Week 2 Previews: Greenville County

CLASS 5A

No. 4 Gaffney (1-1) at Greenville (1-1)

After being shut out by Dorman two weeks ago, Greenville got one of its own last Friday with a 28-0 win at Riverside. Junior Julian Renwick led the defensive effort with a monster night. He had four sacks, three other tackles-for-loss and six hurries. Making his first start at quarterback, Kiishawn Farrow ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders’ offense.

Former Greenville quarterback Banks Bouton returns to Sirrine Stadium as part of what’s been a two-man rotation for Gaffney. Jayvon Gilmore, who’s committed to Arkansas, threw every pass in the Indians’ 28-0 win over JL Mann last Friday. Meanwhile, Bouton led Gaffney in rushing with 91 yards on eight carries, including a touchdown. Indians’ lineman Jaleel Tate and linebackers Kendaris Bailey and Zyon Ratchford helped limit Mann to 126 total yards of offense in the shutout.

JL Mann (0-2) at Class 4A No. 10 Daniel (1-1)

What’s been a tough debut season for new JL Mann coach Bryce Smiley only gets tougher as the Patriots travel to take on what’s bound to be an angry bunch of Daniel Lions. After having its home opener moved more than 100 miles away due to standing water on its field, Mann lost at Midland Valley. Last week, the Patriots were held to 126 yards of offense in a 28-0 loss at Gaffney – Smiley’s alma mater and where he spent his entire assistant coaching career.

Daniel is coming off a 42-26 home loss to Stratford. That marked the Lions first home loss in the regular season since Oct. 26, 2016.

Riverside (1-1) at Christ Church (1-1)

Riverside will look to rebound from a surprising 28-0 loss to Greenville last week. After piling up big offensive numbers in a 41-27 win over Mauldin to open the season, the Warriors couldn’t find the end zone last Friday. It marked Riverside’s first shutout loss since Oct. 9, 2021.

Christ Church rebounded from a shutout loss to SCISA powerhouse Hammond in the season opener with a 41-6 win over the Anderson Cavaliers, which is made up of homeschooled and private school players. Michael Martin ran 13 times for 125 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way.

Wade Hampton (0-2) at Easley (1-1)

Wade Hampton hits the road for the first time this season after having its 16-game losing streak extended in tough fashion last Friday. The Generals took a 15-7 lead into the fourth quarter before Blue Ridge put up 22 points over the final nine minutes as Wade Hampton lost, 29-22. Sophomore Coleman Batson ran for all three touchdowns for the Generals.

Josiah Coleman has thrown for more than 600 yards and accounted for 10 touchdowns (six passing, four rushing) for Easley this season.

Mauldin (1-1) at Fountain Inn (1-1)

Mauldin is coming off a big 21-14 win over Boiling Springs, avenging a 31-12 loss to the Bulldogs in 2024. Reddick Langston had two touchdown passes before Boiling Springs offense even hit the field, as the Mavericks recovered a fumble on the kickoff after the first score. Mauldin didn’t score again until the fourth quarter when Kamari Cannon scored from a yard out to snap the 14-14 tie. Langston finished with 147 yards passing and 72 rushing. Tamari Shepherd caught five passes for 90 yards also for the Mavericks.

Fountain Inn enters its home opener coming off a 46-27 loss to an extremely talented Woodruff team. Sam Holliday had 288 yards passing, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and 86 yards rushing to lead the Fury. Bojack Johnson rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns, while Colby Flood caught three passes for 108 yards also for Fountain Inn.

Greer (0-2) at Hillcrest (1-1)

Hillcrest looks to get back on track after a 30-21 at Clover last Friday. The Rams took a 21-17 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Blue Eagles got a pair of touchdowns to pull out the victory. Josh Smith rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns to lead Hillcrest, while Jackson Free passed for 203 yards including an 87-yard touchdown pass to JK Stroud. The Rams allowed Clover to pile up 532 yards of total offense.

