Week 10 Games To Watch: The Midlands

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playoff positioning and region titles are on the line in the final week of the regular season. Drama and intrigue will be spread across the Midlands and when the dust settles late Friday night, the playoff picture will be clear.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at some of the top players that will be key factors in determining the outcome.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lexington (7-2, 2-1) at Dutch Fork (4-5, 2-1)</strong><strong></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>White Knoll has won the Region 4-5A title but there is a lot at stake in this one. The winner will have a home playoff game next week while the loser must travel.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams play a stingy style of defense. <strong>Daniel Bryant</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448988' first='Christian' last='Sexton']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997334' first='Montrell' last='Byrd']</strong> leads a Lexington defense that is allowing an average of 16.4 points per game. Dutch Fork's defense also has allowed 16.4 points per game with just 11 points allowed in the last two game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142713' first='Deon' last='Winsley']</strong>, <strong>Jadon Cook</strong>, <strong>Bryce Nutall</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='492672' first='Tyler' last='Jones']</strong> have been consistently good and with the offense getting healthy, the Silver Foxes are a dangerous team heading into the postseason. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offensively, Lexington must get a strong night from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208887' first='Taiden' last='Mines']</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464895' first='Brandon' last='Cromer']</strong> and RB duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='836316' first='Matthew' last='McAulay']</strong> and Sexton. <strong>Bryce Mitchell</strong> will be a key up front. &nbsp;QB <strong>Jonathan Hunt</strong> has returned from injury and Dutch Fork has scored 97 points the last two games. Hunt threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards in the latest outing. WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254046' first='Boone' last='Miller']</strong> had his best game last week with 165 yards on five receptions. <strong>Trent Lodge</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012701' first='Maurice' last='Anderson']</strong> handle the bulk of the ground attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AC Flora (4-5, 2-2) at Ridge View (7-2, 3-1)</strong><strong></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Irmo has won the Region 4-4A championship, but AC Flora could create a 3-way tie for second place with a victory and a Richland Northeast win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming into the season, the Falcons thought they had a defense that would stack up against anyone. But that group is allowing 33 points a game. The good news is they limited Lugoff-Elgin to just three points last week. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771227' first='Albert' last='Perkins']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771222' first='Eric' last='McClain']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997228' first='Ryan' last='Biggerstaff']</strong> will have to lead the effort against a balanced Blazers attack. <strong>Azel Benag</strong> had a pick-six last week. <strong>Myles Brown</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='728148' first='David' last='Matthews']</strong> have been key for the Blazers. Brown has 62 tackles with 16 tackles for loss. Matthews is at 59 stops and nine tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offensively, QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025784' first='Roper' last='Wentzky']</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165081' first='Kendall' last='Byrd']</strong> have been outstanding for an AC Flora offense that is averaging 33 points per game. Wentzky has thrown for 2,178 yards and 26 touchdowns while Byrd is nearing 1,000 yards receiving with 12 touchdowns on the season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272714' first='Aiden' last='Mosley']</strong> has only played in three games but he's over 400 yards rushing. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997121' first='Breylon' last='Boyd']</strong> triggers the Ridge View attack with 1,528 passing yards. His backup, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='840548' first='Tre' last='Howard']</strong>, has added 848 yards passing. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473013' first='Carter' last='Coleman']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='233146' first='Jordon' last='Gidron']</strong> and <strong>Kennedy Thomas</strong> have combined for 1,600 receiving yards. <strong>Siah Mack</strong> will be the key to the ground attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gilbert (9-0, 4-0) at Brookland-Cayce (7-2, 4-0)&nbsp;</strong><strong></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No questions here, the winner claims first place in Region 5-3A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one has a chance to be an offensive explosion. Gilbert is averaging 44 points per game with Brookland-Cayce averaging 41 points per game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='782263' first='Drake' last='Braddock']</strong> has thrown for 2,073 yards and 24 touchdowns for the Indians. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157968' first='Krew' last='Morris']</strong> (34 catches, 653 yards), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249788' first='Connor' last='Gooding']</strong>, <strong>Matt Edwards</strong> and <strong>Chance Guthrie</strong> are his top targets. Freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson']</strong> has 662 yards and 12 rushing scores so far. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771224' first='Will' last='Young']</strong> and <strong>Deshaun Washington</strong> lead the ground attack for the Bearcats. Either can take it to the house at any given time. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1020770' first='Brogan' last='Sox']</strong> is getting more comfortable each week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The difference in this one might be on the defensive side of things. Gilbert is allowing 12 points per game while the Bearcats are giving up 18 points per game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1043170' first='Wynn' last='Meetze']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142731' first='Caleb' last='Strese']</strong> have been solid all season Meetze has 95 tackles and four interceptions for the Indians. Brookland-Cayce will lean on <strong>An'Tohn Ford</strong> and <strong>Davion McGill-Boykin</strong> to try to slow Gilbert.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fairfield Central (7-2, 4-1) at Newberry (5-4, 4-1)</strong><strong></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gray Collegiate won Region 4-2A. The winner of this one will claim second place and a home playoff contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473002' first='Cameron' last='McMillon']</strong> has not put up the numbers he did last season, but he's still thrown for 1,511 yards and 16 touchdowns with just two interceptions for the Griffins. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142804' first='KJ' last='Golden']</strong> (30 catches, 472 yards and 7 TDs) is the top target with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012718' first='TyDarion' last='Grier']</strong> accounting for over 900 yards rushing and receiving. <strong>Bryce Satterwhite </strong>is the trigger person under center for the Bulldogs. He has big-time playmakers in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816735' first='Jamel' last='Howse'] </strong>and <strong>Isiah Glymph</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592601' first='Douglas' last='McCloud']</strong> is the leading tackler for Fairfield Central with <strong>Myles Robinson</strong> close behind. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>River Bluff (5-4, 0-3) at Chapin (5-4, 0-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one will determine the last guaranteed playoff spot from Region 4-5A. Both teams entered region play at 5-1 but lost all three region games. The biggest difference in the losses is the margin of defeat. Chapin lost its three games by a combined 47 points while River Bluff margin was 107 points in the three games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hayden Cushman</strong> has 63 tackles for the Gators with <strong>Griffin Lindler</strong> next with 59 tackles. <strong>Reese Lawrence</strong> has 12 tackles for loss. <strong>Garvin Stam</strong> has 85 tackles for the Eagles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360035' first='Tanner' last='Short']</strong> is next with 61 tackles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771241' first='Russell' last='Gentry']</strong> and <strong>Griffin Burns</strong> will also play large roles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>River Bluff will need a huge effort from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464884' first='Parker' last='Murray']</strong> (1,221 yards, 10 TDs) and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464880' first='Stephen' last='Collier']</strong> (41 catches, 559 yards, five TDs). But if the passing game falters, the RB duo of <strong>Tourian Leaphart</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592250' first='Hayden' last='Myers']</strong> will have to pick up the slack. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272715' first='Brady' last='Albro']</strong> has 18 touchdown passes and 2,201 yards for Chapin. His top targets are <strong>Jacob Nerone</strong> and <strong>Floyd Maddox</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->