Class 3A Upper State First Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class 3A Upper State bracket features teams that know each other well. Three of the four games are rematches of region games where the other team won handily. It's hard to knock off a team twice, and there will be no shortage of motivation for the teams that ended up on the short end of the stick to get back at them with a berth in the second round on the line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Belton-Honea Path, Wren, Daniel and Chapman all earned first round byes and will await the winner of these matchups on Friday as these teams vie to earn a trip to Orangeburg the first weekend of December.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's jump into the first round matchups:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 9 EMERALD (6-4) AT NO. 8 POWDERSVILLE (6-4)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robert Mustar's squad won the first matchup 41-21 on Oct. 23. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467847' first='Beau' last='Hite']</strong> is a dual threat for the Vikings, as he has rushed for over 400 yards and a touchdown. He's done most of his damage through the air with over 1800 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year. Two of his top targets have been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249216' first='Keirion' last='Brown']</strong> with over 520 yards receiving and eight touchdowns and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1773739' first='Coleson' last='Marino']</strong> with over 430 yards receiving and five touchdowns. Keep your eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249820' first='Tyrell' last='Cloud']</strong> on the defensive front, who has over 20 tackles for a loss. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249924' first='Jeremiah' last='Johnson']</strong> is second on the team with 71 total tackles and 11 tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots are playing good football as of late as they won two games to end the regular season with the game against Emerald as we mentioned and last week against Palmetto. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149055' first='Nasir' last='Waldrop']</strong> is the guy that makes it go for Powdersville at running back, and he'll get his carries for sure on Friday night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821275' first='Xavier' last='Huggins']</strong> will be one guy to watch at receiver as he is a Shrine Bowl selection. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821280' first='Jayden' last='Wertz']</strong> is also a Shrine Bowl selection and is a tackling machine at linebacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR:</em></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249843' first='Hayden' last='Doerflein']</strong> is a tackling machine for the Vikings with 138 total tackles on the year. If the Vikings want to slow down the Patriots' run game, it's going to start with him limiting the runs and getting into the backfield. He can pursue well and play out in coverage, like we saw on film against Belton-Honea Path.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/23331809/6ae96ecc760f24d07c36cf47u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aea4ca9117f8"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 12 SOUTHSIDE (3-7) AT NO. 5 SENECA (6-4)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southside will look to pull off a first round upset as they are led by quarterback <strong>Braysen Sullivan</strong> who has thrown for 363 yards and five touchdowns on the year. <strong>Tyson Pepper</strong> is the leading rusher for the Tigers with 317 yards and has one 100-yard rushing game and two touchdowns on the year. <strong>Braysen Sullivan</strong> is the second leading rusher with 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the year. <strong>Ricky Anderson</strong> is the leading receiver with 226 yards and two touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bobcats rolled through region play with the exception of Daniel, as they averaged 56 points per game in the four wins coming down the stretch, including a 62-0 shutout of the Tigers back on Oct. 2. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820609' first='Cole' last='Ulrich']</strong> had one of his best games during that stretch, specifically against Berea in a 72-6 win where he threw five touchdowns. Another guy to keep your eye on is running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1763355' first='Elias' last='McGee']</strong> at running back, who has a good burst when he's out in the open field. A guy to watch defensively is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817517' first='Parker' last='Riches']</strong>, who leads the team in tackles with 97 on the year so far.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>UNRANKED PLAYER TO WATCH:</em></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1764129' first='Jaquari' last='Campbell']</strong> was active in the Bobcats' win over Walhalla a few weeks ago. He has a knack for getting after the ball carrier and has a motor that is always running. We'll be interested to see how he works his way into the rotation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17993187/6ad424ba0d04a8ffa2105465u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aea4ca911831"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 10 WALHALLA (4-6) AT NO. 7 PICKENS (8-2)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Razorbacks put up their biggest offensive output of the season with a 70-point outing in the regular season finale against Southside, and now they get a rematch against a Blue Flame team that beat them 49-14 back on October 23. Everything starts with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822576' first='Rush' last='Harvey']</strong> who has thrown for 1803 yards and 21 touchdowns on the year. His top target has been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1825163' first='Nick' last='Butler']</strong> who has 885 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1771835' first='Caleb' last='Johnson']</strong> who is third on the team with 179 yards receiving with one touchdown. Keep an eye on junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823445' first='Latrevis' last='Lewis']</strong> who has 495 yards on 111 carries on the year and four touchdowns in the backfield as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Flame heads into the playoffs with an offense that can score points in bunches. One of the guys to watch is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823739' first='Ashton' last='Woody']</strong> at receiver who has 256 yards on the year and two touchdowns along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2242215' first='Isaac' last='Arnold']</strong> who had 222 yards receiving with four touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821139' first='Rylie' last='Johnson']</strong> can make plays in the run game and provide a third hand in the backfield when the opportunity presents itself. <strong>Tanner Whitman</strong> is a freshman who is a tackling machine with 34 tackles with six tackles for a loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR:</em></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2419816' first='Mayken' last='Dailey']</strong> is a freshman running back for the Razorbacks who leads the team in rushing with 898 yards and nine touchdowns on the year. He's had five games where he's rushed for over 100 yards. He runs hard and is tough to bring down at first contact when the ball is in his hands. If they want to have a shot to win, he'll need to have a big contest, like he did against Southside a few weeks ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/30936768/6ae64f85b26adb7c15d405e0u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e rn","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aea4ca911856"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 11 PALMETTO (3-7) AT NO. 6 BLUE RIDGE (4-6)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs have struggled down the stretch, but they will look to wipe the slate clean as the playoffs begin for Ryan Norton's squad. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823990' first='Bryson' last='Arflin']</strong> has thrown for over 1300+ yards and 10 touchdowns on the year. Two of his main targets are <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823993' first='Logan' last='Newsome']</strong> (pictured above) who has over 600 yards receiving and <strong>Gage Roberts</strong> with over 380 yards receiving. <strong>Zoerian Robinson</strong> is the team's second leading rusher with over 450 yards rushing who can take a good chunk of the load.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blue Ridge is hitting their stride at the right time as they've won three straight games heading into the playoffs. <strong>Tyus Repshis</strong> at running back has over 300 rushing yards on the year as well as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2114128' first='Cooper' last='Smith']</strong> has over 200 yards rushing in a crowded backfield that can be explosive. But don't discount what they can do in the passing game with their group of receivers like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819624' first='Braylon' last='Edwards']</strong>, who has over 630 yards receiving and over 10 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR:</em></strong> Palmetto's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818247' first='Malachi' last='Drummond']</strong> has run for over 750 yards and nine touchdowns so far during the 2026 season. The Mustangs will want to get him his carries as they try to play ball control and keep the ball out of the hands of a surging Blue Ridge offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/26377809/6a9d5f78891fd032fe952790u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aea4ca91188f"} /-->