Class 4A Upper State Second Round Preview

Brandon Stockdale November 9, 2021 @ 04:21 PM

South Pointe, A.C. Flora and Greenwood rolled to first round victories last week. But Greenville, Irmo and Catawba Ridge were able to win their first round matchups in large part due to their defense, and they’ll be looking to continue those efforts on Friday. Here’s a breakdown of the second round matchups in the Upper State 4A bracket: No. 2 Greenville (8-2) at No. 1 A.C. Flora (9-1) Greenville QB Prometheus Franklin threw for five touchdowns in the 55-22 first round win over Walhalla last week, with three going to WR Josh Sapp. The Red Raiders have a plethora of weapons, including WR Mazeo Bennett proving they can score with anyone. That will be put to the test against A.C. Flora, who was able to pull away from Indian Land last week. Expect the Falcons to grind it out on the ground with RB [player_tooltip player_id="202726" first="Markel" last="Townsend"] and limit Greenville’s possessions. If you like offense, you’re going to enjoy this one. No. 3 Irmo (6-3) at No. 1 Westside (7-4) This game could be low scoring as both defenses are stout. Westside held on to defeat Greer, 24-21 in the first round of the playoffs as the Rams did it mainly with the run game, rushing for 295 yards. [player_tooltip player_id="59489" first="Amir" last="Dendy"] had a 62-yard TD run in the 4th quarter that helped seal it. Will they be able to have a repeat performance against the Irmo defensive front 7, led by senior LB Nick Emmanwori? They were able to control things against York’s run game in their 21-10 win. No. 2 Laurens (6-3) at No. 1 South Pointe (8-1) South Pointe rolled to their first round win over Richland Northeast, 42-12 where they were able to get plenty of guys game experience. The defensive front for the Stallions in [player_tooltip player_id="153268" first="Anquerrious" last="Davis"] and A.J. Miller continues to control things up front. Laurens QB James Rawl threw for 6 touchdowns in a 56-13 rout of Easley, but will face a different challenge at District 3 South Stadium in Rock Hill on Friday. No. 3 Catawba Ridge (6-4) at No. 1 Greenwood (10-1) Catawba Ridge QB [player_tooltip player_id="91362" first="Jadyn" last="Davis"] returned for the Copperheads’ offense last week, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/11/what-we-saw-tyler-joness-3-tds-lift-catawba-ridge-past-westwood/">but it was the play of </a>RB Tyler Jones that was critical to their 28-20 win over Westwood in Round 1. The play of [player_tooltip player_id="59504" first="Asa" last="Johnson"] and DeLante McAllister will be important against the relentless rushing attack of Greenwood who blasted Pickens, 49-3, who will try to wear them down with running backs Daylan Rappley, who had 2 touchdowns and Ve Morton, who had 1 touchdown last week.