Week 7 Previews: Greenville County

REGION I-5A

Greenville (5-1, 3-0) at No. 7 Greenwood (5-1, 2-1)

A huge test awaits Greenville Friday as the Red Raiders try to stay even with TL Hanna atop the region standings. Last week, Greenville raced out to a 28-3 halftime lead and went on to a 42-16 win at Easley. The Red Raiders overcame 20 penalties for 219 yards. Sophomore quarterback Kiishawn Farrow threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 54 yards and three scores. His top target was Jadyn Rice, who finished with nine catches for 181 yards and a touchdown. Rice also had a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Greenwood standout quarterback Triston Lewis had 358 yards of total offense (290 passing, 68 rushing) and four touchdowns in the Eagles’ 33-10 win at Mauldin last Friday. Trey Crawford rushed for 175 yards also for Greenwood.

JL Mann (1-5, 1-2) at Hillcrest (3-3, 1-2)

Hillcrest will try to rebound from a rare lopsided home loss as the Rams fell to TL Hanna, 32-13, last Friday. Hillcrest, which trailed 25-7 at the half, saw its powerful rushing attack held to 23 yards on 24 carries. Tyler Tolbert had four receptions for 80 yards and both touchdowns for the Rams.

JL Mann is coming off a blowout loss as well. The Patriots took a 10-0 lead over Woodmont in the second quarter last Friday before getting outscored 45-3 the rest of the night as the Wildcats won, 45-13. Philip Georgopoulos made field goals of 33 and 37 yards, respectively, for the Patriots. 

Easley (3-3, 1-2) at Mauldin (2-4, 0-3)

Playing without injured starting quarterback Reddick Langston, Mauldin’s offense struggled in a 33-10 loss to Greenwood last week. Running back Taurus Thomason, who was out the week before at TL Hanna, returned and led the Mavericks with 102 yards on 13 carries. Thomason had Mauldin’s lone touchdown with a 43-yard run on the second play of the third quarter. His touchdown was set up by a 53-yard kickoff return by Tamari Shepherd.

Easley’s high-powered offense was held to 101 total yards in the Green Wave’s 42-16 loss to Greenville. Josiah Coleman accounted for 84 of those with 40 yards passing and 44 rushing. Easley’s two touchdowns came on interception returns by Matthew Hillstock and Trent Coker.

Woodmont (2-4, 1-2) at TL Hanna (5-1, 3-0)

Woodmont looks to build off its big road win last week, 45-13 over JL Mann, but has a big challenge at TL Hanna. The Wildcats fell behind 10-0 in the second quarter before storming back. Woodmont’s scoring barrage began when Jeremiah Gipson returned a blocked punt 30 yards for a touchdown. It was the first of two blocked punts by the Wildcats. Midway through the second quarter, Devonte Taylor ran for a 21-yard touchdown to give Woodmont a lead it never relinquished. Taylor capped the win by rushing for the last two touchdowns of the game. Christian Mitchell had three sacks to lead the Wildcats’ defensive effort.

In TL Hanna’s 32-13 win at Hillcrest, the Yellow Jackets rushed for 347 yards on 50 attempts. Brock Cole led the way with 130 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Cole also caught a 32-yard touchdown pass.

REGION II-5A

Wade Hampton (0-6, 0-3) at Boiling Springs (3-3, 1-2)

Wade Hampton’s struggles continued last week in a 52-0 home loss to Spartanburg. The Generals were held to 50 yards of total offense in losing their 20th consecutive game. Angel Gomez had 11 tackles, including eight solo stops, to lead Wade Hampton’s defense.

Boiling Springs is looking to rebound from a rough trip to Dorman last Friday. The Bulldogs were held to 80 yards of total offense in the 34-0 loss. Ta’mi’jay Brown had 16 tackles for Boiling Springs’ defense, while Jamarcus Means had 11 stops.

Eastside (3-3, 0-3) at Riverside (2-4, 1-2)

Riverside will try to build off some positives it experienced in a loss to Byrnes last Friday. The Warriors trailed 42-7 in the third quarter, but closed the gap for a final score of 42-27. Gideon Merhib threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns, while also leading Riverside in rushing with 73 yards and the other touchdown.

Eastside will try to rebound from a wild 40-35 loss to Gaffney last week. The Eagles rallied from a 26-16 halftime deficit to take a 29-26 lead late in the third quarter before Gaffney responded. Eastside scored with 38 seconds left to cut the lead to five, but couldn’t recover the onside kick. Peyton Schrader rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for 129 yards and another score for the Eagles. Lucas Tankersley added 101 yards rushing, including a 70-yard touchdown run that got Eastside on the board in the first quarter. Tankersley also had 14 tackles on defense.

REGION I-4A

Laurens (0-6, 0-1) at Southside (0-6, 0-1)

A lengthy losing streak will be snapped Friday at Perkins Stadium. Southside fell to Westside 55-0 last week for its 27th consecutive loss, while Laurens has lost 10 straight after falling to Fountain Inn 26-7. The Raiders have lost 17 of their last 18 games with the lone win being a 45-0 victory over the Tigers last season.

