What Watch In The GSPD: Week 6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Welcome to region play, where every game is a chance to sink or swim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nobody is walking away from this week's games haven't felt like they completed the mission. However, five big contest could ultimately prove pivotal in who does and doesn't have a legitimate chance to do much of anything come November.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conway (0-6) at St. James (2-4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The consensus is these two and Socastee will have to divvy up Region V-5A's last two playoff spots, meaning a loss against one of the others right out of the gate is highly detrimental toward making the playoffs. You don't need to tell the two senior quarterbacks in this game just how much it means. Conway's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208332' first='Devin' last='Grainger']</strong> is looking to improve upon his 850 or so passing yards, while Sharks quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91513' first='Connor' last='Schwalm']</strong> will be eager to bounce back from a minor leg injury that kept him out of last week's loss to Stratford. Schwalm has thrown for 607 yards and six scores while rushing for a team-high 434 yards and eight touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Andrews (4-2) at Marion (5-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a clear divide between the top two teams and the bottom three in Region VIII-2A, Andrews and Marion have had this date circled for months. Win this one, and you likely have a two-game buffer to not end up with a region title. The Yellow Jackets are hopeful that starting fullback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448998' first='Lavon' last='White']</strong> can return this week. However, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395098' first='AJ' last='Lee']</strong> has done a pretty good job in his place, rushing for 600 yards and seven touchdowns over the course of the last three weeks. If both of them are available, it will put even more pressure on Marion dual-threat quarterback <strong>Cabe Cusack</strong> (pictured) to make use of every available possession. Andrews is certainly going to try to limit those.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Myrtle Beach (4-1) at West Florence (3-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last week's blowout loss to Byrnes notwithstanding, the West Florence defense has certainly done a better-than-expected job even though it all limited two of its stars - [player_tooltip player_id='443495' first='Franklin' last='Emerson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='208334' first='Kelvin' last='Hunter'] - for bigger roles on offense. Still, the Knights' front line of Timothy Rawls (30 total tackles, eight tackles for loss) and Antonio Sirmans (21 tackles, seven tackles for loss) make this an interesting matchup given how well Myrtle Beach has run the ball in its last four games with [player_tooltip player_id='402500' first='Malachi' last='Washington'] (833 yards, 12 touchdowns). The winner of this game stays in the hunt for a Region VI-4A title, while the loser starts needing some significant help.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Latta (6-0) at Lamar (3-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lamar's punt defense is starting to look like a significant player for the Silver Foxes. After all, four different players - <strong>Freddy Cruz</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422623' first='DQ' last='Green']</strong>, <strong>Vernon Ervin</strong> and <strong>Mike McFadden</strong> - have already blocked a punt this year. The knowledge of that pressure is affecting opposing teams' punt worthiness, too, meaning that even when they're getting them off, Lamar is ending up with prime field position. Of course, getting the Vikings to punt will mean containing tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996926' first='Jamarion' last='Jones']</strong> (1,235 yards, 19 touchdowns) and quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142797' first='LaBron' last='Cobb']</strong> (383 passing yards, 615 rushing yards) on offense. Those two players have been electric right on into the second half of the season, making sure the Vikings have won each of their six games by at least two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hartsville (4-1) at South Florence (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just go ahead and plan to watch any on-field interactions between Hartsville safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272699' first='Da'Marion' last='Coe']</strong> and Bruins receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers']</strong>. Two of the most dynamic juniors in the state, these two speedsters will have plenty of opportunities for head-to-head plays, as one of Coe's jobs will be the shadow Sellers. Neither of them are coming in solo, of course, but they are packing some serious resumes. Already this year, Coe has 46 total tackles, while Sellers has 225 receiving yards and a touchdown to go along with his new skill set, coming out of the backfield. With coach Drew Marlowe focused on getting the ball into Sellers' hands, the junior also has 307 rushing yards and six scores, coming out of variety of offensive sets. Not enough reason to watch? Then go for South tailbacks <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert']</strong> (432 yards, three touchdowns) and <strong>Raleigh Jett</strong> (334 yards, three touchdowns) or their Hartsville counterparts [player_tooltip player_id='208339' first='Carmello' last='McDaniel'] (729, 13) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012592' first='Hakeem' last='Watters']</strong> (627, 10).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->