Week Six Preview Capsules: Greenville County

Mauldin (0-5, 0-0 Region I-5A) at Class 5A No. 5 TL Hanna (5-1, 0-0 Region I-5A)

Series record: Hanna leads 20-11, including a 35-26 win at Mauldin last season.

Last week: Mauldin lost to Spartanburg 57-0; Hanna beat Laurens 48-6

Radio/TV/Internet: Hanna – WABB 105.1 FM, 1390 AM, spirit1051.com/listen

Location: Yellow Jacket Memorial Stadium, 2600 N Hwy 81, Anderson

Who to watch for Mauldin: RB Devan Ortega, DL DeMario Moore

Who to watch for T.L. Hanna: HB KD Patterson, FB/HB Vashun Burton, FB Tristan Carroll 

About the Mavericks: Another week, another huge challenge for a Mauldin team that has struggled on both sides of the ball. The only opponent on the Mavericks’ schedule that hasn’t been ranked in their respective Class polls at some point this season is 4-2 Woodmont, who Mauldin is scheduled to host in Week 10.

About the Yellow Jackets: Hanna ran wild in its win last Friday, amassing more than 400 yards on the ground and averaging 12 yards per carry as a team. Patterson led the way with 181 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Burton had seven rushes for 80 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a 16-yard touchdown pass. Carroll posted 82 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets defense held Laurens to less than 150 yards of total offense.

Class 4A No. 7 Westside (4-1, 0-0 Region I-4A) at Class 4A No. 9 Greenville (3-2, 0-0 Region I-4A)

Series record: Westside leads 7-4, but Greenville won 63-33 in Anderson last year.

Last week: Westside defeated Greer 56-42; Greenville was off after beating JL Mann 21-19 in Week 4

Radio/TV/Internet: WCCP 105.5 FM/97.5 FM, WAHT 1560 AM, theroarfm.com/listen; Westside – WANS 1280 AM

Location: Sirrine Stadium, 100 Cleveland St, Greenville

Who to watch for Westside: QB Cutter Woods, RB Sharode Richardson, WR Joshua Williams

Who to watch for Greenville: ATH Mazeo Bennett, DL Jayden Wilson-Abrams, DL Bruce Knauber

About the Rams: There will be plenty of talent on display at arguably the biggest game in the state. None more so than at Westside’s skill positions on offense. Woods has completed 71.2 percent of his passes for 1,159 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. The junior also averages 10.2 yards per carry and has rushed for two touchdowns. Richardson has 573 yards on 42 rushes for an eye-popping 13.6 per carry average and six touchdowns. Williams has 30 catches for 534 yards (17.8 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns, and also has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.  

About the Red Raiders: While it’s the region opener, tonight’s game could go a long way in determining the region champion. The biggest matchup appears to be Westside’s explosive offense against Greenville’s stout defense, which is led by a ferocious line. Wilson-Abrams has 46 tackles, including 3.5 sacks, while Knauber has 33 stops including a team-high 4.5 sacks. After six interceptions last season, junior cornerback Ramani Bruton has five this season. The wild card could be Bennett. The South Carolina commit has been banged up a bit this season, but is averaging 22 yards per catch and 31 yards per kick return.

Class 3A No. 5 Chapman (5-1, 0-0 Region III-3A) at Carolina (2-4, 0-0 Region III-3A)

Series record: Chapman leads 22-10-1, including a 42-0 win in Inman last season. The Panthers have won 19 of the last 20 meetings.

Last week: Chapman beat Union County 57-14; Carolina beat Whitmire 41-22

Location: David Farnham Field, 2725 Anderson Rd, Greenville

Who to watch for Chapman: QB Coleman Gray, WR Shawn Cunningham, DB Bennett Smith

Who to watch for Carolina: RB Kimoray Holland, QB JaSean Bowens, WR D’Marcus Riley

About the Panthers: Following a huge win at Clinton the week before, there was no letdown for Chapman last Friday as it led 50-7 at the half. Gray completed 11-of-14 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran four times for 108 yards and two scores. Cunningham caught five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown and also had a 65-yard punt return for a score. For the season, Gray has 1,695 yards (1,209 passing, 486 rushing) and 18 touchdowns (nine passing, nine rushing), while Cunningham has 45 catches for 693 yards and four touchdowns. Smith has 40 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions.

About the Trojans: Holland ran 16 times for 150 yards and four touchdowns last Friday to help give Carolina back-to-back wins for the first time since the first two games of the 2012 season. Bowens completed 8-of-10 passes for 170 yards and two scores, both of which went to Riley who had 101 yards receiving on three receptions. Holland has rushed for 645 yards and eight touchdowns this year, while Riley has 25 catches for 436 yards and eight scores. He’s caught a touchdown in all but one game this season. Sophomore Josiah Fleming has a team-high 64 tackles.

