Week 5 Preview: Midlands Area

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Midlands has only one region playing games so far, but teams are still trying to make strides to be playing their best football once the calendar flips to October. Plus, there is one game in the Midlands that will have national implications.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Batesburg-Leesville (2-2) at Chester (2-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are two teams that need a win before entering region play. Chester has lost two in a row, but they were to powers South Pointe and Catawba Ridge. The Cyclones rely heavily on QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='457973' first='Trooper' last='Floyd']</strong>, who has thrown for over 1,100 yards this season. His top receiving threat has been <strong>Reggie Heath</strong>, who has 28 receptions for 634 yards. <strong>Andre Evans</strong> and <strong>Kyan Kennedy</strong> have been solid targets as well. Junior <strong>DJ Stevenson </strong>leads the defense with 46 tackles. <strong>Trajan Peay</strong>, <strong>Terry Radford</strong> and <strong>Antonio Hopkins</strong> each have over 30 stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Batesburg-Leesville on the other hand has won two in a row and would like to carry that momentum into region play that begins Oct. 7. The Panthers are young but have a prospect in senior TE/DE <strong>Patrick Swygert</strong>. He rarely comes off the field and is a calming influence on the younger players. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cardinal Newman (2-2) at Ben Lippen (3-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Lippen has dropped two in a row by a combined 8 points. The Falcons have a solid ground game behind <strong>Bryce Craft</strong> (360 yards) and <strong>Taevian Copney</strong> (294 yards rushing, 314 yards receiving and 11 total touchdowns). <strong>Dobbie Ricks</strong> has thrown for 832 yards and rushed for an additional 172. Junior LB <strong>Jed Essiq </strong>leadsthe defense with 34 tackles. <strong>Charlie Johnson</strong> and <strong>Coleman Davis</strong> are right behind him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cardinals lost a heartbreaker to Heathwood Hall last week but are averaging 43.5 points per game. <strong>Duncan Skehan</strong> has thrown for over 850 yards and <strong>AJ Reyes </strong>has rushed for 658 yards and 13 touchdowns. <strong>Logan Buseniehner</strong> is the top receiving target. <strong>Ja'Khaydin Kinard</strong> and <strong>Jalil Garvin-Mingo</strong> lead the defense. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 3A #8 Gilbert (3-1) at Class 2A #1 Saluda (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A top 10 showdown just before region play begins. Gilbert lost to Lexington last week but still showcased one of the premiere offenses in the area. <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> form a formidable 1-2 punch in the backfield. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262616' first='Chance' last='Jennings']</strong> and <strong>Drake Braddock</strong> have spent time at QB with Braddock being the better passing option so far. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142731' first='Caleb' last='Strese']</strong>, <strong>Kyle Seigler</strong> and <strong>Jake Torbett</strong> have been solid on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saluda counters with a defense that has allowed just over 10 points per game. <strong>Jamarcus Mobley</strong> and <strong>Jaylen Nick</strong> are two of the reasons why. Offensively, the Tigers turn to freshman <strong>Brayden Williams</strong> as the top ground-gainer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262674' first='Tyleke' last='Mathis']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262551' first='Zion' last='Wright']</strong> are the favorite targets of <strong>Jonah McCary</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Frances (MD) (3-0) at Class 5A #1 Dutch Fork (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There will be talent galore on display in this one. St. Frances (MD) comes in nationally ranked with 12-15 FBS prospects on the roster. Dutch Fork moved into the national rankings this past week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The strength of the Panthers might be the defensive front. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='90643' first='Dashawn' last='Womack']</strong> is committed to LSU, <strong>Sam Greene </strong>to Southern Cal, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='187935' first='Brian' last='Simms']</strong> to Boston College and <strong>Donovan Dyson</strong> to Massachusetts. All four are seniors and can create havoc to an offense. Other defensive standouts include juniors DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172225' first='Ify' last='Obidegwu']</strong>, LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172219' first='Simeon' last='Coleman']</strong> and S <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172217' first='Edrees' last='Farooq']</strong>. All three have Power Five offers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Frances also has plenty of talent on offense. Junior QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172210' first='Michael' last='Van Buren']</strong> leads an offense that also features RB <strong>Durell Robinson</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='247377' first='Ryan' last='Manning']</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='90512' first='Lamar' last='Patterson']</strong> and OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172215' first='Mike' last='Williams']</strong>. Robinson is committed to Boston College and Manning is committed to Maryland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Silver Foxes have a 43-game regular season unbeaten streak and have one loss in their last 67 games overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dutch Fork hopes to have RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91136' first='Jarvis' last='Green']</strong> and QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='44974' first='Aliam' last='Appler']</strong> back from injury. If Appler is unable to go, Jon Hunt will likely get the snaps. Green has 552 yards in just three games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262550' first='Landon' last='Danley']</strong> has filled in some at QB as well and has 267 yards rushing. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448992' first='Jacob' last='Hamilton']</strong> and <strong>Isaiah Jones</strong> have been the top receivers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defense has been the strong point so far for Dutch Fork. The linebacker trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262678' first='Jaylen' last='Hinton']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='132398' first='Chandler' last='Perry']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='336148' first='John' last='Buetow']</strong> have been outstanding and junior safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='492672' first='Tyler' last='Jones']</strong> is a rising star. <strong>J'Von Mack</strong> has three interceptions.    </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->