Week 8 Preview: York and Lancaster Counties

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Region races in York and Lancaster Counties are beginning to come into clearer form as there are only three weeks left in the regular season, starting Friday night. Here's what you need to know about this week's games:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lancaster (3-4 overall, 0-2 region) at Catawba Ridge (7-0 overall, 2-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge continued their winning ways with a rout over York, and their defense was a big reason why. <strong>Ira Mister </strong>and <strong>Sheldon Crawford </strong>each had pick sixes last week and it was against an offense that likes to run the ball. This week will present a similar challenge with <strong>Mikel McCollum </strong>and <strong>Jaron Stevenson.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clover (4-3 overall, 2-0 region) at Blythewood (5-2 overall, 2-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game will go a long way in determining the winner of region 3-5A. You have Clover, with plenty of skill talent to go around with <strong>Jaylon Hoover, Hunter Jamie </strong>and <strong>Dion Brown </strong>who have been a dynamic trio offensively and <strong>Omari Davis </strong>and <strong>Cooper Zohner, </strong>a recent Shrine Bowl selection who can clog up run lanes and make life hard on the opposing offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the Blue Eagles will face a Blythewood team, particularly on defense, that is coming off shut outs of their last two opponents in Fort Mill and Nation Ford. <strong>Edward Robinson </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157756' first='Zarion' last='Williams'] </strong>are a big reason why. Look for the Bengals to shorten the game and keep the ball out of an explosive Clover offense with <strong>Kinson Holland </strong>and take their chances downfield later with <strong>Josh Gary </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='440461' first='Harrison' last='Collins'].</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indian Land (5-2 overall, 1-1 region) at South Pointe (5-2 overall, 1-1 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are two teams that started out hot but have cooled off as of late. South Pointe got back in the win column last week with a 10-2 win over Lancaster and they did primarily with defense. Expect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91357' first='DJ' last='Barksdale II'], </strong>who was selected to play in the Shrine Bowl, to be a factor against the downhill run game of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139305' first='Jaden' last='Singletary'] </strong>and <strong>Myles Stinson. </strong>Barksdale had 2 interceptions and 12 tackles last week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the Stallions may be able to counter with <strong>Malachi Marshall </strong>and <strong>Caleb Sims </strong>in the run game. Whoever can shorten the game and play keep away from the other offense, that will likely determine the winner of this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Hill (2-5 overall, 1-1 region) at Nation Ford (1-6 overall, 0-2 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams are at the bottom half of the region race and are fighting for fourth place. Rock Hill has confidence with [player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] (cover photo above), who was <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/10/what-we-saw-wilson-rock-hill-come-from-behind-to-beat-fort-mill/">dynamic in the run game in the win over Fort Mill last week</a>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997363' first='Landon' last='Armstrong'] </strong>and <strong>Justice Foster </strong>were active on the defensive front, and will look to keep a Nation Ford offense, who was shut out against Blythewood last week, stuck in neutral.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91150' first='Carson' last='Black'], [player_tooltip player_id='1575429' first='Josh' last='Ameo'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='154863' first='Jeremiah' last='Hailstock'] </strong>will look to change their fortunes from last week. The key for the Falcons offensively will be who can catch the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>York (4-3 overall, 0-2 region) at Northwestern (6-1 overall, 2-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York needs a win to stay on track in the region, and things won't get any easier against a surging Northwestern team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='146372' first='Elijah' last='Caldwell'] </strong>continues to be the main target for the Trojans as he had two touchdowns in a rout over Indian Land last week. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>threw for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns. Can <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='998716' first='Dalton' last='Russell'] </strong>and <strong>Jonathan Tobias </strong>throw off his rhythm in the secondary?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars' run game with <strong>Javarus Gutherie </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis'] </strong>could present a challenge for the Trojan defensive front so we will see what <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360156' first='Andre' last='Pickett'] </strong>and <strong>Khamari Morant </strong>bring to the table as they were active last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other area game of note: Spring Valley (3-4 overall, 1-1 region) at Fort Mill (0-7 overall, 0-2 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->