Lower State Week 2 Game Balls

After two weeks of play, it's becoming clear who is already starting to look like they're in mid-season form.   Week 2 around the Lower State included some dynamic individual and collective performances that deservedly will raise some eye brows. The Week 2 slate began as early as Wednesday for some, with a few more slipping in Thursday prior to the full list getting to it on Friday. Not even that checked all the boxes, with still more games moved to Saturday and even Monday. Such is the life of South Carolina football in August.   It didn't water down some of the massive performances we saw.    Let's dole out some Game Balls.   [player_tooltip player_id='1823170' first='James' last='Tuttle'] (LT), [player_tooltip player_id='1816302' first='Kamori' last='Hawkins'] (LG), [player_tooltip player_id='1817520' first='Jamari' last='Dorsey'] (C), [player_tooltip player_id='1825317' first='JaKobe' last='Sims'] (RG), [player_tooltip player_id='1737562' first='Jayden' last='Walcott'] (RT) and Cannon Coker (TE), West Florence   Along with reserve lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1817696' first='Daniel' last='Hall'] (who got significant playing time) the Knights dominated in the trenches in their 49-38 win at Hartsville. West Florence rushed for 386 yards and six touchdowns while averaging a shade of 8 yards per carry. [player_tooltip player_id='1820596' first='Jeremiah' last='Bryant'] (18 carries, 163 yards, two touchdowns), [player_tooltip player_id='1738331' first='Matt' last='Benjamin'] (13 carries, 94 yards, four touchdowns) and Jeremiah Smiling-Waiters (16 carries, 121 yards) all did significant damage behind that line en route to the 11-point road victory against the ranked Class 3A program.     [player_tooltip player_id='2242794' first='Ted' last='Rowe'] ATH, American Leadership   ALA has a lot of question marks, and a lot of stiff competition coming down the pipe. But Rowe showed us exactly what he's capable of in the 13-0 win over Camden Military. Rowe hauled in a 10-yard reception for a score, added a one-yard rushing touchdown, kicked the extra point after one of them and even played a little cornerback in the victory.    [player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='2079769' first='Malik' last='Callen'] WR, Berkeley   The Rivers-Callen connection is going to be one to watch all season long. After Rivers completed 16 passes to seven different receivers in a Week 1 win over Stratford, the Stags watched as their star quarterback threw three of his five touchdown passes in the 44-15 win over Fort Dorchester to Callen. Rivers ended his night with 274 yards through the air (and another 78 rushing). Callen had 78 yards to go along with his three touchdowns. If you're curious, Callen had five touchdown receptions as a junior.   [player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson'] RB, Gray Collegiate    While Williamson and most of his teammates were held in check in a Week 1 loss to Chambers (N.C.), the Eagles found an excellent rhythm in a 27-0 win against River Bluff in Week 2. That begins with Williamson. The senior tailback finished the night with 222 yards and two touchdowns. His scores came from 5 and 2 yards away, respectively, and he did plenty of other damage with his 28 total carries.    Cody Peterson QB, St. James   Peterson entered the season in what was essentially a three-way battle for the starting job. His mobility and skill at throwing on the run - and what he's doing with it - certainly aren't hurting his chances of holding onto the job. In Friday's win over Socastee, Peterson was 16-of-20 for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He did have a pick and and a fumble, but he made up for it by rushing for another 80 yards on 10 carries.    [player_tooltip player_id='1823421' first='Jaylen' last='Brost'] RB, Gilbert   The sophomore tailback helped keep the Indians perfect during the early going with a 24-14 win against AC Flora. In the victory, Brost saw a bunch of carries - 34 of them to be exact - in a grind-it-out type of game in which Gilbert wanted to keep the ball away from the Falcons' offense. His final stat line included 164 yards, 96 of which came in the second half    [player_tooltip player_id='1615084' first='Tripp' last='Gallus'] QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1819697' first='Grayson' last='Mathes'] WR and [player_tooltip player_id='1222230' first='Quamell' last='Grant'] WR, Hanahan   The Hawks aren't wasting much time making an impression this fall. After dispatching a strong Philip Simmons squad in Week 1, Hanahan turned around and dropped 48 points at Kingstree on Thursday. And it was Gallus and the passing game doing work. The quarterback completed 11-of-19 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Mathes was responsible for six of those catches for 242 yards and two scores, while Grant added four receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown.    [player_tooltip player_id='1422601' first='Wytrayvious' last='Dugar'] DB, [player_tooltip player_id='654821' first='Mekhi' last='Quiller'] DB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1824925' first='Taylor' last='Collins'] DL, Strom Thurmond    The defending Class 2A state champs flexed a bit in their 33-0 shutout over Abbeville, and the impact plays on defense were prevalent. Dugar, a starting safety, had nine tackles and an interception. Collins and Quiller each picked up fumbles and returned them for touchdowns. Collins had five total tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Quiller finished with two tackles and a tackle for loss.    [player_tooltip player_id='1654810' first='Drelyn' last='Brown'] RB, South Aiken   We expected Brown to be a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/predicting-every-teams-2026-mvp-region-v-4a/">major contributor for the Thoroughbreds after transferring from Silver Bluff</a>. And while he had a touchdown in his first game last week, Friday's showing against Airport was a little more of what we thought he was capable of. Brown finished the 31-14 win wth 16 carries for 209 yards and three touchdowns.   [player_tooltip player_id='2163986' first='Amir' last='Chisolm'] ATH, Porter-Gaud   The Cyclones put up one of the most impressive early season wins across the state on Friday in dispatching Philip Simmons 35-7. And Chisolm was the biggest reason why. The senior two-way standout hauled in eight passes for 198 yards and a touchdowns and added seven carries for another 61 carries and two more scores. After two games, he's on pace for a 2,000-yard all-purpose season.     [player_tooltip player_id='1673915' first='Reo' last='Stevenson'] DB, North Myrtle Beach (pictured)   Stevenson has been more on our radar because of his receiving threat. On Thursday against Darlington, he showed how good of a defender he can be, too. Against the Falcons, the 5-foot-10, 155 pounder put up two interceptions and four pass break-ups, numbers that were all crucial in holding Darlington to just 17 points. That, in turn, propelled the Chiefs to their second victory in as many chances this fall.    Joseph Wilson DB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1856928' first='JaBron' last='McFadden'] DL, Wilson   The Tigers clearly wanted to shore up some defense lapses after getting a 50-spot hung on them in Week 1. Wilson responded by shutting out Hampton County 21-0 and getting solid showings from Wilson and McFadden in the process. McFadden had seven tackles, three of which were for loss. Wilson, at corner, picked off two passes and didn't allow a reception against him.    [player_tooltip player_id='1823085' first='Noah' last='Singletary'] RB, Dillon   As we documented Friday night, Singletary's 260-yard night was his breakout performance after years of waiting his turn behind a number of other talented Dillon tailbacks. While he's had other triple-digit nights before (including last week in a loss to Camden), the win over Myrtle Beach displayed how dangerous he could be. Singletary had two carries of 60-plus yards and was stopped behind the line just one - a minus-one yard carry in the second quarter.    [player_tooltip player_id='1664643' first='Calvin' last='Wofford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1907293' first='Darrell' last='Epps'] RBs, Crestwood   After squeaking out a Week 1 win over Manning, the Knights didn't waste any time getting down to it against Goose Creek. Crestwood went heavy on the run, and Wofford (25 carries, 214 yards, one touchdown) and Epps (17 carries, 158 yards, one touchdown). For Wofford, he now has a share over 500 rushing yards after two weeks, and Epps (just a sophomore) had his biggest game to date in a Crestwood uniform.   [player_tooltip player_id='485450' first='Mykell' last='Warthen'] RB, and [player_tooltip player_id='651361' first='Jakayden' last='Pendergrass'] DB, James Island   The Trojans took down their second consecutive opponent who played for a state title last fall when it beat South Florence 34-14 Thursday night at home. Countering last week's win over Oceanside Collegiate - when most of the damage was done through the air - Warthen recorded his first 200-yard game on the ground, finishing with 201 on 16 carries. He also added another 32 yards receiving on two catches. On the other side, Pendergrass was all over the place. He had 10 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass break-up against the Bruins.     [player_tooltip player_id='1823591' first='Matthew' last='Kellner'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='1672894' first='Brady' last='McDowell'] WR, Carolina Forest   Kellner has a rough go of it in the team's season-opening win against West Florence. In the Panthers' Week 2 win over rival Conway, it was a little more what the coaches expected of him. He completed eight-of-10 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns - both of which went to McDowell - as well as another 84 yards and a touchdown on the ground with 12 carries. McDowell capped off his big night with 154 yards on four catches.   [player_tooltip player_id='1422629' first='Roderick' last='Purcha'] ATH and [player_tooltip player_id='1422632' first='Makel' last='Stephens'] RB, Loris   Purcha and Stephens made quick work of Green Sea Floyds in the Lions' 63-7 win. In fact, between the two of them, they only had seven offensive touches and accounted for six touchdowns. Stephens had four carries for 68 yards and three scores (3 yards, 16 yards, 43 yards) on the ground and added an 29-yard touchdown reception on his lone catch. Purcha countered with one carry for a 35-yard touchdown and one reception for an 85-yard score.

After two weeks of play, it's becoming clear who is already starting to look like they're in mid-season form.