Week 4 Lower State Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Are we having fun yet?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 4 of the high school football season brought results both expected and surprising as teams round into form.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Non-region action is winding down, which means it's time for headline performers to ramp up their level of play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were plenty of worthy candidates for Game Balls in the Lower State, but here are our recipients.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615095' first='Kaden' last='Wigfall']</strong> ATH, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818416' first='Zy' last='Rouse']</strong> ATH, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2342533' first='Preston' last='Holmes']</strong> WR, Strom Thurmond</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strom Thurmond's three-headed monster helped the Rebels roll up 298 yards of rushing and six touchdowns on the ground in a 58-6 win over Batesburg-Leesville. Wigfall carried 14 times for 94 yards and four touchdowns, while Rouse (five carries, 101 yards) and Holmes (three carries, 76 yards) each added a touchdown of their own.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22997611/6aa567d7275cb35600e976abu0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aa6b3e94e09a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1824442' first='Jayden' last='Wilson']</strong> RB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664629' first='Jaden' last='Chestnut']</strong> WR, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816392' first='Camren' last='Jordan']</strong> LB, North Myrtle Beach</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Myrtle Beach handed Loris its first regular season defeat in nearly two years with a massive 58-42 win over the Lions. Offensively, Wilson rolled up 159 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns that helped the Chiefs erase an 18-point second half deficit. Chestnut led the passing attack with six catches for 117 yards and three touchdowns, including a 20-yarder that put North Myrtle Beach up for good with 2:33 left in the game. Jordan was the defensive stalwart, posting nine tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19410819/6aa68dc1353504876ccdffdbu0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aa6b3e94e116"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422632' first='Makel' last='Stephens']</strong> RB Loris</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loris may have suffered their first loss of the year, but Stephens had a game for the ages. The Lions' tailback rushed 22 times for a school-record 307 yards and four touchdowns, including scoring runs of 80 yards and 96 yards. His four touchdowns moved him into first place on the school's career rushing touchdowns and career total touchdowns list. Don't be surprised if Stephens puts both of those numbers completely out of reach by the time his career concludes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819440' first='Nigil' last='Fripp']</strong> RB Hampton County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not to be outdone, Fripp posted his own mind-boggling stat line on the ground in a 41-38 win over Bluffton. Fripp finished with 353 yards on 31 carries and five rushing touchdowns. His shortest touchdown run of the evening was 21 yards and four of his scores came from 40 yards or longer, including a 66-yarder for the go-ahead score with nine minutes remaining.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/26599657/6aa576936b514ec96a5721f8u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aa6b3e94e15a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Zi'Yon East</strong> LB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1054957' first='Gray' last='Kitchings']</strong> LB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1840741' first='Johnny' last='Dobbs']</strong> LB Aiken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aiken's defensive trio helped the Green Hornets get back in the win column in a 51-0 shutout of Silver Bluff. East tallied eight tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack, while Kitching notched six tackles, two tackles for loss, and a quarterback hurry despite playing just one half. Dobbs found the end zone with an interception returned for a touchdown as Aiken improved to 3-1 on the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1766922' first='Caden' last='Freeman']</strong> OL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2332465' first='Sy'ion' last='Holmes']</strong> OL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2332405' first='Jaxtin' last='Gibson']</strong> OL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818558' first='Jordan' last='Smith']</strong> OL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2332469' first='Elijah' last='Pennie']</strong> OL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2332468' first='Connor' last='Finley']</strong> OL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2325399' first='Chance' last='Coleman']</strong> DL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2332471' first='Liam' last='Crisp']</strong> DL, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2325402' first='Aiden' last='President']</strong> DL, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2113658' first='Jakai' last='Chapman']</strong> DL, Berkeley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berkeley stayed unbeaten by dominating the line of scrimmage in a 29-3 win over Summerville. The offensive line of Freeman, Holmes, Gibson, Smith, Pennie, and Finley paved the way for 245 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Coleman, Crisp, President, and Chapman combined for 17 tackles, two sacks, and a pass breakup to keep a Green Wave offense that was averaging over 30 points per game out of the end zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615084' first='Tripp' last='Gallus']</strong> QB, Hanahan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Hanahan's 47-0 win over Andrews, Gallus torched the Yellowjackets through the air for 303 yards on just 13 completions. The junior gunslinger finished the night with more touchdown passes (six) than incompletions (five). The Hawks have averaged 45 points per game and are off to their best start since 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823525' first='De'Eric' last='Davis']</strong> QB, South Florence (pictured)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis led the Bruins to a 41-14 win over rival West Florence on Friday night, accounting for three total touchdowns. Although he threw only four passes, three went to the house as the senior finished with 114 yards through the air and a quarterback rating of 156.3. Davis also did damage on the ground, rushing for two touchdowns as South Florence brought its record back to .500 with its second straight win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1704301' first='Tommy' last='Burns'] III</strong> QB South Aiken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Aiken ran its record to 4-0 and its offense remained in high gear as the Thoroughbreds put up 30 or more points for the fourth consecutive game. The junior quarterback was an efficient 12-of-15 through the air for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Four weeks into the season, South Aiken is one victory away from tying its win total from a season ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22563055/6aa55cc2443a28e031349e85u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aa6b3e94e19e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->