Class 3A Upper State Third Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the Class 3A Upper State bracket came out, we had a feeling we could see these two big time matchups that are about to take place in the Upstate on Friday night. These are two teams with high flying offenses and with big name guys who will be vital to their team's success. But don't discount either defense, as they'll be looking to slow the opposing offense down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Either way, these two games should be fun as each looks to keep their season going and play the Friday after Thanksgiving next week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 5 MOUNTAIN VIEW PREP (9-2) AT NO. 1 POWDERSVILLE (11-2)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Powdersville cruised to a second round defeat of Pendleton, winning 30-7. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821270' first='Keagan' last='Reid'] </strong>found <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821275' first='Xavier' last='Huggins'] </strong>for three touchdowns of 40, 35, and 23 yards and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149055' first='Nasir' last='Waldrop'] </strong>found the end zone once as well. The Patriots had two guys stand out defensively in the win as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821280' first='Jayden' last='Wertz'] </strong>at linebacker was all over the place when the Bulldogs had the ball with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, four sacks and three quarterback hurries along with a pass break up. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821279' first='Stephen' last='Hudgins'] </strong>was impactful at cornerback with three tackles, two tackles for loss and two interceptions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Stars won a tight one over Crescent, 50-49 to advance to the third round. A lot of that had to do with the play of quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1654910' first='Makorean' last='Anderson-Wallington']</strong>, who had a near perfect night going 19-of-22 for 322 yards and four touchdowns. His legs were a factor as well as he had 86 yards and a touchdown as well. UNC-Charlotte commit and receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395046' first='KD' last='Hainsworth'] </strong>led all receivers with seven receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 71-yard touchdown on the ground as well. <strong>Juice Miller </strong>(6 catches, 52 yards) and <strong>Dylan McKey </strong>(3 catches, 43 yards, 2 touchdowns)<strong> </strong>and were second and third on the team respectively. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1938780' first='Caden' last='Hunter'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672912' first='Chase' last='Richards'] </strong>as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>LINEMEN TO WATCH: </em></strong>Slowing down an MVP offense that is averaging 46.3 points per game will certainly present a challenge, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823899' first='Myles' last='Cowart'] </strong>will look to generate pressure on the quarterback, as he's done throughout the year. He can affect the passer to the point where even if he doesn't get home for the sack, he can still force him into a bad throw and can defeat blocks quickly to affect the run game as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22915107/690b88e8ce70f923100e692e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-691d1fff0c234"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 3 BELTON-HONEA PATH (12-0) AT NO. 2 WOODRUFF (11-1)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bears won their second round game against Southside Christian thanks to a strong effort defensively, as they forced three Sabres turnovers – each of them were returned for touchdowns. The first came on a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823140' first='Ty' last='Rainey'] </strong>fumble recovery forced by <strong>KJ Miles </strong>in the first quarter, then a pick six from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779428' first='Tajeh' last='Watson-Martin'] </strong>that was<strong> </strong>returned 69 yards for a score in the second quarter before the final interception came from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818722' first='Malachi' last='Bohler'] </strong>returned it 32 yards. The offense had a solid night as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1730056' first='Noah' last='Thomas'] </strong>found the end zone twice on the ground and once in the air along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816171' first='Cam' last='Robinson'] </strong>who found the end zone once.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woodruff beat Christ Church in a nail biter to advance to the third round, winning 40-37. The Wolverines rode the hot hand of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson']</strong>, as he ran for 311 yards on 36, yes, 36 carries and found the end zone twice on the ground. He averaged 8.6 yards per carry. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823657' first='Connor' last='Davis'] </strong>had an efficient night, going 14-of-19 for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those tosses went to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817414' first='Dre' last='Jenkins'] </strong>(4 catches, 74 yards) and the other went to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592034' first='Kori' last='Moates'] </strong>(4 catches, 50 yards). Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395078' first='Kam' last='Taylor'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1633095' first='Curtis' last='Bell'] </strong>in the passing game as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592408' first='Shaun' last='Graybill'] </strong>led the way defensively with nine total tackles and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823654' first='Gabe' last='Goodwin'] </strong>was second on the team with eight. They will be tasked with slowing down a Bears offense that is averaging 50 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>LINEMEN TO WATCH</em></strong>: Belton-Honea Path knows Gibson is going to get the bulk of the action on Friday night, and they'll look to defensive linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592470' first='Kylan' last='Dixon'] </strong>to try and slow him down. Dixon has shown an ability to defeat blocks quickly and get into the backfield to create negative plays. He has a motor that is always running and doesn't take plays off. He has a great first step once the ball is snapped, sometimes before the opposing lineman can get going and build up momentum.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17914644/6905a2d86c4b96816ecfc8d0' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-691d1fff0c28c"} /-->