The Spartanburg Vikings are 1-3 following a 49-21 loss at the hands of Byrnes a week ago. Spartanburg led 21-13 during that game, but a brutal second half was their undoing. Now, the Vikings look to bounce back in their final non-region game of the season as they travel across state lines to take on Charlotte Latin in North Carolina. The Hawks are 2-3 but much like Spartanburg have played a brutal schedule up to this point.
Spartanburg offense vs Charlotte Latin defense
Moving the ball between the 20s wasn’t an issue for Spartanburg vs Byrnes; it was the operation inside the redzone. That’s something that has to be cleaned up this week on the road against a talented, but susceptible defense. SHS was 0-13 passing in the second half, which just can’t happen against anyone but it really limits your playcalling as you get closer to the endzone as teams will just stack the box.
The good news for Spartanburg is that Charlotte Latin has been gashed on the ground this year, giving up over 200 yards rushing in nearly every game including 346 yards in a loss to South Point (NC). Trenton Lynch had a great day vs Byrnes with 228 on the ground and a score, he will have a lot of room to run against a pretty short Charlotte Latin front seven. The Hawks also go both ways with a lot of linemen which could create some tired legs in the second half.
The Hawks on defense go with a 4-2 box with a lot of stunting and twisting up front that while at times can confuse opponents, also takes a lot of time to generate pressure sometimes. Jr LB Elijah Alexander leads the team with 72 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. As a team they only average 3 TFL per game and have just 1 sack so, they are really struggling to get home to the QB. Sr DB Anthony McGill is their second leading tackler and also has one of three team interceptions on the year.
This feels like Spartanburg’s most favorable matchup defensively of the season. Charlotte Latin is talented, but not very deep, has a good secondary, but struggles heavily against the run and at getting pressure up front. This isn’t Gaffney or Byrnes where Trenton Lynch is going to have to make a highlight just to get past the line of scrimmage, he’s going to have some room to work. When the moment arises at QB, whether it is Jr Chris Collin or Sr Aryan Desai, they’re going to have space back there to actually go through their progressions.
Spartanburg defense vs Charlotte Latin offense
The Viking defense had a rough second half against a high powered Byrnes offense, and the tour of opposing running backs continues with the Hawks. Sr LB Isaiah Lipscomb had 13 tackles against the Rebels, bringing his team-leading total to 48 for the year along with a team high 6 tackles for loss. The Spartanburg defense gave up some big plays on the ground, but were surprisingly susceptible to a Byrnes aerial attack that was missing their top wideout.
Going into this week Spartanburg is going to be looking for some more consistency, especially from their big guys up front. With a unit that has only recently become whole again the more they play together the better you feel about them not only in this game but in region play. They’ll have to be on the top of their game this week because for Charlotte Latin it starts and ends in the backfield.
The Hawks are led by Sr QB Troy Logan has thrown for 1000 yards this year including 274 and 2 TDs in their most recent game vs Christ School. Logan also touts 221 yards rushing and 10 total scores on the season. Alongside him is Sr RB De’jon Douglas, who averages 18 carries a game and has 431 yards and 9 TDs for the season. Spartanburg will need to be wary of the WR duo of William Alt and the aforementioned Anthony McGill, who is a two-way star as both have over 200 receiving yards.
The Charlotte Latin offense is certainly more of a threat than their defense. Logan and Douglas are yet another premier backfield threat for the Vikings to face, but the offensive line for the Hawks is probably the best matchup for SHS so far this year. It is certainly the smallest they’ve faced up to this point, and will be an important battle for Spartanburg to win.
Overall
This is a matchup I actually really like for Spartanburg as they wrap up non-region play. A weak run defense, with players who will be playing a ton of snaps both ways, is a recipe for disaster against Trenton Lynch who is seemingly back to his peak performance. I see this game being pretty close for a bit still as the Hawks have talent but the Vikings pull away late and come home victorious.
You can hear our broadcast live on Fox Sports Spartanburg 98.3 FM this Friday night at 7:00. Catch our breakdown postgame on Victory Formation and our recap that’ll be here on spartanburgsportsradio.com.
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