Week 8 Preview: York & Lancaster Counties

There are at least two critical region games that will be played in and outside York County on Friday night that will give us a clearer view of the playoff picture by midnight Friday night. Let’s talk about this week’s matchups: Blythewood (3-3 overall, 1-1 overall) at Rock Hill (1-4 overall, 0-1 region) – Blythewood was shut out last week in a blowout loss to Northwestern. The Bengal defense provided the only bright spot of the night as Kaiden Knox <a href="https://twitter.com/kaiden_05?lang=en">(@Kaiden_05)</a> did force an interception last week for the Bengals on defense and he’ll be looking to keep it going this week against the Bearcats. Rock Hill had a bye last week after also being shut out in their last game against Spring Valley. The key to this game is which offense can get into a rhythm and score points? Fort Mill (1-5 overall, 0-2 region) at York (5-1 overall, 2-0 region) – York controls its own destiny in the region right now after a win over Catawba Ridge. Javarus Gutherie <a href="https://twitter.com/javarusguthrie">(@javarusguthrie)</a> had the game winning interception as the Cougars defense continued to shine, forcing multiple turnovers against the Copperheads. [player_tooltip player_id="208367" first="Ayden" last="Davis"] <a href="https://twitter.com/AydenDavis03">(@AydenDavis03) </a>and the offense is playing well enough to win ball games, but they need to take the next step as the competition will heat up in the next few weeks. Fort Mill’s defense led by [player_tooltip player_id="118721" first="Miller" last="Shouse"] <a href="https://twitter.com/ShouseMiller">(@ShouseMiller)</a> and [player_tooltip player_id="200700" first="Charlie" last="Veltri"] <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlieVeltri">(@CharlieVeltri)</a> could keep them in the game and if they can get the run game going with Michael Threatt <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelThreatt6">(@MichaelThreatt6)</a>, they have a chance at pulling off a major shocker. Catawba Ridge (3-4 overall, 0-2 region) at Lancaster (2-2 overall, 0-1 region) – Both teams are struggling in the early going in region play. Lancaster DE [player_tooltip player_id="200706" first="Fred" last="Twitty"] <a href="https://twitter.com/FredTwitty1">(@FredTwitty1)</a> had an active night in the losing effort to South Pointe last week. He’ll need to continue his high level of play against a Copperhead offense that can score, if they turn it over like last week. Copperheads running back Tyler Jones <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerJones14_">(@TylerJones14_)</a> continues to be a bright spot on offense and he’ll need to keep it going in order to take the pressure off QB [player_tooltip player_id="91362" first="Jadyn" last="Davis"] <a href="https://twitter.com/iamjadyndavis">(@iamjadyndavis)</a> Nation Ford (4-3 overall, 2-0 region) at Gaffney (7-0 overall, 1-0 region) – This is a game you’ll want to keep your eye on locally and around the state. Coach Michael Allen’s squad is finding their rhythm at the right time with QB [player_tooltip player_id="91150" first="Carson" last="Black"] <a href="https://twitter.com/CarsonBlack16">(@CarsonBlack16)</a>, wide receivers Kenan Bowman <a href="https://twitter.com/kenan_bowman">(@kenan_bowman)</a> and [player_tooltip player_id="59496" first="Jerrick" last="Foster"] <a href="https://twitter.com/FosterJerrick">(@FosterJerrick)</a>, who connected with Black for two touchdowns in a blowout win over Boiling Springs. Gaffney <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/10/what-we-saw-gaffney-downs-dorman-in-shootout/">defeated Dorman last week in a shootout</a> as the connection between [player_tooltip player_id="89340" first="Grayson" last="Loftis"] and Deshun Corry was active. Could we be in for a high scoring affair again at the Reservation on Friday? Indian Land (4-1 overall, 0-1 region) at South Pointe (4-1 overall, 2-0 region) – Indian Land returns from a BYE after a loss to York. You can expect them to go back to the running game of [player_tooltip player_id="139305" first="Jaden" last="Singletary"] <a href="https://twitter.com/JadenSingletar6">(@JadenSingletar6)</a> and probably use Myles Stinson <a href="https://twitter.com/MylesStinson1">(@MylesStinson1) </a>in the Wildcat package against the active Stallion defensive line of AJ Miller <a href="https://twitter.com/Ajmiller92">(@Ajmiller92) </a>and [player_tooltip player_id="139304" first="Chris" last="Dixon"] <a href="https://twitter.com/Cjdixon_417">(@Cjdixon_417)</a>. But the key to this matchup may come down to the Warrior defense against the South Pointe offense. If the Warriors can get QB [player_tooltip player_id="200727" first="Zay" last="McCrorey"] <a href="https://twitter.com/ZayMccrorey1">(@ZayMccrorey1)</a> off schedule early and force a turnover from a guy like DB/WR [player_tooltip player_id="153270" first="Drew" last="Hardin"] <a href="https://twitter.com/drew_hardin13">(@drew_hardin13)</a>, they’ll improve their chances to leave District 3 South Stadium with a win. Clover (2-4 overall, 1-0 region) at Boiling Springs (0-7 overall, 0-2 region) – Clover got region play off to a strong start with <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/10/what-we-saw-turnovers-aid-clover-in-rout-of-fort-mill/">a dominant win over Fort Mill</a> last Friday night. QB [player_tooltip player_id="202766" first="Joe" last="Boyd"] <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBoyd123">(@JoeBoyd123)</a> is continuing to develop with the help of his star receiver, [player_tooltip player_id="153265" first="Darius" last="Bowser"] <a href="https://twitter.com/BowserDarius">(@BowserDarius)</a>. The Blue Eagles forced multiple turnovers last week and did not allow the Yellow Jackets to get in any rhythm. You can expect that to continue against the Bulldogs, who were able to put up 27 points against Nation Ford last week and for the home team, they’ll need to duplicate that performance.