Upstate Week 1 Games to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Realignment does some funny things.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sometimes South Carolina's process for maintaining competitive balance via enrollment size doesn't make many waves. This year's an exception. Across the state, numbers have shifted and so have rivalries, and when you pair those region changes with a new schedule cycle, programs have to chase a couple of things.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of those things, obviously, is money. Old-time rivals build a following for those games, and schools simply must schedule their rivals for a gate, in a lot of cases. Another key factor is a competitive measuring stick. Even in a non-region game, you can kind of get a feel of where you are when you play a game against a team you traditionally match up against later in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The early portion of the schedule has a ton of those matchups, and Week 1 is no exception. Here's a look at four of those games on tap this Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wren (Class 3A No. 8) at Daniel (Class 3A No. 3)</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talk about an early-season test. Expectations at both spots are sky high thanks to a bunch of guys returning at key places. Daniel's got elite talent across the board, and it starts with WR [player_tooltip player_id='1467841' first='Trey' last='Wimbley'] and ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1172351' first='PJ' last='Chancellor'] (who is going to be all over the field). The Clemson commits are electric athletes who will lead the Lions on both sides of the ball. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1094520' first='Jace' last='Grass'] returns for his junior year after an outstanding sophomore season, [player_tooltip player_id='1608532' first='Kingsten' last='Bibb'] brings back a 1,000-yard rushing threat, and [player_tooltip player_id='1823482' first='Brooks' last='Abernethy'] leads a physical OL. [player_tooltip player_id='1823484' first='Ryan' last='Hendricks'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1818895' first='Jack' last='Christmas'] are leaders for the Lions on the defensive side, and keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id='1825381' first='Caesar' last='Oglesby'] who's moving over to DL from OL.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wren saw one of the breakout performances of the year last season in RB [player_tooltip player_id='1790589' first='Muntu' last='Brown']. Brown came from nowhere and recorded a 1,600-yard season on 229 carries, and he's back for his senior campaign. [player_tooltip player_id='1791085' first='Jack' last='Hughes'] has emerged as a weapon for the Hurricanes in the passing game, and he'll keep teams from stacking the box to control Brown. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1790580' first='Jacob' last='Owings'] threw for nearly 2,000 yards last season and will have another top weapon back in [player_tooltip player_id='1658454' first='Caiden' last='Hill']. And despite losing their top tackler, the Hurricanes defense has a number of top returners including<strong> Landon O'Brien</strong> at NT and [player_tooltip player_id='1791039' first='JT' last='Forrester'] at DE, along with LB [player_tooltip player_id='1791001' first='Travys' last='Woodard'] and DB [player_tooltip player_id='1790612' first='Preston' last='Schilling'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hillcrest at Dorman (Class 5A No. 4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Folks have got Hillcrest penciled in as one of the top contenders in Region I-5A, and it's easy to see why. The Rams have a new coach in Amos Lamb, but a ton of returners who are responsible for a lot of high expectations. One of the first on that list is QB [player_tooltip player_id='1604046' first='Jackson' last='Free']. Free had more than 2,700 yards of offense and accounted for 35 touchdowns last season, and he's got a bunch of weapons at his disposal. Those include RB [player_tooltip player_id='1051192' first='Nydarrian' last='Allen'] and leading receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1149053' first='Luke' last='McCourry'] along with fellow WRs [player_tooltip player_id='1724433' first='Kadyn' last='Stevenson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1820617' first='Tyler' last='Tolbert']. [player_tooltip player_id='1603877' first='Max' last='Barnes'] is one of the top centers in the state, and [player_tooltip player_id='1818931' first='Lucas' last='Hancock'] is back up front at tackle. On the defensive side of the ball, [player_tooltip player_id='1819677' first='Gavin' last='Sullivan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1823190' first='Xavious' last='Peay'] will look to lead an inexperienced defensive backfield, but the Rams have a ton of talent up front led by [player_tooltip player_id='1818942' first='Cory' last='Collins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1818940' first='Matthew' last='Neal'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expectations are sky high in Roebuck as well, as Dorman played for the Upper State title a year ago and returns a bunch of talent. A lot of that is on the defensive side of the ball, and the Cavaliers have played well already in limited preseason action. [player_tooltip player_id='1702151' first='James' last='Porter'] leads the defensive line, and can play both outside and inside. [player_tooltip player_id='2163695' first='Olamide' last='Salami'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1632107' first='Emavian' last='Gibson'] are key guys up front, with LBs [player_tooltip player_id='1818140' first='Antwone' last='Tarrence'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1818145' first='Jalaal' last='Deck'] providing plenty of pop. [player_tooltip player_id='1816266' first='Isaac' last='Tate'] has moved across from backup RB to DB and already has a pre-season defensive TD to his