Week 9 Previews: Greenville County

REGION I-5A

JL Mann (1-7, 1-4) at No. 4 Greenwood (7-1, 4-1)

For the second consecutive week, JL Mann faces the challenge of a ranked opponent. Last Friday, the Patriots fell to TL Hanna 55-17. AJ Bush’s 85-yard touchdown catch cut Hanna’s lead to 20-10 in the first quarter and Harrison Knight’s 17-yard touchdown reception cut it to 34-17 in the second, but Mann never got closer. The Patriots allowed more than 600 yards of total offense, including 570 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Mann was held to 13 yards rushing as a team. That total included a 25-yard gain by punter Philip Georgopoulos after picking up a snap that sailed over his head. Gage Watkins passed for 182 yards and both scores for the Patriots.

Greenwood is coming off a 49-7 win over Woodmont. South Carolina commit Triston Lewis threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 72 yards and another score.

Greenville (6-2, 4-1) at Hillcrest (5-3, 3-2)

Senior Night is set for Friday at Hillcrest, but the Rams will try to ensure it’s not their final home game this fall. Both Greenville and Hillcrest could host a playoff game when the postseason begins on Nov. 7, but Friday’s winner will obviously have its resume boosted. The Rams are coming off a 49-20 win at Easley in which they had 531 yards of total offense. Jackson Free threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 65 yards and another score. Jaylen Samuels had 80 yards rushing on just three carries, including a touchdown, while Josh Smith ran for 70 and a score. Ny’Jai Harris caught three passes for 83 yards and a touchdown also for Hillcrest.

Greenville bounced back from its only region loss at Greenwood in Week 7 with a gritty 21-13 win over Mauldin last Friday. With the Red Raiders clinging to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Kiishawn Farrow rushed for his third touchdown of the night to seal the win. Farrow finished with 124 yards on 13 carries and he passed for 105 yards. Fellow sophomore Deandre Dogan rushed for 78 yards. Harrison Ruth had a game-high 13 tackles to lead Greenville’s defense.

Woodmont (2-6, 1-4) at Mauldin (3-4, 1-4)

Mauldin will try to bounce back from another close loss to a region leader as it fell at Greenville, 21-13, last week. The Mavericks, who took first-place TL Hanna to overtime before losing earlier this season, rallied from a 14-0 second quarter deficit last week. With 36 seconds left in the first half, Mauldin got on the scoreboard on a three-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Peyton Myers to Tamari Shepherd. Late in the third quarter, Myers threw a 69-yard touchdown to Micah McClintock to cut the lead to 14-13 but the Mavs got no closer. Myers finished with 128 yards passing. Starting QB Reddick Langston completed 7-of-12 passes for 73 yards and ran five times for 69 yards before leaving the game in the second quarter. Isaiah Thompson led Mauldin’s defensive effort with 10 tackles.

Woodmont looks to rebound from a 49-7 loss to Greenwood last Friday. Jackson Haymes’ 50-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Keist accounted for the Wildcats’ lone score. Haymes finished with 172 yards on 16-of-30 passing. Everett Brajas had two interceptions on defense also for Woodmont.

REGION II-5A

Wade Hampton (0-8, 0-5) at Eastside (3-5, 0-5)

A rare region win will be collected when these two rivals meet on Friday. After going 4-1 in Region II-4A in 2019, Eastside has won just three region games since. Two of those came against Wade Hampton each of the last two years. The Generals have just one region win over the past seven seasons. That one came against the Eagles in 2022.

Eastside entered last Friday’s matchup against Byrnes averaging 41.4 points per game, but its offense was shut out in an 18-6 loss. Christian McDowell accounted for the Eagles’ lone points with a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown that cut the Rebels’ lead to 10-6 in the third quarter. Cayden Workman had 14 tackles and an interception to lead Eastside’s defense. Peyton Schrader had 78 yards passing and 70 rushing for the Eagles, while Lucas Tankersley had 68 yards rushing along with nine tackles defensively, including a sack.

Wade Hampton fell to Dorman last Friday, 52-7, for its 22nd consecutive loss. The Generals snapped a 10-quarter scoreless streak when Angel Gomez ran for a six-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Gomez also had 10 tackles, while Nick Gregar had 11 to lead Wade Hampton’s defense.

Boiling Springs (4-4, 2-3) at Riverside (3-5, 2-3)

Two teams trying to even their region records meet in this matchup Friday night. Riverside hasn’t beaten a team from Spartanburg County since a 15-14 win over Boiling Springs in 2014. The Warriors are coming off a 49-20 loss in a flagfest at Gaffney last week as the teams combined for 32 penalties for 362 yards. Riverside had 464 yards of total offense, 29 first downs and converted 8-of-13 third downs, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace on the scoreboard. Gideon Merhib threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 161 yards to lead the Warriors. Keyon Knowles rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown, while Peyton Stevenson caught five passes for 109 yards and two scores also for Riverside.

A season-long trend of a big win followed by a quiet loss continued for Boiling Springs last week as the Bulldogs fell to Spartanburg, 21-7. In its two region wins, Boiling Springs has a combined 87 points. In its three losses, it has a combined 14 points. After falling behind 14-0 last Friday, the Bulldogs got a field goal and two safeties in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-7 at the half. Spartanburg scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half and that wrapped up the scoring for the night. Boiling Springs had 201 yards rushing as a team, but the offense was doomed by three turnovers. Imri Logan had 89 yards passing and 60 rushing for the Bulldogs. TJ Collins piled up 16 tackles, including a sack, to lead Boiling Springs’ defensive effort.

