Upper State Week 3 Game Balls

Week Three of the football season is in the books and things are starting to take shape as who can be contenders over the next two months. That fact comes along with some outstanding performances in getting teams important victories in the non-region portion of the schedule.   The weather finally played nicely and there were no games that carried over to a Monday evening slate.   With that being said, let's look across the Upper State to see who garnered Game Balls this week.   [player_tooltip player_id='1818572' first='Esaias' last='Carroll'] RB and [player_tooltip player_id='1791455' first='Brock' last='Cole'] RB TL Hanna   Carroll rushed for 131 yards and three scores with Cole adding 148 yards one touchdown to help the Yellow Jackets overcome a 13-point deficit in defeating White Knoll 28-27.  The duo has combined to rush for 504 yards and nine touchdowns in the run-heavy TL Hanna attack. They are 3-0 on the young season and need two main backs to keep producing at a high level.    [player_tooltip player_id='1825267' first='Anderson' last='Stutts'] WR, Chapin   Stutts scored three touchdowns in the Eagles second straight win, this one a 24-21 decision over Aiken. Stutts caught two of the TD passes from quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1824394' first='Tyler' last='Black'], who had 161 yards passing, and added a third on a trick play that saw Harper Ellerbe hit him for what turned out to be the decisive score.   Dontae Howse QB, Keenan   The Raiders continued to roll in the early season and this time it was Howse carrying the offensive load. The senior threw two touchdown passes and added another on the ground in the 44-12 win over Airport. Marcus Simpson Jordan Wolsom and [player_tooltip player_id='1817638' first='Tavares' last='Lively'] all recorded TD receptions to help Keenan improve to 3-0.   [player_tooltip player_id='1422637' first='Corey' last='Murphy'] DB, Lugoff-Elgin   The Demons senior scored two defensive touchdowns in the 56-21 win over Nation Ford to help Lugoff-Elgin move to 3-0 on the season. That defensive effort aided the offense where [player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning'] finished with 204 yards rushing and three touchdowns while [player_tooltip player_id='1603854' first='Eric' last='Richardson'] added 157 yards of total offense with a receiving and rushing touchdown.     Collin Carter DB, River Bluff   The senior defensive back recorded 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss to help the Gators roll over Spring Valley 45-7. They did allow an offensive score, and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1817074' first='Colt' last='Manley'] added four tackles for loss as River Bluff ended the night with 12 tackles for loss and held the Vikings to 146 total yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1818414' first='Josiah' last='Robinson'] LB, Dutch Fork   Robinson recovered three fumbles as the Silver Foxes forced seven turnovers in a 56-14 pasting of Spartanburg. One of the fumbles resulted in an 83-yard touchdown return. [player_tooltip player_id='2106153' first='Alijah' last='Grupee'] also had a defensive touchdown for the Silver Foxes, returning an interception for a score. [player_tooltip player_id='409882' first='Jaden' last='Wuerth'] added two sacks and forced a fumble in a dominant defensive effort.    [player_tooltip player_id='2106784' first='Xavier' last='Sammet'] QB, Greer - Sammet continued his hot start in a 59-13 win over Blue Ridge. He finished 17-of-20 for 294 yards and tossed TD passes of 17, 41, 14, and 61 yards. He added 51 yards on four carries, including a 22-yard TD run. The sophomore has 574 yards passing and has accounted for 10 touchdowns in the Yellow Jackets 3-0 start.   [player_tooltip player_id='1608532' first='Kingsten' last='Bibb'] RB, Daniel - Bibb rushed for 191 yards on 17 carries, including a crucial 44-yard TD run as the Lions rallied to beat Powdersville 56-34. The sophomore is up to 409 yards rushing on the season.   [player_tooltip player_id='1604046' first='Jackson' last='Free'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='1051192' first='Nydarrian' last='Allen'] RB, Hillcrest - Free finished 9-for-12 with 141 yards and two TDs, while Allen rushed 20 times for 135 yards and caught a TD pass as the Rams beat Fountain Inn 38-20. It was the first win of the season for Hillcrest and statistically the best night for the Rams duo.   [player_tooltip player_id='1817256' first='Whitley' last='Rodgers'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='2370968' first='Chase' last='Wimpey'] WR, Easley - Rodgers threw for 354 yards and tossed three touchdown passes for the Green Wave. Two of those TDs went to Wimpey, who caught four balls for 152 yards as Easley rallied from a 28-10 deficit to beat Riverside 36-35. It was the first win of the season the Green Wave, but Rodgers has been electric in the first three games of the season with 1.065 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wimpey has been his favorite target with 19 receptions for 314 yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='630150' first='Owen' last='Glenn'] QB, Clinton - Glenn rushed seven times for 129 yards and two touchdowns and added 73 passing yards and another score as the Red Devils beat Newberry 39-28. He scored on an 80-yard run on the final play of the third quarter that turned out to be the game-winner.   [player_tooltip player_id='1036755' first='Kendaris' last='Bailey'] LB/RB, Gaffney - Bailey rushed for 102 yards on nine carries in the Indians' wildcat packages, scoring on runs of nine and 10 yards. He added three tackles on defense as Gaffney beat Lancaster 28-13 to move to 3-0 on the year. [player_tooltip player_id='873100' first='Zion' last='Dawkins'] helped seal the victory with a crucial strip and fumble recovery in the second half.    [player_tooltip player_id='1467847' first='Beau' last='Hite'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='2190455' first='Joe' last='Moore'] RB, Emerald - Hite and Moore combined to have a hand in all 467 yards of Emerald offense through three quarters in the Vikings' 52-31 win over Woodruff. Hite threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, while Moore ran for two and showed off his arm on a razzle-dazzle play, throwing for a TD of his own. It was the first-time Emerald had defeated Woodruff in over two decades.   [player_tooltip player_id='232624' first='Xavier' last='Means'] QB, Northwestern   Means had an efficient night, going 10-for-15 for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns -- one to [player_tooltip player_id='1817819' first='Van' last='Robinson'] (22 yards) and [player_tooltip player_id='513067' first='Malik' last='Ratliff'](33 yards) in a 68-12 win over Stratford. [player_tooltip player_id='2152119' first='Tavion' last='Rust'] found the end zone four times as well. The Trojans have scored 122 points over the past two weeks and Means and the rest of the offense seem to be rounding into gear. It was the second straight week Northwestern had a running clock in the second half.   Djay LeakWR, Boiling Springs   Leak finished the night with seven receptions for 109 yards, and a critical 34-yard touchdown that got the Bulldogs back in the game in their late rally in a 34-30 victory over Catawba Ridge. Tyvion Hill later added an interception to set the stage Imiri Logan to score with 1:18 remaining to cap the rally from a 30-21 deficit with just over four minutes remaining.    Doug Louallen QB and [player_tooltip player_id='1823100' first='Marzavious' last='Allen'] RB, CentralThe Eagles QB-RB duo combined to score six touchdowns in a 42-20 victory over Andrew Jackson. Louallen had 159 yards and three scores on 15 carries and added an additional 59 yards passing. Allen contributed 184 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. That puts Allen over 300 yards in two games and Louallen is over 200 yards on the season.

Week Three of the football season is in the books and things are starting to take shape as who can be contenders over the next two months. That fact comes along with some outstanding performances in getting teams important victories in the non-region portion of the schedule.