Week 6 Lower State Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As September comes to an end, plenty of players around the Lower State closed out the month with noteworthy performances.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With region play starting and teams beginning the push for the postseason, top-notch play was on display in Week 6.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's our rundown of 22 players who came to play Friday night and earned our Game Ball recipients. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818416' first='Zy' last='Rouse']</strong>&nbsp;RB, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422601' first='Wytrayvious' last='Dugar']</strong>&nbsp;DB, Strom Thurmond</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rouse helped keep Aiken out of reach throughout the Rebels' 28-14 victory. The junior scored Strom Thurmond's final two touchdowns of the evening, pushing the Rebel lead to 21-7 and 28-14 as Strom Thurmond improved to 5-0. Rouse averaged nine yards per carry, rolling up 144 yards on just 16 touches, including the game-sealing 52-yarder with just 2:10 left to play. Dugar (pictured) terrorized the Green Hornets with seven tackles, three sacks, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. The linebacker was part of a Rebel defense that held Aiken to just 59 yards rushing on the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/23827953/6ab75f180f0caff29b51aecbu0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ab822435e501"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19758989/6ab7d4fe4c37bd9891c44d23u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ab822435e543"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603740' first='Thaddeus' last='Czarnecki']</strong> RB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822839' first='Josh' last='Bigger']</strong> DE, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822843' first='Aidan' last='Macdonald']</strong> LB, Hilton Head</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After Czarnecki missed time due to injury, the reigning Region VI-4A Player of the Year scored touchdowns on four of his nine carries in Hilton Head's 57-12 win over Bluffton in the Bridge Bowl. Czarnecki's numbers could have been even more impressive had he played in the second half, but the Seahawks' 37-point halftime lead allowed the senior to rest for the final 24 minutes. He now has 38 rushing touchdowns in his career. Bigger stuffed the stat sheet with five tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, eight quarterback hurries, and one forced fumble, while Macdonald picked off two passes and returned one for a score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams']</strong>&nbsp;RB, Summerville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams helped the Green Wave snap its three-game losing streak as he became Summerville's all-time leading rusher during its 58-10 victory over West Ashley. His first-quarter touchdown moved him into first place and he tallied three rushing touchdowns total as the Green Wave exploded for 58 points in the first half on the 100^th&nbsp;birthday of legendary head coach John McKissick.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672833' first='Trace' last='Hillian']</strong>&nbsp;RB, Hartsville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillian ran wild in Hartsville's 48-22 win over Aynor, rushing 13 times for 218 yards and four touchdowns. The home-run hitter scored on run of 54, 57, 42, and 29 yards as the Red Foxes rolled to victory in their Region VI-3A opener. Hillian set season-high marks for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in the win.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422632' first='Makel' last='Stephens']&nbsp;</strong>RB, and&nbsp;<strong>Ayden Scott</strong>&nbsp;QB, Loris</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lions' explosive offense continued to score at a dizzying rate as its two main cogs accounted for all seven of Loris' touchdowns in a 51-34 victory over Crestwood. Stephens surpassed 1,000 yards rushing on the season with a 307-yard, five-touchdown effort, while Scott rumbled for 138 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Through six games, Stephens has 19 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 10.6 yards per carry.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1809066' first='Chandler' last='Guthrie']&nbsp;</strong>WR, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822427' first='Kelsyn' last='Felton']</strong>&nbsp;LB, Gilbert</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guthrie and Felton helped lead Gilbert to a 28-24 comeback win over Chapin. Guthrie caught seven passes for 168 yards, including a second-quarter touchdown that gave Gilbert its first lead after the Eagles jumped up 10-o in the opening period. Felton led Gilbert's defense with seven tackles as the defense thwarted Chapin's final drive with a stand in the red zone to seal the victory.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823804' first='Cameron' last='James']&nbsp;</strong>RB,&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2372080' first='Davey' last='Green']</strong>&nbsp;DL, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820904' first='Josh' last='Gantt']</strong>&nbsp;DE, South Florence</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>James powered through the Myrtle Beach defense for 223 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, while Green and Gantt combined for four sacks in South Florence's 46-20 victory. The Bruin defensive linemen lived in the Seahawk backfield as both notched their first two sacks of the season. Green was credited with six tackles and four quarterback hurries to go with Gantt's four tackles and two hurries.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717939' first='Nigil' last='Fripp']&nbsp;</strong>RB, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2400593' first='Isaac' last='James']</strong>&nbsp;RB, Hampton County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hampton County's running back tandem tore through Christ Church en route to a 34-20 win for the Hurricanes. Fripp was the workhorse, toting the rock 30 times for 333 yards and four touchdowns. The junior has rushed for 915 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last three games. Meanwhile, James maximized his impact in his three carries, running for 78 yards and a score.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/26599657/6ab7e493565e2c7172319e75u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ab822435e577"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615084' first='Tripp' last='Gallus']</strong>&nbsp;QB, Hanahan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gallus and the Hawks continued their phenomenal start to the 2026 season, moving to 6-0 with a 28-3 victory over Colleton County. The junior quarterback went 13-of-20 through the air for 284 yards and three touchdowns in Hanahan's final non-region game of the regular season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422604' first='Jailyn' last='Broughton']</strong>&nbsp;DL,&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818596' first='Jakobe' last='Jones']</strong>&nbsp;LB, and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820227' first='Mah'Ky' last='Green']</strong>&nbsp;RB, Cross</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cross defense suffocated Mullins in a 47-8 win, holding the Auctioneers to 77 total yards and negative-14 rushing yards. Broughton and Jones applied pressure all night off the edge, forcing 14 incompletions on 17 pass attempts. Meanwhile, Green rushed six times for 64 yards and two touchdowns and added a third score when he blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='776240' first='Tre' last='Blakeney']</strong>&nbsp;QB,&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2163536' first='Tehvin' last='Easterling']</strong>&nbsp;RB, Marlboro County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blakeney and Easterling did major damage on the ground to help Marlboro County escape Conway with a 33-30 win. Blakeney had his best rushing night of the season, finishing with 175 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. Easterling was no slouch, either, rushing 22 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs improved to 5-0. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/27389633/6ab7dfb10f0caff29b5586fbu0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ab822435e599"} /-->