HS football 411: stats, players to watch... everything you need to know before Week 1
Click on the link below to jump to a particular section of this week’s High School Football 411:
Week One preview capsules
Vote for the best plays from last week
Week Zero’s Hawgs of the Week
Who are the area’s Stat Monsters, after the season-openers?
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Watch The Herald’s Bret McCormick and Hall of Fame football coach Jimmy Wallace discuss Week One football games:
Chester at Fort Mill
Last week: Chester beat Aiken 44-12; Fort Mill lost to River Bluff 61-34
Last meeting: Chester won 21-14 (2011)
Key players: C: OL Daniel Elkins, RB/DB Emmanuel Wright, WR/LB Ly’Terrence Mills, DT Quay Evans. FM: QB Dylan Helms, LB Cole Rasmussen, OL/DL Nick Brown, DB/RB D’Angelo Coit.
Need to know: Fort Mill paid for its sloppiness in a 27-point loss to River Bluff last Friday. Fort Mill coach Rob McNeely said his team missed 38 tackles and had 68 blown assignments in the opener. The Yellow Jackets better erase the mistakes this week against the No. 3-ranked 3A team, Chester. The Yellow Jackets should have a depth advantage on Chester, but Cyclones coach Victor Floyd was very conscientious about rotating players against Aiken. Example: four Chester players got carries, but none more than 13. Floyd said that he counted nine Aiken players that left last Friday’s game with cramps.
READ: Narii Gaither does it all. Can he lead Rock Hill to an upset of South Pointe?
South Pointe at Rock Hill
Last week: South Pointe beat Northwestern 49-14; Rock Hill lost to Sumter 33-23
Last meeting: South Pointe won 45-9 (2017)
Key players: SP: RB Joe Ervin (Coastal Carolina commit), OL Dorian Jamison, DB Kobe Shannon, LB Savion White. RH: DL Logan Hicks, OL Devon Rice, LB Alex English, WR Antonio Barber (Tennessee commit).
Need to know: South Pointe ran for almost 300 yards in the opener against Northwestern, a sign of what the Stallions can do on the ground this fall. Rock Hill battled a stout running team in its opener, Sumter, coming up 10 points short in a game intermittently stopped by aggressive weather. The Bearcat defense is scrappy as heck, but not very big. Will Jason Layman’s group be able to withstand the South Pointe rushing attack?
READ: High school football pivot from Week Zero to Week One
Conway at Nation Ford
Last week: Conway lost to North Myrtle Beach 16-14; Nation Ford lost to Spartanburg 55-28
Last meeting: never played
Key players: C: LB Steven Hill, DL Tonka Hemingway, DT Timothy Shelton, OL Joe Hall. NF: DE Ashten Schaufert, LB Noah Tamez, DB/WR Petey Tuipulotu, RB Nathan Mahaffey.
Need to know: When you turn the football over seven times, you rarely win, something the Falcons can confirm after their season-opening defeat to Spartanburg. Nation Ford made a number of big plays on both sides of the ball, but has to remedy the giveaways ahead of this week’s game, against another tough team from out of the area. Conway’s defensive line is monstrous, led by the appropriately named -- and big as a truck -- junior, Tonka Hemingway. The Tigers had 10 tackles-for-loss last week against North Myrtle Beach, and will prove a real test for the Falcon blockers.
Northwestern at Byrnes
Last week: Northwestern lost to South Pointe 49-14; Byrnes beat Greer 39-26
Last meeting: Byrnes won 48-14 (2017)
Key players: N: DB D’Arthur Ratchford, RB Antonio Heath, WR Jamaar Moore, LB Jaylon Baird. B: WR Ben Henson, QB B.J. Peake, LB Deandre Cornish, DB Nijae Crouch.
Need to know: Very bad news for Byrnes, which lost running back Rahjai Harris -- a highly-recruited junior who dominated the Football City USA Kickoff two weeks ago -- to a serious ankle injury. He won’t be available Friday, a huge relief for Northwestern’s defense after it surrendered almost 300 yards on the ground to South Pointe. The Trojans have to protect QB Dustin Noller better than they did in the opener. But Antonio Heath was a big positive. He showed power and speed on a pair of TD runs and finished with over 100 yards. They need him and the other receivers to get going so that the Rebels can’t focus on Gamecocks commit, Jamario Holley.
READ: the latest state rankings, plus Tri-County players of the week
Clover at Forestview (N.C.)
Last week: Clover beat York 26-21; Forestview beat East Lincoln 20-7
Last meeting: Clover beat Forestview 23-20 (2015)
Key players: C: WR Zion Robbins, OL Colby Ballard, LB Hayden Johnson, WR/DB Chance Mackey. F: QB Jake Lee, ATH Jacob Ash, K Holt Cloninger, RB Jamarion Dawkins.
