2021 Class 4A Upper State First Round Playoff Preview

Brandon Stockdale November 2, 2021 @ 03:58 PM

South Pointe, A.C. Flora and Greenwood are the only three teams with only one loss on the season and are the early favorites to be the last teams standing in the 4A Upper State bracket once we get to Thanksgiving Weekend. But teams like Greenville, York, Irmo, Westside or Easley could provide challenges for those favorites. Here’s a breakdown of the first round matchups in the Upper State 4A bracket: No. 4 Indian Land (5-3) at No. 1 A.C. Flora (8-1) Indian Land will look to their go-to target, WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id="153270" first="Drew" last="Hardin"] on offense, while LB [player_tooltip player_id="59502" first="Dumkele" last="Idehen"] will look to bring his hard hitting style to Columbia on Friday on defense. Flora has a potent offense which includes RB [player_tooltip player_id="202726" first="Markel" last="Townsend"], who is a bruiser and WR [player_tooltip player_id="202725" first="Chris" last="Lofton"], who will test Indian Land’s secondary. No. 3 Walhalla (2-4) at No. 2 Greenville (7-2) QB [player_tooltip player_id="102962" first="Prometheus" last="Franklin II"] and sophomore WR [player_tooltip player_id="163871" first="Mazeo" last="Bennett Jr"] will lead a Red Raider offense that can score in bunches, as long as they don’t make mistakes. Walhalla can also score as well with QB Bryce Payne. Whichever defense gets consistent stops will walk away with the win in this one. No. 4 Greer (5-5) at No. 1 Westside (5-4) QB [player_tooltip player_id="91173" first="Peter" last="Zamora"] and the Rams will get a rematch against the Yellow Jackets to kick off the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id="139310" first="Dee" last="Robertson"] (pictured above) and a stable of running backs got a heavy workload last week in a rout of Pickens, and that should continue. Greer QB Hollis Crosby can sling it and could create some matchup problems for Westside. No. 3 Irmo (5-3) at No. 2 York (7-2) York will lean heavily on their defense as they look to make their first state title appearance since 2014. LB [player_tooltip player_id="91189" first="Mekayle" last="Burris"] is a run stopping machine while DB Amarion Husky Thompson has been improving in the secondary throughout the year. Irmo senior LB Nick Emmanwori will look to slow down York’s run game while Erick Tucker will look to shorten the game for the Yellow Jackets. No. 4 Richland Northeast (3-6) at No. 1 South Pointe (7-1) South Pointe has a lethal connection on offense with QB [player_tooltip player_id="200727" first="Zay" last="McCrorey"] and WR Waymond Jenerette that is getting hot at the right time. [player_tooltip player_id="153268" first="Anquerrious" last="Davis"] also is an anchor on the defensive line and can disrupt the run game. This makes the task for Richland Northeast tough with two quarterbacks who have split time this year in William Wilson and Dylon O’Neal. No. 3 Laurens (5-3) at No. 2 Easley (5-4) Easley QB AJ Brown is a dynamic dual threat who can help the Green Wave put up points. The duo of James Rawl and Zy Todd for Laurens will present a challenge for the Easley defense led by Noah Pierce and Luke Peeples. No. 4 Pickens (3-6) at No. 1 Greenwood (8-1) Greenwood is going to run the ball early and often led by Ve Morton and a supporting cast of Daylan Rappley, Lowndes Still and Ty Patterson. Pickens will have their work cut out for them trying to slow them down but perhaps they could shorten the game with Andon Rogers, who had a touchdown in a loss against Westside. No. 3 Catawba Ridge (5-4) at No. 2 Westwood (5-4) QB [player_tooltip player_id="91362" first="Jadyn" last="Davis"] should be back for the Copperheads and will be a huge boost for them combined with WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id="153256" first="Jacobie" last="Henderson"]. DE [player_tooltip player_id="59504" first="Asa" last="Johnson"] has been problematic all season and will present a challenge for the Westwood offensive line. Westwood has a trio of offensive talent of WR Noah Jennings, QB Camren Brown and RB Juilian Mulligan.