GSPD Week 5 Games And Players To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We don't need to wait for region play to see which players could rise up during the all-important stretch of the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even this week - which marks the end of non-region games for most in the Grand Strand and Pee Dee - we've got our eyes glued to several key match-ups that feature many of the most influential names for their schools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marion (5-0) at Myrtle Beach (3-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are only a small number of undefeated teams left in the state, and even fewer who look like they could run the table during the regular season. Marion, behind budding star quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='295367' first='Gabe' last='Cusack']</strong>, is one of them. In what very liberally could be described as five games (Marion has had all five games decided by double digits), the four-year starter has thrown and run for 930 yards and 14 touchdowns. Add in do-it-all <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771088' first='Quay'Sheed' last='Scott']</strong> (145 rushing yards and 206 receiving yards, as well as 27 tackles, five tackles for loss, forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception on defense) and Myrtle Beach is going to have its hands full on defense. Linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267459' first='Ricky' last='Escobar']</strong> (27.5 tackles, two TFL, pictured) and edge <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='395980' first='Ashton' last='Keith']</strong> (15.5 tackles, 3 TFL) will have to spearhead the point of attack early and often in order to defend their home turf. <strong><em>Editor's Note:</em></strong><em> This game was moved to Thursday due to weather concerns</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carolina Forest (2-3) at North Myrtle Beach (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers' strategy against the hellscape of a schedule in Weeks 1-4 (Summerville, Oceanside Collegiate, South Florence) is now being carried over. And that means putting the passing game in its pocket and picking few spots. Enter tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267465' first='Kalil' last='Johnson']</strong> and quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142820' first='Ethan' last='Hamilton']</strong>. In five games, those two have accounted for seven 100-yard rushing games individually. They each doubled up in the games against Summerville, South Florence and Stratford (last week). The fun part about getting to see them live is how they handle a North Myrtle Beach defense that is getting better and better as Greg Hill's tenure progresses. <strong>Trenton Fredericks</strong>, <strong>Syncere Jefferson</strong>, <strong>Zirion Reed</strong> and <strong>Sloan McIntyre</strong> are each at or above 15 total tackles (using the college system) and four more are north of 10. The Chiefs' gang-tackling scheme is going to pay major dividends, and a strong performance against Carolina Forest could be a signal that it's coming sooner rather than later.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kingstree (2-3) at Lamar (2-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Want to see a battle in the trenches? This is the game for you. Kingstree linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340390' first='James' last='Brockington']</strong> (28 total tackles, six tackles for loss) leads a massive charge up front while middle linebacker <strong>Rodney Bryant</strong> (22.5, nine) has been crashing the line with excellent efficiency. Tack on rising star freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036769' first='Maleek' last='Dukes']</strong> following Bryant's lead and the Blazers have a recipe for defensive success. Meanwhile, Lamar tackles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='762756' first='Kendall' last='Walton']</strong> and <strong>Eli Rodriguez</strong>, guards <strong>Tahj Johnson</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267226' first='Devaughn' last='Locust']</strong> and center <strong>Dylan VanHorn</strong> will be responsible for letting young quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165108' first='Zori' last='Pierce']</strong> continue what he started last week against McBee, when he threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>PLAYER NOTABLES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353184' first='Daniel' last='Ray']</strong> LB, Lake View - Ray has made an immediate impact on his new team after transferring over the state line. The outside linebacker can get into the backfield in a hurry and against Loris this week, he will have the chance to disrupt the Lions' passing lanes, which are often run toward the outside instead of upfield. If Ray gets going, beating a team from two classes up isn't out of the question.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18620771/64fe774319a6860448c421f4' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-650b2cddb0e85"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Labron Cobb</strong> QB, Latta - With all eyes on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996926' first='Jamarion' last='Jones']</strong> and his 1,065 rushing yards, Cobb has every opportunity to follow suit with some gaudy numbers of his own. Last week against Johnsonville, he needed only nine carries to rush for 107 yards and a score while also passing for 51 yards and another touchdown. Cobb could have another solid performance against Cheraw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448998' first='Lavon' last='White']</strong> RB, Andrews - White has been out the last few weeks dealing with a minor injury. However, coach Scott Durham believes White will be ready to test himself out some at Green Sea Floyds. The Trojans have been subject to some big scores already this season, and while Andrews will still put the ball into the belly of [player_tooltip player_id='1395098' first='AJ' last='Lee'], what we see out of White could be a preview of the ensuing four games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->