Week 6 Lowcountry Games To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school football calendar is divided into three segments: non-region, region play, and playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Welcome to the heart of the 2023 season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the next five weeks, playoff seeding will be determined, and the average will be separated from the great. We've got five terrific games to preview as we kick off region play on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hilton Head (3-2) at Bluffton (3-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The anticipation for this one was building by the spring. It might be even better than we originally thought. Led by former Hilton Head quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='790404' first='Owen' last='Bayes']</strong>, the Bobcats will look to start Region VII-4A play with a win against the Seahawks and Bayes' former teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464809' first='Jackson' last='Bibee']</strong>. Both have had tremendous starts to their season and have taken advantage of some dynamic offensive weapons by their side. The Bobcats' offense is one of the region's most explosive with a dual-threat quarterback in Bayes alongside wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='988249' first='Brandon' last='Bryant'] </strong>who's coming off a breakout 334-yard game on 15 catches. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402486' first='Carnell' last='Warren']</strong> has been an immediate standout after coming over from May River, and Bayes loves to take shots downfield to hook up with his favorite targets. Hilton Head will look to create pressure up front with talented defensive lineman<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='448980' first='Shaikh' last='Thompson'] </strong>and physical linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360171' first='Connor' last='Wiendl']</strong>. Hilton Head's strength is on the ground game with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013024' first='Troy' last='Timko']</strong>, who has put up a strong 632 rushing yards and six touchdowns through five games. He's a patient runner with a strong frame that can break key tackles. Success from Timko and good blocking should allow the Seahawks to establish their offense against a Bluffton team that gave up five rushing touchdowns against Beaufort last week. Bibee has grown his capabilities as a passer this year and has developed a strong connection with fellow senior wideout <strong>Jake Huggins</strong>. Underrated defensive lineman <strong>Shane Whittaker </strong>came up huge in last year's Bridge Bowl win and will need another standout performance to keep the Seahawks behind the sticks and pick up some enormous stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Berkeley (3-2) at Goose Creek (1-4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After taking a pounding a week ago against Fort Dorchester, the Berkeley Stags will be striving for a bounce-back effort on the road to open region play against a sneaky-tough Goose Creek team. We should see a rebound in the Stags' offense led by freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] </strong>coming off an excellent learning experience against the Patriots. He's done a great job this year of efficiently getting the ball out to his targets, including an excellent pair of junior wideouts in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='683478' first='Kayden' last='Bash'] </strong>(22 rec, 385 yds, 2TD)&nbsp; and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158021' first='Kevin' last='Boone'] </strong>( 20 rec, 328 yds, 8TD). Goose Creek quarterback <strong>Ty Breeze </strong>may need a big effort to keep up at quarterback, and he'll look to athletic wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448997' first='Davion' last='Malloy'] </strong>to help move the sticks. Berkeley sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165076' first='Marcus' last='Henderson']</strong> was a terrific bright spot against a red-hot Patriot offense. He's already recorded 45.5 total tackles this year and could be an important spark to shut down plays over the middle alongside ball-hawking teammate<strong> Logan Gaskins </strong>with two interceptions to his credit so far in 2023.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ashley Ridge (5-0) at Fort Dorchester (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We'll get a marquee Region VII-5A matchup in the Lowcountry this week with a hungry Fort Dorchester squad up against unbeaten Ashley Ridge. The Swamp Foxes' offense has reached new heights this season thanks to the electric playmaking of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589052' first='Derrick' last='Salley'] Jr.</strong> ( 34 rec, 565 yds, 8 TD) and breakout junior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157992' first='Jayden' last='Acosta']</strong>. Fort Dorchester was tested early on in the season and came within a score of taking down Gaffney with a brilliant five-touchdown game from senior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142859' first='Charles' last='Watson']. </strong>Speedy wideout<strong> Mul-Ty Snider </strong>can slip past the defense and fly for yards after the catch, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589060' first='Jalen' last='Barry'] </strong>can win on the jump balls, especially close to the end zone. This game could be decided by whoever can step up on the defensive side. <strong>Nickolaos Jefferson </strong>has been outstanding in the secondary for Ashley Ridge and will have a chance to prove himself against a red-hot Fort Dorchester offense. <strong>Marcus Moon </strong>leads the Fort Dorchester defense by providing a smart and physical presence at linebacker.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>May River (2-3) at Lucy Beckham (4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The May River Sharks have been road warriors the last three weeks, and they'll get another tough matchup at Lucy Beckham to open region play before coming back home in Week 7. It will be a matchup of the Bengals' high-powered offense against a Sharks D that hasn't given up more than 16 points in a game since the opener. But standout May River linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1575350' first='Ethan' last='Sprinkle'] </strong>(21 tackles) and the Sharks will have to wrap up their tackles against an excellent Lucy Beckham backfield tandem in <strong>Charles Byrd </strong>(37 car, 371 yds, 2TD) and <strong>Stephen Segars </strong>(42 car, 395 yds, 7 TD) with stellar blocker and tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='302853' first='Bryce' last='Rothwell'] </strong>leading the way. May River will need to step it up on offense this week on the road, but emerging sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360121' first='Tanner' last='Macy'] </strong>will have a tough challenge with a veteran Bengal group that has allowed just 14 points in four games this season. Senior linemen <strong>Drake Bull </strong>and <strong>Jaiden Moore</strong> will need to continue to give space for Macy to find open space on the ground as a runner and time to get rid of the football in the pocket.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Beaufort (4-2) at Philip Simmons (6-0)</strong><br>It's only week one of region play, but we could see the Region VIII-3A championship game already in front of us this Friday night. After dropping two straight to start the season, the defending 3A champ Beaufort Eagles have battled their way to four hard-fought consecutive wins. But they'll have to be at their very best to conquer a terrific Iron Horses team. Philip Simmons' offense has been rolling to start the season with an electric backfield tandem of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589051' first='KJ' last='Asbury'] </strong>(84 car, 1,062 yds, 15 TD) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997204' first='Sharod' last='Williams'] </strong>(57 car, 837 yds, 14 TD). We could see some milestones for both, with Asbury just 170 yards away from a career mark of 2,000 and Williams just 163 yards from that same goal. Beaufort's hard-nosed defense would like to prevent that from happening, led by underrated physical linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809756' first='Will' last='Codding']</strong> and breakout sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816738' first='Jayden' last='Simmons']</strong>. The offense has been riding high into this game after a five-touchdown performance from running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025738' first='Jadyn' last='Andrews']</strong> alongside the emergence of the passing game from junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254143' first='Samari' last='Bonds']</strong>. Philip Simmons' one-two punch of lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997285' first='Bryce' last='Smalls'] </strong>(71 tackles) and linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997298' first='Josh' last='Gant'] </strong>(60 tackles) will put the pressure on Beaufort veteran<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='589010' first='Adrian' last='Lamb']</strong> and a growing offensive line to produce in a challenging matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->