My weekly Upstate Top 10 is a snap shot at what the Upstate HS Football landscape looks like each week. As we cover, about an 8 county radius throughout the 864 area code, it is a tough task to rank the teams each week. My poll also is unconventional, as it incorporates the Top 10 teams from all classes. Most polls throughout South Carolina are based on each specific class size, this one is the State's only one in which you could see teams from 1A all the way up through 5A. Every week, I unveil a brand new top 10 poll on the Fan Upstate's Saturday Morning Scramble from 8-10AM. Below is this the Top 10 after week 1 this past Friday night and the other teams receiving consideration.
1. Daniel- The Lions moved up to the #1 spot last week after losses by former #1 Gaffney and former #2 Spartanburg in week 0. The Lions are still holding at #1 after they rolled at Easley 55-7 on Friday night. Daniel has now won 26 games in a row and that streak doesn't look like it well end anytime soon. WR/DB Misun Kelly is a D-1 prospect, who's committed to Virginia Tech. new QB Blaine Simmons has playmakers like Jaylen Brown-Wallace and Eli Merck around him to help make the tranisition seamless in replacing Trent Pearman who was All-State last year. Daniel hosts Hart County Georgia this week, while Upstate teams have not faired well against Georgia schools, Daniel looks to change that narrative.
2.Hillcrest- High-flying Hillcrest continues to put up huge numbers with their big play offense. The Rams dismantled Greer , 62-14 on Friday night after handling Laurens 41-7 the week prior. Hillcrest has scored over a 100 points in their 1st two wins combined. QB Bennett Judy set a new school single game record with 456 passing yards and threw for 6 TD's in the win over Greer on Friday. His efficiency was also incredibly impressive going 18 of 23 passing on the night. WR Avery McFadden had 241 of those 456 yards and had 3 TD catches. He set a new single game school record for receiving yards. Hillcrest hosts Clover this week.
3. Dorman - The Cavs won in Week 0 putting up over 50 points and rolling up nearly 400 rushing yards on Greenville High. They got a win in the debut of new Head Coach Dustin Curtis. They followed that up with a road win this past Friday, 42-28 at North Augusta. Dorman led 42-14 in the 2nd half before North Augusta added a couple late TD's to make the final score respectable. Dorman may well have the best O-line in South Carolina, with Gamecock commit Markee Anderson and UNC commit D.J. Geth leading the way up front. The Cavs host Greenwood on Friday, it's an Eagles squad last was ranked in the preseason, but is 0-2 after two tough tests at A.C. Flora and home against Sandy Creek, Georgia.
4. Powdersville- The Patriots look poised for a deep run this season and look like they could be perhaps the only Upstate challenger to dethrone Daniel in 3A. Coach Robert Mustar has something special going at Powdersville, as they are keeping the momentum from a 12-1 season last year. The Pats got a huge road win over a ranked Abbeville squad in what may have been the best game in the 864 area this past week. Powdersville led most of that game and held off Abbeville in a 51-44 "barn burner". I debated moving Powdersville up as they were at #4 last week and got the win over Abbeville. However, I couldn't jump them over Dorman or Hillcrest who also were impressive in their wins. Powdersville is at Mauldin this week. A showdown with Hillcrest is on the horizon for Sept. 16th.
5. Gaffney- The Indians are one of the hardest teams to gauge in this poll. I slated them #1 going into this season after an undefeated State Title run last year. In Week 0, they took a loss 47-26 at South Pointe breaking their 15 game win streak. However, South Pointe is the defending 4A Champs, ranked #1 in Class 4A in several other polls around the state. They could be one of , if not the best team in SC, so I couldn't drop Gaffney to far. They landed at #5 after week 0, in Week 1 Gaffney led 7-6 in the 1st quarter at Union County. That game was then delayed due to weather, it was then cancelled. The game was not resumed and went down as a no-contest. Therefore, because they didn't finish the game, I couldn't penalize Gaffney. They are holding at #5 but that could change after this Friday night. The Indians will have their home opener against SCISA 3A powerhouse Hammond on Friday. "The Reservation" will be rocking come Friday night, as the Indians take their home field for the 1st time since last year's State Title run in 5A.
6. T.L. Hanna- They had a good quality win on the road in Week 1 downing Greenville High 36-29. Hanna consistently on a yearly basis, does what they do at a high level. They are well coached and disciplined, they block and tackle extremely well. Hanna runs the option offense really well, which is something that is extremely hard to prepare for given the rarity of that offense in modern day football even at the HS level. Hanna will be the favorite this week in the "Electric City Showdown" as they host cross-town rival Westside.
