Class 5A Upper State Second Round Playoff Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5A playoffs are officially wild.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A No. 3 seed AND a No. 4 seed both advanced out of the first round. BOTH state finalists from 2018, 2020, and 2021 are included in the field. A 6-5 team looks like one of the teams to beat (and they're the defending champs). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a look at a wide-open 5A second round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 2 DUTCH FORK (6-5) AT NO. 1 T.L. HANNA (10-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one is a rematch of the 2018 and 2020 state title games, both won by Dutch Fork. But this one is a little be more intriguing. After losing to White Knoll to open Region IV-5A play, Dutch Fork was 2-5 and reeling. They responded with four wins in a row. Now, the defending state champions are a two seed fresh off a first-round blowout against Boiling Springs. <strong>Jonathan Hunt</strong> threw for 208 yards in just a half of play, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448992' first='Jacob' last='Hamilton'] </strong>(pictured)<strong> </strong>returned a punt for a score and caught another, and RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012701' first='Maurice' last='Anderson']</strong> rushed for 96 yards and two TDs for the Silver Foxes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defense has never been the problem for Dutch Fork. They've allowed just 170 points on the season, and 48 of those were to national power Colquitt County, which averages 44 a game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012706' first='Josh' last='Smith']</strong> has been one of the leaders for the Silver Foxes, with a team-leading eight tackles for loss. He had three sacks and forced a fumble on Friday. <strong>Bryce Nuttall</strong>, another defensive standout for Dutch Fork with 73 tackles, picked that one up and returned it for a TD. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets are a hard team to figure out, and that's by design. T.L. Hanna's vaunted wing-based rushing attack is best suited when you can't figure out who the feature back is going to be any given night. Even Hanna doesn't know, as the offensive flow is determined by who's playing well and what the defense is giving. A bunch of guys have assumed the top role for Hanna throughout the year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157743' first='KD' last='Patterson'] </strong>is a good bet - he's got a game with six rushing TDs under his belt already, and came into the postseason with more than 1,100 yards and 22 TDs on the year. <strong>Vashun Bruton</strong> is another standout, leading the first-round romp over Fort Mill with 112 rushing yards.<strong> Josh Donald</strong> is the third back who's sometimes the leader. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254105' first='Brandon' last='Cunningham']</strong> is a QB perfectly capable of picking his spots, incredibly efficient when the Jackets throw it, and fourth on the team in rushing. On the ground, it's very much pick-your-poison.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, <strong>Daylan Williams</strong> helps to lead the secondary for the Yellow Jackets, while <strong>Julius Norris</strong> stands out at LB. <strong>Khilon Groves</strong> is a monster at OLB.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 2 GAFFNEY (8-3) AT NO. 1 CLOVER (9-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gaffney cruised past Lexington in the first round, and the game looked a little different than most of the Indians' wins this season. Lexington seemed content to bottle up the incredibly talented <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473029' first='Jaiden' last='McDowell']</strong> and to make the Indians' passing game beat them. So <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119009' first='Riley' last='Staton']</strong> did. He threw for 222 yards and four TDs, including two to <strong>Shane Davidson</strong>. North All-Star<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='448239' first='Emazon' last='Littlejohn']</strong> caught a TD and returned the game's opening kick 87 yards for a score. The lesson: Gaffney's too balanced to try to make them one-dimensional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, the Indians have playmakers everywhere. Shrine Bowler<strong> Jarriel Jeffries</strong> leads the way up front, with North All-Star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142651' first='Caron' last='Foster']</strong> also helping to anchor the DL. <strong>Imari Foster-Boyd</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605522' first='Andrew' last='Ruppe']</strong> both play with abandon at LB, and <strong>King Dowdle</strong> is an absolute ball-hawk and tackle machine in the defensive backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Eagles are on a tear. They started 0-2 (against Northwestern and Hillcrest), but have ripped off nine wins in a row since. They've done a lot of it on the ground, with junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012627' first='Landon' last='Stone']</strong> piling up 1,903 yards on 229 carries in 10 games. He averages 8.3 yards per carry and has rushed for 13 touchdowns. <strong>Jaylon