Week 5 Recap

Dorman  20  Irmo 14 (OT)

On a night where Dorman honored a legend, naming the field at Cavalier Stadium after Dave Gutshall, a legendary battle happened. The Cavaliers took an early 2-0 lead when an Irmo offensive lineman picked the ball up after a fumble and tossed it forward from the shadow of the goal line for an illegal forward pass.

After the safety kick, Dorman had a chance to make for an unconventional 9-0 lead, but failed to punch the ball in. The game would then go under a lightning delay with 4:24 to play in the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets took the lead on a 30 yard TD with 18 seconds to play in the first half after a bevy of punts from both sides.

Irmo stretched that advantage to 14-2 with a touchdown on third and long, but that would be all the scoring the rest of the way for the Yellow Jackets. Dorman came roaring back, answering with a TD, but the extra point was blocked. Irmo fumbled the ensuing kickoff, resulting in a scoop and score for the Cavaliers, but their special teams woes continued with another blocked PAT. That left the game knotted at 14 with 4:42 to play in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was marred by turnovers. Cooper Patterson was picked off on fourth down when the Cavs were in the red zone. Irmo then mounted a drive, but it ended in a fumble. Dorman went three and out after that, and once again the Yellow Jackets were driving, set up at the Cavaliers’ 34 yard line thanks to a pass interference call. But, Judah Adams came up with a clutch interception off a deflection to allow the Cavs to knee the clock out and send the game to overtime knotted at 14.

Irmo got the ball first, could not move the ball, and ultimately missed the go-ahead field goal try. Nick Means then walked it off on the first play, taking a handoff on a sweep to the left side of the field. After making a cut, he got the sideline for the 10 yard touchdown.

Next week, the Cavaliers hit the road to take on the Sumter Gamecocks to close their non-region slate.

Boiling Springs 35  Hillcrest 6

What’s better than a 4-0 start to the season? A 5-0 start. For the first time in a decade, the Boiling Springs Bulldogs wrapped up non-region play 5-0 with a convincing win. That is not to say it did not have its takeaways.

Both teams’ first series ended in a punt, and after being set up with good field position, Imri Logan broke free down the near sideline off a read option for a 43 yard touchdown run. Shortly thereafter, lightning struck, sending the game into a lengthy delay. When play resumed, it was all Boiling Springs. Hillcrest turned the ball over on three of their next four possessions.

After a turnover on downs, Kyron Tobler punched it in from a yard out. On Hillcrest’s next possession, Jamarcus Means came up with an interception, leading to an improvised Imri Logan touchdown run where he kept it himself and stretched to the short side of the field for a seven yard score. The Rams’ next series ended in a punt that was initially bobbled by Djay Leak, but after corralling it at the four yard line, he got to the sideline and turned on the jets for a 96 yard touchdown.

With the game getting out of hand, Hillcrest was forced to go for it on fourth down on their next possession, even though they were practically in their own red zone. The Dogs came up with a sack to take over on the plus 36, scoring on another brilliant improvisation by Logan. On second and five from the Rams’ 12, Logan left the pocket, reversed field, and found a wide open Malik Wannamaker in the back right corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

So, to break it down, 21 of Boiling Springs’ points came off turnovers, one of their touchdowns was on special teams, and one was an explosive run play. The Bulldogs also scored all 35 of their points in the first half. In the second stanza, the same old story that has plagued the Bulldogs happened again. They have struggled to play two complete halves — particularly along the offensive line. They have also struggled with penalties. Both happened to Boiling Springs in the second half, but fortunately, they did not have to battle back from letting a big lead slip away this time.

Hillcrest managed just one scoring drive — marching nearly 60 yards on their opening possession of the second half. It was capped by a wide open TD pass on fourth and goal from the BSHS five. The Rams went for two, but Jackson Free was stopped a yard short, making for what would be the final 35-6 margin. It could have easily been a 60-0 rout with the number of dropped interceptions Boiling Springs had in the second half.

Imri Logan went 6 of 10 passing for 111 yards to go with 69 rushing yards on 10 carries. RJ Byrd, Malik Wannamaker, and Kyron Tobler combined with Logan to make for 139 yards on the ground. Deion Suber led the receiving corps with three catches for 51 yards.

The wins have not been pretty for Boiling Springs, and some will point to the schedule and say it was weak. But, the Bulldogs have done something they have not in a decade, and their perfect run through non-region is another box to check on the progress of the program under Matt Reel.

Boiling Springs is off next week, which comes at a good time as they will get a week to rest up and prepare for region play, which starts with a huge test for them as they travel to Rock Hill to face the top-ranked Northwestern Trojans.

Byrnes 49 Spartanburg 21

This game started out as a shootout through the first two quarters. Halfway through the opening quarter, a botched snap on a Spartanburg punt was scooped up by Nas Angram for a 13 yard touchdown. About two minutes later, the Vikings struck back when Chris Colin hit Tre’Gan Mickler for a four yard score to knot it at seven. Gideon Merhib later capped a nine play, 72 yard drive with an 11 yard pass to Adrian Harris, but Trenton Lynch tied it back with a 19 yard touchdown run.

In the battle of great running backs, Tre Segarra got to make his mark in the second quarter, notching his first TD of the night with a six yard score. Colin later hit Mickler for their second scoring connection of the night, this time for 48 yards. Jacobi Fuller threw the last punch of the first half with a 17 yard touchdown run, and from that point, it was all Rebels.

