Catawba River Region Players To Watch In Week 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week Zero saw some of the household names that you'll hear all season have a great start to their seasons, while there were a few names that you may not know about, but you will as the season progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a look at 21 players to watch from the Catawba River Region in Week 1:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='995603' first='Brody' last='Rowan']</strong> | LB | Clover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rowan had an impressive debut in their 28-20 win against Julius Chambers out of Charlotte. He lined up as a defensive end and got after the quarterback and picked up a fumble. He took great pursuit angles and made life tough for the Chambers' run game. He finished with 1 sack and 5 total tackles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1404968' first='Jackson' last='Hill'] </strong>was all over the football with 9 assisted tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16007183/66ca12452e2fb8af79f444a9' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ce715f666c9"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012627' first='Landon' last='Stone'] </strong>| RB | Clover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top backs in the state got his senior campaign off to a good start in their win against Chambers. Stone (pictured above) rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>| QB | Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Polk helped lead the Trojans back from a 20-point deficit to beat Hough out of Charlotte, 45-44 last week. He threw for 253 yards and four touchdowns in the come from behind win, including two to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267334' first='Kameron' last='Vance']</strong>, who finished with 130 yards receiving. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753896' first='Jayden' last='Nichols'] </strong>caught 11 balls for 113 yards and one touchdown and <strong>Daniel Caldwell </strong>caught a touchdown. <strong>Zymeir Gordon Miles </strong>had 107 yards rushing and one touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592521' first='Kason' last='Canupp'] </strong>| QB | Rock Hill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Canupp threw for 234 yards in a 48-34 loss to River Bluff to open the 2024 season, and will look to help the Bearcats bounce back this week against South Pointe. His main target was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036779' first='Kaiden' last='Watkins']</strong>, who had 124 yards receiving and one touchdown receiving and rushing, respectively.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1088328' first='Nigel' last='Lightner'] </strong>| DB | Rock Hill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lightner had a strong showing in the Bearcats' opening game against River Bluff, registering five tackles, one pass breakup and one interception. <strong>Donovan Franklin </strong>led the Bearcats in tackles with five and four tackles for a loss, and will look to be active again this week against the Stallions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trenton Strong </strong>| LB | Rock Hill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strong had five tackles along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254139' first='Zy'on' last='King']</strong>, who had a tackle for a loss. <strong>Kaleb Wright </strong>had four tackles and a fumble recovery.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>| WR | Fort Mill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mays caught two touchdowns from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149056' first='Quinn' last='Kelly'] </strong>in their season opening rout of Ballantyne Ridge, with receptions of 15 and 65 yards. They'll look to continue that connection this week against Chester at home on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='212416' first='J'Zavien' last='Currence']</strong> | ATH | South Pointe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In his first game as the starting quarterback for the Stallions, Currence threw for 225 yards and&nbsp; three touchdown passes, while rushing for one more. Two of the touchdowns went to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249764' first='Jordan' last='Collins'] </strong>while the other went to <strong>Caymen Finch</strong>, respectively<strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='1157761' first='Mason' last='Picket-Hicks'] </strong>had a strong showing, running for 117 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trenton Strong </strong>| LB | Rock Hill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strong had five tackles along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254139' first='Zy'on' last='King']</strong>, who had a tackle for a loss. <strong>Kaleb Wright </strong>had four tackles and a fumble recovery.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>| WR | Fort Mill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mays caught two touchdowns from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149056' first='Quinn' last='Kelly'] </strong>in their season opening rout of Ballantyne Ridge, with receptions of 15 and 65 yards. They'll look to continue that connection this week against Chester at home on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1283702' first='Braylen' last='Burgis'] </strong>| WR | Catawba Ridge</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burgis recorded nine receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown last week against Chapin. He did a good job on the outside, winning his one-on-one matchups and creating separation from opposing defenders. He will look to help the Copperheads get back on track this week against East Gaston on the road on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17643319/66cabda94d6c65e817f0f27b' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ce715f66717"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1335423' first='Eric' last='Johnson'] </strong>| LB | Catawba Ridge</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson was a bright spot for the Copperheads defensively last week, as he recorded four tackles and a sack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271263' first='KJ' last='Burg'] </strong>| LB | South Pointe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burg made an impact for the Stallions defensively against Spartanburg. We were impressed with his ability to be able to shed blocks and go full speed downhill against the Vikings run game. He had 10 total tackles while <strong>CJ Wherry </strong>had 8 solo tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360047' first='Ryan' last='Carter'] </strong>| LB | York</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carter is another physical, attack downhill backer who can shed blocks quickly to get into the backfield. He reacts quickly once he recognizes the run and plays under control. We expect him to continue to build on the performance from last week to this week against Nation Ford.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16522775/66ca8ec2203cf81a31014a66' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ce715f66748"} /-->