The high school football season is in its eighth 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
Clover (3-3, 1-0) at Spring Valley (3-3, 1-0)
First meeting since 2013 between two teams. Spring Valley leads the series, 2-0. Both teams won region openers last week. Spring Valley running back Zion Fuller rushed for 302 yards and three TDs last week against Rock Hill. David Wilson leads the Vikings with 89 tackles. Clover WR Dion Brown is son of former South Carolina great Sheldon Brown. Dion is Clemson baseball commit and leads the team with 30 catches for 743 yards and nine TDs. Clover defense is giving up just 19.8 points per game. Prediction: Clover
Gray Collegiate (4-3, 2-0) at Fairfield Central (4-2, 2-0)
First meeting between two schools and game likely to decide Region 4-2A championship. Both teams are ranked in the Class 2A poll with Gray at No. 6 and Fairfield No. 8. Gray quarterback Riley Staton has thrown for 1,549 yards and 17 touchdowns. Devin Johnson leads GC with 521 yards receiving and eight TDs. Jordan Robinson leads the team with 101 tackles. Fairfield freshman QB Cam McMillon has thrown for 1,714 yards and 20 TDs. Three Fairfield WRs each have more than 400 yards in receiving — Donovan Watkins, TyDarian Greer and Jai Boyd. Prediction: Gray Collegiate
Hammond (5-2) at Cardinal Newman (3-3)
Hammond has won four straight after 1-2 start. The Skyhawks have scored 49 or more points in six straight games against Cardinal Newman. Running back Aidan Canzater leads Hammond with 10 rushing touchdowns. Connor Stephens leads Hammond with six sacks and 10 quarterback pressures. Cardinal Newman RB AJ Reyes needs 61 yards for 1,000 on the season. Cardinal Newman’s three wins are the most since winning five in 2019. Prediction: Hammond
Richland Northeast (2-4, 1-0) at AC Flora (6-0, 1-0)
AC Flora won last year’s matchup, 39-3, and has won four straight in series after losing the first six in it. Both teams won their region openers last week with Richland Northeast knocking off Irmo, 20-14. AC Flora is ranked No. 2 in Class 4A poll. AC Flora RB Markel Townsend went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark last week and has 1,009 yards and 14 TDs. RNE quarterback Will Wilson threw for 117 yards, a TD and also carried it 15 times for 169 yards and two scores in win over Irmo. Prediction: AC Flora
Ridge View (5-1, 1-0) at Irmo (4-2, 0-1)
First meeting between two schools since 2015. Ridge View has won four straight games since losing to Sumter and given up just 27 points over that stretch. Marcus Kelly leads RV with 707 yards and eight TDs. Zion Agnew leads the Blazers with 33 catches for 638 yards and four TDs. David Matthews leads RV with 49 tackles and second with three sacks. Irmo RB Erick Tucker has rushed for 100 yards in each of the Yellow Jackets six games. Prediction: Ridge View
River Bluff (6-1, 1-0) at Lexington (6-1, 1-0)
One of the top rivalries in the Midlands between Lexington County Schools. Lexington leads the all-time series, 5-3, and won last season, 21-20, to snap the Gators’ three-game winning streak in the series. Both teams are ranked in Class 5A with Lexington at No. 4 and River Bluff No. 8. Game features two of the area’s top running backs in River Bluff’s Cooper Johns (1,088 yards, 15 TDs) and Lexington’s Jonah Norris (1,171 yards, 15 TDs). Prediction: Lexington
White Knoll (6-1, 0-1) at Dutch Fork (5-1, 0-0)
Region opener for Dutch Fork, which was off last week. White Knoll lost to River Bluff, 25-14, last week. White Knoll coach Nick Pelham is former Dutch Fork defensive coordinator and was part of Silver Foxes’ five straight state championships from 2016-2020. Dutch Fork leads the all-time series, 16-2, including a 60-7 win last year. John Buetow leads Dutch Fork with eight sacks. White Knoll QB Landon Sharpe went over 1,000 yards passing last week and has 10 TDs. Michael Trippe leads the Wolves with 6 ½ sacks. Prediction: Dutch Fork
This week’s schedule, picks
Game times are 7:30 p.m. unless noted with Lou Bezjak’s prediction in parenthesis
Thursday
Heathwood Hall at Camden Military, 4 p.m. (Prediction: Heathwood Hall)
Fox Creek at Pelion, 7 p.m. (Pelion)
Friday
Airport at Midland Valley (Midland Valley)
Blythewood at Nation Ford (Blythewood)
Camden at Darlington (Camden)
Columbia at Keenan (Keenan)
Dreher at Orangeburg-Wilkinson (O-W)
Faith Christian at Richard Winn (Richard Winn)
Great Falls at CA Johnson (CA Johnson)
GSIC Charter at Northside Christian (Northside Christian)
Lower Richland at Brookland-Cayce (Brookland-Cayce)
Newberry at Mid-Carolina (Newberry)
North Central at Buford (Buford)
Silver Bluff at Batesburg-Leesville (Silver Bluff)
Strom Thurmond at Saluda (Saluda)
Swansea at Gilbert (Gilbert)
Trinity Collegiate at Ben Lippen (Ben Lippen)
Westwood at Lugoff-Elgin (Lugoff-Elgin)
WW King at Holly Hill (Holly Hill)
Last Week: 20-4
Season Record: 129-39
The State’s Power Rankings
A look at The State’s Top 10 for Columbia-area schools after Week 7:
1. Dutch Fork
Record: 5-1
Last Week: Off
2. AC Flora
Record: 6-0
Last Week: Defeated Westwood, 49-14
3. Lexington
Record: 5-1
Last Week: Defeated Chapin, 25-7
4. Ridge View
Record: 5-1
Last Week: Defeated Lugoff-Elgin, 35-6
5. River Bluff
Record: 5-1
Last Week: Defeated White Knoll, 25-14
6. White Knoll
Record: 6-1
Last Week: Lost to River Bluff, 25-14
7. Saluda
Record: 6-0
Last Week: Defeated Pelion, 42-0
8 Gray Collegiate
Record: 4-3
Last Week: Defeated Columbia, 70-0
9. Gilbert
Record: 4-2
Last Week: Defeated Lower Richland, 48-25
10. Camden
Record: 4-3
Last Week: Defeated Lakewood, 41-13
Dropped out: Irmo
Others considered: Blythewood, Irmo Hammond, Fairfield Central
October 6, 2022 | State, The: Web Edition Articles (Columbia, SC)
Author/Byline: Lou Bezjak, The State | Section: prep_football