Class 4A Upper State Third Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're down to the Final 4 of the Class 4A Upper State and the two games on Friday will be ones to keep a close eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Between outstanding quarterbacks, powerful running backs, sensational receivers and hard-hitting defenses, Westside, Daniel, South Pointe and Camden should put on a show on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's some key players and key matchups to look out for come Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 5 CAMDEN (9-3) AT NO.1 WESTSIDE (11-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Camden narrowly escaped round two with a 43-42 win over the Wren Hurricanes. For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs used a two-quarterback system with both <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1575400' first='Wyatt' last='Thompson']</strong> and <strong>Grayson Rimpf</strong> taking snaps. Thompson threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns and Rimpf was a perfect 15-of-15 for 228 yards and a touchdown. A rushing attack that averaged 182 yards per game on the season was limited to just 129 on Friday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157893' first='Jordan' last='Crim']</strong> (one carry, 43 yards) was the team's leading rusher. <strong>Navi Boykin</strong> did add 39 yards and a touchdown. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165092' first='Tylin' last='Drakeford']</strong> (200 receiving yards, two touchdown) inched closer to a 1,000-yard season with a huge game on Friday. <strong>Treyvon Wright</strong> and <strong>Thomas Bishop</strong> each added three catches, one of those for Bishop being a touchdown. Defensively, <strong>Dontrelle Wilson</strong> (two tackles for loss) and Bishop (two tackles for loss) led Camden in the TFL category. <strong>Logan Freeman</strong> (twelve) was the game's leading tackler and Crim (eleven) was the game's second leading tackler.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westside won big over AC Flora, defeating the Falcons 49-9 in Round 2. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346189' first='Cutter' last='Woods']</strong> had two long touchdowns passes of 67 and 89 yards. <strong>Dreson Evans</strong> was the recipient of the 67-yarder and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157819' first='Sharode' last='Richardson']</strong> was had and 89-yard touchdown reception. Woods had a third passing touchdown, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272705' first='Armoni' last='Weaver']</strong> hauling in that one. Richardson added two more touchdowns on the ground, bringing his season total to 16. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664575' first='Malachi' last='Peterson']</strong> collected his first interception of the season as well as <strong>Jarvaris Clinkscales</strong> forcing and recovering his first fumble of the season. Forcing more turnovers will be huge for Westside and its chance to move on to the Upper State Championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Matchup Within the Matchup:</strong> </em>After a perfect passing week in Round 2, Rimpf against a secondary that has five players with interceptions will be something to watch out for. A more specific matchup will be Drakeford against <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272708' first='Chamarryus' last='Bomar']</strong>. Bomar is second for Westside with two interceptions and first in pass deflections with four.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Underclassman Impact:</strong> </em>Westside receiver <strong>Damauri Robinson</strong> has just 153 yards and three touchdowns on 27 rushes this season, but he is an explosive play waiting to happen. Robinson could see increased production if Westside is struggling on offense and need to insert a spark into the game to get itself going. Robinson having a good night in the ground attack would go a long way for Westside coming out of Friday night with a victory</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16615817/673b50bf787c2b13537b1a5f' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674648bfaeda4"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 3 SOUTH POINTE (10-2) AT NO. 2 DANIEL (11-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pointe was dominant again in Round 2 with a convincing 56-17 victory over Greer. Against a Greer defense that allowed just 22 points per game, South Pointe more than doubled them up with a heavy ground attack. Star running back <strong>Mason Pickett-Hicks</strong> (276 rushing yards, three touchdowns) now has 393 rushing yards and six touchdowns in just two playoff games. <strong>J'zavien Currence</strong> (55 rushing yards, one touchdown) and <strong>Tacorean Douglas</strong> (three carries, 31 yards) both contributed to the ground game that tallied 367 yards. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249764' first='Jordan' last='Collins']</strong> (101 receiving yards, two touchdowns) led the way at receiver, with <strong>Sean Young</strong> (41 yards, one touchdown) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='930586' first='Dailan' last='Duncan']</strong> (27 yards, one touchdown) getting in on the action as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592625' first='Dequan' last='Evans']</strong> (13 tackles, one sack) was an impact player on defense, as he helped limit the Greer run game to just 47 yards after they went off for almost 250 rushing yards in Round 1. Sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271263' first='KJ' last='Burg']</strong> (nine) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='379013' first='Seth' last='Tillman']</strong> (six) were at the top of the leaderboard in tackles and will also have a major impact in Round 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Daniel's offense was dominant once again in a 48-36 victory over Richland Northeast. The Lions have now scored 40 plus points in eight games in a row. The two-headed monster of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604058' first='Kareem' last='Shaw']</strong> (147 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157945' first='Spencer' last='Conn']</strong> (199 yards, two touchdowns) are almost unstoppable as a running back duo and will be quite the test for the South Pointe front seven. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360192' first='Jason' last='Bish']</strong> was good in the receiving game as he had four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603787' first='Elijah' last='Lipsey']</strong> tallied 56 receiving yards as well as an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592019' first='Dexter' last='Johnson']</strong> (13) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1289255' first='Lee' last='Turnipseed']</strong> (10) and Conn (10) all reached double digits in tackles. Turnipseed now has a three-interception game as well as a double-digit tackle game in the first two games of the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Matchup Within the Matchup:</strong></em> Pickett-Hicks vs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592019' first='Dexter' last='Johnson']</strong> in the run game will be the matchup of the night. As previously mentioned, Pickett-Hicks is just shy of 400 yards in the playoffs and Johnson has 21 tackles in two games. Really, the entire South Pointe run game against the entire front seven from Daniel. If the Lions can shut down the rushing attack and make South Pointe quarterback <strong>Cam McMillon</strong> beat them in the air, the Lions will be in great position to advance to the Upper State Championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Underclassman Impact:</strong></em> South Pointe receiver <strong>Malik Ratliff</strong> is a sneaky player to watch out for. Ratliff collected 13 catches for 271 yards and three touchdowns this season. Ratliff's 20.8 yards per catch is good for fourth on the team, and he is an explosive play waiting to happen. Ratliff also has a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown this season. A special teams play like a punt return for a touchdown is exactly the type of play that South Pointe needs to flip momentum towards its side at any point in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20384862/66e058cd0125530c73320797' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-674615f5b786a"} /-->