Class 5A Upper State Third Round Playoff Preview

And then there were four. One half of the 5A Upper State bracket looks...well...about like everybody thought it would look midway through the season. The top half, though, is a game few would have penciled in even a month ago. Here’s a look at the matchups that will determine the Upper State finalists. <strong>No. 3 Ridge View (7-4) at No. 1 Spartanburg (8-3)</strong> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Blazers have been up and down this season, but seem to be getting hot at the right time. Ridge View won an absolute thriller over Hillcrest last week, going on the road to defeat a No. 1 seed and earn a trip to Spartanburg. The Vikings, meanwhile, got way in front of Spring Valley and withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally while giving backups some valuable playoff experience.</span> [player_tooltip player_id="153263" first="Andre" last="Washington"] makes it go for Ridge View. The senior QB has thrown for more than 1,900 yards this season, with 20 TDs and just 5 interceptions. He’s six yards off the rushing lead for the Blazers, too, with 533 yards on the year, adding nine scores on the ground. In last week’s win he ran for a touchdown and threw for 3 more, including a 91-yarder to [player_tooltip player_id="202775" first="Zion" last="Agnew"]. Agnew leads all Ridge View receivers with 698 yards and 9 touchdowns, while <strong>Chris Lawson Jr.</strong> has added 559 yards and 4 scores. <strong>Marcus Kelly</strong> and <strong>Joshua Jones</strong> provide punch in the running game, combining for nearly 1,000 yards and 7 TDs. Defensively, junior <strong>Jebari Gamble</strong> has been a standout, with 36 tackles, 6 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries. Spartanburg is, quite simply, a different team with [player_tooltip player_id="89339" first="Raheim" last="Jeter"] under center. The junior QB bounced back from an early-season injury, and has lit up the Vikings’ opponents since. Jeter has thrown for 2,404 yards and 21 touchdowns, and has added 206 yards and 3 scores on the ground. He’s elusive enough to have been sacked just once all season. Of course, that’s due in large part to Spartanburg’s offensive line, which has paved the way for more than 1,600 yards on the ground.<strong> Drek Carter</strong> is the leading rusher with 738 yards and 12 TDs. <strong>Andrew Dantin</strong> is the Vikings’ leading receiver with 57 catches for 984 yards, while <strong>Tiheim Richardson</strong>, <strong>Que Moore</strong>, and <strong>Jay Staggs</strong> all have at least 33 catches and 492 yards, and have combined for 15 TDs. On defense, [player_tooltip player_id="89301" first="Judah" last="McJimpsey"] sets the tone for Spartanburg with 118 total tackles, 8 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. <strong>Micah Harris</strong>, <strong>Jacob Mattison</strong>, and <strong>John David Lawson</strong> all top 60 tackles for the Vikings, &nbsp; <strong>No. 1 Gaffney (12-0) at No. 1 Northwestern (11-1)</strong> This is a game that nearly everyone expected. Historic rivals, both playing extremely well, the teams have seemed to be on a collision course all year, particularly as region races heated up. Gaffney hasn’t been undefeated this deep into the season since 2011, when the Indians played for a 4A Division I title. They’ve done it this season by playing a little smash-mouth football. Gaffney has rushed for more than 2,500 yards as a team on the year, and has a pair of 1,000-yard backs in [player_tooltip player_id="31310" first="Tyler" last="Smith"] and Ken Littlejohn. Smith is the hammer, with 1,290 yards and 24 TDs, while Littlejohn provides big-play ability, with 1,164 yards and 12 scores. Both average more than 7 yards per carry, thanks to playing behind a big, talented offensive line led by [player_tooltip player_id="89326" first="Sawyer" last="Whitman"]. [player_tooltip player_id="89340" first="Grayson" last="Loftis"] has shown flashes of his huge potential at QB, but hasn’t been asked to truly take over a game, because the Indians have been so effective on the ground. Still, Loftis has racked up 1,773 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season. Five Indians have at least 180 receiving yards, led by <strong>Jadarius Littlejohn</strong> with 404 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, <strong>Brayshawn Littlejohn</strong> has 71 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks to lead the Indians. [player_tooltip player_id="59498" first="Jesus" last="Dowdle"] has been steady in the middle with 50 total tackles, <strong>Landon Bullock</strong> has notched 9 takeaways, and <strong>Kaliber Hoey</strong> has 3 interceptions and has knocked down 4 passes. Northwestern has rolled since a season-opening loss to South Pointe, racking up 11 straight wins and scoring nearly 41 points per game. That’s due in large part to [player_tooltip player_id="89316" first="Will" last="Mattison"] (pictured). The North All-Star QB has been phenomenal, completing 64 percent of his passes for 2,665 yards and 37 touchdowns. A trio of receivers have been Mattison’s biggest targets, as [player_tooltip player_id="146372" first="Elijah" last="Caldwell"], [player_tooltip player_id="89332" first="Christian" last="Watkins"], and [player_tooltip player_id="91200" first="Calique" last="Cunningham"] all have more than 350 receiving yards. Caldwell leads the way, as the big, physical junior has 64 catches for more than 1,100 yards with 13 scores. The Trojans can run it effectively as well. <strong>Turbo Richard</strong> is the headline-grabber, with 843 yards and 8 TDs,<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> but [player_tooltip player_id="202758" first="Qua" last="Howard"] provides a strong complement with nearly 400 yards and 4 TDs, while Mattison has rushed for 305 and 9 scores. </span>Defensively, <strong>Isaac McClellan</strong> is a terror for the Trojans. He’s racked up 103 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks on the year for Northwestern. <strong>Ashton Latta</strong> has added 99 total tackles and 10 tackles for loss on the season, with four more Trojans notching at least 50 tackles. &nbsp;