credit, as does fellow DB [player_tooltip player_id='1708614' first='Jabez' last='Thomas']. But it's not all about the defense. [player_tooltip player_id='1664350' first='Nick' last='Means'] has a chance to go down as one of Dorman's best RBs, and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2106758' first='Carter' last='Nash'] looks like a guy who can eventually be right behind him. [player_tooltip player_id='1820160' first='Cooper' last='Patterson'] will start at QB, with experienced targets including [player_tooltip player_id='1820158' first='Dai'Shion' last='Watkins-Hymes']. And the OL will be a mix of youth and experience, with sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1818345' first='Jordan' last='Lewis'] helping to lead the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spartanburg (Class 5A No. 10) at Gaffney (Class 4A No. 3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You want a rivalry? Well, this will mark the 112th meeting between Spartanburg and Gaffney, but this one's a little different as that it's strictly going to be for bragging rights and for a successful start to the season. The Vikings have plenty of key pieces back, and one of the biggest is RB [player_tooltip player_id='1172345' first='Trenton' last='Lynch'] (pictured) who starts the year just a little bit below his season average shy of becoming Spartanburg's all-time leading rusher. Lynch is a problem, and he'll be a solid weapon for new QB [player_tooltip player_id='1816641' first='Chris' last='Colin']. [player_tooltip player_id='1858256' first='Skylar' last='Douglas'] will be one of Colin's top targets, along with Dorman transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1816831' first='Tre'gan' last='Mickler'] and <strong>BJ Dawkins</strong>. Defensively, the Vikings have got standout guys at all three levels, with [player_tooltip player_id='1858192' first='Kemareon' last='Davis'] up front, [player_tooltip player_id='2212357' first='Jaylen' last='Mathis'] at LB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1816541' first='Jayden' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1506366' first='RJ' last='Estrich'] in the secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gaffney's strength, at least early, will be on the defensive side of the ball. That's where LB [player_tooltip player_id='1036755' first='Kendaris' last='Bailey'] will return and bring a physical edge for the Indians. He's just one of a ton of weapons for Gaffney, and while Bailey leads a stout front seven, the back end is as good as it's been in Gaffney for a long time. [player_tooltip player_id='873100' first='Zion' last='Dawkins'] brings back 57 total tackles and four interceptions, <strong>Adreyan Monroe</strong> had 65 tackles and a pick, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821167' first='Ty' last='McGill'] </strong>made 41 tackles, picked off five passes, and knocked down three more. [player_tooltip player_id='1664489' first='Ayden' last='Montgomery'] joins them, making the secondary for Gaffney a difficult matchup for a lot of teams. The Indians still have some uncertainty at QB, but RBs [player_tooltip player_id='755890' first='Amire' last='White'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1604058' first='Kareem' last='Shaw'] along with Bailey, will look to provide a steady presence in the backfield, behind a veteran line led by [player_tooltip player_id='691267' first='CJ' last='Brooks'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seneca (Class 3A No. 10) at Powdersville (Class 3A No. 7)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One more intra-class matchup highlights Week 1, and it wouldn't surprise us at all if this is a preview of a rematch down the road in November. Seneca is adjusting to new head coach Drec Ellis, who was promoted from DC when David Crane took the BHP job in the offseason. They'll also need to break in a new QB. But boy, [player_tooltip player_id='1954553' first='Eli' last='Wylie'] have some targets. [player_tooltip player_id='1763355' first='Elias' last='McGee'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1763456' first='Jack' last='Webb'] both had more than 500 receiving yards last season, and they're back to provide some reliable outlets for Wylie. The Bobcats will turn to [player_tooltip player_id='1763974' first='Jamari' last='Sprout'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1954580' first='Collins' last='Lee'] to help replace Amari Verner at RB, along with [player_tooltip player_id='1819372' first='Malachi' last='Hallums']. On the defensive side of the ball, monster DT [player_tooltip player_id='1595016' first='Emari' last='Jones'] is already drawing P4 attention (and often triple teams), while [player_tooltip player_id='1199741' first='Jamauri' last='Chapman'] leads the way at LB and [player_tooltip player_id='1763968' first='Jemarrion' last='Cobb'] anchors the defensive secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Powdersville had a hotly contested battle to decide the QB position in the offseason, but the playmakers on hand for the Patriots are a certainty. [player_tooltip player_id='1149055' first='Nasir' last='Waldrop'] returns at RB after a stellar season a year ago, and he'll be joined by WRs [player_tooltip player_id='1821275' first='Xavier' last='Huggins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1586857' first='Jaydon' last='McGrier']. TE [player_tooltip player_id='1824948' first='Riggs' last='Savage'] is a freakish athlete, big and strong but with a receiver's hands, and he'll be a difference maker for the Patriots. [player_tooltip player_id='1824949' first='Jackson' last='Miller'] leads three returners on the OL. Defensively, [player_tooltip player_id='1824602' first='Steele' last='Gamble'] will help to anchor the secondary and at WR, along with [player_tooltip player_id='1821279' first='Stephen' last='Hudgins']. LB [player_tooltip player_id='1821280' first='Jayden' last='Wertz'] also returns as a standout on that side of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->