Need to know: Gabe Carroll brought an interesting dimension to Clover’s offense last Friday, with his ability to scramble and prolong busted plays. Carroll played two and a half quarters, but should play more against Forestview. Can he follow up his eye-opening relief performance against York with a solid start this week? Otherwise, the Blue Eagles’ strong receiving corps did its part and the team’s defense looked pretty solid, which was what coach Brian Lane hoped for with most of the starters back on that side of the ball. Forestview has made the North Carolina state playoffs in all 10 of coach Chris Medlin’s seasons in charge.
Fairfield Central at Lancaster
Last week: Fairfield Central lost to Johns Creek (Ga.) 48-21; Lancaster beat Indian Land 35-7
Last meeting: Lancaster won 24-19 (1995)
Key players: FC: DL Alex Boyd, ATH Will Barber, LB Tyree Watson, RB Chris Suber. L: DB Jaelan Harfield, DB Nehemiah Bailey, LB Will Burton, QB Kemarkio Cloud.
Need to know: This will be a tough test for Fairfield Central, which only has nine seniors this year and is in a bit of a reload mode. Lancaster ran the ball at will last week against Indian Land, and its size and experience could cause problems for the young Griffins. Bruins coach Bobby Collins said sophomore running back Nygel Moore would be a breakout player this season and he backed that up in Week Zero, running for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
READ: who are the best college football prospects in The Herald’s coverage area?
Buford at Indian Land
Last week: Buford lost to Blacksburg 45-22; Indian Land lost to Lancaster 35-7
Last meeting: Buford won 34-31 (2017)
Key players: B: DE Justin Hayden, OL/LB Timothy Varnadore, OL/DL Tanner Funderburk, WR/LB Tee Sutton. IL: RB Brandon Britton, OL Jesse Mace, DL Tajh Knight, LB Robby Csuhta.
Need to know: Indian Land took it on the chin against Lancaster last week, a wakeup call to a Warriors team that expected to make moves this season. After this game against Buford, the Warriors’ schedule gets very difficult -- York, Rock Hill, Nation Ford and South Pointe round out non-region play, before facing No. 3-ranked Chester to open league competition. Indian Land got nothing going through the air last week (7-for-26 passing) and needs to find a rhythm quickly against the Yellow Jackets.
C.A. Johnson at Lewisville
Last week: C.A. Johnson lost to Great Falls 8-6; Lewisville lost to Eau Claire 44-18
Last meeting: Lewisville won 42-14 (2017)
Key players: CAJ: DL/TE A’myjay Thompson, OL/DL Kendall Shaw, WR Dalante’ Belton. LHS: ATH Jashawn Jason, ATH Martez Moore, OL Wesley Williamson, DL Torian Edwards.
Need to know: Between injuries and some disciplinary actions, Lewisville’s numbers took a heavy hit the last few weeks. The lack of depth showed in the season-opening loss to Eau Claire. C.A. Johnson fell to Great Falls in a scoring-devoid contest, setting up an interesting second game for C.A. Johnson and Lewisville. Expect the Lions to ride JaShawn Jason, who played QB last week, in a big way. He’s got moves and ran for well over 100 yards last week.
Whitmire at Great Falls
Last week: Whitmire lost to Mid-Carolina 33-7; Great Falls beat C.A. Johnson 8-6
Last meeting: Whitmire won 26-16 (2017)
Key players: W: QB Caleb Bowers, RB/DB Nate Stanley, WB/LB C.J. Wicker, LB Chandler Crumley. GF: OL Anthony Cunningham, WR/DB Kelton Talford, ATH D.J. Adams, OL/DL Justin Montgomery.
Need to know: Whitmire ran for 282 yards and threw for four in its season-opening loss to Mid-Carolina, so no surprises about what the Wolverines will try to do against Great Falls. Scotty Steen’s Red Devils only mustered 73 yards of total offense in their win over C.A. Johnson, but crucially, they didn’t turn the ball over once and played tough defense. They’ll need to repeat that defensive performance while figuring out the QB situation. Great Falls used three different QBs last week, and while that makes for some difficult preparation for the opponent, it’s unclear if that’s the long-term solution.
Check out four of the top plays from the season-opening games of high school football last Friday, then vote for the one you think is the best, below:
Vote (or vote here if you’re using a mobile device)
(From Week Zero)
4A, 5A schools
Jackson Chappell, South Pointe: the two 2017 Hawgs of the Year start off 2018 as the season’s initial Hawgs of the Week. Chappell and the South Pointe o-line produced a mauling in their win over Northwestern, helping the Stallions rush for close to 300 yards in a 49-14 win. Chappell graded 93 percent with five big-time blocks and four pancakes. The 6-foot-2, 285-pound center also gave up zero sacks.
1A, 2A, 3A schools
Wyatt Tunall, Chester: the senior offensive tackle committed to Appalachian State helped the Cyclones produce a dominant rushing performance in their season-opening rout of Aiken. Chester ran for 401 yards, scored six TDs on the ground, and came up eight yards short of having three different 100-yard rushers. The 6-foot-6 Tunall, an avid outdoorsman and very strong student, had seven knockdown blocks in the game.
Nominated: Justin Mongtomery, Great Falls; Keith Collins, Clover.
This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 11:25 AM.