Week 10 Players & Games To Watch: Catawba River

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Can you believe the final week of the regular season is upon us? The games for this week will go a long way in determining playoff positioning as we get ready to kick off the next phase of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northwestern (8-1, 4-0 region) at Catawba Ridge (1-8, 0-4 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No one has been able to slow down the machine that has been the Northwestern offense in region play. The Trojans <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/what-we-saw-polk-northwestern-defeat-south-pointe-in-shootout/">put up 64 points in their win over South Pointe last week to claim the region title</a>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>continued his strong season on Friday, throwing for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard'] </strong>ran for 184 yards on 16 carries for 3 touchdowns. And the duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753896' first='Jayden' last='Nichols'] </strong>(7 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown) and <strong>Jaylen Burris </strong>(3 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns) will be something to watch coming down the stretch along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267334' first='Kameron' last='Vance'] </strong>and <strong>Jayden Burris</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojan defensive line led by <strong>Tomarion Watkins, [player_tooltip player_id='1360156' first='Andre' last='Pickett'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605531' first='Will' last='Massey'] </strong>who all had five tackles or more in the win, will be tough for opposing teams to pass the ball against because of the consistent pressure they can bring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nation Ford (4-5, 2-2 region) at Fort Mill (2-7, 1-3 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253939' first='Kaleb' last='White']</strong> and <strong>Caden Giles</strong> had three of Nation Ford's touchdowns in their rout of Spring Valley last week. The Falcon offense had their best offensive outputs of the season scoring 49 points as <strong>Lucas Barz </strong>also got in on the scoring as well. <strong>Zay Neely </strong>picked up an interception and is one of the leaders on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets may have one of the best defenders in the area in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142626' first='Gavin' last='Brandwood']</strong>. He had multiple tackles last week and is one of those guys that will bring consistent effort every week. Keep an eye on the connection between <strong>Quinn Kelly </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>if the Yellow Jackets can open up the passing game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>York (7-2, 3-1 region) at South Pointe (6-3, 3-1 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pointe is coming off a tough loss while York is coming off a tight win against Lancaster. But both are looking to secure second place in the region and give the host a playoff game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Stallions are going to run the football and run it often with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157761' first='Mason' last='Picket-Hicks']</strong>, who ran for 165 yards last week in the loss to Northwestern and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012612' first='Aidan' last='Turner']</strong>, who ran for 50 yards as well. If they can get the connection going with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771038' first='Malachi' last='Marshall'] </strong>and <strong>Jordan Curbeam </strong>going, it will take some of the pressure off the running game. And you can't forget about the athletic Stallion defense, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139304' first='Chris' last='Dixon'] </strong>who had 3 tackles and 2 sacks last week. Don't forget about <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142616' first='Jeremiah' last='Minor'] </strong>who had 5 tackles last week as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York is a team full of athletes starting with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771226' first='Javarus' last='Guthrie'] </strong>who will try to get the run game going against a stout defensive line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267449' first='Debo' last='Hall'], Trey Wagner, [player_tooltip player_id='1142644' first='Najib' last='Yunusah'] </strong>will anchor things on the defensive side of the ball for the Cougars as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clover (7-2, 4-0 region) at Rock Hill (6-3, 4-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game is for the region 3-5A championship at District 3 Stadium on Friday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012834' first='Malik' last='Clark'] </strong>has been the focal point of the Rock Hill offense at receiver all season long, and we have no reason to believe that won't be a focus going into Friday night's game with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>at quarterback. Wilson threw touchdowns to <strong>Duncan Stockunas</strong>, Clark and <strong>Ray Barber </strong>(pictured above)<strong> </strong>last week against Blythewood. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997363' first='Landon' last='Armstrong'] </strong>and [player_tooltip player_id='649189' first='Justice' last='Foster'] on the defensive line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clover has also been rolling in region play and a lot of it has to do with the play of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012627' first='Landon' last='Stone']. </strong>Stone ran for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns in a rout of Fort Mill last week. <strong>Jaylon Hoover </strong>will look to follow up on a solid night, going 10-of-13, 114 yards and 1 touchdown last week. On defense, keep an eye on <strong>Zachary Cheatham</strong>, who had 3 tackles and 2 pass breakups along with <strong>Jabari Arnett </strong>and <strong>Deontae Starr, </strong>who each had fumble recoveries in last week's win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Notable Games In The Catawba River Region</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lancaster at Indian Land</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Buford at Andrew Jackson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->