Week 1 Midlands Players To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season is underway, and the stars are beginning to shine. We have some guys that are just now making a name for themselves and other players that are building on what they accomplished last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at 15 players that can make impact games this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012718' first='TyDarion' last='Grier']</strong> WR, Fairfield Central – The Griffins opened the season with a huge win and Greir picked up right where he left off last season. He hauled in six passes for 101 yards. He seems to be the favorite target of QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473002' first='Cameron' last='McMillon']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473014' first='Patrick' last='Belk']</strong> QB, Heathwood Hall – The sophomore had a steady freshman campaign and seems ready to build on it. Belk accounted for five touchdowns in a win over Great Falls. He ran for two scores on five carries and 39 yards while passing for another 187 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Taevian Copney</strong> RB/WR, QB Ben Lippen – The senior scored five times in a win over Asheville Christian. He ran for 168 yards and two scores on 16 carries and added five receptions for 118 yards and three touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aiden Fitzgerald</strong> QB, Lugoff-Elgin – The Demons had tough-sledding in a season opening loss to River Bluff, but Fitzgerald was 14-of-25 passing for 93 yards. He will have to be the catalyst that tries to get things going this week against a strong Camden defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997222' first='Casey' last='Shropshire']</strong> RB, North Central – When you account for nearly all the offensive production, it's easy to see why defenses will key on Shropshire this season. He had five explosive plays (15-yard run or 20-yard pass reception) and accounted for 212 total yards of the 258 yards gained by the Knights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>JoJo Crim </strong>DB, Camden – The junior intercepted two passes and added three tackles as the Bulldogs shutout Myrtle Beach in the season opener.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Cottrell </strong>RB, Pelion – The Panthers started the season with a win over Bethune-Bowman and Cottrell led the way on the ground. He ran for 94 yards and one touchdown on just 10 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kyree Etheredge</strong> RB, Saluda – The Tigers rolled to a big opening week win over Batesburg-Leesville with Etheredge leading the way. He ran for 104 yards on 13 carries and scored three times for a Saluda attack that has several weapons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trace Nettles</strong> RB, River Bluff – The Gators were looking to replace a 2,000-rusher from last season and Nettles took a step to be that replacement. He ran for 135 yards on 14 carries in a 47-13 win over Lugoff-Elgin. He looks to continue that against Swansea this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jalen Burns</strong> LB, Westwood – The Redhawks earned a bug win over Spring Valley last week and Burns was one the main reasons. He had six solo tackles and assisted on six more and added two tackles for loss in holding the Vikings to a single touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267324' first='Ophir' last='Hill']</strong> LB, Lower Richland – The sophomore finished with 14 total tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack in a 23-20 loss to West Ashley last week. He's poised for a breakout season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning']</strong> RB, White Knoll – This Timberwolves lineup has a lot of weapons and might have found their No. 1 running back in the season opener. Fanning rushed for 108 yards on 15 carries and one touchdown in a shutout win over Orangeburg-Wilkinson.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Braxton Rogers </strong>DE, Cardinal Newman – Rogers had a highlight reel interception at the line of scrimmage that he returned for a touchdown. He also added six tackles, a sack and a pass break-up in a win over Trinity Collegiate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='947684' first='Will' last='McQueen']</strong> MLB, Hammond – The Skyhawks played powerhouse Prince Avenue Christian out of Georgia and came out on the losing end, but McQueen (pictured) had a day against that high-powered offense. He totaled 15 tackles and four sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaylen Jay</strong> RB/DE, Gilbert – The Indians had a bye last week, but the junior Jay could be poised for a big season. The top two backs from last season are gone and they combined for over 3,000 yards rushing. The bulk of that duty will fall to Jay this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->