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5A NOTEBOOK
Dutch Fork continues to impress with their defense, getting by a Spartanburg team that is loaded with talent. The Silver Foxes concern me on offense, however, as without Jarvis Green, they are a very mediocre unit. They take on a Creekside team who played in the semi-finals of 5A last season. This Dutch Fork defense will continue to carry the team until they can generate some kind of passing game to compliment their stellar ground game. And let’s give credit to that offensive line for those backs being able to do what they do.
Lexington won a shoot out this week against a good South Aiken team. RB Jonah Norris had an immortal type of game, rushing for 330 yards and 5 touchdowns. They generated almost 600 yards of offense so this team can score and their offense is as dangerous as I predicted it would be in preseason. Defensively, however, they have some tightening up to do. They have struggled the past two weeks with a running quarterback in zone reads and counters. This past week, Terrance Smith ran through the defense like water through a strainer. Granted, Smith is lethally fast, but there were guys out of position on a lot of plays and the secondary seems to lack speed. Fortunately, these guys are well coached and those things will be corrected. This week they will play a Stratford team that will run much of the same, with a less athletic quarterback.
Sumter escaped Ridge View with a win but I’m not sure they are going to be pleased with themselves. They played very good defense against the Blazers, shutting down their passing game but the Gamecocks were only able to generate 194 yards of offense. This will not do in the 5A class, especially once they get to the playoffs. They take on a Goose Creek team this week that is 0-1 after getting blown out by South Florence and barely generating any offense.
River Bluff has had their two tune up games and have done very well against those teams, as should be expected. This week, they take on an Irmo team who is in a similar situation, looking for a win in their first good “test” game. I like the River Bluff offense and believe once they get the wheels under them they are going to be hard to stop. I’d like to see more of a passing game and see them get QB Parker Murray and WR Stephen Collier more invovled in impact roles. Irmo will bring a dangerous running quarterback to the mix. He CAN throw well but has little in the form of weapons who can stretch the field.
White Knoll is an improved football team, without a doubt. They have two good wins under their belt against OW and Spring Valley, though neither posed a big threat. This Timberwolves defense is better than they get credit for and offensively, sophomore QB Landon Sharpe has been productive, throwing for 254 yards in two games. He’s a tough cookie who can take the biggest of hits and pop right up. They take on a Colleton County team that should be beatable. They lost to Wade Hampton last week and only put up 7 points.
Spring Valley is just not ready for the 2022 season. They are still ironing out kinks in the offense and thankfully they have good running backs that can at least move the chains. Their biggest problem right now is protecting the football. Special teams killed them in their loss to White Knoll this past week, resulting in three scores for the Timberwolves. This week, they travel to Chapin to take on the 1-1 Eagles. I believe that Spring Valley’s defense matches up well with the Chapin offense. David Wilson is one of the Midlands’ top defensive players. I’m not sure how the Vikings offense will fair against the Chapin defense, however. This could be a close game. One thing for sure, the Vikings are not good enough to turn the ball over and still win.
Chapin got a big win over Mid-Carolina but lets be honest, was there anyone outside of Prosperity, SC, who felt Mid-Carolina could compete with the Eagles? This was a game they should have won anyway. They got great play out of their defense and their offense moved the ball well. This week will be a better match up but I do feel Chapin is more prepared in this third week than Spring Valley is.
Blythewood is 1-1 after blowing out Richland Northeast this past week. They got strong games out of back up quarterback David Herden, who passed for 208 yards and sophomore RB Kinsey Holland, who has 181 yards in two games for the Bengals. Defensively, they have not played bad this year. The offense was not strong against Ridge View in week one but the Blazers are playing great defense this year. This week, they take on rival Westwood and this really should not be close. Westwood is just not a very good football team right now and this should be, at minimum, a two-score margin win for the Bengals.
THE IMPACT PLAYERS
LB John Buetow, Dutch Fork
LB Jayln Hinton, Dutch Fork
RB Jonah Norris, Lexington
QB Taiden Mines, Lexington
QB Pate Merchent, Sumter
QB Parker Murray, River Bluff
RB Cooper Johns River Bluff
LB Conner Clamp, River Bluff
LB Tyler Stoudemire, White Knoll
RB Jesse Ross, White Knoll
QB Landon Sharpe, White Knoll
LB David Wilson, Spring Valley
LB Jonas Wilson, Spring Valley
LB Nolan Beerman, Chapin
DE Max Dragg, Chapin
RB Kinson Holland, Blythewood
RB DeAndre Williams, Blythewood
