Week 5 Upper State Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 5 is in the books in the Upper State and there was plenty of skill talent that made their presence felt in some big time non-region and region showdowns for some. The quarterbacks and running backs in particular took center stage in some impressive wins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's 21 guys who garnered a Game Ball this week:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232624' first='Xavier' last='Means']</strong> QB and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823352' first='Daylen' last='Shankle']</strong> RB, Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The offensive firepower for the Trojans was aided by these two as Northwestern went on the road to Moncks Corner and beat Berkeley in dominating fashion, 67-21. Means had an almost perfect night throwing the ball, going 17-of-19 for 149 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 76 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Shankle provided a steady hand in the running game, rushing for 123 yards on 13 carries (9.5 yards per carry) and one touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1301735' first='Dash' last='Holley'] </strong>LB, Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holley (pictured above) not only rushed for two touchdowns on offense, but he led the Trojans in tackles defensively with five total tackles and one interception in the win on the road over Berkeley. He knows where to be when the ball comes his way and will be fun to watch going forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1612450' first='Landon' last='Robinson'] </strong>QB, Lake Wylie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robinson had another efficient evening for the Chargers, finishing 16-for-26 for 303 yards and four touchdowns along with 72 yards rushing in a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/09/evans-robinson-help-lake-wylie-hold-off-west-meck/">33-28 win over West Mecklenburg</a> to improve to 3-1 in year 1 as a program. The two leading receivers were <strong>Paxton Higginbotham, </strong>who found the end zone to go along with 102 yards receiving and <strong>Dezzy Crawford </strong>(6 receptions, 102 yards and two touchdowns).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2044503' first='Maxwell' last='Curry'] </strong>WR, Indian Land</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Curry is a threat in the slot, and Friday's game against Catawba Ridge is a reason why. He runs good routes and knows how to find the green grass and get open. Combine that with great speed and the open field and he can make an impact. He had three catches for 87 yards along with 30 rushing yards and a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22633634/6aaefc78040fdebd1bfd15b8u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aaf4975b96e1"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467825' first='Matt' last='Kucia'] </strong>QB, Indian Land</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kucia threw for 346 yards as he finished 21-of-27 and two touchdowns in a 47-22 win over Catawba Ridge. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822507' first='Kenneth' last='Wilson'] </strong>led the team in receptions with six catches for 91 yards on the night. <strong>Marty Conner </strong>had a 17-yard reception from Kucia for a touchdown.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2069899' first='Aiden' last='O'Hara']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266099' first='Broden' last='Mitcheson']</strong> RB, Fort Mill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mitcheson and O'Hara led the way for the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/09/mitcheson-and-ohara-run-fort-mill-to-4-0-start/">Yellow Jackets offense as they routed Nation Ford, 43-7</a> with a balance of carries. The senior Mitcheson ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries while O'Hara ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2004732' first='Matthew' last='Curry'] </strong>DL, Indian Land</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Curry has a motor that is running, and that was on display in the Warriors' big win over Catawba Ridge on Friday night. He hustled down on special teams to make a tackle on kickoff return before blocking a kick.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/26647378/6aaee7faa76f5c9a0b314111u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aaf4975b9743"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1404968' first='Jackson' last='Hill'] </strong>DL, Clover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hill took great angles to the ball and essentially lived in the backfield in the Blue Eagles' 33-17 win over rival York on Friday night. He defeated one-on-one blocks beautifully and attacked the line of scrimmage from the time the ball was snapped. He finished with 2.5 sacks, 3 tackles for loss and a safety.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20447335/6aae225e9205b39f78507b96u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aaf4975b977d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819429' first='Imri' last='Logan'] </strong>QB, Boiling Springs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Logan went 6-of-10 for 111 yards along with 10 carries for 69 yards rushing, highlighted by a 43-yard touchdown run early. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1665369' first='Djay' last='Leak'] </strong>returned a punt 96 yards for a touchdown as well. The Bulldogs are 5-0 for the first time in a decade with a 35-6 win over Hillcrest.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036721' first='Tre' last='Segarra'] </strong>RB, Byrnes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Segarra had a strong night in the 49-21 win against Spartanburg, with 12 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='463113' first='Gideon' last='Merhib'] </strong>finished 15-of-20 passing for 199 yards and three touchdowns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819577' first='Ashton' last='Moore'] </strong>QB, Chapman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moore had another efficient night for the Panthers as they remain undefeated with a big 35-22 win over Woodruff. His stat line in the passing game was 10-of-19 for 227 yards while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615119' first='Teagan' last='Cantrell'] </strong>provided a steady hand in the run game with 22 carries for 103 yards and <strong>Kelion Tucker </strong>had five catches for 100 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->