REGION I-4A

Fountain Inn (4-4, 1-2) at Emerald (4-4, 1-2)

While Wren and Westside will face off for the region title next week, this matchup will likely determine third place. Fountain Inn will look to bounce back from a 48-21 loss to Westside last Friday. The Fury came back from an early 14-0 deficit and had Westside’s lead down to 21-14 by halftime, but couldn’t get any closer in the second half. Fountain Inn’s strong running game was held in check as Bojack Johnson had 52 yards and Sam Holliday had 21 on only four carries. Holliday completed 18-of-27 passes for 109 yards through the air with two touchdowns and also ran for the Fury’s other score.

Emerald’s coming off a 61-0 win over Southside last week. Quarterback Beau Hite completed 11-of-16 passes for 200 yards with two touchdowns and had a 25-yard run on his only carry for the Vikings. Christopher Dean ran seven times for 101 yards and two scores also for Emerald.

No. 10 Wren (6-2, 3-0) at Southside (0-8, 0-3)

Southside suffered its 29th consecutive loss in a 61-0 defeat at Emerald last Friday. It was also the Tigers’ fourth straight game in which they were shut out.

Wren recorded its fourth consecutive win with a 45-28 victory over Laurens last week. Muntu Brown ran 26 times for 287 yards and three touchdowns, while Jacob Owings completed 11-of-18 passes for 159 yards and three scores for the Hurricanes.

REGION II-4A

Travelers Rest (2-6, 0-4) at Berea (1-7, 0-4)

The 66th edition of the “Dog Bowl” will give one team a long-awaited region win. Travelers Rest hasn’t won a region game since 2023, while Berea’s lone region the last two years came in a 24-21 victory at TR last season. Berea scored for the first time since Sept. 12 last week at Walhalla, but the Bulldogs fell 35-14. Berea trailed 21-14 at the half before the Razorbacks pulled away in the second half.

Travelers Rest fell behind 21-0 after one quarter last week and went on to a 48-24 loss to Blue Ridge. The big early deficit hampered the Devildogs’ typical run-heavy attack and they were held to 129 yards rushing on just 23 attempts. Colby Epps threw a pair of touchdown passes and Mari Reeves ran for another score for TR.

No. 5 Daniel (7-1, 4-0) at Blue Ridge (5-3, 2-2)

Blue Ridge is looking to match its highest win total since 2014, but it will take a big upset to get there this Friday. The Tigers snapped a two-game losing skid last week with a 48-24 win over Travelers Rest. Gavin Forrester completed 8-of-12 passes for 105 yards, while rushing 13 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Jakorey Dodd ran 14 times for 204 yards and two scores to lead Blue Ridge’s 360-yard rushing effort. Tajah Landrum had 17 tackles to lead the Tigers’ defense.

After opening region play with a 27-16 win over Seneca, Daniel has outscored its last three opponents by a combined total of 161-14. That includes a 52-7 win over Pickens last Friday. Sophomore Jace Grass threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the Lions. Freshman Kingston Bibb ran five times for 81 yards and two touchdowns, and caught three passes for 120 yards and two more scores also for Daniel.

REGION II-3A

St. Joseph’s (4-4, 1-2) at Palmetto (1-7, 1-2)

St. Joseph’s will try to bounce back from its first home loss. Playing without standout running back Mack Rambo, who has a knee injury, the Knights were held to 168 yards of total offense in a 27-7 loss to Southside Christian last week. One-third of those total yards came on one play – a 56-yard run by Jack Stewart that set up St. Joseph’s lone score. Two plays later, Sam Patterson scored from a yard out to help cut the lead to 10-7 in the second quarter. Paul Norman had 48 yards on five carries to lead the Knights, while Brodie Martin posted a game-high 12 tackles on defense.

Palmetto fell behind 35-0 at the half last week and went on to a 45-14 loss to Powdersville. The Mustangs are trying to avoid having their fewest wins in a season since going 1-9 in 1980.

Carolina (2-6, 0-3) at No. 9 Powdersville (6-2, 3-0)

After matching its highest win total since 2013 just four games into this season, hard times have hit Carolina in region play. The Trojans face their biggest challenge of the year Friday night and do so on a four-game losing streak after falling to Christ Church, 52-20, last week. After scoring only 12 points since Sept. 5 entering last Friday, Carolina did find some offense. Jordyn Rice threw for 247 yards and ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Trojans. Sophomore Bryson McMoore ran for Carolina’s other score.

Powdersville used a four-touchdown second quarter to help roll past Palmetto, 45-14, last week. A victory Friday would make the Patriots region champions for the fourth time in the past five seasons. It would be the fifth region title overall for Powdersville, which opened in 2012.

Christ Church (6-2, 2-1) at Southside Christian (3-5, 2-1)

A pair of road wins by Southside Christian over the last two weeks has positioned this rivalry matchup to likely determine second place in the region. The Sabres improved to 3-0 on the road this season with a 27-7 victory at St. Joseph’s last week. DJ Lee rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown, caught two passes for 27 yards and had six tackles on defense to lead Southside Christian. Keldin Wrona ran five times for 43 yards and a score, caught two passes for 58 yards and had a 55-yard interception return also for the Sabres. Nigel Rock led their defensive effort with eight tackles, including two sacks.

Christ Church rebounded from a heartbreaking overtime loss to Powdersville in Week 7 with a 52-20 win at Carolina last Friday. Judd Windham completed 14-of-18 passes for 236 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while Michael Martin ran 12 times for 93 yards and two scores to lead the Cavaliers. Jude Hall hauled in six passes for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Christ Church’s receivers. The Cavs added a defensive score on Augustus De Brux’ 42-yard pick-six.