Travelers Rest (2-4, 0-0 Region III-3A) at Class 3A No. 8 Broome (4-1, 0-0 Region III-3A)

Series Record: Broome has won all six of the previous meetings, including a 30-21 win last season.

Last Week: Travelers Rest beat Berea 42-3; Broome beat Woodruff 55-14

Radio/TV/Internet: coxsportsbroadcasting.com

Location: Royal Stadium, 381 Cherry Hill Rd., Spartanburg

Who to watch for Travelers Rest: WR Drew McKibben, LB Lucas Tankersley

Who to watch for Broome: RB Jaylen McGill, QB Kamajay Brackett-Brannon, WR/DB Tristan Cromer

About the Devildogs: TR is coming off their fifth-straight “Dog Bowl” win against arch-rival Berea. In their two wins this season, the Devildogs have scored more than 100 combined points.

About the Centurions: Broome put together a complete performance in a win over Woodruff last week. McGill and Brackett-Brannon turned in their usual outstanding performances, but WR Tre’Sean Suber and Cromer both had monster games, with the latter catching a TD pass and returning a pair of interceptions for touchdowns.

Class 1A No. 7 Southside Christian (2-2, 1-0 Region I-1A) at Dixie (2-3, 2-0 Region I-1A)

Series record: Southside Christian leads 10-5, including a 48-0 win in Simpsonville last season.

Last week: Southside Christian won at St. Joseph’s 35-14; Dixie beat Ware Shoals 16-14

Location: Henry C. Oates Stadium, 1 Haynes St, Due West

Who to watch for Southside Christian: WR Ethan Chandler, RB Silas Robertson, WR Zachary Brewster

Who to watch for Dixie: QB Staylon Johnson, RB Brandon Nance

About the Sabres: Southside Christian trailed St. Joseph’s 14-7 in the second quarter last week before scoring the final 28 points to hand the Knights their first loss. The Sabres have leaned heavily on the pass this year with a group of talented receivers and two quarterbacks, but the run game got going last week as well. Robertson had 71 yards on nine carries and also had the biggest play of the game. With 4.9 seconds left in the first half, he took a screen pass 32 yards for a touchdown to give Southside Christian the lead for good. Robertson became the seventh different Sabre to catch a touchdown pass this season.

About the Hornets: Dixie is off to a 2-0 start in region play after back-to-back thrilling wins. Two weeks ago, the Hornets got a touchdown in the final minute to beat McCormick 29-28. Last week, Nance scored a touchdown with 2:49 left but the extra point was blocked and Dixie trailed 14-13. The Hornets didn’t get the onside kick, but forced a punt, drove down and got a game-winning 26-yard field goal by John Suddeth with 17 seconds left. Nance ran 13 times for 68 yards, caught three passes for 56 yards and had two interceptions on defense.

Calhoun Falls (2-3, 0-1 Region I-1A) at Class 1A No. 8 St. Joseph’s (5-1, 1-1 Region I-1A)

Series record: St. Joseph’s leads 7-1, including a 62-6 win last season.

Last week: Calhoun Falls lost to West-Oak 56-12; St. Joseph’s lost to Southside Christian 35-14

Location: St. Joseph’s Catholic School, 100 St Joseph’s Dr, Greenville

Who to watch for Calhoun Falls: WR Da’quean Lewis, RB Jamarri Norman

Who to watch for St. Joseph’s: RB Brayden Johnson, MLB Johnny Jaraczewski, RB Lucas Salgado

About the Blue Flashes: Calhoun Falls snapped a 30-game losing streak in Week 1 and then made it a winning streak with a victory over the same team – Thornwell – the next Friday. Things have been rough for the Blue Flashes outside of those two wins though as they’ve allowed at least 51 points in all three losses. Lewis caught three passes for 87 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown last Friday. Norman carried for a four-yard touchdown to account for Calhoun Falls’ other score.

About the Knights: St. Joseph’s will try to rebound from its first loss. The Knights led Southside Christian 14-13 late in the first half before the Sabres scored with 4.9 seconds left to take the lead. After losing all that momentum right before half, St. Joseph’s could never get it back in the second half as it was held scoreless. Salgado had 85 yards on seven carries to lead the Knights, while quarterback Cade Alt carried 10 times for 63 yards including a 45-yard touchdown run.

J.L. Mann (5-1, 0-0 Region I-5A) at Woodmont (4-2, 0-0 Region I-5A)

Series record: Woodmont leads 16-15, but J.L. Mann won 14-7 last year to snap the Wildcats’ eight-game winning streak in the series.

