Related Articles
- Dutch Fork still appears to be the best 5A team in the Midlands and this past week looked better than they have all season. Without their leading rusher, the
LB Jaylin Hinton Silver Foxes still had 227 yards on the ground by committee behind that big offensive line. WR Jacob Hamilton showed what I knew he was capable of showing this season with a 137 yards receiving game. The defense continues to play strong and this team has two more weeks before we hit the games that matter. This week, they face a North August team that is 1-3 and just not very good this season.
- The Lexingotn Wildcats continue to flex their offensive muscles and they got 330 yards out of running back Jonah Norris again. He leads all Midlands
LB Christian Sexton rushers with 845 yards in four games and has 9 rushing touchdowns. The wide receivers have been explosive too. The defense has played better but not sure they are where they need to be and a bigger problem reared it’s head Friday night – penalties. I’m unsure of the total but it had to be close to 150 yards of penalties against the Cats. This week, they play their toughest opponent to date, the Gilbert Indians. This is a game featuring three of the top running backs in the Midlands.
- Sumter remains unbeaten after knocking off cross-town rival Crestwood. The
RB Kam Fortune (courtesy Cary Clay) Gamecocks are getting good production from their ground game with sophomore running backs John Peeples and Kam Fortune. Both of these guys have more than 300 yards rushing and they are running behind one of the biggest lines in the Midlands. Defensively, they are playing well and are allowing just 12 points per game. This week, they host an unbeaten Summerville team that has really not been tested yet.
- River Bluff is 4-0 after a good win over a dangerous South Aiken team. More ground attack out of the Gators option offense and another big game for their
QB Parker Murray running back, Cooper Johns, who is the 2nd leading rusher in the Midlands with 590 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns. I really don’t think they are utilizing all of their strengths, mainly their sophomore quarterback Parker Murray and wide receiver Stephen Collier. This team is good for 28 more points a game by just balancing it out a little more. This week, they face a Lower Richland team who has beaten themsleves in at least two of their three losses. They have a good running back in Lamarion Pearson and two good wide receivers that they rarely utilize.
- The White Knoll Timberwolves got a win this week over a down Westwood team and got big play from their quarterback, Landon Sharpe, who threw for
WR Austin Cunningham 5 touchdowns and rushed for one. WR Austin Cunningham is playing very well and the defense continues to impress me each week. They play at South Aiken this Friday and, as I’ve said each week, this Thoroughbred team is dangerous on the offensive side of the football. Their QB Terrance Smith was just offered by Coastal Carolina this weekend. The Timberwolves cannot let him get in space without hands on him or he is gone.
- Chapin is 3-1 after knocking off Newberry and the excitement is high for the Eagles. I believe the Eagles are doing it with smoke and mirrors right now.
QB Brady Albro They are not very strong on the offensive line and it is showing up in their offensive numbers. Sophomore QB Brady Albro has done well executing thus far, but lets be honest, the combined record of the opponents they beat is 2-8 so they haven’t exactly be been tested yet. Not even against Irmo, who is also not a great measuring stick. This week, they face a Brookland-Cayce team who can be very dangerous. The Bearcats have the ability to score a lot of points but they give up a lot defensively. They can, at times, be very chaotic on offense but it is not a team to take lightly.
- Blythewood fell to Lexington this past week in a 35-14 game. The Bengals
LB/DE Anthony Thurman were down a few players but their defense was susceptable to the run. They did a good job limiting the damage from Lexington’s quarterback, however. The defense gave up too many explosive plays for my liking and will need to fix that. They got really good pressure from their defensive front and LB/DE Anthony Thurman looked very good. They face a struggling Goose Creek team this week that is not very good offensively and the Bengals, if at full strength, should be able to get a win.
- Spring Valley was down to Ridge View 27-0 with 11 minutes left in third
RB Evan Javis quarter when the game was called do to some off-field comotion involving fans. The Vikings are having a very bad football season. They are young and their offensive line is just not very good. They have good running backs they cannot get into space and have not played well at the quarterback position either. The weight of the world has been on their defense, who has played well, but come on, those guys can’t stay on the field the entire game. This team and these kids need something good to happen and this week, they have an opportunity against Richland Northeast. The Cavs will offer up a good passing game but the Vikings should be able to get things going on offense here.
IMPACT PLAYERS
LB Jaylin Hinton, Dutch Fork
DB/Ath Landon Danley, Dutch Fork
WR Jacob Hamilton, Dutch Fork
RB Jonah Norris, Lexington
LB Christian Sexton, Lexington
DB Chris Frye, Lexington
RB John Peeples, Sumter
RB Kam Fortune, Sumter
RB Cooper Johns, River Bluff
QB Parker Murray, River Bluff
QB Landon Sharpe, White Knoll
WR Austin Cunningham, White Knoll
QB Brady Albro, Chapin
DB Adam Bass, Chapin
RB Nolan Beerman, Chapin
QB Harrison Collins, Blythewood
LB/DE Anthony Thurman, Blythewood
NG Edward Robinson, Blythewood
RB Evan Javis, Spring Valley
LB David Wilson, Spring Valley
LB Jonah Wilson, Spring Valley
