Week 9 Previews: Spartanburg County

REGION II-5A

Spartanburg (5-3, 4-1) at Byrnes (5-3, 3-2)

Byrnes will try to stay well within the upper half of the region, while Spartanburg looks to stay in region title contention and being in the odd position of rooting for rival Dorman Friday night. Playing without injured standout running back Tre Segarra last Friday, Byrnes grinded out an 18-6 win over Eastside. Jacobi Fuller filled Segarra’s shoes well with 122 yards rushing on 28 carries, while Caine Rogers threw for 157 yards and both Rebel touchdowns. Kaylin McDowell caught four passes for 96 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown, while Chanin Harris had five catches for 63 yards and the other score. Jonathan Montgomery had 11 tackles, while Nas Angram had 10, for a Byrnes’ defense that didn’t allow a point as Eastside’s lone score came on a pick-six.

Spartanburg had a gritty victory as well last week with a 21-7 win at Boiling Springs. The teams were even statistically, but the Vikings forced three turnovers while committing none. Trenton Lynch ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, while Trey Burke passed for 111 yards and two scores for Spartanburg. After taking a 14-7 lead into halftime, the Vikings got the ball to start the second half and capped the possession with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Burke to Torrean Davis. That was plenty enough for a Spartanburg defense that held the Bulldogs out of the end zone all night. All of Boiling Springs’ points came in the second quarter on a field goal and a pair of safeties.

No. 8 Gaffney (6-2, 5-0) at Dorman (6-2, 4-1)

Dorman will try to pull into a first-place tie in the region with a win Friday, while Gaffney tries to clinch at least a share of its fifth region championship in the past six years. Dorman rebounded from a heartbreaking three-point loss to rival Spartanburg on the final play of the game in Week 7 with a 52-7 win over Wade Hampton last Friday. The Cavaliers raced out to a 45-0 halftime lead and cruised through a running-clock second half for the win. Dorman got on the board with what had to be one of the earliest blocked field goal returns in a game in football history. After blocking the 43-yard attempt, Jordan Darby returned the loose ball 69 yards for a touchdown and the Cavs led 7-0 just 99 seconds into the game. Freshman Carter Nash rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns, while Nick Means ran for 63 yards on just four carries with a touchdown to lead Dorman.

Gaffney overcame 19 penalties for 216 yards to defeat Riverside, 49-20, last Friday. Banks Bouton completed 9-of-10 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, while rushing seven times for 96 yards and two scores to lead the Indians. Josiah Hill ran eight times for 88 yards and two touchdowns, Dominic Odom ran for 70 yards and a score, and Justin Dawkins rushed for 61 yards also for Gaffney. Chas Smith was Bouton’s top target as he hauled in four passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. 

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. 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.

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.

REGION III-3A

Chapman (1-7, 1-1) at No. 5 Woodruff (7-1, 2-0)

Woodruff can clinch its first region championship since 2015 with a win Friday. The Wolverines positioned themselves for the title after handing Mountain View its first loss, 49-28, last Friday. Facing an MVP team that had never trailed at the end of any quarter and had won every game by at least 22 points, Woodruff raced out to a stunning 36-7 halftime lead. After missing the previous game due to injury, star running back Aiden Gibson returned in a big way. He had 299 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries and also caught a 50-yard touchdown pass. Adrian Hill had nine tackles, including three tackles-for-loss and two sacks, to lead the Wolverines’ defensive effort.

Chapman celebrated homecoming by snapping an eight-game losing streak with an exciting 30-27 win over Union County last Friday. A wild first quarter saw the Panthers rally from a 14-0 deficit to take a 16-14 lead. Chapman snapped a 14-14 tie by tackling a Union kick returner in the end zone for a safety. The Yellow Jackets came back to take a 27-23 lead into halftime. Bryson Cothran threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Blake Williams late in the third quarter to give the Panthers the lead. Their defense made that lead stand as Teagan Cantrell’s fourth-quarter interception sealed the win. Cothran threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Keilon Tucker, whose touchdown run late in the first half helped cut Union’s lead to four, had a pair of interceptions to lead Chapman’s defense.

No. 7 Mountain View (7-1, 2-1) at Broome (4-4, 1-1)

Broome was on a bye last week, but hopes to continue the momentum from a 42-0 win over Union County in Week 7. Tyqwon Booker rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns while Jameson Dearybury completed 10-of-16 passes for 167 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions to lead the Centurions. Brayden Simpson had 83 yards receiving on just two catches, including a touchdown. Leading the shutout effort by Broome’s defense was Nick Morgan, who had 10 tackles including four of the Centurions’ 21 tackles-for-loss. Jaylan Ramirez and Asher Littlejohn also had 10 tackles apiece.

Mountain View will wrap up the regular season by trying to rebound from something the second-year program has never experienced – a regular season loss. The Stars fell behind Woodruff 36-7 at the half last week and went on to a 49-28 loss. Mak Anderson ran for a pair of touchdowns and passed for another to lead the Stars. MVP’s lone loss in its first season last fall came in the fourth round of the Class 3A playoffs.

REGION I-2A

Liberty (5-3, 1-1) at Landrum (3-5, 0-2)

After opening the season with a 3-1 record, it’s been a struggle ever since for Landrum. The Cardinals will try to get things on track against a new batch of Red Devils this week after suffering a 56-14 loss at Clinton last week. Landrum had no answer for the Red Devils’ explosive run offense, which racked up 533 yards and seven touchdowns. Ty Nesbitt’s 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown accounted for the Cardinals’ lone score of the first half as they trailed 50-7 at the break. Ty Foster passed for 153 yards and ran for 59 to lead Landrum. Braylon Revis had eight receptions for 65 yards.

Liberty will be trying to secure second place in the region. The Red Devils are coming off a 35-6 win over Chesnee. Kendall Jackson ran 10 times for 104 yards and a touchdown to power a Liberty rushing attack that finished with 352 yards and four scores.

Other game

Crescent (5-3) at Chesnee (4-4)

Chesnee will try to get back above .500 after suffering back-to-back losses. Last Friday, the Eagles fell to Liberty 35-6. Chesnee marched down the field on its opening possession and Blake Cochran capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Liberty responded to the early 6-0 deficit with three consecutive scoring drives, while the Eagles were blanked the rest of the way. Quarterback Evan-Reece Lawter had 99 yards of total offense and Cochran finished with 42 yards rushing Chesnee. Kale Thrift led the Eagles defense with 9.5 tackles.

Crescent had its four-game winning streak snapped last Friday in a 55-28 loss to Belton-Honea Path. Mason Evans completed 16-of-27 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for 79 yards to lead the Tigers. Kevin Hatten rushed for 100 yards and two scores also for Crescent.