Week 1 Lower State Game Balls

How do you like your Week 1?   Served the traditional way, on Friday night? Or maybe Thursday? How about Saturday morning? Later that afternoon? Maybe even Monday night?   It's never by design, but that's exactly what we got for the 2026 high school football openers. Wet bulb thermometer readings beyond the acceptable threshold, lightning delays, torrential downpours leaving unplayable conditions - we got it all, and the games still went on.   That's worth a Game Ball regardless of how the actual games turned out but, alas, there's only so many of these things we can hand out on a weekly basis.   You've seen <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/08/week-1-upper-state-game-balls/">the Upper State list</a> from Week 1, so now it's time to give a shout-out to the Lower State. From 5A to Class A, from the SCHSL to SCISA, there's no shortage of prime-time performances turned in during the season openers, regardless of when they were actually played.   Here's our list. And no, Mother Nature is not getting a Game Ball.   Zi'Yon East RB/LB and [player_tooltip player_id='1614255' first='Allen' last='Cummings'] WR, Aiken   East and Cummings played a key role in helping Aiken jump out to a big early lead in the Hornets' 31-7 win over Lakeside (Ga.). East racked up 11 tackles and added a quarterback hurry, while Cummings caught eight passes for 113 yards in his return to Aiken's roster. The Hornets cruised, and now Aiken has won back-to-back season openers for the first time since the 2009-10 seasons.   [player_tooltip player_id='1822457' first='Brian' last='McMillan'] QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1214316' first='Ant' last='Williams'] ATH and [player_tooltip player_id='1822054' first='Jordan' last='Williams'] LB/RB, Bamberg-Ehrhardt   The defending Class A champs rolled to a 62-6 win over Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, and several of the Red Raiders' usual suspects picked up right where they left off in December. McMillan completed eight of 10 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and he also rushed for 60 yards and two more scores on only four carries. [player_tooltip player_id='1214316' first='Ant' last='Williams'] caught six passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, adding a rushing score for good measure, and [player_tooltip player_id='1822054' first='Jordan' last='Williams'] ran for one, too, to go with nine tackles and two interceptions, including a pick-six.   [player_tooltip player_id='1819440' first='Nigil' last='Fripp'] RB, Hampton County   Fripp had a productive night as the Hurricanes' new lead back in their 33-0 win over Colleton County, running the ball 20 times for 187 yards and a touchdown.   [player_tooltip player_id='1664222' first='Derrick' last='Raniszewski'] QB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1820333' first='Jeremiah' last='Walters'] WR/DB Hilton Head   Hilton Head turned in one of the opening weekend's biggest statement wins, blowing past South Florence for a 38-21 victory. Raniszewski went 11-for-19 passing for 241 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 58 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and Walters was his favorite target, catching seven passes for 175 yards and two of those three scores.    [player_tooltip player_id='1820390' first='Brady' last='Dantzler'] QB, [player_tooltip player_id='874321' first='Raphael' last='Puiu'] WR and [player_tooltip player_id='1896110' first='Rob' last='Grant'] DL, James Island   James Island opened the season with an emphatic 41-21 win over Oceanside Collegiate, with familiar and new stars leading the way. Dantzler quickly acclimated to his role as QB1, completing nine of 16 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns, and it certainly didn't hurt to have Puiu on the receiving end. He only needed three touches to amass 163 yards and two touchdowns. Grant lived in the OCA backfield, logging six tackles (four solo) with four for loss, three sacks, a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups.    [player_tooltip player_id='1820888' first='Brian' last='Brooks'] RB/WR, Lakewood   A lengthy losing streak is no more for Lakewood, and Brooks is a big reason why the Gators emerged with a 28-26 win over Andrews. His final line: eight carries for 191 yards and two touchdowns, four catches for 66 yards and another score. And all three of those touchdowns, which covered 97, 52 and 38 yards, occurred in the second quarter.   [player_tooltip player_id='644030' first='Xavier' last='Geter'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='1615063' first='Preston' last='Smith'] RB, Midland Valley   Midland Valley outlasted Lexington in another thriller between the two, with some longtime leaders putting up huge numbers in the Mustangs' 49-42 victory. Geter had another one of his usual dual-threat masterpieces, completing 68% of his passes for 191 yards while carrying the ball 19 times for 135 yards and four touchdowns. Smith matched him on end zone visits, rushing for four scores of his own to go with 180 yards on 20 carries with a couple of catches for 21 yards added in.    [player_tooltip player_id='896094' first='Lavoris' last='Lucas'] ATH and [player_tooltip player_id='2045815' first='Silas' last='Brawner'] QB, Pinewood Prep   Pinewood Prep made quick work of Heathwood Hall in a 41-14 win, and the Brawner-to-Lucas combination had a lot to do with that. Brawner (pictured) completed 61% of his passes for 280 yards and four scores, with Lucas bringing in three of those scores on five catches for 151 yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1704301' first='Tommy' last='Burns'] QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1036785' first='Kyson' last='McLeod'] WR, Blake Goodman WR, [player_tooltip player_id='1822589' first='Connor' last='Hamilton'] LB   South Aiken notched the second-largest margin of victory in its 44-year series against Silver Bluff with a 59-6 victory, and the T-Breds did most of their work in only one half. Burns completed eight of nine passes for 160 yards and four touchdowns, McLeod had 51 yards and two touchdowns while becoming South Aiken's all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, Goodman caught three balls for 91 yards and two scores of his own, and Hamilton also found the end zone twice, housing a pair of fumble returns while making eight total tackles and blocking a punt for the second Friday in a row.   [player_tooltip player_id='1818416' first='Zy' last='Rouse'] ATH and [player_tooltip player_id='1818415' first='Preston' last='Holmes'] ATH, Strom Thurmond   Rouse and Holmes played a key role in defending 2A champion Strom Thurmond's hard-fought 21-7 win over 4A rival North Augusta. Rouse returned an interception 74 yards to set up his first of two short-yardage rushing touchdowns, then finished off the scoring with a two-point conversion to put a bow on a 64-yard night. Holmes needed only four carries to cover 54 yards, and his 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter put the Rebels back ahead by 14 after the Jackets made it a one-score game.    [player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams'] RB and [player_tooltip player_id='1816961' first='Demarcus' last='King'] DL/LB, Summerville   Two-time defending Class 5A Division II runner-up Summerville clamped down on Sumter in a 28-7 win in the opener. Williams rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and added 20 more yards on two catches, and King recorded six tackles (two for loss) with a sack, a pass break-up and a fumble return for a touchdown.

How do you like your Week 1?