Week Zero Game Balls: Upstate

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Football in the Upstate is off to a roaring start. A ton of guys turned in great performances in Week Zero, but some of them stood out from the rest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's starting fast, and then there's what some of the guys on this list did. Here's a look at some phenomenal performances from the first night out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605525' first='Marquise' last='Henderson']</strong> RB, Belton-Honea Path</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's just start at the very top of the 2025 Class with Henderson. He had a spectacular night on limited touches against Broome. Henderson carried the ball three times, and those went for 86 yards and two touchdowns. He added four catches for 95 yards and another score, and returned a kick 78 yards for yet another touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='473001' first='Jaylen' last='McGill'] RB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349806' first='Bryson' last='Drummond']</strong> QB, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422557' first='Henry' last='Phillips']</strong> K, Mountainview Prep</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were PLENTY of performances worthy of game balls in Mountainview Prep's first-ever game, a 69-0 win over Atlantic Collegiate. McGill's first four carries went for 44 yards and two scores, and he hauled in a TD reception to go with it. Drummond threw for two TDs, showed tremendous ability to scramble when the pocket broke down, and generally just ran the offense to near-perfection. Phillips, just a sophomore, knocked down all nine extra points, made two field goals, and banged all but two kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012707' first='Lincoln' last='Huskey'] </strong>QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360379' first='Kyle' last='Patterson']</strong> WR, Boiling Springs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huskey had an incredible night, accounting for six total touchdowns. He threw for 268 yards and four scores, rushed for another TD, and caught a touchdown pass. All four of Huskey's touchdownpasses went to Patterson, who racked up six total catches for 176 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1094520' first='Jace' last='Grass']</strong> QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157733' first='Abijah' last='Webb']</strong> ATH, Pendleton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grass had an impressive debut, tossing five touchdowns and throwing for 292 yards on 14-for-22 passing. He completed four of those balls to Webb, who notched 112 yards and two TDs through the air while running for another.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025811' first='Jay' last='Stoker']</strong> QB and <strong>Kadin Davis</strong> WR, Easley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In an absolute shootout loss to Pickens, Stoker and Davis were brilliant. Stoker completed 22 of 36 passes for 388 yards and four TDs, rushing for 82 yards and another score. Davis was his main target, piling up 217 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359200' first='Carter' last='McCollum']</strong> RB, Pickens</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCollum (pictured) used the first game of the season to announce his presence. He carried the ball 39 times for the Blue Flame, rushing for 233 yards and five touchdowns, and adding one reception for 51 yards and another score as Pickens won 47-41.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664350' first='Nick' last='Means']</strong> RB, Dorman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Means had a huge rushing night for the Cavaliers. He ran for 122 yards and three TDs, including the game winner with just under a minute to play, as the Cavaliers beat Greenville 42-35.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1403906' first='Banks' last='Bouton']</strong> QB, Greenville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In his first game as a starter for new head coach Jaybo Shaw, Bouton was fantastic. He ran for 108 yards and three scores, throwing for 209 more and another touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013073' first='Jaquavious' last='Dodd']</strong> DL, Eastside</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What does a big night look like for one of the best DL in the state? How about four tackles for loss, two sacks, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in a big win over Southside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1732638' first='Khamari' last='Turner'] </strong>DL, Chapman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Turner had a monster night for the Panthers against Daniel. He had 11 total tackles, broke up a pass, forced and recovered a fumble and scored a defensive touchdown. From his hybrid H-Back/TE position on the other side of the ball, Turner notched two catches for 20 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1574101' first='William' last='Gillespie']</strong> RB, St. Joseph's</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gillespie did a little bit of everything for the Knights. He carried it 24 times for 190 yards and four touchdowns; notched nine tackles on defense; and executed an onside kick, which he recovered, to start the second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346191' first='Calvin' last='Choice']</strong> ATH and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816752' first='Will' last='Love']</strong> K, Spartanburg</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Choice and Love made the Vikings' special teams very special in a 26-25 win over South Pointe. Choice returned a kick for a touchdown in addition to making a touchdown grab and helping the Vikings with a key catch on their game-winning drive. Love banged in a 20-yard field goal with six seconds left to win, ending his night 4-for-5 on FGs. His night included a 51-yarder for a new school record. The old record? [player_tooltip player_id='816752' first='Will' last='Love'] from 49, a little earlier in the game. He also sailed six of his seven kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253917' first='TJ' last='Morris']</strong> QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson']</strong> RB, Woodruff</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the season opener over arch-rival Clinton, Morris and Gibson helped to show why expectations around Woodruff are so high. Morris finished 16-for-23 for 228 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns, while Gibson carried 19 times for 173 yards and two more scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->