The high school football season is in its second week in South Carolina, and here are some of the top matchups in the Midlands as well as the weekly power rankings.
Top Midlands games this week
A.C. Flora (2-0) at Brookland-Cayce (1-2): A.C. Flora is coming off a bye week and is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A. Markel Townsend leads A.C. Flora with 195 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Dashawn Washington had a season-high 178 yards rushing last week for B-C and leads team with 318 yards. . Bezjak’s prediction: A.C. Flora
Blythewood (2-1) at Lexington (2-1): First meeting between the two schools since 2017 with Lexington winning 21-0. Lexington leads the all-time series, 6-2. Lexington running back Jonah Norris has rushed for 502 yards and seven touchdowns. Quarterback Taiden Mines is completing 66% of his passes for 664 yards, seven touchdowns and also has two rushing touchdowns. Lexington is averaging 431 yards a game on offense. Blythewood’s Edward Robinson had four sacks last week against Westwood and leads the team with 10 on the season. Bengals’ running back Kinson Holland leads the team with 351 yards and four touchdowns. Bezjak’s prediction: Lexington
Dutch Fork (3-0) at Stratford (0-2): First meeting between two teams since 2017. Dutch Fork won that game 77-20. Dutch Fork, the No. 1 team in 5A, has a 41-game regular-season winning streak. Senior Jarvis Green leads the team with 552 yards rushing and five touchdowns. J’Von Mack leads the defense with three interceptions, and Jaylon Hinton has 34 tackles. Bezjak’s prediction: Dutch Fork
Gray Collegiate (0-3) at Camden (2-1): Second straight year two teams have played. Gray won last season, 26-6. Gray is off to a 0-3 start for the first time since 2016. South Carolina commit Xzavier McLeod had 10 tackles, a sack and forced fumble last week for Camden, which is No. 4 in Class 3A. Camden is averaging 41.3 points a game. Jaquarius Mayrant leads Camden in receiving with 16 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns. Gray quarterback Riley Staton has thrown for 924 yards and eight touchdowns this season. Zai Offord leads the team with 19 catches for 294 yards and Devin Johnson has a team-high five touchdown catches. Bezjak’s prediction: Camden
Newberry (0-2) at Chapin (2-1): Newberry leads the series 18-8 since 1972. Newberry is hoping to avoid its first 0-3 start since 1989. OD Robinson leads Newberry with 160 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Chapin running back Nolan Bearman had 173 yards rushing and two touchdowns last week against Chapin. Chapin quarterback Brady Albro has 452 yards passing and four touchdowns this season. Chapin’s defense had eight sacks last week against Spring Valley. Bezjak’s prediction: Chapin
Pelion (3-0) at Gilbert (2-0): Pelion is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2001. Gilbert running back Alias Graham-Woodberry is averaging 201 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The Indians are averaging 419 yards rushing per game. Jordan Smith has 19 tackles and two interceptions for Gilbert. Pelion QB Luke New has 499 yards of total offense and nine total TDs (seven rushing) so far this season. Bezjak’s prediction: Gilbert
Ridge View (2-1) at Spring Valley (1-2): Spring Valley won last year’s matchup 30-27 after trailing 27-14. Vikings have dropped two straight since the season-opening win over Westwood. Davis Wilson leads SV with 49 tackles. RV quarterback Donald Tomlin has thrown for 684 yards and eight touchdowns this season. ECU commit Zion Agnew leads the Blazers with 19 catches for 420 yards and three touchdowns. David Matthews leads RV with 30 tackles and two sacks. Bezjak’s prediction: Ridge View
River Bluff (3-0) at South Aiken (1-2): Second straight year teams have played. South Aiken won 27-14 last year. River Bluff running back Cooper Johns has 383 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns through the first three games. South Aiken quarterback Terrence Smith has 655 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns this season. Bezjak’s prediction: River Bluff
This Week’s Schedule, Picks
All games begin at 7:30 p.m. unless noted; Lou Bezjak’s prediction in parenthesis
Ben Lippen at Hilton Head Christian (Pick: Ben Lippen)
Camden Military at Hickory (Hickory)
Columbia at Great Falls (Columbia)
Dreher at West Florence (West Florence)
Fairfield Central at Lancaster (Lancaster)
Keenan at North Central (Keenan)
Laurence Manning at Hammond (Hammond)
Lower Richland at Rock Hill (Lower Richland)
Lugoff-Elgin at Airport (Airport)
New Hope Leadership at Northside Christian (Northside)
Newberry Academy at Richard Winn (Richard Winn)
Ninety-Six at Mid-Carolina (Mid-Carolina)
Northwood Academy at Cardinal Newman (Cardinal Newman)
Porter-Gaud at Heathwood Hall (Porter-Gaud)
Saluda at Emerald (Saluda)
Wade Hampton (H) at C.A. Johnson (Wade Hampton)
Wagener-Salley at Swansea (Swansea)
White Knoll at Westwood (White Knoll)
Whitmire at Eau Claire (Eau Claire)
WW King at Jefferson Davis (WW King)
Last Week: 26-6
Season Record: 67-17
The State’s Power Rankings
A look at The State’s Top 10 for Columbia-area schools after Week 3:
1. Dutch Fork
Record: 3-0
Last Week: Defeated Creekside (Ga.), 21-13
2. AC Flora
Record: 2-0
Last Week: Off
3. Gilbert
Record: 2-0
Last Week: South Aiken, 66-21
4. Lexington
Record: 2-1
Last Week: Defeated Stratford, 28-14
5. Camden
Record: 2-1
Last Week: Lost to Hartsville, 36-29
6. River Bluff
Record: 3-0
Last Week: Defeated Irmo, 49-6
7. Ridge View
Record: 2-1
Last Week: Defeated Lower Richland, 46-14
8. White Knoll
Record: 3-0
Last Week: Defeated Colleton County, 35-14
9. Saluda
Record: 3-0
Last Week: Defeated Ninety-Six, 36-14
10. Irmo
Record: 2-1
Last Week: Lost to River Bluff, 49-6
Dropped out: None
Others considered: Fairfield Central, Pelion
September 8, 2022 | State, The: Web Edition Articles (Columbia, SC)
Author/Byline: Lou Bezjak, The State | Section: prep_football