Week 4 Preview: York & Chester County

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Region play is two weeks away, and for most teams, they are trying to solidify their footing on both sides of the ball before things get rolling. There are some matchups of intrigue that will grab your attention including a Top 5 matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Rankings reflect the SC Media Statewide Poll, which is updated weekly.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gaffney (1-2) at No. 2 4A Northwestern (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gaffney's record may stand at 1-2, but those two losses are to quality competition in South Pointe and Mallard Creek. Indians quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='89340' first='Grayson' last='Loftis'] </strong>gets things rolling on offense and <strong>Kaliber Hoey </strong>is a leader on defense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They'll face another stiff test against undefeated Northwestern, who will be looking for revenge from last year's third round playoff loss at District 3 Stadium. The Trojans' offense has put up video game numbers with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard']</strong> (pictured above), who ran for 211 yards on <em>eleven </em>carries last week in a 61-22 win over Nation Ford.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chester (2-2) at No. 6 4A Catawba Ridge (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chester took a tough loss to South Pointe, where they let the lead slip away in the second half. But the Cyclones still have <strong>Trooper Floyd </strong>and <strong>Reggie Heath</strong>, who will give Catawba Ridge a challenge. The question is, who will step up defensively to slow down a ground and pound offense from the Copperheads led by a strong front seven of <strong>Brody Teismale </strong>and <strong>Sheldon Crawford</strong>?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 1 4A South Pointe (4-0) at No. 4 4A South Florence (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be a game a lot of folks in the state will have their eye on. South Pointe's <strong>Malachi Marshall </strong>did not play in last week's 33-21 win over Chester for reasons unknown, but we'll assume he'll be back on Friday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202769' first='Khyre' last='Rawlinson'] </strong>is a home run threat on the outside at receiver and <strong>Zantawn Nelson </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443499' first='AJ' last='Miller'] </strong>will help lead the Stallions defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For South Florence, everything starts with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers'] </strong>who has thrown for 600 yards and 9 touchdowns. He's also a run threat with 316 yards and 5 touchdowns. Expect the Bruins to run it often with Sellers and <strong>Shikeem Shilow</strong>, who has run for 208 yards so far. Keep an eye defensively on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='263156' first='Trokel' last='Prew'], </strong>who has 41 tackles on the year and <strong>Noah Moore</strong>, who has 30 tackles on the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 4 5A Dorman (3-0) at Clover (1-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game last year was an upset win for the Blue Eagles down in the Upstate. Now, the Cavaliers make the trip up Highway 5 to what should be a raucous crowd for Clover on Friday night, especially <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/09/what-we-saw-hoover-clover-erase-halftime-deficit-to-defeat-york/">after a come from behind win over York</a> last week. <strong>Cooper Zohner </strong>is a tackling machine and was all over the ball on defense. There is a stable of backs in the backfield with <strong>Elijah Farmer </strong>and <strong>Demarco Evans.&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Dorman, they are led up front on the offensive line by North Carolina commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202774' first='DJ' last='Geth'] </strong>and South Carolina commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91355' first='Markee' last='Anderson']. </strong>Clover's <strong>Omari Davis </strong>and the front seven of the Blue Eagles will have their work cut out for them against <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262701' first='Demarius' last='Foster']. </strong>Keep an eye on <strong>Johnathan Frazier and Dyquan Nesbitt </strong>on defense for the Cavs as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Mill (0-3) at Lugoff Elgin (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Mill was shut out in their loss to Indian Land last week and they'd like to find their footing before the rigors of region play – Friday may provide that opportunity. <strong>Isaiah Haynes </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='421255' first='Jason' last='Moran'] </strong>are two guys to watch on offense in their spread option attack while <strong>TJ Vanstocken </strong>and <strong>Stephen Ocampo </strong>are two guys to watch on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lugoff Elgin is building some momentum after starting the season 0-2 with wins over Darlington and Airport and they'll look to keep it going.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Hill (1-3) at York (2-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York was shut out in the second half in their loss to Clover, and they'll need to regain some confidence with their run game led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis'] </strong>and <strong>Javarus Gutherie. </strong>The Cougars could really use a downfield receiving threat to loosen up things and Gutherie could be that guy along with <strong>Akevy Mason. </strong>Keep an eye on <strong>Bryson Steele, Delontae Gutherie </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='998716' first='Dalton' last='Russell'] </strong>defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rock Hill got on the winning side of things last week with a 46-25 win over Lower Richland. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>was a big reason why with his arm and his legs. He'll be tested against an active front. Keep an eye on <strong>Brandon Watson </strong>in the running game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BYE WEEK</strong>: Indian Land and Nation Ford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->