Week 7 Games & Players To Watch: Catawba River

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week Two of region play is a critical week for teams that are trying to position themselves for a region title. And some teams in the Catawba River Region are starting to find their traction at the right time. Let's jump into the games and players you'll want to keep your eye on:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Catawba Ridge (1-5, 0-1 region) at York (5-1, 1-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are two teams that have gone in completely different directions in 2023.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York is finding its stride at the right time with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis']</strong> at quarterback (pictured above), who scored the go-ahead touchdown as a part of 4 rushing touchdowns in <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/york-at-indian-land-overall-game-standouts/">last week's win over Indian Land to open region play</a>. <strong>Jay McCoy </strong>was the leader at wide receiver last week for the Cougars, as he made plays in the short to intermediate passing game. Keep an eye on <strong>Trey Wagner </strong>at the edge position defensively as he had 7 tackles, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/week-6-game-balls-catawba-river/">including two for a loss last week</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge has been decimated by injuries, including star players <strong>Jackson Burger </strong>and <strong>Ira Mister</strong> who were injured in Friday's loss to South Pointe. Their status for Friday is unknown. Quarterback <strong>DJ Latimer </strong>and the Copperheads will likely lean on the run game from Latimer a little bit more along with <strong>Brayden Wasik</strong> at running back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Hill (3-3, 1-0 region) at Fort Mill (1-5, 0-1 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012834' first='Malik' last='Clark'] </strong>may be two of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the region. They combined for four touchdowns in <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/09/what-we-saw-wilson-rock-hill-rout-spring-valley/">last week's rout over Spring Valley.</a> <strong>Daylen Boulware </strong>and <strong>Ray Barber </strong>provided a one-two punch in the backfield as they each ran for 30+ yards last week. Both can flat out run people over. It was a complete effort defensively last week as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997363' first='Landon' last='Armstrong'] </strong>tallied 14 total tackles and was all around the ball. Keep an eye on <strong>Daniel Range</strong>, who caught our eye last week for the Bearcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quinn Kelly </strong>and <strong>Braylon Thomas </strong>have been the bright spots for the Yellow Jackets offensively. Thomas had the only score of the night. Can Kelly get time to throw against the Rock Hill defensive line? Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142626' first='Gavin' last='Brandwood']</strong>, who was all over the field for the Jackets defensively with 18 tackles. No, that's not a misprint. He forced a fumble and had a tackle for a loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indian Land (4-2, 0-1 region) at Northwestern (5-1, 1-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Indian Land heads to District 3 Stadium to meet up with Northwestern. One of the leaders on defense will be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771063' first='Timir' last='Hickman-Collins'] </strong>who is currently committed to Florida State University. He can rush the passer well and is physical in defeating blocks, as <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/york-at-indian-land-overall-game-standouts/">we saw last week in a losing effort to York</a>. Quarterback <strong>Jaxon Schiedt </strong>can scramble around and make plays with his feet and you also have to keep <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036748' first='Sequel' last='Patterson'], </strong>a young freshman in mind when you're talking about the Warriors offensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwestern has been rolling with five straight wins since the loss to Providence Day up in Charlotte in the season opener. The Trojans are averaging 56.4 points per game and everything begins offensively with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>who has thrown for 1523 yards and 16 touchdowns so far this year. Polk has spread it around to his receivers with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753896' first='Jayden' last='Nichols']</strong>. Nichols leads the team with 23 catches for 259 yards and 1 touchdown. Keep an eye on <strong>Jaylen </strong>and <strong>Jayden Burris </strong>as they have combined for 7 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Union County (1-6, 0-1 region) at Chester (6-1, 1-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chester is rolling into Week 2 of region play. Literally. They ran for a season high 343 yards in a 44-6 thumping of Woodruff on the road last Friday night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997385' first='Elijah' last='Coleman'] </strong>ran for 229 yards behind his offensive line on 29 carries. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='457973' first='Trooper' last='Floyd'] </strong>ran for 75 yards while throwing for 89 yards on 10 completions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Week 7 Games To Watch in The Catawba River Region</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nation Ford at Blythewood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lancaster at South Pointe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spring Valley at Clover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->