Week 5 Games & Players To Watch: Catawba River

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have entered the final week of non-region play before the all important region slate begins. You've got a rivalry showdown that may have more excitement to it than it has in previous years, while you have a cross county matchup where both teams are looking to build off of exciting wins last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Mill (1-3) at York (3-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets will look to ride the momentum from last week's win over Lugoff-Elgin. It was a coming out party for quarterback <strong>Quinn Kelly, </strong>who threw for two touchdowns and looked efficient moving Fort Mill down the field. He's got better wheels than you may realize. <strong>Jackson Smith </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>will be the two go-to targets for Kelly. Smith has the ability to take a slant and go get yards after the catch, while Mays is your downfield threat.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142626' first='Gavin' last='Brandwood'] </strong>was all over the field with tackles for loss and excellent gap integrity. Keep an eye on <strong>Jaylin Chambers</strong>, who had an interception last week along with <strong>Braylon Thomas</strong>, who was active in the secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York is coming off a tight win over Rock Hill in what was a 51-48 shootout. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771226' first='Javarus' last='Guthrie'] </strong>had a big night last week, including a 60-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Guthrie has a physical running style where he's tough to bring down once he gets into the open field. If the game comes down to special teams, the advantage may be with the home team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis'] </strong>and <strong>Jay McCoy </strong>each had kickoff returns to the paint. <strong>Michael McConell </strong>had the game winning score on a quarterback run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267449' first='Debo' last='Hall'] </strong>defensively. Hall was selected to the Shrine Bowl over the weekend, which will occur in December in Spartanburg. Hall is an enforcer at his safety position – he had an interception and the game clinching forced fumble last week against the Bearcats. <strong>Zadarrius Carter </strong>recovered that fumble to go along with his 10 tackles on the night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589053' first='DeMaurion' last='Stewart']</strong>, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/09/week-4-game-balls-catawba-river-region/">who was selected for a Game Ball last week</a>, recovered a fumble on special teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northwestern (3-1) at Rock Hill (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rock Hill put up points in bunches, but couldn't finish the deal against York last week. They'll have a chance to right the ship against their cross town rival at District 3 Stadium on Friday. Quarterback and App State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>(pictured above)<strong> </strong>is the straw that stirs the drink for the Bearcats offensively. He had 3 rushing touchdowns, including a 69-yard touchdown run. But don't get too caught up in his running ability as he can make plays with his feet. He hit <strong>Dante Reid </strong>on a 12-yard pass for a score. Keep your eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012834' first='Malik' last='Clark']</strong> at receiver and <strong>Daylen Boulware</strong> in the run game as well. Boulware had two touchdowns last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwestern went on the road to the Upstate and made a quick dispatch of Gaffney in a 49-24 win last week. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard'] </strong>made plays on special teams, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/09/week-4-game-balls-catawba-river-region/">which led to Game Ball honors last week</a>. He finished with 114 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>went 19-of-27 for 228 yards and 1 touchdown last and was efficient in getting the Trojans down field. He hooked up with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267334' first='Kameron' last='Vance'] </strong>who is quickly becoming a favorite target for Polk.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jamarr Perry </strong>and <strong>Jayden Woods </strong>who had five tackles last week and the defensive front, which includes <strong>Tomarion Watkins </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605531' first='Will' last='Massey'], </strong>who had three tackles each in the rout of the Indians.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Week 5 Games To Watch In The Catawba River Region</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nation Ford at Richland Northeast&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chester at Batesburg-Leesville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BYE WEEK:</strong> Catawba Ridge &amp; South Pointe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->