Friday night marked the South Carolina vs Georgia Jamboree held at Westside High in Anderson. Another event of the same ilk was held across town at T.L. Hanna. Westside's event included the homestanding Rams, Wren, Seneca, Walhalla, Hart County (GA) and Franklin County (GA).
The jamboree opened with the homestanding Rams taking on Hart County. Westside's offense was a bit sporadic during their half of play. The Rams are replacing QB Pete Zamora from last season, he's now at Marshall University. Westside is looking to build rhythm and chemistry within their offense. As the half went on, they started to look more in sync with their spread 4 wide, passing game. Hart County has some athletes, their RB Norey Moore was impressive. He's a very shifty and versatile playmaker, they lined him up in the backfield at the flex spot. Moore scored on runs and took a short swing pass to pay dirt as well. Hart County clipped Westside 21-20 in the half of play. Westside will need to sure up its kicking game, as they missed two extra points. Westside takes on Anderson County foe BHP to open their season, Friday.
In the 2nd half of the night, Hart County stayed on the field and took on Wren. The big news from Wren was not what happened on the field Friday, but what happened off the field this summer. QB Gavin Owens who had a standout years as a 9th grader for Wren last year has transferred. Owens is now at Rabun Gap, a private school in North Georgia. Owens who is now still just a Sophomore was the top ranked QB in South Carolina for the class of 2025. He already has offers from Virginia Tech, Louisville and Kentucky among others. However, Wren's offense looked solid early on, as they scored TD's on two early drives. They sputtered some after that, but also I could tell Wren was conservative in their play calling. Wren plays Seneca Sept. 2nd and Seneca was their waiting and watching, as they played next in the jamboree. Wren did have some success with their passing game early and their run game at times looked solid. The loss of Owens is significant though and puts somewhat of a damper on the expectations for Wren this season. The Hurricanes open August 26th at Jefferson, Georgia.
In the 2nd session of the night, Franklin County, Georgia took on Seneca. Bobcat Coach David Crane is looking to bring the program back after they have struggled in recent years. Last Year, Seneca did go 6-5 and made the playoffs, despite not having standout WR E.J. Evatt for most of the year due to his injuries. In that time, Seneca learned how to play without him and that could serve them well this season, with him now having signed with Weber State. On Friday, Seneca looked pretty sharp against a Franklin County team that may well struggle this season. The Bobcats have RB Cansley Campbell back and he looked good on limited carries in the game. Seneca has some young playmakers at WR that have potential. #17 Zay Poole is one that caught my eye, he should be a breakout star for Seneca this season. Poole was the fastest guy on the field at any point Friday night. He had two TD catches, as Seneca QB Jaxson Burnett threw for 3 in the half. Poole shows explosive burst ability in short runs and has long, pull away speed as well. Seneca's defense seemed fast and they pursued the ball well. They handled Franklin County, 24-0. Seneca opens at Wade Hampton in Greenville , this Friday night.
In the nightcap, Franklin County stayed on and took on Walhalla. The Razors looked sharp, no pun intended. Walhalla marched the field and scored on it's first drive of the game. Walhalla is big and physical at the line of scrimmage, particularly on the o-line. That unit is anchored by their Center #61 , Connor "Gibby" Talley. Gibby looks the part of a future college lineman, just a Sophomore but already about 6ft 3 and at least 275, already. He looks like a grown man and just finished playing 14 and Under basketball, earlier this calendar year. Walhalla was able to run behind Talley and either of their Offensive Guards, as the o-line was getting a push off the ball and opening running lanes. Walhalla QB Brice Payne was also impressive, he's a converted LB now playing QB. While he's built like a Middle Linebacker, he surprised me a bit with his speed. His ability to throw on the run was on display and he looks be at his best when moving to throw as opposed to staying in the pocket. Walhalla doesn't look to have great team speed on defense, but they are physical. The D-line held gaps well and the back 7 not only has some hitters, but they seem to read the field pretty well. On offense, they have a couple playmakers with Taj Nathan at RB and I though TJ Boyd was impressive at receiver. Walhalla handled Franklin County 38-3 in one half of play. Walhalla will open at home with Woodmont on August 26th. The Razor program which had been dormant for the better part of two decades, has turned the corner in recent years and will be looking for their 5th winning seasons in the last 6 years.
The High School Football season opens around the Upstate this Friday August 19th. There's plenty of marquee matchups in Week 0 and plenty of storylines. Your source for High School Football talk in the Upstate returns to the airwaves with the "Saturday Morning Scramble" from 8AM-10AM August 20th. That show will run every Saturday from the 20th through the State Championship weekend in early December. Join me each week, as we bring you scores, stories and interviews with the biggest names from the biggest games around the 864 area code. Tune in on 97.1 FM in Greenville, 97.7 FM in Spartanburg, worldwide on the Audacy App and you can listen live here on our website. The premiere episode this season is set to feature Spartanburg High Head Coach mark Hodge, Coach Greg Porter of Greenville High, Brock Hamrick Play-By-Play voice of the defending 5A State Champs Gaffney, Joe Dandron HS Football Editor Greenville News, Rob Brown the new Play-By-Play Voice for the Byrnes Rebels and more.