7. Byrnes- I know what some folks are thinking with this, some would say Byrnes hasn't played the level of competition other 5A teams ranked ahead of them have. I will grant you that their schedule thus far, has not featured the level of teams that region mates Gaffney, Spartanburg and Dorman have played. However, Byrnes has scored over a 100 combined in their first two games. They have done what a legit 5A squad should do in playing 3A opponents and that is win big. The Rebels have been a 2nd half team thus far, outscoring their 1st two opponents 81-0 after the break. Byrnes is at Greenville this week, which should tell us more. However, the real measuring stick will be region play and that will answer the question of if the Rebels are ready for a resurgence?
8. Abbeville- The Panthers were at #7 in this poll last week. They drop one spot this week, I couldn't see penalizing them too much for the loss on Friday. That loss was a highly competitive 51-44 set back at home in a barn burner to #4 Powdersville. Abbeville much like Hanna, is a team that executes their system very well, runs the ball effectively , blocks and tackles. The Panthers look to bounce back from that loss this week when they host Southside Christian this Friday.
9. Clinton- The Red Devils are 2-0 on the season with a double digit win over Batesburg-Leesville to open and a decisive 55-28 win over Laurens last Friday. The Red Devils were in the "others receiving consideration" category after Week 0. They move into the Top 10 for the first time this season. Clinton is at Newberry this coming week.
10. Spartanburg- I know what you're saying, " Rob, how can an 0-2 team be in your top 10", well the answer that question is two fold. The first retort would look at their strength of schedule. In the first 2 games of the season, I don't think anybody in the 864, perhaps the state has played two tougher opponents. The Vikings opened with a road loss at 6A Georgia power Langston Hughes. They were ranked 4th overall in Georgia in the preseason by HS Football America. Then Spartanburg hosted 5A in-state powerhouse Dutch Fork and was highly competitive in a 27-25 loss. Keep in mind, Dutch Fork had a tight grip on the 5A crown and an extremely long winning streak before they lost to Gaffney in the 5A State Title Game last season. The second answer to the question, would be is that I simply think that there are not ten better teams than Spartanburg, that we cover. The Vikings have Broome this week, as they look to break into the win column.
Falling out of the rankings this week is Greenville High. The Red Raiders were in my preseason poll and then fell to #10 after a week 0 loss to Dorman, in which they allowed nearly 400 yards rushing and over 50 points. They then played a competitive game falling to Hanna 36-29. The Red Raiders have played a tough and ambitious schedule thus far and that continues this week. They could find themselves back in the poll with a home win over #7 Byrnes.
Others under consideration after week 1 (in no order of ranking)
Christ Church- They opened their season this past Friday cruising past Southside High, 41-14. Running Back Dashun Reeder had 195 yards and 4 TD's on 19 carries in the win. The Cavs face a road test in the ATL when they take on Holy Innocents Episcopal on Friday.
Woodruff- The Wolverines are 2-0 on the season after a win against Chapman to open and winning handily against Fountain Inn. They host J.L. Mann this week in a game that should tell us more about both squads.
J.L. Mann- speaking of the Patriots, they will look to move to 3-0 at Woodruff this week. Mann is 2-0 for the first time since 2011 and could be in for a renaissance year of sorts. They defeated Riverside last Friday in a defensive "rock fight" of a ball game 14-7. It ended up being the opposite of the expected offensive shootout after both teams had put up over 50 in Week 0 wins. A win this week would give Mann it's first 3-0 start in a long time.
Seneca- The Bobcats are 2-0 on the season, they scored 36 unanswered in the 2nd half of their 50-14 win at Palmetto last week. Seneca looks poised for their best season in recent years under Head Coach David Crane. They host a Wren team this week, that is looking to find itself after being beaten solidly at Jefferson, GA in their season opener. Wren is also looking for answers after the transfer of D-1 QB prospect Gavin Owens to Rabun Gap School in Georgia, over the summer. Seneca ball carrier Cansley Campbell is one of the top Running Backs in the area, he "toted the mail" in the Palmetto win going for 207 rushing yards and 4 TD's.
Tune in to the Saturday Morning Scramble from 8-10 AM each week on the Fan Upstate and find out "who's moving in, who's moving up and who's moving out", as I unveil a brand new Upstate Top 10 on the show each week.
