Upstate Storylines To Watch In Spring Ball This May
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<p>Defending champions, new faces, and high expectations. Everywhere you look in the Upstate, there's a story to be uncovered for the 2023 football season. Here's a look at some of the best.</p>
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<p><strong>Can the champions defend?</strong></p>
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<p>The state's lower classifications ran through the Upstate last season, as Christ Church, Abbeville, and Powdersville winning 1A through 3A, respectively. They're all dealing with graduation losses, but they've all got plenty back in the tank, too. The Cavaliers' [player_tooltip player_id='267466' first='Dashun' last='Reeder'] has turned in some eye-popping performances at off-season camp. Abbeville looks to be reloading, as Abbeville often does. And for the Upper State champions [player_tooltip player_id='267456' first='Harrison' last='Jeffries'] returns to patrol the middle of the defense and [player_tooltip player_id='448984' first='Eli' last='Hudgins'] is an absolute gunslinger at QB. If each team can get some complementary pieces in place, all could make deep runs.</p>
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<p><strong>Can a group of outstanding RBs do it again?</strong></p>
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<p>Reeder was fantastic as a junior, rushing for more than 2,000 yards. A bunch of other backs made their marks as well, and will look to turn up their performances even more. Belton-Honea Path's [player_tooltip player_id='605525' first='Marquise' last='Henderson'] is a monster, rushing for more than 1,200 yards in his sophomore season. LaDannian Martin will be expected to help lead Greer, and Broome's [player_tooltip player_id='473001' first='Jaylen' last='McGill'] and Gaffney's [player_tooltip player_id='473029' first='Jaiden' last='McDowell'] had huge impacts as freshmen that they'll be looking to improve upon.</p>
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<p><strong>What will coaching changes bring to the area?</strong></p>
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<p>There was a ton of turnover in the off-season, as coaching changes took place across the area. In Spartanburg County alone, a third of the County's schools will have new head coaches as Brett Sloan takes over at Woodruff, Brent Bridges moves to Landrum, and Jake Morris takes over at Dorman. Add in other big time moves like Hillcrest's Anthony Frate to Wren and Clinton OC Mat Bennett's move to Ninety Six, among others, and you have the recipe for a lot of new-look Friday nights.</p>
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<p><strong>Is Greenville as loaded as they look?</strong></p>
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<p>On paper, the Red Raiders' talent pool looks unstoppable. </p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='163871' first='Mazeo' last='Bennett Jr'], [player_tooltip player_id='448975' first='Blake' last='Franks'], and [player_tooltip player_id='209617' first='Jayden' last='Wilson-Abrams'] give Greenville three of the most highly-ranked players in the 2024 class. Add in DL [player_tooltip player_id='242787' first='Bruce' last='Knauber'], K [player_tooltip player_id='208343' first='Thomas' last='Guererro'], and youngsters in the defensive backfield in [player_tooltip player_id='276660' first='Christian' last='Henderson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='390438' first='Ramani' last='Bruton'], and the Raiders could make some noise in the 4A race.</p>
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Defending champions, new faces, and high expectations. Everywhere you look in the Upstate, there's a story to be uncovered for the 2023 football season. Here's a look at some of the best.
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