What To Watch: Week 2’s Best Upstate Matchups

What To Watch: Week 2&#8217;s Best Upstate Matchups

Jed Blackwell September 1, 2022 @ 04:11 PM

Some fierce rivalries, teams on the rise, and much more are on tap for Week 2 in the Upstate. Here's a look at four games that should grab your attention, and players who are the reason why.   1A No. 3 Southside Christian at 2A No. 2 Abbeville   These two will tangle with some strange circumstances - both are coming off losses. Abbeville's was an especially rare loss at home, but the Panthers discovered an offensive weapon in Ty Cade. Normally a leader on defense, Cade contributed 79 yards and two touchdowns in Abbeville's loss to Powdersville, and kept up his performance on the defensive end, notching 8.5 tackles, including eight solo stops. Southside Christian will be led by QB [player_tooltip player_id='89349' first='Ja'Corey' last='Martin'], who could also see time at WR and DB.   3A No. 4 Powdersville at Mauldin   The Patriots had the most successful regular season in school history last year, and followed that up with a 2-0 start and a program-building win against Abbeville last week. The Patriots did it on the offensive end, as [player_tooltip player_id='91152' first='Thomas' last='Williams'] rushed for 116 yards and two scores and added 93 receiving yards and another score (and an interception on defense). Eli Hudgins accounted for four total touchdowns while throwing for 273 yards. Kelvin Johnson will look to lead the Mavericks, as the RB had a huge night in his first outing of the year. Johnson rushed for 180 yards and two scores on 21 carries in a win over Boiling Springs.   Westside at 5A No. 8 T.L. Hanna   The Rams took a tough loss in Week 1, falling on the road at BHP. They'll try to bounce back in a rivalry game against T.L. Hanna, led by a talented group on offense that includes [player_tooltip player_id='336117' first='Hunter' last='Puckett'], one of the most intriguing players in the state. Puckett has legit LB size, at 6-3 and 230 pounds, but Westside coach Scott Earley says "all he wants to do is run the football." He did that to the tune of 102 yards on 19 carries in Week 1. Hanna got a win over Greenville last week, due largely to their traditional power running game. When it came time to score, though, QB Kenny Fretwell threw for two TDs and rushed for another.   5A No. 4 Byrnes at Greenville   The Red Raiders' schedule doesn't get any easier after dropping their first two games to Dorman and T.L. Hanna. Byrnes is up this week, and Greenville will look to get the offense rolling behind new QB [player_tooltip player_id='421471' first='Jordan' last='Sink']. Sink has looked good so far, throwing for 250 yards and three scores last week. Those TDs went to a couple of standouts at WR, as [player_tooltip player_id='163871' first='Mazeo' last='Bennett Jr'] caught a pair of touchdown passes and [player_tooltip player_id='91149' first='Tyler' last='Brown'] caught another. Byrnes has been on an offensive roll behind QB Colby Shaw. The Rebels are averaging 58 points through two games, and Shaw has thrown for 549 yards and eight TDs on the year, with Andrew Stevens tossing two scoring passes and Landon Thompson adding another. They've done a good job of spreading the love, as four Rebels have at least 68 receiving yards, and seven have caught TD passes. [player_tooltip player_id='262636' first='Kyai' last='Cook'] leads both categories with 192 receiving yards and four scores.

Some fierce rivalries, teams on the rise, and much more are on tap for Week 2 in the Upstate. Here's a look at four games that should grab your attention, and players who are the reason why.