What And Who To Watch: GSPD Week 3 Games

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've got games between teams who started slow. Others with programs jumping out of the gate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players ready to light a fire and others believing they still could.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Grand Strand and Pee Dee Week 3 games have it all. And we think this could be one of those Fridays that set the tone for what we're going to be able to expect throughout the rest of the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conway (0-3) at North Myrtle Beach (1-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One win in six combined games might not look like much, but each of these teams have playoff potential right there for the taking. The talent level on each is why. Conway defenders <strong>Justin Hill</strong>, <strong>J'Kwon Brantley</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448994' first='Moses' last='Freshley']</strong> and <strong>Najere Green</strong> have each taken turns standing out during the Tigers' first three games. They'll need to put it all together against the North Myrtle Beach offense led by <strong>Landon Cloninger</strong> (20-of-25, 257 yards last week), tailback <strong>Stephen Vereen</strong> (306 yards in three games) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='929482' first='Kaden' last='Gore']</strong> (11 receptions, 202 yards, three touchdowns).&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Florence (3-0) at Carolina Forest (1-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carolina Forest quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142820' first='Ethan' last='Hamilton']</strong> (258 yards passing, 185 yards rushing) and running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267465' first='Kalil' last='Johnson']</strong> (348 yards, five touchdowns) are clearly showing they can do some damage in spurts. They're going to need to be on key against a South Florence program that is gashing everyone thanks in part to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert']</strong> - who last year was playing at Carolina Forest before his move inland. Gilbert has run for 319 yards in three games and is looking like he's going to get even more carries after <strong>Rodrick McRae</strong> was lost for the season due to a leg injury.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hannah-Pamplico (2-1) at Andrews (2-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two programs with strong rushing attacks will line up trying to do to each other exactly what Andrews accomplished last week against Carvers Bay. In that game, nine Yellow Jackets ball carriers accounted for 65 carries and 322 yards - led by 95 yards from <strong>Xavier Anderson</strong>, 65 from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013054' first='Brandon' last='Cumbee']</strong>, 56 from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395098' first='AJ' last='Lee']</strong>. It led to a 3-1 time of possession difference. Likewise, Hannah-Pamplico uses the same run-first strategy with tailbacks <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464882' first='Jamarcus' last='Williams']</strong> (2025) and <strong>Darius Williams</strong> (2026) and junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='922678' first='Wade' last='Poston']</strong>. If either team starts running down hill, the score could get up there in a hurry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hartsville (3-0) at Dillon (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As far as high-profile games go, you'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger one in South Carolina this week. Hartsville enters the game as the No. 2 team in Class 4A after dropping 55 points each on Conway, Darlington and Camden. Tailbacks <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208339' first='Carmello' last='McDaniel']</strong> (535 yards, 10 touchdowns) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012592' first='Hakeem' last='Watters']</strong> (428 yards, six touchdowns) are each averaging north of 11 yards per carry. The Wildcats, meanwhile, have been a bit more meticulous in the early going. Sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='205556' first='Josiah' last='Oxendine']</strong> (178 yards, one touchdown) has attempted only 20 passes so far and the running duties have been split between sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025778' first='Dominick' last='Felton']</strong> (124 yards, two touchdowns), junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346196' first='Jamarion' last='Fling']</strong> (115 yards, 1 touchdown) and senior <strong>Simrod McCallum</strong> (71 yards, four touchdowns).&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>MORE PLAYER NOTABLES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254177' first='Gibson' last='Goodroe']</strong> QB, Myrtle Beach - Goodroe has been put into full-blown game-manager position in terms of his spot on the Seahawk offense. While that's just fine for now - given that [player_tooltip player_id='402500' first='Malachi' last='Washington'] has put up back-to-back 200-yard rushing games - the more his confidence grows, the more of the playbook the offense will start to run. Against Socastee this week, don't be surprised if there are a few more wrinkles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1312432' first='Jace' last='Shropshire']</strong> WR, St. James - The new No. 1 receiver at St. James has already caught 15 passes in three games. And while it is a promising start, he needs to prove he can get open against tight coverage. Lake City has the type of outside defenders who can muddy things up in a hurry, and the Sharks offense could use Shropshire finding his next gear sooner rather than later. If he performs well here, it could be sign of a huge second half of the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208334' first='Kelvin' last='Hunter']</strong> LB/RB, West Florence - Hunter (pictured) has always been a standup player willing to do whatever is asked. The latest proof comes in the form of the South Carolina commit all but abandoning his likely future landing spot in the secondary to help the Knights' offense. He's still getting quality reps at linebacker, but he's simultaneously playing on offense, too. Eventually, he's going to have another one of those awe-inspiring games, and a game against visiting Dreher could be it. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->