While many area programs kicked things off August 19th in Week 0, this past Friday served as the first full state of games for Upstate teams. With that being said, let's dive into the takeaways from the first full week of action.
1. "Whacked Out Weather"- It was a wild and weird week 1 due to inclement weather around the 864 area code. Thunderstorms delayed and suspended games from Oconee all the way to Union County. Kickoff in the Byrnes game hosting Chapman was delayed by over 2 hours. Two games were suspended Friday night, Carolina at West Oak and Woodmont at Walhalla. Those games were resumed Saturday with Carolina and Woodmont getting wins. Gaffney led 7-6 in the 1st quarter at Union County, that game was then suspended due to weather, it was then cancelled and will not be made up. It was a reminder of how unstable the weather can be in the Upstate during early part of the season.
2. "High Flying Hillcrest"- The Rams are highly ranked and have great expectations this year, thus far they are living up to them. Hillcrest rolled up Greer 62-14 Friday night, the Rams have scored over 100 points combined in their 1st two games. QB Bennett Judy was named The Fan Upstate HS Football Player Of The Week after throwing for a new single game school record of 456 yards and 6 TD's. WR Avery McFadden had 241 of those 456 yards, also a new school single game record. The Rams have Clover at home this week and are at Boiling Springs on Sept. 9th. They could well be 4-0 going into a Sept. 16th showdown with highly ranked 3A contender Powdersville.
3. "Daniel's Dominance Continues" - The Lions had no trouble on the road at Easley winning 55-7. That win comes just a week after the Lions handled Greer in Pickens County. Daniel has now 26 games in a row and are looking for a 3peat as 3A State Champs. The Lions host Hart County, GA this week and should be the first team we cover to win a game vs Georgia opponent this year.
4. "Peach State Blues" - I eluded to it in the paragraph on Daniel. Athletic Directors and Coaches from Upstate teams may want to re-think scheduling Georgia opponents. Teams we cover on the Saturday Morning Scramble are a combined 0-5 in the first two games of the season against schools from Georgia. Wren and McCormick are the latest to fall, as the Hurricanes were doubled up at Jefferson, GA 56-28 on Friday night and McCormick fell to Lincoln County, GA 27-6.
5. "Powdersville poised for big year" - The Patriots opened the season with a solid road win at Broome 47-24. That game was 24-0 at the half before Broome was able to mount any offense. Powdersville then followed that this past Friday with an impressive road win. The Patriots held off homestanding traditional power Abbeville in a "barn burner" 51-44. Powdersville faces another road test this week , as they travel to take on 5A Mauldin. The Pats then get Pendelton who is 2-0 at home, before hosting highly ranked 5A foe Hillcrest. If Powdersville and Hillcrest both win the next 2 weeks, the Sept. 16th game will be an electric showdown at Powdersville.
6. "Are The Rebels ready for a resurgence?" - Most of us can remember the "glory days" of Byrnes Football first under Coach Bobby Bentley and later Chris Miller. It was earlier this millennium when Byrnes was playing a national schedule and playing in showcase games on ESPN. Since then, they have been looking to recapture that magic. I am not saying that this year's Byrnes squad is there yet. However, they will get a chance to prove how close they are in the journey back to that level. The Rebs are 2-0 on the season and I know the detractors will point out that their 1st two opponents are 3A teams and that Byrnes hasn't played the level of competition that their region foes have played early on. However, Byrnes has done what you would expect a legit 5A squad would do, in handling both their 3A opponents and scoring over a 100 points combined in their 1st two games. The competition will pick up some this week as Byrnes is at Greenville High. The Red Raiders are looking to avoid an 0-3 start after playing ranked 5A teams Dorman and Hanna in the first two games of the season. If Byrnes can win at Greenville they have a solid chance to be 6-0 heading into play in what well might be the state's toughest football region, Region 2 5A.
7. "Is this a Renaissance year for J.L. Mann?" - Mann beat Riverside 14-7 on Friday night, it was much more a defensive struggle than expected after the two teams put up over 50 each in week 0. Regardless, The Patriots are 2-0 on the season for the 1st time since 2011. WR Toby Cates was a difference maker in the Riverside win with 8 catches for 99 yards and a TD. Mann takes on Woodruff this week in their biggest test thus far, this season. Mann is in Region 1 5A and Hillcrest and Hanna are the heavy favorites atop the Region. However, a run at the playoffs could well be within reach for Mann and possibly a 3rd place finish is within grasp. If Mann is able to get a W against Woodruff they would start 3-0 for the first time in a long time. They could be on their way to their 1st winning season in over a decade.
8. " Is Wren in trouble after the transfer of Gavin Owens?"- In the summer prior to the news of QB Gavin Owens leaving the school spreading, high expectations abounded for Wren and the early preseason rankings reflected it. Wren opened their season this past Friday and were beaten solidly at Jefferson, Georgia 56-28. Owens had a stellar year at QB for them as a Freshman last year. He then picked up offers from Kentucky and Louisville before he had a drivers license. Heading into what was expected to be a monster Sophomore year at Wren, Owens decided to transfer. He's now at Rabun Gap, a private school in North Georgia backed by big money boosters some of which are executives with Coca-Cola. Wren now is looking to regroup and it's no shade towards anyone there, but when you lose a Power 5 QB prospect it is hard to move forward and be the same or better. Wren has another challenge this week as they travel to take on Seneca. The Bobcats may well have their best squad in the last several years.
9. "Wade Hampton For The Win"- Donald Trump was near the middle of his term as President, the last time the Generals were in the win column. Wade Hampton had lost 26 games in a row dating back to 2018. Head Coach Travis Miller had not won a game in his tenure at the school. That all changed this past Friday when the Generals got a 49-28 win against Travelers Rest. It's a breath of fresh air for the Wade Hampton program and we will see if carries any momentum along the way? Other legit opportunities seem to be there for Wade Hampton to get multiple wins this season. If so, it would be their 1st season with multiple wins since going 3-7 in 2017.
Those are the takeaways from Week 1 of the High School Football Season. Join me this and every weekend for the Upstate's Source for High School Football talk, the Saturday Morning Scramble from 8-10AM on The Fan Upstate. We will lay out the takeaways from Friday's games each Saturday morning and talk to the biggest names involved in the biggest games.