Greer faces another test as it looks to avoid starting 0-3 for the second consecutive season. The Yellow Jackets, who are coming off a 42-19 loss at Class 3A power Belton-Honea Path, have been plagued by slow starts this season. While Greer has outscored opponents 31-7 in the fourth quarter this season, its been outscored 57-6 over the first three. The Yellow Jackets allowed 472 yards of total offense, including 313 rushing, to BHP last Friday.

Woodmont (0-1) at Pendleton (1-1)

Woodmont will try to bounce back from a 49-7 season-opening loss at Seneca last week. Facing a Bobcats’ offense that has lit up the scoreboard this season, the Wildcats allowed 587 total yards. Senior Nicholas Kiest accounted for Woodmont’s lone score with a 29-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Pendleton evened up its record this season with a 19-0 win at Keenan last Friday. Trent Garner has 16 tackles and three sacks this season for the Bulldogs.

CLASS 4A

Carolina (0-1) at Berea (0-1)

Berea opens the home portion of its 2025 schedule against its most prolific opponent not named Travelers Rest. This will be the 40th meeting between the Bulldogs and Carolina, with Berea holding a 22-17 advantage in the series.

Both teams opened the season with road losses last week. Berea fell at Landrum, 39-0, while the Trojans lost at Eastside, 62-8.

Polk County (NC) (1-1) at Blue Ridge (1-0)

Blue Ridge will look to keep it rolling after a 22-point fourth quarter lifted the Tigers to a 29-22 win at Wade Hampton in the season opener last Friday. Jakorey Dodd rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns to lead Blue Ridge to the victory. Defensively, Grady Gilstrap had 6.5 tackles, including two tackles-for-loss and a sack for the Tigers.

Southside (0-2) at Dixie (1-1)

Southside will travel to Class 1A’s Dixie on Friday hoping to solve some problems on both sides of the ball. The Tigers followed up a 51-6 loss at Eastside in Week 0, with a 61-12 loss to Class 2A’s Liberty last week. Southside fell behind 35-6 after one quarter and was held to three first downs in the game. In last year’s meeting, Dixie pulled out a thrilling 37-36 win in Greenville.

Travelers Rest (1-1) at Palmetto (0-2)

Travelers Rest will look to rebound from a 28-7 loss to Emerald in its home opener last week. The Devildogs trailed 14-7 late in the third quarter before the Vikings put together a pair of touchdown drives to seal the win. Palmetto, which lost at Crescent 21-6 last week, is trying to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2021.

CLASS 3A

St. Joseph’s (2-0) at No. 4 Mountain View (2-0)

It will be a battle of unbeatens at North Greenville Friday. St. Joseph’s is coming off a thrilling 35-34 win over Chapman last Friday. Mack Rambo rushed 33 times for 256 yards in the win. His fourth touchdown gave the Knights a 35-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter. After Chapman scored with two minutes left, its two-point conversion pass fell incomplete. St. Joseph’s Josh Lyons recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the win.

Mountain View is led by the dynamic duo of Makorean Anderson and KD Hainsworth. In last week’s 43-14 win at Southside Christian, Anderson passed for 238 yards and a touchdown and ran six times for 50 yards and three scores. Hainsworth had five receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. All that damage was done in the first half, as the starters didn’t play after halftime.

Class 4A No. 4 AC Flora (2-0) at Southside Christian (0-2)

A nightmarishly difficult schedule continues for Southside Christian. While the Sabres will be at home for the third consecutive week, they’ll be facing a highly-ranked team for the third consecutive week as well. AC Flora went a surprising 4-7 last season, but things seem back to normal with double-digit wins thus far for the Falcons. Prior to last season, Flora had gone 52-8 over its previous five years. After a 42-0 loss to Abbeville to open the season, Southside Christian fell to Mountain View 43-14 last Friday. The Sabres got a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to snap a seven-quarter scoreless streak to begin the season.