning. The Dorman running back room shined in the win with two triple digit rushers. Nick Means scored three touchdowns in a 156 yard game, while Carter Nash ran for 114 yards as well. Jayvion Long came up with a big interception in the red zone to help secure the win for Dorman as well. 

Now meeting as non-region opponents in 2026, Dorman snapped a three game head-to-head losing streak against Byrnes last season with a 33-21 win last season. 

Spartanburg @ Greenwood

Despite a career-high rushing performance from RB Trenton Lynch, the Spartanburg Vikings fell late on the road to Gaffney last week by a final score of 24-20. This week the Vikings travel to Greenwood to play the Eagles. 

Lynch carried the weight of the Spartanburg offense last week with 22 carries for a career-high 290 yards and three touchdowns. QB Chris Colin completed 13 of 23 passes for 162 yards through the air, with WR Tre’Gan Mickler as the top target with 10 catches for 77 yards. Penalties and a slow start ended up being the difference as Spartanburg dropped its tenth straight head-to-head against Gaffney.

Greenwood beat up on Riverside one week ago, scoring all 33 of its points in the first half of a 33-7 win at home against the Warriors. Tay Hamilton ran the ball 24 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the win and will look to feature heavily against a Spartanburg defense that struggled to stop the run last week. The Greenwood Eagles this year have dropped down to 4A and play in Region 1 alongside teams like TL Hanna, Westside and Fountain Inn.

Riverside @ Boiling Springs

The Boiling Springs Bulldogs were also interrupted by the weather on Friday night in its road game against Southside Christian, but were awarded a win 7-0 without finishing the first quarter. The lone Bulldogs touchdown was scored by junior RB RJ Byrd, and on the defensive side of the ball Jamarcus Means snagged an interception in limited gameplay.

Riverside was on the other side of the loss against Greenwood in the first week of the season, and lost a lot off of a team that went 4-6 in the regular season in 2025. The Warriors turned it over twice and never got the ball rolling in its rushing attack against Greenwood, as the leading rusher Khaylen Bruce carried it 12 times for 37 yards. Replacing Merhib at quarterback were two different names taking snaps in Week 1, Evan Bradley (10-20, 146 yards) and Cooper Adams (6-16, 85 yards, 1 touchdown). Peyton Stevenson still remains a force as he made 8 catches for 123 yards for the offense. 

Gaffney @ JL Mann

The Gaffney Indians won a hard-fought back and forth matchup with Spartanburg at home last week to start 1-0 in 2026, by a final score of 24-20. A choppy game at the start turned into an entertaining finish as the Indians grabbed the lead with two minutes to go on a Kendaris Bailey rushing touchdown. Gaffney’s defense got the game-sealing stop on the ensuing possession to seal the win. 

RB Amire White in his Indian-debut ran the ball 22 times for 172 yards and scored a touchdown, while Bailey added two touchdowns and 70 yards. New quarterback Corry Taylor went 12-19 through the air for 96 yards in his first Gaffney start. The win was the tenth in a row for Gaffney head-to-head against Spartanburg.

The JL Mann Patriots lost in a heartbreaker against Laurens in its Week 1 tilt. The Patriots allowed 12 points in the final minute of the game to lose 43-34. QB Gage Watkins went 27-54 through the air for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns, but threw four interceptions. WRs AJ Bush and Tristian Shell both had huge games as well, with Bush going for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns and Shell grabbing 175 yards and 2 touchdowns.