Week 7 4A/5A Preview

As the number one weather guy at this station, Friday felt great. Felt vindicated. For the first time all season, weather was a non-factor. It’s a beautiful thing. Also got to wear a hoodie which was nice. Region play is on tap, let’s dive in.

Rock Hill @ Spartanburg

​The Spartanburg Vikings beat Charlotte Latin (NC) last week 39-34 in a game where the visitors raced out to a big lead in the first half, the Hawks got back in it late but Spartanburg made enough plays to see it out and get to 2-3 on the season. Region play opens up for the Vikings at home against the Rock Hill Bearcats, who Spartanburg beat in the 2023 playoffs the last time the two met.

​RB Trenton Lynch passed Mike Wannamaker and Stephen Davis on the all-time rushing list at Spartanburg, now sitting second on the career rushing rankings as part of a day where he carried 22 times for 262 yards and a touchdown. Lynch also caught four balls for 29 yards and another touchdown in the win. He enters this week 173 yards away from passing Carnie Norris for the all-time mark. WR BJ Dawkins caught 7 passes for 70 yards, and WR Skyler Douglas hauled in 2 touchdowns on 3 catches for 85 yards.

​The Rock Hill Bearcats are 4-1 on the season and were carrying an undefeated record into last week’s home game against Ridge View, which they lost 20-10. Rock Hill has wins at Irmo and Hilton Head, and at home against Ashley Ridge and South Pointe. It’s a breakout season for Rock Hill after a 6-4 regular season last year and second round playoff exit against Byrnes. QB Jalen Culp has taken the reins after an early injury to Jonah Young, and completes 57% of his passes and has 3 touchdowns on the year. RB Kaiden Watkins and CB Myles Brooks are both committed to play college football at James Madison, and the defense has 10 interceptions in 5 games this season.

Byrnes @ Hillcrest

​The Byrnes Rebels dropped a home game last week to Gaffney by a final score of 20-17 to fall to 3-2 on the season. This week Byrnes hits the road to take on Hillcrest, who took down Byrnes in the last meeting during the 2023 playoffs 27-24. It’s the only Hillcrest win over Byrnes head-to-head in the last 22 years.

​Byrnes entered the second half behind Gaffney 14-0, and the fourth quarter trailing 20-10, never leading in the loss to the Indians. The strong Byrnes rushing attack was held to just 102 yards as a team on 24 carries and no touchdowns, and the biggest spark of offense was QB Gideon Merhib’s go-to target in the passing game WR Niq Watson who caught the only touchdown of the game. LB Jeff Bowen led defensively with 13 tackles and a TFL.

​Hillcrest is 1-4 this season and will enter this home game off of a bye. Two weeks ago the Rams lost 35-6 at Boiling Springs, and the team’s lone win was 38-20 at Fountain Inn. QB Jackson Free completes 54% of his passes for an average of 172 yards per game, and has totaled 8 touchdowns to just 1 interception on the year. Lead RB Nydarrian Allen broke out in a 10-point loss to Westside with 14 carries for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns to pace the team in the backfield. The Rams defense has struggled against a tough non-region schedule, allowing an average of 34.8 points per game.

Dorman @ Fort Mill

​The Dorman Cavaliers went on the road last Friday night and beat the Sumter Gamecocks 48-35 for another win in a row to run its 2026 record up to 5-0. This week features more travel for the Cavs, who go to Fort Mill for a region matchup of undefeated teams.

​RB Nick Means exploded for 295 yards rushing on 28 carries and 3 touchdowns in the win, and is now averaging 151 yards per game with 9 touchdowns in 5 games this season. QB Cooper Patterson passed for 210 yards on 10-18 passing and 3 more touchdowns, finding his top WR target Dai’Shion Watkins-Hymes 4 times for 119 yards and 2 of those 3 touchdowns. Dorman is now 5-0 for the first time since the 2022 season that saw 8 straight wins to open the campaign.

​This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2017, and in a stretch of three games between 2014 and 2017 the Cavaliers won all three meetings. The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets are 5-0 with wins over Clover, Catawba Ridge, York, Nation Ford, and Westwood and an offense averaging 42.6 points per game. The backfield combo of QB Harper Love (57% passing, 1086 yards, 12 touchdowns, 5 interceptions) and RB Broden Mitcheson (80 carries, 609 yards, 10 touchdowns) have fueled the Yellow Jackets, and in the pass game five pass-catchers have over 100 yards on the season and six have touchdowns.

Greer @ Greenville

​The Greer Yellow Jackets have lost back to back games following a 34-6 decision at home against Laurens. Following three straight wins to start the season and now consecutive losses, Greer is 3-2 headed into its region play opener on the road against Greenville. The last time the Red Raiders matched up with Greer, Greenville knocked in a go-ahead field goal in the final minute to win 24-21 in the 2023 playoffs. Then-Red Raider, now-Gamecock Mazeo Bennett totaled 133 yards of offense and a touchdown in the win.

Greer’s typically high-powered rushing attack was bottled up by Laurens last week. Calvin McCoy broke through somewhat for 102 yards on 18 carries, Xavier Sammet netted 38 yards on 13 carries, and the Yellow Jackets did not score a rushing touchdown. Defensively was the opposite, where Laurens averaged 7.7 yards per carry in the game with three touchdowns.

Greenville is 2-3 on the season so far, with its two wins coming two weeks ago at JL Mann (31-17) and in Week 2 at Maudlin (21-19), and losses against Fountain Inn, Peachtree Ridge (GA) and Daniel. The pass-happy offense sees QB Kiishawn Farrow averaging 27 pass attempts per game, completing 54% for 1296 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Farrow is also the team’s leading rusher with 62 carries, for 366 yards and 6 touchdowns. His top target is Bryson Mosley who has 405 yards receiving this year.

Boiling Springs @ Northwestern

​The Boiling Springs Bulldogs are off of a bye and are 5-0 starting region play on the road against Northwestern. Two weeks ago the Bulldogs easily handled Hillcrest in a 35-6 win and now start a stretch of two straight road games in Rock Hill.

​In the win, Imri Logan collected 227 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. WR Deion Suber caught 3 passes for 70 yards in the win. The 5-0 start for the Bulldogs is the first since 2016, and now they go into the first three region games against opponents that have not lost a game to an in-state opponent all season.

​The Northwestern Trojans are coming off of a state championship at Division 2 of 5A last season and are 4-1, with its lone loss to Hough (NC). The Trojans wins are against Indian Land, Stratford, Berkeley and South Pointe. QB Xavier Means is completing 72% of his passes for 213 yards per game, totaling 13 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, he is also committed to East Carolina. The Trojans two-headed rushing combo of Daylen Shankle and Means have combined for over 700 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.

Gaffney @ Wade Hampton

​The Gaffney Indians enter region play at 4-1 after a win at Byrnes last Friday, and the lone loss to undefeated Dorman. This week they take on Wade Hampton at the reservation.

​QB Corey Taylor scored two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing, in the win for 186 total yards. As a team the Indians ran it for over 5 yards a carry with three players getting double-digit carries (Taylor, Amire White, and Kendaris Bailey). The defense held an opponent to under 20 points for the third time this season as Gaffney meets Wade Hampton again as region opponents, only this time in a different region. The Indians beat the Generals 43-0 in 2024 and 39-0 in 2025 as 5A region opponents.

​The Generals are 2-3 this season and have wins against Southside and at Blue Ridge, with losses to Palmetto, Eastside, and Chapman. RB Coleman Batson averages 103 yards per game and has 6 touchdowns this season.