Last week: Mann won at Wade Hampton 49-0; Woodmont lost at Seneca 40-38

Location: Whitt Memorial Field, 2831 W Georgia Rd, Piedmont

Who to watch for J.L. Mann: WR Mikel McClellan, QB Ethan Anderson, DE Jacari Bennett

Who to watch for Woodmont: WR Drake Stewart, QB Jordan Sink, RB Tavorace Williams

About the Patriots: Mann’s defense held Wade Hampton to 99 yards of total offense and had four interceptions in recording its third shutout of the season last Friday. Baylei Grant returned one of those 52 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead after one quarter. The Patriots dominated the second quarter. That’s when Anderson threw all four of his touchdowns and Na’Cyus Morrison added a five-yard scoring run to push the lead to 42-0 at the half. Anderson completed 10-of-15 passes for 191 yards.

About the Wildcats: Woodmont will try to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss at Seneca last Friday in which the Wildcats were stopped short on a potential game-tying two-point conversion in the final seconds. Woodmont made just one of six two-point tries for the game. Williams and Ezekiel Butler provide a one-two punch at running back as they’ve rushed for 661 and 503 yards, respectively, this season. Stewart has 455 yards receiving, is averaging 17.5 yards per catch, and has hauled in half of Sink’s 12 touchdown passes. Sink has thrown for 1,100 yards and three interceptions.

Greenwood (2-3, 0-0 Region I-4A) at Berea (1-4, 0-0 Region I-4A)

Series record: The teams had never met before being lumped in the same region together last season. Greenwood won 57-6.

Last week: Greenwood was off after losing at T.L. Hanna 38-7 in Week 4; Berea lost to Travelers Rest 42-3

Radio/TV/Internet: Greenwood – Sunny 103.5 FM

Location: Berea High School, 201 Burdine Dr, Greenville

Who to watch for Greenwood: RB Deterrious Gary, QB Tristan Lewis, WR Jayden Adams

Who to watch for Berea: QB Amazay Robinson, RB Miquel Kilgore, WR Destin Eichelberger

About the Eagles: It’s unusual for Greenwood to have a losing overall record going into region play. It’s even more unusual how they got there. Greenwood’s two wins came against traditional powers AC Flora and Dorman. Those two currently have a combined record of 3-7 though. A span that best sums up the Eagles’ head-scratching season started in Week 1. Dorman beat North Augusta that night, 34-13. The next week, Greenwood edged Dorman, 10-7. The following week, North Augusta outlasted Greenwood, 49-40.

About the Bulldogs: Berea had more than 200 yards of total offense, but could never find the end zone in its loss to rival Travelers Rest last week. For the second consecutive week, the Bulldogs played without leading rusher Taurean Davis. Davis has 319 yards in three games and is averaging 8.4 yards per carry, while Kilgore has rushed for 309 yards on 50 carries. Eichelberger caught six passes for 92 yards last week and has 358 yards receiving this season.

Eastside (3-2) at Emerald (0-5)

Series record: Emerald leads 3-0, including a 27-14 win in Taylors last year.

Last week: Eastside was off after beating Travelers Rest 21-15 in Week 4; Emerald lost to Crescent 28-12

Location: Frank Hill Stadium, 150 Bypass 225, Greenwood

Who to watch for Eastside: RB Kalvin Banks, LB Andrew Moree, LB Cayden Workman

Who to watch for Emerald: RB Chris Foster, QB Key Holloway

About the Eagles: Eastside will hope that the off week doesn’t slow down momentum it has built during a three-game winning streak. In just four games, Banks has rushed for 734 yards and 10 touchdowns on 87 carries. Moree has 32 tackles and team-high five sacks, while Workman leads the defense with 43 tackles.

About the Vikings: After three losses by a combined total of seven points to start the season, things have gotten rougher for Emerald. After getting blown out by Belton-Honea Path two weeks ago, the Vikings allowed 477 yards of total offense to Crescent in last Friday’s loss. Foster and Holloway accounted for both Emerald touchdowns on runs of 53 and 62 yards, respectively.

Greer (1-5, 0-0 Region II-4A) at Laurens (0-6, 0-0 Region II-4A)

Series record: In a series that began in 1928, Greer leads 17-12-3. Laurens won 20-17 last season at Greer.

