Week 4 Preview: Midlands Area

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week four has it all – a backyard brawl, a SCISA contest that features two teams on the rise, ranked teams playing each other and believe it or not, a region contest. Here is a look at the top games in the Midlands area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 3A #7 Camden (2-2) at Class 4A #3 AC Flora (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams played a 3-0 game last season. There should be more offense this time around, but the marquee matchup will be in the trenches instead of the skill players in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Camden has a defensive front that includes South Carolina commitment <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='89338' first='Xzavier' last='McLeod']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91155' first='David' last='Copley']</strong> and <strong>Shymeik Jones</strong>. A.C. Flora will feature an offensive line with Wofford commitment <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340713' first='Ben' last='Holmes']</strong>, <strong>Kendarious Kinard </strong>and <strong>Alexander Koutrakos</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's not to say there aren't a bunch of skill position guys that could steal the spotlight. Camden QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139311' first='Grayson' last='White'] </strong>has accounted for over 1,120 yards of total offense while Falcons signal-caller <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202733' first='Carew' last='Bates'] </strong>is completing over 70% of his passes with eight touchdowns. A.C. Flora RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202726' first='Markel' last='Townsend']</strong> went for over 200 yards last week and three touchdowns. <strong>Averee Hickmon</strong> is a solid counterpart for the Bulldogs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202725' first='Chris' last='Lofton']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272714' first='Aiden' last='Mosley']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='409839' first='Jack' last='Purdy']</strong> are all weapons for the Falcons at wide receiver and Camden will counter with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139303' first='Cortez' last='Lane']</strong> and <strong>Jaquarius Mayrant. &nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cardinal Newman (2-1) at Heathwood Hall (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of these teams will take a solid step forward to be one of the better teams in SCISA. Cardinal Newman will rely on the running of <strong>AJ Reyes </strong>and passing of <strong>Duncan Skehan</strong>. <strong>Logan Buseniehner</strong> and <strong>Troy Seal</strong> are Skehan's top receiving targets. The Cardinals are averaging 49 points a game.<strong> Braxton Rodgers </strong>and <strong>David Rodgers</strong> are two standouts at linebacker. Freshman <strong>Patrick Belk</strong> has thrown for 413 yards and ran for an additional 131 this season. <strong>Dylan Lesesne</strong> is the top ground-gainer with 167 yards with <strong>Thompson Dubose </strong>coming in with 228 yards receiving. <strong>Michael Balthazor</strong> and <strong>JB Belk</strong> the top tacklers. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 2A #10 Fairfield Central (2-2) at Keenan (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's talk about region play. Yes, it's region play time for Region 4-2A. And a battle between two schools with postseason hopes will set the stage. Keenan has won two in a row by averaging 47 points per game in the two wins. <strong>Hernandez O'Neal </strong>has thrown for 656 yards and four touchdowns. He has also run for 325 yards and three touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202758' first='Qua' last='Howard']</strong> leads the way with 390 yards rushing and seven scores. <strong>Antoinio Adams</strong> has 14 receptions. Fairfield Central has lost two in a row by a combined nine points. Freshman <strong>Cam McMillon</strong> has thrown for 1,239 yards and 14 touchdowns. The trio of <strong>TyDarian Greer</strong>, <strong>Jai Boyd </strong>and <strong>Donovan Watkins </strong>have combined for 55 receptions. <strong>JaShaun Manning </strong>and <strong>Amos Bell</strong> each have over 40 tackles with <strong>Steven Gadsden</strong> right behind with 36 stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 3A #5 Gilbert (3-0) at Class 5A #10 Lexington (3-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If running the football is your thing, this might be the game for you. The neighboring rivals are playing just for the fourth time but with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443502' first='Jonah' last='Norris'] </strong>for the Wildcats and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262635' first='Alias' last='Graham-Woodberry'] </strong>and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='267430' first='Jaden' last='Allen-Hendrix']</strong> for the Indians it could be over rather quickly. Norris has two 300-yard games already and is one of the top rushers in the state with 839 yards. Graham-Woodberry has 543 yards and Allen-Hendrix adding 328 yards in one less game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208887' first='Taiden' last='Mines']</strong> gives Lexington the nod at quarterback. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443508' first='Kamadi' last='Maxwell']</strong> and <strong>Jarrod Mewborn</strong> are two solid receiving targets. <strong>Drake Braddock</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262616' first='Chance' last='Jennings']</strong> have both taken snaps at QB for Gilbert. Jennings will also play wide receiver. C<strong>hris Frye </strong>is a menace in the secondary for the Wildcats and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262639' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] </strong>has been equally as good for the Indians.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 4A # 8 Hartsville (3-1) at Irmo (2-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This should be a good barometer game for the Yellow Jackets. They get a solid Hartsville team at home with the hopes QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand']</strong> will be back from an ankle injury. He missed the loss to River Bluff two weeks ago and Irmo had a bye last week. <strong>Erick Tucker</strong> is leading the offense with 354 yards rushing. Hartsville lost to Dillon last week but should be a contender come November. Backs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208339' first='Carmello' last='McDaniel']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202738' first='J'Shawn' last='Anderson'] </strong>have combined for 16 rushing touchdowns. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A # 9 White Knoll (4-0) at South Aiken (1-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Timberwolves might be the surprise team in Class 5A. After winning two games last year, White Knoll is out to a 4-0 start with the smallest margin of victory being nine points in the season opener. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> has thrown 11 TD passes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='336147' first='Jesse' last='Ross']</strong> has five rushing scores and two more receiving. <strong>Austin Cunningham</strong> has been the top target with 13 receptions. <strong>Marcus Domenech</strong> and <strong>Hayden Cushman</strong> have led a young defense. <strong>Terrance Smith</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272702' first='Jevon' last='Edwards']</strong> have each rushed for over 700 yards this season and combined for 16 touchdowns for South Aiken. Two of the Thoroughbreds losses have been to River Bluff and Lexington by seven points each. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->