What We Saw: Hillcrest 21, Boiling Springs 6
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SIMPSONVILLE | After spending Friday’s game against Boiling Springs lined up all over the field, Hillcrest’s Avery McFadden Avery McFadden 5'10" | 175 lbs | WR Hillcrest | 2024 State SC was asked what he considered himself. A receiver? A…
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Continue ReadingSIMPSONVILLE | After spending Friday’s game against Boiling Springs lined up all over the field, Hillcrest’s Avery McFadden Avery McFadden 5'10" | 175 lbs | WR Hillcrest | 2024 State SC was asked what he considered himself. A receiver? A back? A returner?
“I’m a football player,” he said.
He sure is.
McFadden provided just enough offense to support a stellar night for the Rams’ defense as they took a 21-6 victory over Boiling Springs at Chandler Stadium, moving to 4-0 on the season.
McFadden accounted for all three of Hillcrest’s touchdowns, rushing for two and catching one. His second, a five-yard dash on a direct snap out of a heavy formation gave the Rams some breathing room. It pushed the lead to 14-6, and more importantly it helped McFadden bounce back from a fumble deep in Boiling Springs territory that wiped out a scoring chance a drive before.
“I let my team down, and I had to make it up,” McFadden said. “I fumbled, it was on me, and I take responsibility for it. I had to make a play.”
He bounced back by ripping off a huge punt return, slipping as he tried to elude the kicker, scoring two plays later.
Rams coach Bennett Swygert had no doubt McFadden would make up for the miscue.
“I went to him (after the fumble) and I said ‘Avery, just make it up’,” Swygert said. “Sure enough, he made a big return on the punt and ended up making the play that got us in the end zone.”
His third and final touchdown put the game away, as he took a sideline route, made two players missed, and was off to the races for a 41-yard score.
“That was all him,” Swygert said. “He’s tremendous. You saw it. We’ll snap it to him, we’ll hand it to him, we’ll throw it to him. He played corner tonight. Man, that kid’s a football player. I don’t know necessarily what he is, but he is a dog, and he’s a very, very good football player. He’s going to do well when somebody smarter than me evaluates him and puts him in a position at the next level.”
It was his second 41-yarder of the night, the first getting the Rams on the board early on a direct snap. So if you’re keeping score, that’s receiver, short-yardage QB, and returner. Oh, he also played some defensive back.
“Avery is our guy,” Swygert said. “If we can’t get behind a guy like that, who works as hard as he does, who knows as much as he does, we’re not going to be a good football team. We have 100 percent faith in our guys, but especially Avery. All we’re trying to do is get the ball in our best player’s hands and let him make a play, and he’s done that for us so far this season.”
Doing It With Defense
Hillcrest’s defense was almost as dominant as McFadden. They gave up a long drive that saw Boiling Springs threaten early, but they forced a fumble inside the 10. They gave up one TD on a deep ball by Boiling Springs QB Lincoln Huskey Lincoln Huskey 6'1" | 175 lbs | QB Boiling Springs | 2025 State SC , but didn’t allow anything else. They were able to get consistent pressure on Huskey while rushing four, and harassed him for most of the night. DJ Henderson DJ Henderson 5'10" | 205 lbs | DL Hillcrest | 2025 State SC was a particular problem for the Bulldogs, as he recovered two fumbles and made a couple of huge stops to get the ball back for Hillcrest.
“That defense keeps bailing us out and keeps getting us out of trouble,” Swygert said. “They played through some adversity, and they stayed focus. DJ was unbelievable. That whole front four was flying around.”
Boiling Springs’ defense looked equal to the task for much of the night. Calvin Jackson Calvin Jackson 6'2" | 225 lbs | DL Boiling Springs | 2024 State SC was all over the field for the Bulldogs, and made one of the biggest plays of the night with a sack that gave Boiling Springs its last, best chance down 14-6 with 5:25 left. He finished with seven tackles, a tackle for loss, and two sacks on the night. Jeremiah Favorite Jeremiah Favorite 5'11" | 165 lbs | DB Boiling Springs | 2026 State SC had a big night as well, with four tackles and two pass break-ups, including one in the end zone.