Nehemias Fernandez rushed for 131 yards and the lone touchdown for Laurens last week.

Fountain Inn (4-2, 1-0) at Wren (4-2, 1-0)

There’s still plenty of football to be played after this Friday, but this matchup could go a long way toward determining the region champion. In Fountain Inn’s 26-7 win over Laurens last week, Sam Holliday completed 13-of-17 passes for 201 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 66 yards and a score, while Bojack Johnson led the Fury rushing attack with 84 yards. BJ Curenton caught six passes for 81 yards, while Ben Ruwe had three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown for Fountain Inn.

Wren rallied from a 24-10 halftime deficit last Friday for a wild 45-44 win over Emerald. Muntu Brown rushed 31 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score with less than a minute to play. Caiden Hill caught five passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns also for the Hurricanes.

REGION II-4A

No. 8 Seneca (6-1, 2-1) at Berea (1-5, 0-3)

After a rough night against a ranked region foe last week, things don’t get any easier for Berea this week against another ranked region opponent. Last Friday, the Bulldogs had a total of four yards rushing, three yards passing and no first downs in a 56-0 loss at Daniel.

Seneca quarterback Gavin Thoma completed 17-of-21 passes for 250 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions last Friday as the Bobcats beat Blue Ridge, 47-13. Amari Verner rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown also for Seneca.

Greer (3-4, 3-0) at Blue Ridge (4-2, 1-1)

Blue Ridge will try to bounce back from a 47-13 loss at Seneca last week. Quarterback Gavin Forrester threw for 167 yards and rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown to lead the Tigers. Braylon Edwards had four receptions for 66 yards also for Blue Ridge.

Greer will try to stay perfect in region play coming off a 60-14 win over Pickens last Friday. The Blue Flame scored on the opening possession before the Yellow Jackets had a six-touchdown response to take a 40-7 lead into halftime. Calvin McCoy ran for three of those first-half touchdowns and finished with 100 yards rushing to lead Greer. Zy Foster had 97 yards rushing and two scores also for the Yellow Jackets. Quarterback Dawson Fowler returned to action after missing the previous game due to injury. Fowler passed for 92 yards and two scores, while rushing for 77 yards on just five carries. Paden Armstrong led Greer’s defensive effort with six tackles, including 2.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.

No. 5 Daniel (5-1, 2-0) at Travelers Rest (2-4, 0-2)

Travelers Rest will face a big test as it tries to rebound from a 45-20 non-region loss to Pendleton last week. The Devildogs led 14-12 in the second quarter before the Bulldogs rallied to lead 24-14 at the half. Travelers Rest cut the lead to 24-20 in the third quarter, but could get no closer.

Eight different Lions found the end zone in Daniel’s 56-0 win over Berea last week. Jace Grass threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions, who had a 461-7 advantage in total yards.

REGION II-3A

Southside Christian (1-5, 0-1) at Palmetto (1-5, 1-0)

Southside Christian will try to get on track after a tough 24-0 loss to Powdersville last Friday. It was a scoreless tie until less than a minute left in the first half when the Patriots kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. Powdersville scored a touchdown on offense and one on defense in the third quarter to take command. DJ Lee had 62 yards rushing and 36 receiving to lead the Sabres. Keldin Wrona caught six passes for 67 yards also for Southside Christian.

Palmetto earned its first win of the season with a 28-0 victory at Carolina last Friday. Michael Fisher caught three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs.

Christ Church (5-1, 1-0) at Powdersville (4-2, 1-0)

Just two weeks into region play, this could prove to be the biggest matchup of the season. Christ Church is coming off a 39-34 win over rival St. Joseph’s. The Cavaliers rallied from a 20-7 first quarter deficit to take a 26-20 halftime lead and held on for the win. Michael Martin ran 37 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns to lead Christ Church. Quarterback Judd Windham completed 10-of-15 passes for 181 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and also rushed for 72 yards for the Cavaliers. Hayes Lyman caught four passes for 97 yards and a score also for Christ Church.

Powdersville is coming off a 24-0 win at Southside Christian last Friday. The shutout was highlighted by 274-pound defensive tackle Zach Taylor’s 14-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Carolina (2-4, 0-1) at St. Joseph’s (3-3, 0-1)

St. Joseph’s will try to bounce back from a 39-34 loss at rival Christ Church last Friday. The Knights fell despite an incredible effort from Paul Norman. Norman returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, returned one of his two interceptions 43 yards for a touchdown, had 53 yards rushing on eight carries and caught St. Joseph’s only completion for 15 yards. Linebacker Josh Lyons had seven tackles and a 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown also for the Knights.

Carolina is coming off a tough 28-0 home loss to Palmetto. The Trojans were held to 128 yards of total offense, including just 28 yards rushing. Jordan Ellman-Sanders was a bright spot for Carolina as he had eight receptions for 76 yards.