Week Zero Upstate Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Week Zero in the books, here's a look at some of the top performances across the area deserving of Prep Redzone Game Balls.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Evan-Reece</strong> <strong>Lawter</strong> QB, Chesnee</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A week after Lawter opened some eyes with his arm at Chesnee's final jamboree tune-up, Lawter turned to his legs to help the Eagles beat Pendleton. He rushed 27 times for 191 yards, scoring three times in Chesnee's 35-21 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1094520' first='Jace' last='Grass']</strong> QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467841' first='Trey' last='Wimbley']</strong> WR, Daniel</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grass made a splash in his first game under center for the Lions. The sophomore threw for 278 yards on 18-for-30 passing, tossing two touchdowns in Daniel's 43-0 win. Wimbley hauled in six catches for 117 yards and a score in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172345' first='Trenton' last='Lynch'] </strong>RB, Spartanburg</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite falling to Northwestern, Lynch had a phenomenal first game. He rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown, and pulled in three catches for 82 more yards for the Vikings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19436894/68aafb1ede3ec453e7f41a1c' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68ab1166a63ee"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson']</strong> RB, Woodruff</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gibson was effective on the ground in the Wolverines win over rival Clinton, with 67 rushing yards to lead the team. But his biggest impact was in the receiving game, with four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Zy Butler</strong> RB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603990' first='Angelo' last='Cromer']</strong> RB, Clinton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all eyes on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1161156' first='Javen' last='Cook']</strong>, Butler and Cromer proved there's much more to Clinton's rushing attack than one guy. Each had 11 carries, with Butler finishing with 104 yards and a score and Cromer rushing for 89 yards. Both had big chunk plays, as Cromer averaged 8.1 yards per carry and Butler averaged 9.5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394986' first='Zyon' last='Ratchford'] </strong>LB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036755' first='Kendaris' last='Bailey']</strong> LB, Gaffney</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On a night when the offense sputtered, Ratchford and Bailey helped lead the defense for Gaffney. Ratchford had 10 unassisted tackles and 11 total, while Ratchford had three stops. He also blocked a punt and recovered the loose ball, setting up a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1403906' first='Banks' last='Bouton']</strong> touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19360807/68a9f2ce5d4c00cfd27b9548' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68ab1166a643b"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664350' first='Nick' last='Means']</strong> RB, Dorman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Means had a huge night as the Cavaliers blasted Greenville 34-0. He had just 11 carries, but turned that into 151 yards and three touchdowns as Dorman churned out 209 yards on the ground.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1705519' first='Josiah' last='Coleman']</strong> QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1327713' first='Matthew' last='Hillstock']</strong> WR, Easley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coleman had a huge night for the Green Wave, finishing 23-for-32 for 371 yards and three touchdowns, adding 92 yards on 17 rushes with four more scores. Hillstock caught nine balls and two of the touchdowns, accounting for 132 receiving yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822516' first='Caine' last='Rogers']</strong> QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036721' first='Tre' last='Segarra']</strong> RB, Byrnes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the Rebels needing a downfield threat against T.L. Hanna, Rogers was happy to step up. The threw for 254 yards and a touchdown on 14-for-19 passing, beating the Yellow Jackets through the air as they dared him to do it. That certainly helped the Byrnes rushing attack, as did Segarra. He rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns. The first was a one-yard score for the first-ever touchdown at the new Nixon Field, and the other was a 91-yard dash up the middle through the heart of the Hanna defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604046' first='Jackson' last='Free']</strong> QB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1308879' first='Jaylen' last='Samuel']</strong> RB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734605' first='Josh' last='Smith']</strong> RB, Hillcrest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rams lit it up against Laurens, and any number of Hillcrest players could fit here. But a couple stood out. Free completed 9 of 14 passes for 285 yards and three scores, including a pair of 80-yard TD tosses to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149053' first='Luke' last='McCourry'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820613' first='JK' last='Stroud']</strong>,<strong> </strong>and rushed for another<strong>.</strong> Samuel rushed 11 times for 108 yards and a touchdown, and Smith had 12 carries for 178 yards, including a 78-yard score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22470498/68aa06bb154408e66328d94d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68ab14a403b98"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823372' first='Mack' last='Rambo']</strong> RB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601913' first='Paul' last='Norman']</strong> WR, St. Joseph's</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rambo rushed 16 times for 196 yards and three touchdowns in the Knights' big win over Cardinal Newman. St. Joseph's QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823371' first='Jack' last='Stewart']</strong> threw three times in the game, and Norman caught two of them, totaling 80 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->