Week 3 Previews: Greenville County

CLASS 5A

Eastside (2-0) at Blue Ridge (2-0)

Eastside will roll into Blue Ridge Friday looking to start a season 3-0 for the second year in a row. The Eagles have outscored opponents 113-14 this season following last week’s 51-6 win over Southside. This will be a battle of dual-threat quarterbacks. Eastside’s Paxton Schrader has completed 12-of-17 passes for 287 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He leads the Eagles in rushing with 152 yards and two scores. Kelyn Durham has 148 yards rushing and three touchdowns also for Eastside. The Eagles have already piled up 19 sacks on defense this season, including seven by MJ Posey.

Blue Ridge is going for its first 3-0 start since posting a 10-2 record in 2012. Senior Gavin Forrester has thrown for 206 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while rushing for 144 yards and two scores. Jakorey Dodd leads the Tigers with 148 yards rushing and four touchdowns. 

Class 3A No. 2 Woodruff (3-0) at Woodmont (1-1)

New Woodmont coach Malcolm Boyd earned his first victory in thrilling fashion last Friday when the Wildcats pulled out a 28-21 overtime win at Pendleton. Woodmont overcame three turnovers by rushing for more than 200 yards as a team. Sophomore Ja’cobie Robinson provided the highlight of the night with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Woodruff moved to 3-0 in impressive fashion last Friday. After falling behind 23-0 in the second quarter at Emerald, the Wolverines put up half a hundred the rest of the way for a 50-23 win. Connor Davis completed 19-of-30 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another score. Kori Moates caught 11 of those passes for 154 yards and two scores, while Aiden Gibson rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns also for Woodruff. 

CLASS 4A

Class 5A No. 6 Byrnes (1-1) at Greer (0-3)

Greer will try to avoid its first 0-4 start since 1992 when the 63rd edition of this rivalry kicks off Friday at Dooley Field. The Yellow Jackets faced the same task last season and rose to the occasion with an 18-10 victory, snapping Byrnes’ 16-game winning streak in the series. Greer last beat the Rebels in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a tough 55-16 loss at Hillcrest. Greer trailed 13-3 at the half before the Rams pulled away in the second half. Dawson Fowler passed for 207 yards and rushed for 105 and a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets. Calvin McCoy rushed for 140 yards and a score and caught six passes for 60 yards also for Greer.

Thanks to Byrnes’ bye being last Friday, the Rebels have had two weeks to stew about a heartbreaking loss to Irmo in a battle of top-ranked teams in Week 1. Byrnes scored midway through the fourth quarter to take a four-point lead before Irmo scored with 34 seconds left to pull off a 35-32 win. Tre Segarra has rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns to lead Byrnes this season. Chanin Harris has caught 11 passes for 197 yards and two scores also for the Rebels.

Southside (0-3) at Berea (0-2)

Berea will look to repeat last year’s result as the Bulldogs snapped Southside’s five-game winning streak in the series with a 26-20 road win. Berea is coming off a 21-6 loss to Carolina in its home opener last Friday.

Southside is coming off a 41-14 loss at Class 1A member Dixie last Friday. That extended the Tigers’ losing skid to 24 consecutive games.  Defense has been a struggle for Southside this season as it’s allowed 153 points.

Fountain Inn (1-2) at Carolina (1-1)

Carolina snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 21-6 victory at Berea last Friday. It marked the Trojans’ first road win since defeating West-Oak on Aug. 26, 2022. Kamron Reeder and Nakeam Boston ran for touchdowns for Carolina, while DJ Brown caught one. Reeder’s score was set up by a long interception return by Jordan Ellman-Sanders.

Fountain Inn is looking to bounce back from a tough 21-16 loss to Mauldin. After throwing no interceptions last season or this season, standout quarterback Sam Holliday was picked off twice in the loss. He accounted for both Fury scores with 125 yards passing and one touchdown and 123 yards rushing and one touchdown. Ben Ruwe caught 10 passes for 83 yards, including the touchdown.

CLASS 3A

Pickens (1-2) at St. Joseph’s (2-1)

St. Joseph’s will look to get back on track after a 66-27 loss to a loaded Mountain View team last Friday. Despite the loss, Mack Rambo continued to run wild. He had 114 yards on 18 carries, including an 80-yard score. For the season, he’s got 562 yards and nine touchdowns. Sam Patterson had four catches for 175 yards, including touchdown grabs of 81 and 50 yards, respectively, also for the Knights. Patterson also had 50 yards rushing on seven carries.

Pickens is coming off a 42-17 loss at Liberty. The Blue Flame trailed 14-10 in the first quarter before the Red Devils reeled off the next 28 points. Will Stone accounted for both Pickens touchdowns with a pair of scoring runs.