Hoover</strong> is a capable QB who takes care of the football and puts the Blue Eagles in good spots, throwing for 1,064 yards and just four interceptions on the year. <strong>Brayden Woolbright </strong>and <strong>Isaac Allen</strong> have nearly identical receiving numbers - 19 catches each, 240-ish yards, and they've combined for four receiving TDs. <strong>TJ McCluney</strong> is the big-play guy for the Blue Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997351' first='Jayden' last='Bryant']</strong> leads the Clover defense, and the Coastal Carolina commit turns in a ton of big plays behind the line of scrimmage. <strong>Deontae Star</strong> is a lock-down corner, while <strong>Jaylen Holmes</strong> and <strong>Peyton Root</strong> also stand out defensively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 4 SPARTANBURG (6-5) AT NO. 2 J.L. MANN (9-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't look now, but the Vikings look to be improving at the right time. They struggled offensively this season, but have surged lately.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1172345' first='Trenton' last='Lynch']</strong> asserted himself at RB, with a 78-yard score to put the Week 10 game against Dorman away, and a 19-carry, 130-yard, 1-TD performance against Nation Ford in a dominant Round 1 win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359184' first='Justin' last='Rice']</strong> has established himself as a downfield threat, and the Vikings have some offensive pieces clicking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What's never been in doubt is Spartanburg's defense. Led by Shrine Bowler <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589014' first='Demario' last='Bookhart']</strong> and standouts <strong>LaCharles Woodruff</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448978' first='Bennie' last='Littlejohn']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='624354' first='Cam'Rich' last='Smith']</strong>, the Vikings' defensive unit is as solid as it gets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They'll likely need all the defense they can muster. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1144060' first='Ethan' last='Anderson']</strong> will be, put simply, the best QB Spartanburg has seen to date. The Patriots have a wealth of weapons for him to get the ball to, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142457' first='Mikel' last='McClellan']</strong> as a particularly dangerous target. Mann blew out Blythewood in the first round, with Anderson throwing for 287 yards and four scores, with McClellan hauling in five catches for 118 yards and a score. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249825' first='Keyshun' last='Henderson']</strong> caught two touchdowns, and <strong>Obadiah Jones</strong> rushed for 104 yards on just 10 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, J.L. Mann has a few standouts as well. <strong>Jacari Bennett</strong> routinely terrorizes opposing backfields, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249737' first='Wyatt' last='Ward']</strong> contributes a bunch of tackles. <strong>Na'Cyus Morrison</strong> shines on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 3 HILLCREST (9-2) AT NO. 1 BYRNES (10-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a rematch of a first-round game last season, when the Rebels went on the road and got a win. If the Rams are gonna duplicate that feat, they're going to have to control the ball. With QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809746' first='Kalab' last='Sutton']</strong> sidelined in the first round at Nation Ford, Hillcrest turned to <strong>Thomas Stanley</strong>. All he did was carry 39 times for 258 yards - a new Hillcrest single-game record. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267431' first='Avery' last='McFadden']</strong> is a threat every time he touches it, and if the Rams can find a complement, they're dangerous. Defensively, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997218' first='Tyson' last='Moses']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254134' first='DJ' last='Henderson']</strong> need to play well for Hillcrest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rebels started out a little sluggishly against Dorman, but poured it on late. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272705' first='Armoni' last='Weaver'] </strong>had a huge game at WR, <strong>Andrew Stevens</strong> put together another 250 yard-plus game through the air, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036721' first='Tre' last='Segarra']</strong> led the way on the ground.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What's separated Byrnes, though, has been their defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267454' first='Chris' last='Foster']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267455' first='Knai' last='Cook']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809749' first='RJ' last='Livingston']</strong> have all played well. The difference has been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1144103' first='James' last='Oates']</strong>. The tall, rangy LB had 12 stops on Friday, including 10 solo tackles. He's capable of taking over a game by himself.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->