Vikings Host Byrnes

The Spartanburg Vikings are fresh off their bye week and sit at 1-2 on the year following the loss to Dutch Fork two weeks ago. Coming into this one, Byrnes is 2-1 with a dominating win over Greer last week. This is a rivalry that has been a huge part of the upstate since 1959 and Spartanburg looks to bounce back after a 42-7 loss at Byrnes without Trenton Lynch in 2025.

Spartanburg Offense vs Byrnes Defense

The Vikings will have Trenton Lynch at full strength for the first time since week 1, and that is a massive game changer for the Vikings. Lynch was limited to just 11 carries vs Dutch Fork as he dealt with the injury from the Greenwood game. Having Lynch ready to go elevates the floor of this Spartanburg offense, and takes some of the pressure off Sr QB Aryan Desai. Desai against Dutch Fork threw for 164 yards and a touchdown, but had turnover problems. Desai and Sr WR Tre’Gan Mickler have attained a nice big-play connection that will be needed to force Byrnes’ defense to respect the pass game.

Byrnes last week gave up just 168 yards at 3 yards per play against an overmatched Greer squad where RB Calvin McCoy was bottled up except for a few big runs. Against a team with talent and size closer to Spartanburg, Dorman was able to run for 169 yards on the Rebels. Jr LB Nas Angram leads the Byrnes defense with 20 tackles and forms a strong linebacker core alongside Sr Wyquial Moss. The Byrnes front seven is the strength of this defense and they will no doubt be selling out to stop Trenton Lynch.

This matchup is going to come down to a real strength on strength for both sides, with Spartanburg’s Trenton Lynch and his ability to turn any touch into six points going against the powerful Byrnes front seven. I think that there is something for the Vikings to take from Dorman’s success, with Nick Means and Carter Nash running away with that game. Byrnes runs a six man box with 3 down linemen and 3 linebackers with their DBs playing close to the line of scrimmage. That does well to stop ball carriers at or behind the line but does you leave you susceptible to big plays if the opposing back can get beyond the first wave, something Trenton Lynch is very accustomed to doing.

Spartanburg Defense vs Byrnes Offense

The Viking defense will have its hands full this week as they face yet another star-laden offense. Sr linebacker Iasiah Lipscomb who has had a tremendous start to 2026 leading this defense with several double-digit tackle performances. They’ll need Lipscomb as well as Sr defensive linemen Kemareon Davis, Marquz Sanders, and Tryon Duncan to be on their top game.

Lining up opposite of the Vikings will be Byrnes tailback Tre Segarra, the four-star LSU commit has 224 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. He was the only score in their game vs Independence before the game got delayed and eventually canceled, so it’s really just been in two games. Segarra and Lynch is the most star-studded back matchup in our area and possibly even the state. The good news for Spartanburg is that the Rebel passing game is a lot more uncertain.

Byrnes plays two quarterbacks with Sr Gideon Merhib getting the most recent start against Greer. Merhib is more of a known quantity as he isn’t a super polished passer but can really run. The other option is Jr Walker Burdette, who is more of the passer but started the Dorman game off with a pick-six and another interception. Spartanburg will have to watch out for either QB’s number one target in the form of Choo-Choo Harris, a Syracuse commit, who leads the Rebels in every receiving stat.

Stopping the Byrnes ground game is easier said than done, but the gameplan for the Vikings has to feel a lot similar to their efforts vs Gaffney and Greenwood where the defense played well. I see a lot of stacked boxes, as Spartanburg tries to force Byrnes into some uncomfortable situations on passing downs where they’re going to try really hard to force some turnovers.

Overall

This is a rivalry that has been a big part of Spartanburg football for a long time and this will be Coach Hodge’s 7th meeting with the Rebels. The Vikings are 3-3 vs Byrnes under Hodge but before that had won just four games in the series in the twenty-first century. I see this game being an exciting high scoring game defined by two star backs. Both defenses will make plays but the big-play factor of both Segarra and Lynch will win out for the majority of the night.