What We Saw: Spartanburg 47, Broome 6

Jed Blackwell September 6, 2024 @ 10:57 PM

SPARTANBURG | [player_tooltip player_id='816752' first='Will' last='Love'] isn't automatic.   But he's pretty dang close.   Spartanburg's kicker continued his strong start to the season, booting field goals of 38, 46, 47, and 30 yards in helping Spartanburg to a 47-6 victory over Broome.   His most impressive kick, though, might have been one of his two misses. He was wide from 53 yards on a kick that was long enough to be good from 63.   Love said that's in his range.   "It depends on the night and everything, but I'd say it's between 57 and 60," he said. "I just try to go out there and do my job. I want us to score touchdowns. But if it comes down to me going out there, I'm comfortable."   For Spartanburg coach Mark Hodge, that range is quite the security blanket.   "It's great," Hodge said. "It allows you to call plays a little more freely, things of that nature. We've got a great snapper, holder, protection - we've challenged the team not to just look at it like we think we've got one of the best kickers in the country. We're going to be one of the best field goal and extra point units in the country. I think they're really buying in to that, too."   Spartanburg was without a couple of offensive starters, and had some guys step up. [player_tooltip player_id='1592374' first='Trey' last='Burke'] tossed a pair of touchdown passes, including a 65-yarder to Zeke Bell-Boyd and an 8-yard toss to [player_tooltip player_id='346191' first='Calvin' last='Choice'].   The heavy-hitter for the Vikings' offense, though, was [player_tooltip player_id='1172345' first='Trenton' last='Lynch']. The sophomore RB accounted for 182 yards on just 13 carries, and scored twice. The touchdowns show how special Lynch can be. One was a burst down the visitors' sideline that went for 49 yards to give Spartanburg their first breathing room at 10-0. The second capped the first drive of the second half, a 53 yard march that Lynch accounted for every foot of. He broke off runs of seven, 11, 31, and four yards, the final giving Spartanburg a 31-6 lead.   "We know what Trenton can do," Hodge said. "And I think one of the biggest things is the offensive line is starting to gel and coming together as a unit, and a confident unit. We threw it around early, and then we decided to just run it behind the big boys. That gave us a jolt right there."   With some offensive playmakers on the sideline, Spartanburg's defense came up big. [player_tooltip player_id='624354' first='Cam'Rich' last='Smith'] kept the Centurions off the scoreboard, and added to the Vikings' side.   First, Smith erased Broome's best early scoring drive. With the Centurions electing to go for it on fourth down on the Spartanburg 28, Smith came free off the edge and dropped Broome QB Jameson Dearybury for a 12-yard loss, giving the Vikings good field position, though they couldn't cash in.   A couple drives later, Smith cashed in himself.   After Lynch's first score, Smith picked off a pass and returned it 16 yards for a score, staking the Vikings to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter.   "They'd hit us three times in a row on that little shallow route to the same guy on third and long," Hodge said. "I was hollering at Cam, and he read it well."   For Broome, Ty'Qwon Booker and Preston Thrift provided a nice punch on the ground. Booker rushed 20 times for 114 yards, the bulk of it up the middle between the tackles. Thrift added 13 rushes for 48 yards. And Dearybury scored the Centurions' only touchdown on the ground, a three-yard keeper.

SPARTANBURG | Will Love Will Love 6'1" | 200 lbs | K Spartanburg | 2026 State SC isn't automatic.