Catawba River Games & Players To Watch In Week 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 4 in the Catawba River Region is loaded with star studded matchups, from the Upstate to the south side of Rock Hill. They will feature dynamic quarterbacks, run games and defenses that will be looking to build on what they did last week and one team who will be looking for their first win in a while.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northwestern (2-1) at Gaffney (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You want to see athletes all over the field? You'll have it on Friday in the Upstate at the Reservation. For the Trojans, the offense begins with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'], </strong>who has thrown for 796 yards and 10 touchdowns through three games. Ten different guys caught the ball for Northwestern last week against Nation Ford including <strong>TaDarrion Knox </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267334' first='Kameron' last='Vance']. </strong>The defense put up their best showing of the year last week with a shutout of the Falcons, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360210' first='Mason' last='Grier'] </strong>and <strong>Danija McMullen</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119009' first='Riley' last='Staton'] </strong>is the straw that stirs the drink for the Indians offensively at quarterback. He'll have two sure pass catchers, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448239' first='Emazon' last='Littlejohn'] </strong>and <strong>Drew Medley </strong>to throw to. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473029' first='Jaiden' last='McDowell'] </strong>will try to keep the Trojans honest at running back. Keep an eye on the duo of linebackers for the Indians, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605522' first='Andrew' last='Ruppe'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605523' first='Clay' last='Cook']</strong> defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Florence (4-0) at South Pointe (3-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be another game a lot of eyes will be on across the state. The Stallions are led by Georgia State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771038' first='Malachi' last='Marshall']</strong> at quarterback but they've been doing a lot of their damage the first couple of weeks thanks to the run game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012612' first='Aidan' last='Turner'] </strong>and <strong>Mason Pickett-Hicks </strong>have been two guys that have been carrying the load. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139304' first='Chris' last='Dixon'] </strong>(pictured above), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142616' first='Jeremiah' last='Minor'] </strong>and <strong>Miles Wilson </strong>have caused all sorts of problems for people trying to run the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Florence has done a lot of their damage offensively on the ground the first few weeks, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert']</strong> who leads the team with 362 yards and 3 touchdowns along with <strong>Raleigh Jett</strong>, who has run for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns. But <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] </strong>may have had a coming out party last week against Carolina Forest, running for 139 yards on six carries. Yes, you read that correctly. Guys to watch defensively will be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157897' first='Cameron' last='Coe'], </strong>who had a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown last week and <strong>Kemonte Ross </strong>had what turned out to be the game winning pick six for a touchdown. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon'] </strong>at linebacker<strong> </strong>and <strong>Dirrick Goldman </strong>at strong safety as they are first and second on the team in tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>York (2-1) at Rock Hill (2-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis'] </strong>ran for two touchdowns in a losing effort to Clover and he'll be looking to have a similar performance on Friday night. He is a dynamic threat with the ball in his hands for the Cougars offensively. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771226' first='Javarus' last='Guthrie'] </strong>at running back as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267449' first='Debo' last='Hall'] </strong>had a forced fumble for the third straight week to go along five tackles last week and will be a guy to watch defensively. Keep an eye on <strong>Trey Wagner </strong>as he had 3 tackles for loss last week as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There may not be a better QB - WR duo in the area right now than <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360412' first='EJ' last='Ratley'] </strong>for the Bearcats<strong>, </strong>who seem to find each other on the field every week, like last week against Lower Richland. The defense will be rolling in with confidence after a shutout thanks to guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997363' first='Landon' last='Armstrong'] </strong>and <strong>Isaiah Palmer.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lugoff Elgin (1-4) at Fort Mill (0-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Mill has not won a game since September 2021. And guess who the opponent was? Lugoff Elgin. The Yellow Jackets will have a chance to right the ship this week. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>is the downfield threat who can make catches while <strong>Josh Welch </strong>is a thumper defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Week Three Matchups In The Catawba River Region</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge at Chester</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clover at Dorman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BYE WEEK:</strong> Indian Land &amp; Nation Ford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->