Star Power: Upstate Matchups Packed With Ranked Players
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Blame it on the schedule. Week 2 in the Upstate offers the rare chance to see an immense amount of talent on the same field in a couple of different matchups on Friday night. Chief among those is Greenville at…
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Continue ReadingBlame it on the schedule.
Week 2 in the Upstate offers the rare chance to see an immense amount of talent on the same field in a couple of different matchups on Friday night.
Chief among those is Greenville at Byrnes. The Red Raiders will roll into Nixon Field with seven players in the current PRZ rankings. Byrnes will counter with five.
What’s even harder to believe is how many guys occupy the same positions. Greenville’s got an all-everything athlete in ATH Mazeo Bennett Mazeo Bennett 6'0" | 170 lbs | ATH Greenville | 2024 State SC , who will touch the ball a lot from several different positions, including WR, RB, and returner. Byrnes’ two guys ranked at ATH, brothers Armoni Weaver Armoni Weaver 5'11" | 170 lbs | ATH Westside | 2025 State SC and Chamarryus Bomar Chamarryus Bomar 6'0" | 180 lbs | ATH Westside | 2025 State SC , both do all of that, and Bomar plays a little QB, and BOTH line up at DB.
Speaking of DBs, Greenville has two of the state’s best in Ramani Bruton Ramani Bruton 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Greenville | 2025 State SC and Christian Henderson Christian Henderson 5'8" | 160 lbs | DB Greenville | 2025 State SC . Henderson was injured in this game a year ago, missed the rest of the season, and is back with a vengance, helping to lead a Red Raiders’ secondary that returns everybody. One of those guys back is Bruton, along with his six interceptions from last season.
Massive OL Blake Franks Blake Franks 6'5" | 310 lbs | OL Greenville | 2024 State SC leads a Greenville line that returns five Division1-caliber guys. He’s big, fast, and physical, and will be a problem. Jayden Wilson-Abrams Jayden Wilson-Abrams 6'3" | 270 lbs | DL Greenville | 2024 State SC and Bruce Knauber Bruce Knauber 6'2" | 295 lbs | DL Greenville | 2024 State SC help anchor one of the Upstate’s best defensive lines, controlling the defensive front for the Red Raiders. They’re both already well into double-digit tackles, both have four tackles for loss, and they’ve got a pair of combined sacks. Punter Thomas Guererro Thomas Guererro 5'9" | 140 lbs | P Greenville | 2024 State SC helps Greenville shine on special teams.
Knai Cook Knai Cook 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Byrnes | 2024 State SC is a multi-position threat on the offensive side for Byrnes, Chris Foster Chris Foster 6'0" | 205 lbs | DL Byrnes | 2024 State SC is terror on the defensive line with eight tackles already this season, and RJ Livingston RJ Livingston 5'9" | 185 lbs | LB Byrnes | 2025 SC provides some punch out of the backfield, catches the ball well, but has been mostly utilized at LB, with 10 tackles so far for the Rebels.
A few miles up I-85, South Pointe visits Gaffney in a game with eight players featured in the rankings, with four on each side.
Both senior QBs are guys to watch. Gaffney’s Riley Staton Riley Staton 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB Gaffney | 2024 State SC has thrown for 378 yards and four TDs this season, and that includes a game that was shortened to eight-minute running clock quarters in the second half. He’s got a big arm, and is capable of providing an offensive spark for the Indians.
South Pointe’s Malachi Marshall Malachi Marshall 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB South Pointe | 2024 State SC is a dual-threat guy, and he’s got just under 300 yards of total offense and three TDs to his credit so far on the season. That’s coming off a junior campaign in which Marshall threw for more than 2,100 yards.
South Pointe’s other standouts include a pair of defensive terrors and an athlete who lines up all over the field. Chris Dixon Chris Dixon 6'2" | 260 lbs | DL South Pointe | 2024 State SC is a standout at DL for the Stallions, with 73 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks a year ago. On the back end, Zantwan Nelson Zantwan Nelson 6'1" | 175 lbs | DB South Pointe | 2024 State SC is a lock-down DB for South Pointe, and if his stats this year don’t bear that out, that’s because he had six interceptions last year and teams are actively avoiding him. And sophomore J’Zavien Currence J’Zavien Currence 6'2" | 190 lbs | ATH South Pointe | 2026 State SC is just kind of all over the place. He’s playing a little bit of offense this season, with two catches already, but his natural place is in the secondary. He’s a big defender at 6-foot-1, he covers a lot of ground quickly, and he seems to instinctively know where the ball is going.
Gaffney has two ranked defenders who play side-by-side. Junior LBs Clay Cook Clay Cook 6'1" | 190 lbs | LB Gaffney | 2025 State SC and Andrew Ruppe Andrew Ruppe 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Gaffney | 2025 State SC were first and second on the team in tackles a year ago, and they’re off to a good start again this season. On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore RB Jaiden McDowell Jaiden McDowell 5'9" | 175 lbs | RB Gaffney | 2026 State SC has started the season showing exactly why he’s regarded as one of the best backs in the Upstate. He rushed for a hard-fought 142 yards and three TDs on 20 carries in a tough loss to Crest, then turned in 90 yards and three more scores on just five carries in a blowout win over Union County.