Catawba River Region Midseason Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are past the midway point of the 2026 season, and there's been no shortage of storylines in the Catawba River Region. From fast starts to explosive offenses and defenses who are tough to try to scheme up against, the second half of the regular season will be defining as region play begins and we'll know a lot more about our teams as the competition continues to heat up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's take a step back and look at a few storylines from the first five weeks of the regular season, and what to watch going forward:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NEW PROGRAM MAKING SOME NOISE IN WESTERN YORK COUNTY</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lake Wylie Chargers, led by new coach Nick Pelham are off to a 3-1 start in their first year as a program that has no seniors. They currently have wins over Ballantyne Ridge, Hunter Huss and <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/09/evans-robinson-help-lake-wylie-hold-off-west-meck/">last week against West Mecklenburg</a>. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1612450' first='Landon' last='Robinson'] </strong>has been one of the catalysts as he has thrown for over 800 yards and nine touchdowns on the year with over 300 yards rushing to go along with it as well. Some of his top targets have been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827423' first='Rhyan' last='Watson'] </strong>with over 400 yards receiving and <strong>Paxton Higginbotham </strong>who has over 140 yards receiving on the year.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following this week's matchup on the road against Lewisville to wrap up non-region play, they head into region III-4A play, and it looks favorable as they look to continue to improve and compete.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>FAST STARTS FOR FORT MILL AND ROCK HILL</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the second consecutive year, the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets are undefeated in the non-region slate. They beat rival Catawba Ridge for the first time in school history and cross-county opponent York for the first time since 2014. The offense has been averaging 37.5 points per game and have done it with a balanced attack with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266099' first='Broden' last='Mitcheson'] </strong>who has run for over 400 yards and seven touchdowns so far on the year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2069899' first='Aiden' last='O'Hara'] </strong>provides fresh legs in the backfield, as he has rushed for over 200 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2075873' first='Harper' last='Love'] </strong>has been efficient, like <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/09/mitcheson-and-ohara-run-fort-mill-to-4-0-start/">we saw last week against Nation Ford</a>, throwing for 137 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some of the top targets for Love have been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820446' first='Jameson' last='Terrell'] </strong>who has over 100 yards receiving and is speedy on the outside and tough to cover one-on-one. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1648649' first='Jerrell' last='Douglas'] </strong>is a target on the outside at receiver and can make an impact on defense at corner, as he had an interception against Nation Ford last week. The Yellow Jackets defense has been aggressive, only giving up an average of 7 points per game. <strong>Aiden Welch </strong>has over 20 tackles along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820448' first='Andrew' last='Kowalski'] </strong>who can disrupt what an opponent wants to do.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bearcats are off to their best start since 2009 under second year coach Leon Boulware and are in the top five in the Class 5A rankings. They have some impressive wins under their belt <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/08/rock-hills-defense-comes-up-clutch-in-opening-win-over-irmo/">against Irmo to begin the season</a>, Hilton Head on the road in the Lowcountry and rival South Pointe. They'll face Ridge View on Friday before region play begins next week against Spartanburg.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rock Hill quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816896' first='Jonah' last='Young'] </strong>suffered an injury, and the Bearcats have turned to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822769' first='Jalen' last='Culp'] </strong>who has thrown for 587 yards and three touchdowns so far. The skill talent for the Bearcats is what jumps off the page with guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603697' first='Zymier' last='Gordon-Miles'] </strong>who has rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 38 tackles on defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036779' first='Kaiden' last='Watkins'] </strong>is another two-way player who has had a big impact, with 173 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the year along with 27 tackles on defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816894' first='Myles' last='Brooks'] </strong>has eight catches for 343 (!!!) yards and three touchdowns to go along with 13 tackles on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And speaking of the Bearcats defense, they've been active as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1635381' first='Kaleb' last='Wright'] </strong>(pictured above) leads the team in tackles with 56 tackles, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818158' first='Tristan' last='Nelson'] </strong>is second on the team with 44 tackles and of course, let's not forget the play of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615102' first='Jay'Sean' last='Culp'] </strong>who has been unblockable, with 17 tackles for loss through the first few ball games. The defense has been giving up an average of 8 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>THE PURPLE WAVE IS ROLLING</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since Northwestern's season opening loss to Hough, the back-to-back defending state champions have been averaging 63 points in games <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/08/northwestern-routs-indian-land-in-keep-pounding-classic/">against Indian Land</a>, Stratford and last week against Berkeley. Everything starts with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232624' first='Xavier' last='Means'] </strong>who has thrown for 629 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for 261 yards and four touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823352' first='Daylen' last='Shankle'] </strong>has come on strong the first few weeks, as he rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Means has rushed for 261 yards and four touchdowns so far. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='513067' first='Malik' last='Ratliff'] </strong>leads the Trojan receiver with 19 receptions for 228 yards and four touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1718680' first='Payton' last='Vining'] </strong>has 11 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1476906' first='Kadin' last='Vassel'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817819' first='Van' last='Robinson'] </strong>have over 100 yards receiving and they are challenging for a secondary to cover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans' defense has been led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1301735' first='Dash' last='Holley'] </strong>(21.5 total tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one blocked kick) along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271263' first='KJ' last='Burg'] </strong>(19 total tackles and two pass breakups). <strong>Alex Hingle </strong>on the defensive front has been a force, with 11 total tackles, an interception and one forced fumble. They have allowed an average of 12.5 points per game and will be tough for opponents to scheme against.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Page Wofford's team will look to avenge their lone loss of the 2025 season on Friday night against South Pointe at District 3 South Stadium in what is expected to be a packed house.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>WHAT TO WATCH GOING FORWARD</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region III-4A still looks to run through Indian Land and South Pointe: </strong>The Warriors have been rolling since an early loss to Northwestern, and the play of quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467825' first='Matt' last='Kucia'] </strong>has been key. He has thrown for 1123 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year. Some of his top targets have been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2044503' first='Maxwell' last='Curry'] </strong>(381 yards receiving, six touchdowns) along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822507' first='Kenneth' last='Wilson'] </strong>(362 yards receiving, five touchdowns). <strong>Kylan Foye </strong>is a young sophomore who has come on at running back with 287 yards rushing and four touchdowns so far. Keep an eye on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820001' first='Christian' last='Hunt'] </strong>who has 120 yards rushing and provides a steady hand in the backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Stallions had a bye week last week following a tough loss to cross-town rival Rock Hill two weeks ago. We all know what <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1301740' first='Ra'Sean' last='Brown']</strong> is capable of with the ball in his hands, and we expect him to get the bulk of the carries going forward. But the biggest question going forward for South Pointe offensively is can they throw the ball? Stallions quarterback <strong>Braydon Waldon </strong>is still trying to build chemistry<strong> </strong>with receivers like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2256143' first='King' last='Davis'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1660274' first='Tarion' last='Starnes']. </strong>We wouldn't be surprised if a guy like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='422544' first='Jamil' last='Watson'] </strong>gets involved with his athletic ability. The Stallions are stout defensively with guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1591712' first='Seth' last='Tillman'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2254211' first='Josh' last='McClure']. </strong>We'll get a first look at where they are with a cross-town rivalry showdown as we mentioned against Northwestern on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Indian Land and South Pointe will meet on October 9 in Rock Hill at District 3 South Stadium, and what these two teams do prior to that will be interesting to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Is Lancaster a real threat in region IV-4A? </strong>The Bruins are off to a 3-1 start with wins over Chester, Andrew Jackson and <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/08/witherspoons-star-performance-leads-lancaster-to-win-over-york/">York on August 28</a>. They are led by <strong>Zyquarious Clinton </strong>who is averaging 115 yards per game and has thrown four touchdowns through the air while <strong>David Blamon </strong>has run for 121 yards so far. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1876769' first='Shakeem' last='Witherspoon'] </strong>is the vertical threat with 137 yards receiving and two touchdowns while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817498' first='Jamarrion' last='Patton'] </strong>has over 100 yards receiving as well. While they may not jump off the page offensively, their defense has led the way, allowing an average of 21 points per game through four games. <strong>Terrion Lineberger </strong>has 11 sacks on the year while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2401156' first='Markeonte' last='Witherspoon'] </strong>averages 12 tackles a game and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821241' first='Jeremiah' last='Baker'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817500' first='KJ' last='White'] </strong>each average 10.5 tackles per game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marcus Surratt's squad hits the road to the Upstate to face winless Union County on Friday, before region play begins against AC Flora next week. They'll have to face Lugoff-Elgin and Dreher but they could prove to be a player in the region if they can continue to improve things offensively and continue to find ways to attack opponents defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->