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<p>It's quickly becoming the year of the quarterback in the Midlands with eight earning PRZ Game Balls for their efforts this past week. But we had receivers, running backs and defensive stars that also have earned their billing in this week's edition of Game Balls for The Midlands.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272715' first='Brady' last='Albro']</strong> QB, Chapin</p>
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<p>Albro started the contest on the bench because of an injury suffered the week before but came on early to lift the Eagles to a 43-27 win over Newberry. He completed 18-of-25 for 275 yards and four touchdowns. His top target was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149052' first='Khalen' last='Bostick']</strong> with six catches for 142 yards and two scores. <strong>Colione Martin</strong> added 68 yards rushing and 39 receiving yards and two total touchdowns. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360308' first='Boykin' last='Bickley']</strong> WR, Dutch Fork</p>
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<p>The Silver Foxes defense posted another shutout, its second in three games, but we will give this week's recognition to Bickley. He caught six passes for 113 yards and a 55-yard touchdown pass from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267290' first='Ethan' last='Offing'] </strong>to open the scoring just a minute into the game. Offing completed passes to eight different receivers on his 16 completions.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand']</strong> QB, Irmo</p>
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<p>It was another outstanding night for the Virginia Tech commit. Brand was 18-of-26 for 377 yards and four touchdowns passing and he added six carries for 77 yards and two additional scores. His top two receivers, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422528' first='Maleek' last='Miller']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='377560' first='Donovan' last='Murph']</strong>, each had eight catches for a combined 321 yards. Miller and Murph each had two TD catches as well.</p>
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<p><strong>Johnny Collins</strong> QB, Blythewood</p>
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<p>Collins threw for 178 yards and touchdowns to three different receivers in the Bengals 23-14 victory over Keenan. He also added 25 rushing yards. Blythewood is off to a 4-0 start with Collins already up to 965 yards passing and 13 touchdowns.</p>
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<p><strong>Kayen Diggs</strong> QB, Fairfield Central</p>
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<p>Diggs was a huge part of the Griffins 33-8 win over Lewisville. The junior ran for two touchdowns and threw his first TD pass of the season to pace the Griffins offense. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578721' first='Blaine' last='Fender']</strong> LB, River Bluff</p>
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<p>Fender finished with eight tackles and a tackle for loss in a 14-13 win over Gilbert, but it was his deflection on the Indians 2-point conversion pass attempt that sealed the victory. Gilbert drove 99-yards to pull within one point with 31 seconds remaining and went for the win instead of the tie. Fender broke up the pass before the Gators recovered the onside kick.</p>
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<p><strong>Aiden Fitzgerald</strong> QB, Lugoff-Elgin</p>
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<p>The Demons picked up a 49-18 victory over Aiken in a game played on Thursday mainly due to the play of Fitzgerald. He finished 16-of-24 for 219 yards and four touchdowns. The sophomore completed passes to nine different receivers.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272707' first='Caleb' last='Ford']</strong> RB, Cardinal Newman</p>
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<p>The Cardinals senior had another monster night in pushing his season rushing total to over 1,000 yards. He carried it 25 times for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-0 win over Ben Lippen.</p>
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<p><strong>JT Lott</strong> DL and <strong>Amir Johnson</strong> DE, Saluda</p>
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<p>Lott and Johnson were instrumental on the defensive side of things in the Tigers 16-12 win over Chester. Lott recorded 15 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Johnson forced two fumbles while adding two sacks, two tackles for loss and five tackles. That set the stage for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='617664' first='Brayden' last='Williams']</strong> to connect with <strong>Tristan Daniels</strong> on a game-winning 54-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 remaining.</p>
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<p><strong>Matt McCoy</strong> LB, Westwood</p>
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<p>McCoy had a pick-6 as the Redhawks turned a halftime deficit into a 31-7 victory over Airport. The defensive play seemed to inspire the offense with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603902' first='Angelo' last='Rios']</strong> and <strong>Quentin McGill</strong> combining to rush for 187 yards and two touchdowns.</p>
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<p><strong>Myles McDuffie</strong> DB, Columbia</p>
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<p>The junior had two interception returns for touchdowns in the Capitals 20-6 win over Great Falls. The two returns covered 70 and 57 yards and helped Columbia avoid the upset of Great Falls.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603974' first='Franklin' last='Richardson'] </strong>QB and <strong>Chris Bentley</strong> WR, Sumter</p>
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<p>Richardson only threw four passes but completed all four of them for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Three of the passes went to Bentley for 137 yards and both touchdowns. Richardson added 21 yards rushing to help the efforts of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809744' first='John' last='Peeples']</strong>, who finished with 178 yards and a touchdown in a 35-14 win over Crestwood.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603691' first='Jackson' last='Ross']</strong> LB, Hammond</p>
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<p>Ross had a heck of a game even though he played one half in the Skyhawks 48-0 victory over Heathwood Hall. The sophomore recorded three sacks, a tackle for loss, four quarterback hurries, one quarterback pressure and two pass deflections. Hammond held Heathwood Hall to a negative 11 yards of total offense. </p>
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<p><strong>John Sawyer</strong> DE, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592434' first='Tyler' last='Wootton']</strong> DE, <strong>Christian Burkett</strong> LB, Batesburg-Leesville</p>
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<p>The Panthers defense, led by the trio listed above, limited Lower Richland to just 173 yards of total offense in a 21-7 victory Friday night. Sawyer and Wootton stayed in the Diamond Hornets backfield and Burkett (pictured) cleaned up everything in the middle. They had a total of 11 tackles for no gain or negative yardage on 56 plays.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1575400' first='Wyatt' last='Thompson']</strong> QB, Camden</p>
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<p>Thompson is getting more and more comfortable in his first season as the starting quarterback. He had his best night of the season with 185 yards rushing with a touchdown and 165 yards passing and two touchdowns in a 43-26 comeback win over Ridge View.</p>
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<p><strong>Tripp Van Vlake</strong> WR, AC Flora</p>
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<p>Van Vlake caught two touchdown passes from <strong>Roper</strong> <strong>Wentzky </strong>in the Falcons 20-17 victory over Laurens. That gives Van Vlake a team-best four TD catches this season. He finished the win over Laurens with six receptions for 94 yards. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272698' first='Will' last='Wilson']</strong> QB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='591391' first='Blake' last='Betette']</strong> WR and <strong>Isaiah Smalls</strong> WR, Richland Northeast-</p>
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<p>The numbers by Wilson were eye-popping in the Cavaliers 58-49 comeback victory over Nation Ford. The NC State commit was 24-of-27 passing for 386 yards and five touchdowns. He added 165 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 15 carries. His favorite target was Betette, who finished with 10 receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Smalls added eight catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns.</p>
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<p><strong>Ryker Woolstenhulme</strong> RB, Mid-Carolina</p>
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<p>The Rebels improved to 2-0 thanks to the efforts of the sophomore running back. Woolstenhulme gained 133 yards rushing and a touchdown in a 34-13 win over North Central. </p>
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It's quickly becoming the year of the quarterback in the Midlands with eight earning PRZ Game Balls for their efforts this past week. But we had receivers, running backs and defensive stars that also have earned their billing in this week's edition of Game Balls for The Midlands.
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