Class 3A Upper State Third Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's been a matchup looming on the horizon in the Upstate in class 3A all season, and we're one round removed. But first, an upstart No. 5 seed and a defensive force at No. 3 will have something to say about whether or not the top two teams in the bracket advance. Here's a look at a standout Black Friday slate in the 3A Upper State playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 5 Crescent (7-4) at No. 1 Mountain View Prep (11-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers went on the road and thumped Christ Church 45-6 last week. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391249' first='Darius' last='Latimer']</strong> leads the way for Crescent, with 882 all-purpose yards, including more than 700 yards on the ground. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395080' first='Amiri' last='Acker']</strong> is an impact guy on both sides of the ball for the Tigers, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578755' first='Isaac' last='Hoskins']</strong> is a lights-out defender, with 65 tackles and five tackles for loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mountain View has looked like one of the best teams in 3A all year, and they're backing it up on the field. They've got a balanced offense, but it starts and ends with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473001' first='Jaylen' last='McGill']</strong>. One of the best backs in the state, McGill is without a doubt the centerpiece of the Stars offense. He's far from their only weapon, though. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254197' first='TJ' last='Gassoway']</strong> is as good a blocker as he is a runner, and adds another dynamic to the rushing game. Defensively,<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1253952' first='Eli' last='Smith']</strong> makes a ton of plays at LB, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253999' first='Shamon' last='Black']</strong> is a lockdown DB.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup Within The Matchup: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crescent's secondary is fast and physical, and plays well under pressure. They'll have to on Friday, as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='349806' first='Bryson' last='Drummond']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395046' first='KD' last='Hainsworth']</strong> (pictured) will look to make plays down the field for the Stars. They've done it all year long, as Drummond has thrown for 1,895 yards and 24 TDs, while Hainsworth has 38 catches for 938 yards and 15 scores. If they can get going in addition to McGill, it could be a long night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Underclassman Impact: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shane Hunter Dale</strong> is a two-way contributor for the Tigers, and he's just a sophomore. He's got all the tools to be a standout at WR, but he's already showing up big on defense. He's got 43 total tackles and three tackles for loss on a good Crescent defense, and he could be a big factor for the Tigers in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19481935/672f98710f500401a95db05f' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67472514b0e47"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 3 Powdersville at No. 2 Belton-Honea Path</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots got to the third round with a suffocating defense. They allowed zero second-half points to Woodruff in the second round, forcing three turnovers in the game's final 10 minutes and making stop after stop. <strong>Brock Holliday</strong>, <strong>Javier Mills</strong>, and <strong>Brendan Wertz</strong> had the late takeaways, bringing the Patriots' total to five on the game. They turned away the Wolverines several times deep in their own territory, getting key contributions from <strong>Joshaun Knuckles</strong> and from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253958' first='Elijah' last='Huggins']</strong>, who returned a kick for a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BHP hammered another opponent in the second round, beating Palmetto 42-14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605525' first='Marquise' last='Henderson']</strong> rushed for 162 yards and scored four times, while the Bears' defense, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253982' first='Justin' last='Lathon']</strong> and <strong>Norikus Cowan</strong>, held the Mustangs to just 212 total yards, with only 48 of those on the ground. The Bears notched three tackles for loss, and five different players - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1372151' first='Jakyri' last='Anderson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556058' first='Tye' last='Kelly']</strong>, <strong>Ty Rainey</strong>, <strong>Holden Chandler</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603850' first='Kamarion' last='Glenn']</strong> - all recorded sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup Within The Matchup:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's one thing to say "don't let one guy beat you", but when Henderson's on the field, that can very much be the case. It's imperative, then, that you don't let <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283891' first='Noah' last='Thomas']</strong> get hot. The BHP junior QB is efficient and accurate, throwing for 1,600 yards on 61 percent passing. His main target has been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779428' first='Tajeh' last='Watson-Martin']</strong>, also a defensive standout, who has more than 800 receiving yards. But three other players, including Henderson, have more than 200 yards receiving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Underclassman Impact:</strong> <strong>Ty Dubose</strong> has 18 tackles on the year for the Bears, with three tackles for loss and a QB hurry. He's also blocked a punt, and he's one of those guys who does a lot of the right things when he's on the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20086831/671b79bcea79f0ea54ec07c2' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67472514b0e7c"} /-->