Catawba River Region’s Top Week 10 Games & Players To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final week of the 2024 regular season is here, believe it or not. And this week will be critical for playoff positioning as you've got a region championship on the line in one game, and a second place finish on the line in the other.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After this week, teams will get a week off as the playoffs were pushed back a week to November 15 as teams in the Upstate and Midlands continue to make up games missed due to Hurricane Helene back in late September.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's shaping up to be a fun Friday night as the action will begin to heat up as we are one step closer to the postseason. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lamar (7-2 overall, 4-0 region) at Lewisville (8-1 overall, 4-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one is for all the marbles in region II-1A as both teams have rolled through the region. Lewisville's closest region contest came <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/10/what-we-saw-lewisville-21-ca-johnson-14/">a few weeks ago against CA Johnson</a>. The Lions will be led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249747' first='Zach' last='Rogers']</strong> who can make plays at quarterback in the passing game, and on defense from his free safety position. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267330' first='Jacorreun' last='Howze'] </strong>is the deep threat who can take the top off the defense with his speed. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165159' first='Jordan' last='Strong'] </strong>is another guy who will be a guy to keep your eye on as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165108' first='Zori' last='Pierce'] </strong>is finding his groove at the right time for head coach Stephen Burris's squad. He has thrown for 1203 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season, and is a threat to run the ball as well with 443 yards on the ground. <strong>Nygel Eaddy </strong>is second on the team in rushing with 376 yards and 7 touchdowns. One of the main targets for Pierce on Friday night is receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253894' first='Zoom' last='Jackson']</strong>, who has 473 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns on the year. <strong>Vernon Ervin </strong>is a tackling machine with 54 total tackles on the year along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422623' first='DQ' last='Green'], </strong>who has 42 tackles on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clover (6-3 overall, 3-2 region) at Catawba Ridge (7-2 overall, 4-1 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game is all about second place in region III-5A. If Clover wins, it forces a three-way tie between them, Rock Hill and the Copperheads and then it's all about the numbers to decide who takes second place. However if the Copperheads win, they'll take sole possession of second place and will have the opportunity to host a home playoff game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge held off a Rock Hill rally in the fourth quarter last week to win 26-21. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1574007' first='CJ' last='Couch'] </strong>had a big night with two touchdowns of 20 and 12 yards to <strong>Preston Cooper </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1283702' first='Braylen' last='Burgis']</strong>. Both receivers will be key targets for Couch on Friday along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809747' first='Brady' last='Ambrose']</strong>. The Copperheads' defense got in on the action with a 69-yard fumble recovery off a punt for a score from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592496' first='Nolan' last='Jones'].</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012627' first='Landon' last='Stone']</strong> (pictured above) ran for 215 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603816' first='Grady' last='Stone'] </strong>ran for 106 yards on 17 carries last week against Nation Ford, where Clover pulled away from the Falcons in the second half in a 53-20 win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1407416' first='Aaron' last='Shealey'] </strong>(7-of-10, 174 yards, 3 TDs) and <strong>Brody Woolbright </strong>(8-of-9, 141 yards and 2 TDs) had outstanding nights in the passing game.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1696778' first='Najeh' last='Potts']</strong> had five tackles and one interception while Jaylen Holmes had 5 tackles and an interception last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>PLAYERS TO WATCH</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036748' first='Sequel' last='Patterson']</strong> | WR | Indian Land – Patterson was crucial in the Warriors' second half surge last week against Fort Mill. He had two touchdown catches and showed an ability to go up and get the football. That will be key in their matchup this week against Northwestern.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>| QB | Northwestern – Polk and the Trojans will be coming off a bye week on the road against Indian Land after securing the region against Rock Hill a few weeks ago. Polk had another efficient night, going 14-of-16 for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Keep an eye on <strong>CJ Broughton, [player_tooltip player_id='1267334' first='Kameron' last='Vance'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753896' first='Jayden' last='Nichols'] </strong>as some of the receivers that he will go to often.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165128' first='RJ' last='Brown'] </strong>| QB | Lancaster – As long as Brown is in the lineup, Lancaster should have a chance to compete in every game. He has the ability to make people miss in space with his athletic ability and if he can find an open hole, it could be a house call.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jay McCoy </strong>| WR | York – McCoy had a big kickoff return for a touchdown against Richland Northeast last week. If they can find a way to get him into space with the quick passing game, he'll give the Cougars' offense a lift.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15984008/671ff0dbda13d98171ae83df' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6721800bbb654"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>| TE | Fort Mill – Mays is tough to defend when he can find the green grass. And he's not afraid of contact to try and make plays for his team. He'll be a guy that Nation Ford will need to know where he's at this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1575359' first='Carson' last='Sanford'] </strong>| QB | Nation Ford – Sanford threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns last week against Clover, with one going to speedster <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1575429' first='Josh' last='Ameo'] </strong>and the other to <strong>Lucas Barz</strong>. They'll look to keep the connection going against the Yellow Jackets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->