Week 9 Games & Players To Watch: Catawba River

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams can get closer to a region championship with a win on Friday night, and one major game in downtown Rock Hill that will decide it. Let's jump in:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indian Land (4-4, 0-3 region) at Catawba Ridge (1-7, 0-3 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warriors' defense will keep them in every game that they play in, and a large part of that has to do with the play of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771063' first='Timir' last='Hickman-Collins'] </strong>(pictured above) who is all over the football. He had multiple tackles and was attacking in the loss to South Pointe last Friday. <strong>Eddie Vernier </strong>recovered a fumble last week and should be an active force on the defensive line. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042719' first='Hayden' last='Morris'] </strong>and <strong>Chaz Portis</strong>, who will be key targets for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340396' first='Jaxon' last='Scheidt'] </strong>this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge has struggled throughout region play as they have been decimated by injuries. <strong>DJ Latimer </strong>gives them a chance to stay in the game with his ability to make plays on the ground along with <strong>Brayden Wasik</strong>. Keep an eye on <strong>Jake Sines </strong>defensively to create pressure up front.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Mill (2-6, 1-2 region) at Clover (6-2, 3-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Game will be played Thursday night at 7:30PM</em></strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Mill has a stingy and tough defense, and it led them to a win last week on the road at Spring Valley. <strong>Landon Kurtz </strong>had the game clinching interception, while <strong>Braylon Thomas </strong>was a consistent guy in the running game. The straw that stirs the drink offensively is quarterback <strong>Quinn Kelly</strong>, who can make plays on the run. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1246944' first='Tanner' last='Mays'] </strong>and <strong>Grayson Diehl </strong>as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clover is riding a hot streak right now as they are winners of six straight. Stop me if you've heard this name before: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012627' first='Landon' last='Stone']. </strong>He ran for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns last week against Blythewood. Keep an eye on <strong>JoJo Gonzalez, </strong>who had five tackles, including 1 TFL last week. Coastal Carolina commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997351' first='Jayden' last='Bryant'] </strong>had two TFLs while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='995603' first='Brody' last='Rowan'] </strong>had 2 pass breakups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Hill (5-2, 3-0 region) at Blythewood (3-5, 1-2 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rock Hill is rolling through region play, winners of three straight games. The offense has been averaging 46.3 points per game in those games, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139293' first='Matthew' last='Wilson'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012834' first='Malik' last='Clark'] </strong>have been the two main figures that help keep the offense chugging along. You can't forget <strong>Daylen Boulware </strong>at running back<strong> </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360412' first='EJ' last='Ratley']</strong>, the other speedster at wide receiver.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Names to keep an eye on defensively will be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='649189' first='Justice' last='Foster'], Daniel Range </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997363' first='Landon' last='Armstrong'] </strong>up front, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036779' first='Kaiden' last='Watkins'] </strong>is a youngster in the secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Pointe (6-2, 3-0 region) at Northwestern (7-1, 3-0 region)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The region 3-4A championship is on the line at District 3 Stadium in downtown Rock Hill on Friday night. Northwestern has rolled since their Week 0 loss in Charlotte to Providence Day, averaging 54.7 points per game in their games since. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>has thrown for 1825 yards and 20 touchdowns, and he's done it with the help of a loaded receiving core with guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753896' first='Jayden' last='Nichols']</strong>, <strong>Jayden </strong>and <strong>Jaylen Burris. </strong>And we can't forget about <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard']</strong> who has run for 825 yards and 12 touchdowns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojan receiving core will face their toughest challenge against the South Pointe secondary of <strong>Zantawn Nelson</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='212416' first='J'Zavien' last='Currence'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012611' first='Fred' last='Reese']</strong>, who each had interceptions last week against Indian Land.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defensive line for the Trojans against the running game from South Pointe and the duo <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012612' first='Aidan' last='Turner'] </strong>and <strong>Mason Pickett-Hicks</strong>, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/what-we-saw-south-pointes-defense-dominates-indian-land/">who ran for a combined 175 yards rushing last week against Indian Land</a>,<strong> </strong>will be something to watch against <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605531' first='Will' last='Massey'], Tamario Watkins, Danija McMullen </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360156' first='Andre' last='Pickett']</strong>, who are top four on the team currently in tackles. Keep an eye on <strong>Jayden Woods</strong>, who had a scoop-and-score last week. We anticipate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771038' first='Malachi' last='Marshall'] </strong>will get the start for South Pointe at quarterback as he did not play last week against Indian Land.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Games In The Catawba River Region – all games are scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lancaster at York</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/week-9-upstate-games-to-watch/">Chester at Clinton</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spring Valley at Nation Ford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->