Week 3 CSRA Games To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's another week of rivalry matchups in the CSRA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From teams returning to action after an early bye to others looking to rebound from loss, the fourth week of games offers a chance for the usual standouts to excel and other players to receive recognition:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>North Augusta (2-1) at Strom Thurmond (2-0)</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second-ranked Rebels return to action after a bye. A big reason for their early success is a combination of an effective running offense and stingy overall defense. The backfield duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819535' first='CJ' last='Blacks']</strong> (20 carries, 141 yards, one touchdown) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820530' first='Deonte' last='Phillips']</strong> (15 carries, 162 yards, two touchdowns) account for 64 percent of Strom Thurmond's ground game. Quarterback <strong>Bri'shaun Lee</strong> has only had to complete seven passes this season, two for touchdowns. Head coach Andy Webb gives obvious credit to his front five. Led by 6-foot-6, 300-pound <strong>Tucker Mims</strong>, the starting offensive line with <strong>Trent Kelly</strong>, <strong>Gage Cockrell</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823112' first='Micah' last='Warren']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823105' first='Carter' last='Boatwright']</strong> brings experience, toughness and size to each game. Some of the offensive contributors also play a vital role on defense. Phillips and Blacks are first and third, respectively, in tackles at linebacker where <strong>Gregory Moore</strong> had a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown. Senior defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='1249754' first='Josh' last='Merriweather'] provides outside pressure and defensive backs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='617663' first='Kaleb' last='Simpkins']</strong> (pictured) and <strong>Wytravious Dugar</strong> are aggressive covermen in the secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellow Jackets rebounded from a one-point home loss to Lexington with a 33-21 win over South Aiken. The tandem of quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Michael' last='Doe']</strong> stepped up in the second half of the win. Tillman threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 67 yards and a score. Doe followed his three-touchdown performance against Lexington with 201 rushing yards to reach 515 on the season and two scores. The Yellow Jackets were without injured wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1013040' first='Connor' last='Brown'] for a second straight week, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734528' first='Toian' last='Nabriat']</strong> has filled in. The Yellow Jackets' defensive line, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214944' first='Davion' last='McKinnis'],&nbsp;<u>[player_tooltip player_id='1254097' first='Deondre' last='Baskett'],</u> [player_tooltip player_id='1536398' first='Simeon' last='Jones'] and Alex Powell, </strong>had initial success containing South Aiken running back [player_tooltip player_id='272702' first='Jevon' last='Edwards'], limiting him to 20 yards on his first 12 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18492732/66d347e0ef324203bf9a9a07' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029d2b"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17662381/66dd1e0a4e70d7f871d80273' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029d71"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17946840/66ce01ad7d17390572d11dde' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029d9f"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16726500/66de4dec464ccae964f98d64' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029dcb"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>South Aiken (1-2) at Barnwell (3-0)</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expect another ground wall at Mac Weir Stadium although the reason hopefully is the talent in the backfields and weather-related as was the case last week. Barnwell capitalized on the wet conditions with 229 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 21-7 win over Bamberg-Ehrhardt. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272720' first='Cameron' last='Austin']</strong> accounted for 129 rushing yards and a touchdown before he was limited after getting tackled following a 41-yard run to open the second half. <strong>Ja'Quan Peeples</strong>, Jordan Peeples and [player_tooltip player_id='1817436' first='Nehemiah' last='Brown'] shared the bulk of the carries with the younger Peeples scoring twice. Leading upfront for Barnwell were its offensive line, led by 6-foot-6, 300-pound senior tackle <strong>Tony Cherry</strong>,<strong> Klayton Zissett </strong>and center&nbsp;<strong>Lamar Buxton</strong>. On defense, two-way players Ja'Quan Peeples and <strong>Logan Sturkie</strong> prevented a couple of potential touchdown passes by Bamberg-Ehrhardt quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='464885' first='Chanston' last='Crosby'] in the secondary. The Red Raiders' rushing game was also stymied by defensive linemen&nbsp;<strong>Jahlian Carter</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Adrian Saxton</strong>&nbsp;and linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254065' first='Lex' last='Thomas']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819827' first='Henri' last='Creech']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It seems each week senior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272702' first='Jevon' last='Edwards']</strong> is rewriting the Thoroughbred record book. After a slow start, he erupted in the second half for the bulk of his 208 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback <strong>Tucker Bryan</strong> threw his second touchdown of the season in the loss. Defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592054' first='Tyson' last='Braxton']</strong> was the team's sack leader and [player_tooltip player_id='1172344' first='Ray' last='Harris'] was second in tackles behind linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797153' first='Garrett' last='Still']</strong> entering last week. The secondary as a whole has four interceptions in the first three games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16868863/66dce6794e70d7f871d7dd0a' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029df8"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19720250/66dbe738c3188e9b3673027f' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029e24"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16828562/66df74f4a976e94ebbc75e24' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029e4e"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16827572/66da05a631131ab158feb1f2' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029e78"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Silver Bluff (0-3) at [player_tooltip player_id='1856798' first='[player_tooltip player_id='1856799' first='Blackville-Hilda' last='']' last=''] (2-1)</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough schedule, which included back-to-back home games versus the top two teams in Class 2A have the Bulldogs off to winless start after three games for the third straight year. The latest setback came in a defensive battle against Class 2A top-ranked Hampton County. The 6-yard touchdown run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='766728' first='Drelyn' last='Brown']</strong> followed by the PAT was the lone score for Silver Bluff in the 14-7 loss. Linebacker <strong>Trey Harris</strong> and defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820953' first='Keyaideen' last='Williams']</strong> put forth an inspired effort to keep Silver Bluff in contention. Their constant disruption in the form of sacks and stops to force punts kept Hampton County scoreless in the second half. Turnovers and penalties once again plagued the Bulldogs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They face a Hawks' team which has bounced back with two straight wins following a season-opening loss to Barnwell. University of South Carolina running back commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605527' first='Jaquel' last='Holman']</strong> has rushed for 354 yards and four touchdowns in the two wins. Against a Ninety-Six team celebrating Homecoming, quarterback <strong>Samari Williams</strong> led [player_tooltip player_id='1856798' first='[player_tooltip player_id='1856799' first='Blackville-Hilda' last='']' last=''] with 204 rushing yards and four touchdowns, two in the air to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395064' first='Messiah' last='McFadden']</strong> and <strong>Brandon Priester</strong>, and two on the ground, in the 34-29 win. Both McFadden and Priester play at outside linebacker with <strong>Jamarien Kirkland</strong> with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359157' first='Jabarius' last='Johnson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1856564' first='Ricky' last='Richberg']</strong> at middle linebacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19484537/66df9952f7358e729a03db90' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029ea5"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18625447/66dc8057b5047410ae6842a7' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029ecd"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16298304/66dc366b931882a4294331a3' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029ef4"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19549824/66dc585d25111981e75ebbeb' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dfc6e029f1c"} /-->