Week 5 Game Balls: Catawba River
In this article:
Two quarterbacks who spread the ball around, while a defensive lineman in northwestern York County was key in helping his team pull away on Friday night and an active defensive back who continues to make plays. Let’s jump into performances…
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Continue ReadingTwo quarterbacks who spread the ball around, while a defensive lineman in northwestern York County was key in helping his team pull away on Friday night and an active defensive back who continues to make plays.
Let’s jump into performances that caught our eye for this week’s Game Balls in the Catawba River Region:
Ian Grissom Ian Grissom 6'1" | 160 lbs | QB Rock Hill | 2025 State SC | QB | Lewisville
Grissom continues his hot streak of putting up huge numbers, this week against Andrew Jackson. He went 21-of-33, 390 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-0 win on Friday night. The velocity on his throws and the way he’s able to look off coverages is fun to watch. He can throw the shallow route, vertical and routes to the sideline with accuracy.
Finley Polk
Finley
Polk
6'2" | 185 lbs | QB
Northwestern | 2025
State
SC
| QB | Northwestern
Polk is spreading the ball around for the Trojans, as evidenced in their 56-14 win over cross-town rival Rock Hill last Friday night. He threw three touchdowns to three different receivers: Greer Hopkins Greer Hopkins 5'8" | 150 lbs | WR Northwestern | 2024 State SC (12 yards), Jaylen Burris (12 yards) and Jayden Burris (42 yards). The junior quarterback also ran for three more touchdowns. The offensive output for the evening was 642 total yards.
Jayden Bryant Jayden Bryant 6'4" | 215 lbs | DL Clover | 2024 State SC | DL | Clover
Bryant (pictured above) was all over the field for the Blue Eagles defensively, especially in the second half in their 36-21 win over Boiling Springs last week. He got pressure on the quarterback consistently and there were several times he had the opposing quarterback running around desperately searching, only to be sacked.
Joaquan Howze Joaquan Howze 6'0" | 180 lbs | LB Lewisville | 2024 State SC | LB | Lewisville
Howze is a name we think you’ll be hearing more often as region play begins. What stood out to us in watching his cut-ups from the win over Andrew Jackson last week is how quickly he reacts to a play and then gets into the backfield quickly, like we saw on the toss play against a strong and physical running back. He certainly matches the physicality.
DeMaurion Stewart DeMaurion Stewart 6'1" | 190 lbs | DB York | 2024 State SC | DB | York
Stewart had another solid week as the Cougars wrapped up non-region play with a 34-0 shutout win over Fort Mill. He showed an ability to come up and put pressure on the quarterback to make the sack or force a bad throw. He’s also a great tackler in space, like when the quarterback took off on a scramble and he came up and made a good tackle.