Byrnes went on to score 28 unanswered — adding three more TDs in the second half to cruise to the win.

The Rebels amassed 524 yards of total offense to the Vikings’ 342. Spartanburg’s biggest bright spot was that Lynch pulled 228 yards closer to the all-time program rushing record. Trenton ran 23 times for 228 yards. Chris Colin completed five of 17 passes for 81 yards.

On Byrnes’ end, Segarra rushed for 124 yards and two scores on 12 carries. Backup tailback Kylie Wilkie tallied 80 yards on six touches. Gideon Merhib went 15 for 20 passing for 199 yards and three touchdowns in addition to 40 rushing yards on five attempts. Adrian Harris hauled in two of those passes for 78 yards.

The Rebels will renew their rivalry with Gaffney next week at Nixon Field while Spartanburg will cross the border to take on Charlotte Latin in their final non-region game.

We had no 4A games this week as both Gaffney and Greer were on byes. Again, next week, Gaffney finishes their non-region slate with Byrnes on the road while Greer hosts the Laurens Raiders.

Chapman 35  Woodruff 22

A glance at that score would say it was a close game. Truthfully it was not at all. The Chapman Panthers, like their neighbors in Boiling Springs, came in as undefeated with one of the better turnaround stories. But, also like Boiling Springs, questions about strength of schedule have been raised.

After this game, any doubt should be silenced. In their biggest test of the season, the Panthers made a huge statement. Things did not get off to the greatest start for them as a snap went over the punter’s head, recovered by the Wolverines at the Chapman one yard line. Jaylen Lyles then punched it in and they converted the two to make it 8-0 with 8:58 to play in the opening quarter. Promptly, the game went into a lightning hold.

Out of the delay, the Panthers capitalized on a sack fumble forced by Eli Herndon with a 15 yard TD run by Teagan Cantrell, cutting the deficit to one. After another Herndon sack forced a punt, Ashton Moore hit Keilon Tucker for a 51 yard strike, giving Chapman the lead for good with 3:18 to play in the half.

Kham Von added a three yard TD rush in the third quarter, but the Wolverines finally got back on the scoreboard with a 29 yard touchdown pass from Connor Davis to Curtis Bell. The dangerous kick returner Eric Gaffney took the ensuing kickoff back 54 yards, leading to a 36-yard connection from Moore to Tucker one play later. Kham Von later capped the scoring for the Panthers with an 11 yard run that stretched the lead to 20, all but icing it away despite Davis hitting Bell for a 50 yard TD nearly five minutes later.

Ashton Moore was 10 for 19 passing with 227 yards. Teagan Cantrell led the ground game with 103 yards on 22 carries in addition to one catch for 40 yards while Kham Von had 33 yards on four touches. Keilon Tucker was the leading receiver with five catches for 100 yards.

Next week, Chapman takes a trip to Wade Hampton while Woodruff will be on bye.

Powdersville 49 Broome 0

The annual tradition of these two schools meeting at least once  continued. But unfortunately, the woes continue for the Centurions. Broome mustered just 123 yards — 83 through the air and 40 on the ground. Corley Turner, thrust into the QB role, completed nine of 24 passing attempts with two interceptions. He also ran the ball three times for 11 yards. Cam McGill tallied just 29 yards on 15 carries and also caught two passes for 17 yards. Devo Brown had one catch for 20 yards and Nick Morgan hauled in two passes for 24 yards.

The Centurions will hit the road next week to take on the Riverside Warriors, looking to turn the tide.

Clinton 61 Union County 6

What once was. A huge rivalry may have been dampened by more than just the threat of weather this week. While the Yellow Jackets once again scored six points, Clinton drubbed them. No is, ands, or buts about it.

Union will be back home next Friday to take on the Lancaster Bruins looking for something more positive than just a handful of points.

Chesnee 48 Blacksburg 6

After dropping a shootout at RS Central last week, the Eagles rebounded nicely against a Blacksburg team they outmatched. Brymier Miller had a fantastic performance with three rushing touchdowns to go with 156 yards on 16 carries. Head #2 of the Hydra — Marquez Franklin scored two TDs with 79 yards on 8 touches. Evan Reece-Lawter tallied 88 yards on 13 attempts, also completing all five of his passes for 46 yards.

The Eagles will be back at it next week as they host the Blue Ridge Tigers for their homecoming.

Landrum 60 Ware Shoals 0

The Cardinals, fresh off a bye, had a huge opportunity to build some confidence against an opponent they were vastly better than, and they did just that.

Landrum’s next action will be at home against Blacksburg.

MVP 40 St Joe’s 38

The Stars have at last gotten into the win column. Back “home”, MVP jumped out to a 16-0 lead late in the first quarter before lightning suspended the game with 10 minutes to play in the first half. The two sides traded blows the rest of the first half, making for a 23-14 Stars lead at the interval.

Again, MVP broke ahead by three scores with a touchdown late in the third period. But, the Knights answered, outscoring the Stars 16-3 up to the 7:10 mark of the fourth quarter. Mountain View added a late touchdown, answered by a kick return for a score. The two point try made for the final margin as MVP held on.

Next week the Stars will be on bye before opening their region slate at “home” with Chesnee on October 2nd at North Greenville University.