Week 0 York County Games To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Can you believe it? The first week of the 2022 high school football season in York County is here and we've got four games that are all intriguing and should be exciting openers to see what each team has been working on and perfecting throughout 7on7s, summer workouts and preseason scrimmages. Now the lights are on for real.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Rankings reflect the SC Statewide Media Poll, which is updated weekly.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friday, August 19</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Catawba Ridge at Fort Mill</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Mill is putting in a new offense with <strong>Isaiah Haynes </strong>at quarterback and he'll have <strong>Jason Moran</strong>, <strong>Van </strong>and <strong>Max Piercy</strong> at wide receiver. The question will be who will step up in the trenches to replace the production they lost last year? And who will take the lead at running back?&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge returns quarterback <strong>Nate Thomas </strong>with presumed starter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262619' first='Tyler' last='Jones'] (pictured above) </strong>at running back. The question will be who will step up at wide receiver as they only returned one starter. <strong>Brody Teismale </strong>will make his 2022 debut for the Copperheads defense after missing the 2021 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indian Land at Nation Ford</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91150' first='Carson' last='Black'] </strong>returns for his senior season and he and the Falcons will be looking for revenge from last year's season opening loss in this game. There will be a lot of speed on Nation Ford's offense with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='154863' first='Jeremiah' last='Hailstock'] </strong>at running back and <strong>Ja'Derrick Foster </strong>and<strong> Kenan Bowman </strong>at wide receiver.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Warriors, they'll need to get pressure on Black with their defensive line with guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272709' first='Malachi' last='Jefferson'] </strong>and <strong>Wilkenson Mondesir. [player_tooltip player_id='139305' first='Jaden' last='Singletary'] </strong>will be a focal point in the Warrior run game Friday night, which will look to keep the explosive Falcon offense off the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Hill at No. 2 Northwestern</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This cross-town rivalry is normally reserved for the end of the year, but with the recent realignment, this game is now the opener. This game is intriguing because the Trojans quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>takes over for Will Mattison but there is known talent, like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='146372' first='Elijah' last='Caldwell'] </strong>at receiver and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='89343' first='Jordan' last='Knox'] </strong>on the offensive line but one question that will need to be answered will be who will step up on the defensive side of the ball for the Trojans?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Rock Hill, they are putting in a new offensive and defensive scheme. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>and <strong>Brandon Watson </strong>will be two guys to watch on offense. Whoever can get the run game going will have the edge on this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BYE WEEK:</strong> Clover and York</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Saturday, August 20</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5A</strong> <strong>No. 1 Gaffney at 4A No. 1 South Pointe</strong> (at District 3 Stadium in Rock Hill)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the most anticipated game in the state for Week 0. It's the defending 4A state champions against the defending 5A state champions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='89340' first='Grayson' last='Loftis'] </strong>returns for his senior season and will lead the Indian offense. Indians LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='268582' first='Brayshawn' last='Littlejohn'] </strong>committed to the University of Missouri last Saturday and will be looking to get things started off with a bang. Keep an eye on <strong>Kaliber Hoey </strong>on defense and <strong>Edward Jefferies </strong>at wide receiver for the Indians.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For South Pointe, <strong>Malachi Marshall, [player_tooltip player_id='202769' first='Khyre' last='Rawlinson'] </strong>and <strong>Caleb Sims </strong>will anchor an offense that should put up points if they avoid the turnovers that plagued them in last week's scrimmage against Olympic. Keep an eye on <strong>A.J. Miller </strong>on defense for the Stallions as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->