Week 3 Lower State Game Balls

Week 3 of the season gave us an ample number of top-notch performances from all over the lower state portion of the state. We had quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers making ridiculous plays while we had defensive stalwarts stepping up and helping their teams shut down opposing offenses.   Here is a look at the winners of the Game Balls from the Lower State.   [player_tooltip player_id='1592342' first='Connor' last='Dantzler'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='874321' first='Raphael' last='Puiu'] WR, James Island   The Trojans remained undefeated in a 34-14 victory over Cane Bay and Dantzler (pictured) and Puiu played a huge role in that victory. Dantzler went 13-of-19 for 346 yards and two passing touchdowns. Both TD passes went to Puiu and he had 143 yards receiving on three catches. [player_tooltip player_id='402500' first='Malachi' last='Washington'] aided the win with 142 yards rushing and a touchdown on 17 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='797160' first='Moon' last='Gerald'] QB, Loris   There might not be manty in the state playing better than Gerald. For the second straight week, he's accounted for five touchdowns, this tie in a 53-14 win over North Myrtle Beach. He completed 9-of-11 passes for 272 yards and TD passes of 70, 53, 46, 23 and 14 yards. Gerald now has 15 TD passes on the season with no interceptions.   [player_tooltip player_id='1765593' first='Trenton' last='Fordham'] DB, Stratford   Fordham played a huge hand in the Knights 56-12 victory over Socastee. He picked off two passes and returned one of those for a touchdown and also recovered a fumble to help set Stratford up on short fields all night. There was a running clock in the second half, so each team only got a couple of possessions, so Fordham did most of his damage in the first half.   [player_tooltip player_id='860400' first='Drevon' last='Dopson'] QB, Irmo   The senior was nearly perfect in the 51-21 win over Carolina Forest. He completed 11-of-13 for 201 yards, and four touchdown passes. His TD passes covered 62, 25, 12 and 25 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1422528' first='Maleek' last='Miller'] caught one TD and rushed for another as the Yellow Jackets have scored more than 35 points in each game this season.    [player_tooltip player_id='1777821' first='Ethan' last='Moze'] LB and [player_tooltip player_id='1734522' first='Mario' last='Anderson'] DB, Dutch Fork   Moze led the Silver Foxes defense with seven tackles and a tackle for loss. Anderson was very disruptive with two sacks and finished with five total tackles. It's the third straight game Dutch Fork allowed some first half points but pitched a shutout in the second half to defeat Gray Collegiate 42-14.    Dandre Caldwell ATH, Swansea   The sophomore did a little bit of everything Friday in the 28-27 win over Pelion. He ran for 97 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns, he had three kick returns for 73 yards and just for good measure, he added 10 tackles. His second TD pulled the Tigers within 27-26 and PJ Larry scored the two-point conversion for the win.   Jah'Mir Heyward ATH, Berkeley   Heyward was a big presence in the Stags 39-0 win over West Ashley. On defense, he had 5 tackles, a sack, a blocked kick and recorded a safety with a tackle in the end zone. On the offensive side of things, he had four carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns.     [player_tooltip player_id='1820755' first='Nigel' last='Lewis'] WR, Lexington   The Wildcats went toe-to-toe with Greenwood and Lewis was a huge reason why. He caught eight passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. One of his TD grabs was a highlight reel one-handed catch in the end zone. He was the top target for freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1848408' first='Easton' last='Crocker'], who finished 14-of-25 for 222 yards and three touchdowns.   [player_tooltip player_id='876560' first='Tymaries' last='Thompson-DuRant'] LB, Sumter   The Gamecocks limited a high-powered Crestwood attack to just 145 yards of total offense in a 28-0 victory. The senior tallied 10 tackles and a tackle for loss. The Knights had 111 yards rushing and just 34 yards passing against the stout Sumter defense. Crestwood came in averaging 44 points a game.    [player_tooltip player_id='1078102' first='Darius' last='Carter'] WR, River Bluff   Carter played his best game of the season after transferring over the summer. His acrobatic 76-yard touchdown was the game-winner, but he was making plays all evening. He finished with five receptions for 137 yards and the long TD.  He played defense sparingly but when Gilbert was trying to mount a game-tying TD drive, Carter played in the secondary and intercepted a pass in Gator territory to seal the 14-7 victory over Gilbert.   [player_tooltip player_id='1822966' first='Brayden' last='Williams'] QB, Saluda   Saluda rolled to 340 yards of total offense with Williams leading the way. He ran the ball eight times for 78 yards and TD runs of 6 and 28 yards. He completed 8-of-10 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. His TD passes went to three different receivers and covered 3, 18 and 12 yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1267317' first='Daniel' last='Capehart'] LB, Dillon   The Wildcats limited Marion to 60 yards of total offense and Capehart played a huge role in the 61-6 win over Marion. The senior led the way with seven tackles and a tackle for loss and added a 13-yard touchdown after a blocked punt.   [player_tooltip player_id='1603691' first='Jackson' last='Ross'] LB, Hammond   Ross makes his mark on the defensive side of the ball on a Skyhawk defense that has allowed 30 points in four games but Friday night he kicked the game-winning 36-yard field goal to knock off Heathwood Hall 9-7. To cap things off, Ross made the final tackle of the game when the Highlanders tried to lateral the ball several times to pull off a miracle.   [player_tooltip player_id='1592547' first='Brody' last='Tonon'] RB, Bishop England   The Bishops pitched the shutout on defense in a 49-0 win over Dreher and then had Tonon set the tone offensively. The transfer had his biggest game this season with 145 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Bishop England features a balanced attack with QB [player_tooltip player_id='1592310' first='Quinn' last='Mahoney'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1822196' first='Zachary' last='Balog'] pacing an explosive passing attack as well. If Tonon gets going in the running game, the Bishops have one of the most balanced attacks in the state.     [player_tooltip player_id='1822811' first='Taumaury' last='Echols'] ATH, Wilson   Echols scored two rushing touchdowns and added a 64-yard Pick-6 to help lead the Tigers to a 27-21 victory over West Florence. He also added a two-point conversion to give Wilson its first win over the Knights since 2019. His 1-yard TD plunge in the third quarter turned out to be the game-winner.   [player_tooltip player_id='1025784' first='Roper' last='Wentzky'] QB, AC Flora   The Falcons have scored 30 or more points in each game this season and already at 14 touchdown passes on the season after throwing four more Friday night in a 49-0 win over Laurens. The senior is completing 67 percent of his passes and has a plethora of weapons as wide receiver. AC Flora faces its toughest test of the season with a showdown with South Pointe next Friday.   [player_tooltip player_id='1824235' first='Michael' last='Strickler'] DB, Cole Gasper DB and [player_tooltip player_id='1025774' first='Sawyer' last='Arnold'] DE, Oceanside Collegiate   The Landsharks trailed Ashley Ridge 14-0 early but rallied for a 35-21 victory. Strickler and Gasper had interceptions to help the rally. Gasper intercepted a pass in the end zone to prevent the Swamp Foxes from increasing the lead. And Arnold salted things away when he had a scoop and score on a fumble late in the fourth quarter.    [player_tooltip player_id='1822702' first='Kevin' last='Jackson'] ATH, Waccamaw   Jackson picked off two passes and contributed eight tackles to help the Warriors to a 20-13 victory over Johnsonville. He also added a rushing TD and 10 yards on the ground on just two carries. [player_tooltip player_id='473016' first='AJ' last='Grate'] and [player_tooltip player_id='473025' first='Andre' last='Grate'] each added two rushing touchdowns to help the runaway win.    [player_tooltip player_id='1592672' first='CJ' last='Falotico'] K/P and [player_tooltip player_id='1825575' first='Micah' last='Dutton'] DE, Philip Simmons   We rarely include a kicker in Game Balls but Falotico definitely paid dividends in the 71-0 victory over Military Magnet. Ten of his 11 kickoffs were touchbacks, he punted just once for 45 yards and connected on 9-of-10 extra points. The only extra point he missed was due to a bad snap. Dutton finished with nine tackles, five tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.   [player_tooltip player_id='1267347' first='Alex' last='Sandt'] QB, St. James   The Sharks jumped out to an early lead then held on for a 21-14 win over Wando. Sandt accounted for all three touchdowns, throwing for 3 TD's and passing for 208 yards on 14-of-26 passing.   [player_tooltip player_id='1734471' first='Davidson' last='Lynch'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='1639657' first='Walker' last='Willcox'] LB, Trinity Collegiate   Lynch accounted for five touchdowns in a win over First Baptist. He threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns while completing 19-of-27 passes. He also added a rushing TD. His favorite targets put up big game numbers as well – [player_tooltip player_id='1343533' first='Desmond' last='Williams'] finished with seven grabs for 206 yards and a TD with [player_tooltip player_id='1856861' first='Garrison' last='Copeland'] adding eight catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Lynch and Williams set school records in the process. Copeland added an interception and a forced fumble on defense. Wilcox made 16 tackles with four tackles for loss and a forced fumble.   Luke McCracken RB, Aynor   McCraken went for 138 yards and four touchdowns on just 20 carries in the Blue Jackets 38-6 win over Grean Sea Floyds. Aynor has one more non-region game against Conway before taking on the daunting challenge that is going to be Region 5-AAA.   Aedan McCarthy QB and Jacobi Saunders LB, Bluffton   The Bluffton signal caller threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns to power to a 31-7 win over previously undefeated Hampton County. It was the most complete game for the Bobcats as Saunders and company limited the Hurricanes to just seven points. Saunders finished with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Week 3 of the season gave us an ample number of top-notch performances from all over the lower state portion of the state. We had quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers making ridiculous plays while we had defensive stalwarts stepping up and helping their teams shut down opposing offenses.