Last week: Greer lost to Westside 56-42; Laurens lost to TL Hanna 48-6

Radio/TV/Internet: Greer – WGYT 92.1 FM, yellowjacketsports.net; Laurens – WLBG 860 AM, wlbg.com/listenlive

Location: K.C. Hanna Stadium, 5058 US-76, Laurens

Who to watch for Greer: RB LaDainnian Martin, QB Chris Hall, WR Chase Byrd

Who to watch for Laurens: QB Nick Danciu, LB Ja’Mauri Williams

About the Yellow Jackets: If it’s possible for a 1-5 team to take momentum into region play, Greer could make that case after holding its own in a wild shootout loss last Friday. In his second game since moving to quarterback and facing a Westside team loaded with talent, Hall completed 11-of-17 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 107 yards and two scores. Martin ran for two touchdowns and 103 yards, while Byrd caught five passes for 97 yards and a score. The Yellow Jackets’ five losses have come to teams with a combined record of 23-5.

About the Raiders: Laurens has faced an extremely challenging schedule as well, which has left the Raiders off to their worst start since 2009. That team started 0-7 and finished 1-10. Five of Laurens’ six opponents have ranked in the top five of their respective Class polls at some point this season. Last Friday, Danciu scored from a yard out to give the Raiders a 6-0 lead before Hanna answered with authority. The Raiders were held to 87 yards of total offense and four first downs.

Riverside (3-3, 0-0 Region II-4A) at Wade Hampton (2-4, 0-0 Region II-4A)

Series record: Riverside leads 24-11, including a 49-7 win last year in Greer.

Last week: Riverside lost to Daniel 56-14; Wade Hampton lost to JL Mann 49-0

Location:

Who to watch for Riverside: WR/RB Mikkel Skinner, QB Ty Breeze, DL Marcus Downs

Who to watch for Wade Hampton: QB Jack Stepp, WR Jamarion McKinney, DE Javarous Haygood

About the Warriors: Riverside will look to get things rolling again after seeing its high-powered offense shut down by a more highly-powered defense. The Warriors were held to 120 yards of total offense last Friday against unbeaten Daniel. That came a week after being held to 79 yards by Spartanburg. Despite the two-game lull, Skinner still has 382 yards rushing and 334 receiving this season. He’s averaging 10.9 yards per carry and 15.9 yards per catch. Speedy Taylor leads Riverside with 27 catches for 382 yards and seven touchdowns.

About the Generals: After getting shut out in the season opener, Wade Hampton had scored at least 27 points in four consecutive games before being blanked again last week. The Generals were held to 99 yards of total offense and suffered four interceptions in the loss. 

Southside (0-5, 0-0 Region II-3A) at Palmetto (1-4, 0-0 Region II-3A)

Series record: Palmetto leads 6-5, but Southside won 25-21 last season in Greenville.

Last week: Southside lost at Easley 38-12; Palmetto lost to Pendleton 61-7

Location: Dale Martin Field, 803 Hamilton St, Williamston

Who to watch for Southside: RB Javontae Searles, QB Chance McClure, DE Christopher Smith

Who to watch for Palmetto: RB Tyce Garner, CB Isaiah Hill, DB Jayden Jenkins

About the Tigers: Southside will try to get things on track against one of the four opponents it defeated last season. The Tigers have not started a season 0-6 since 2011.

About the Mustangs: Things got out of hand quickly for Palmetto last week, as it fell behind 41-7 at the half. The Mustangs allowed seven touchdown passes and Pendleton also returned a fumble for a score. That highlights a big problem for Palmetto this season as it has already lost 11 turnovers. Hill has a team-high 45 tackles and two interceptions this season. Jenkins, a sophomore, has 23 tackles and a team-high three interceptions.

Fountain Inn (2-3, 0-0 Region II-3A) at Wren (1-4, 0-0 Region II-3A)

Series record: Wren won the first-ever meeting between the schools 49-7 in Fountain Inn last year.

Last week: Fountain Inn was off after a 53-0 loss to Pendleton in Week 4; Wren lost to Hillcrest 56-12

Location: Jack King Field, 156 State Rd S-4-388, Piedmont

Who to watch for Fountain Inn: QB Sam Holliday, LB Xeviel Gonzalez, DB Caden Carnes

Who to watch for Wren: QB Colten Bagwell, RB Reese Price, DB Tyler Morgan

About the Fury: Fountain Inn has had an extra week to work on things after being held to just 116 yards of total offense in the loss to Pendleton. Holliday has 699 yards of total offense (331 passing/368 passing) this season. The freshman has had a hand in all 11 Fury touchdowns as he’s ran for six and thrown for five. Gonzalez has a team-high 34.5 tackles, while Carnes has 28.5.

About the Hurricanes: After facing a murderer’s row non-region schedule, Wren will get to see how much that paid off the rest of the way. The Hurricanes’ non-region opponents currently have a combined record of 24-4. Outside of undefeated Belton-Honea Path, every region opponent currently has a losing record. Bagwell has 1,155 yards of total offense this season (615 passing/540 rushing) and 11 touchdowns (six rushing/five passing). Price has 424 yards rushing and two scores.