Week 5 Upper State Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 5 in the Upper State did not disappoint as some key performances in the running game and great performances at the quarterback appeared to be the overarching theme for teams that are still in non-region play, while others have kicked off region play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are some of the names that you'll be hearing throughout region play as we head into October and the second quarter of the season</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's hand out some Game Balls:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823340' first='Nigel' last='Smith'] </strong>RB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232624' first='Xavier' last='Means'] </strong>QB | Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans offense put up 56 points in their 56-20 rout of Catawba Ridge, all in the first half. And these two played a key role in that as Smith got the Trojans on the board with a 64-yard run, on the way to a three touchdown night where he ran for 153 yards. Means is continuing to find his stride, as he connected with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823336' first='Jonathan' last='Spurgeon'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820777' first='Evan' last='Harrison'] </strong>for touchdown catches of 57 and 16 yards. Means ran it in from 11 yards out to close out the scoring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149051' first='Kamerin' last='McFadden'] </strong>DB<strong> </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823343' first='Malik' last='Darby'] </strong>LB | Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McFadden had a 32-yard interception returned for a touchdown while Darby had five tackles, with three of them for a loss and one forced fumble in the Trojans' win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jakari Holloman</strong> ATH | Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holloman had a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to go along with another one in the first half that was key to a big 34-27 win for the Eagles over Cheraw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592288' first='Jamol' last='Horton'] </strong>RB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819992' first='Sequel' last='Patterson']</strong> ATH | Indian Land</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Horton had a strong night with touchdown runs of 12, 7 and 5 yards as the Warriors routed Rock Hill 33-9. Patterson added a 4-yard touchdown run to close the scoring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1848408' first='Easton' last='Crocker'] </strong>QB | Lexington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crocker went 8-for-10 for 162 yards and one touchdown in their win over Laurens. He moved around in the pocket and stepped up and made accurate throws downfield to his receivers, And give credit to his receivers for creating separation as well. He can also make a play with his feet if he needs to.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19843898/68d76621546f4363aa016774' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d83c81ec9d2"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817400' first='Markel' last='Byrd'] </strong>RB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820755' first='Nigel' last='Lewis'] </strong>WR and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1673236' first='Amir' last='Jones'] </strong>WR<strong> </strong>| Lexington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Byrd ran for 66 yards and one touchdown while Lewis had two receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. Jones had a touchdown reception of 33 yards and one touchdown as well in the Wildcats' win over Laurens.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1354590' first='Greyson' last='Rimpf'] </strong>QB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165092' first='Tylin' last='Drakeford'] </strong>ATH and <strong>Navi Boykin </strong>| Camden</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rimpf (pictured above) followed up his record setting performance last week, going 10-for-14 for 197 yards and four touchdowns in their 43-0 win over Dreher last night. Drakeford caught four receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Boykin had 20 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1407416' first='Aaron' last='Shealey'] </strong>QB | Clover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shealey was a key factor in bringing the Blue Eagles back from 20 points down in the third quarter to <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/09/clover-rallies-in-second-half-to-beat-fort-mill/">come from behind and beat Fort Mill</a> last night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820489' first='Kaleb' last='Spencer'] </strong>at linebacker came up with a key stop to give the Blue Eagles momentum at the end of the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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 69-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage in a huge win for the Cavs on the road at Byrnes. He finished with 170+ yards rushing and <strong>Ja'bez Thomas </strong>had two interceptions and one rushing touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1608532' first='Kingsten' last='Bibb'] </strong>RB | Daniel</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bibb had an excellent night for the Lions rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns as they beat Seneca 27-16. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820861' first='Daimien' last='Curry'] </strong>and <strong>Manny Major </strong>each had a touchdown as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1738823' first='Gavin' last='Forrester'] </strong>QB | Blue Ridge</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Forrester had 182 yards passing and 144 rushing yards with six touchdowns in a 63-28 rout of Landrum on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1213961' first='Anthony' last='Atkins'] </strong>DB | Christ Church</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Atkins shined on both sides of the ball for the Cavaliers in their 40-35 win over Hampton County. He had two touchdown catches and one interception with multiple tackles throughout the night. He closed on the ball quickly on those interceptions and defeated blocks to make tackles in the open field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19379677/68d7f1a275085d65c17f9cb9' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d83c81eca0d"} /-->