Week 2 of high school football is here! After several cancelations and alot of movement in high school football, we are just a day away from another slate of games! Let's take a look at this week's games and make some picks!
Cole's 2021 Record: 20-7
Union County at Laurens:
This is a super interesting matchup that has alot of different storylines. First, this is the first game of the season for Union County. Laurens has two games already under their belt with both being losses. The Raiders fell to TL Hanna in Week 0 and Clinton in Week 1, both really good football teams. This is one of the harder games to pick as I feel like Laurens is due to bounce back, but I also know that Union County is going to be a tough out. This non-region schedule is brutal for Laurens still having to play Daniel, River Bluff, & Greenwood. Laurens NEEDS this game more than Union County needs it, but I feel like Union County will be too much to handle in the end. This for me was one of the hardest games of the week to pick. In the end, I like Brian Thompson & the Yellowjackets.
Cole's Pick: Union County 28, Laurens 21.
Broome at Belton-Honea Path:
The film room has been a busy room this week at Broome High School as the centurions were originally scheduled to play Liberty. The opponent then changed after Liberty had to cancel due to Covid and Broome was scheduled to play Airport. About an hour later, we received news that Broome was now playing Belton-Honea Path. Broome enters this game 1-1 on the season with a loss to Powdersville & a win over Chesnee. BHP enters this game 1-1 as well with a win over Westside in Week 0 and a loss to Powdersville in Week 1. I think these are two teams that are fairly evenly matched. However, Broome's offense has been close to unstoppable in the first two weeks led by Dylan Ramirez & Jamir Dewberry. I look forward to this matchup, but I think the Centurion offense will be too much to handle for the Bears.
Cole's Pick: Broome 38, Belton-Honea Path 24.
Chapman at Boiling Springs:
This is another game that I look forward to as to watch how Boiling Springs responds after a tough loss to Dorman in Week 1. The Bulldogs & Panthers both enter this game 0-1 on the season and the Panthers are coming off of a loss to the Byrnes Rebels. We know that Boiling Springs is a super young group and the last thing you want to do is start the season off against Dorman with a young group of pups. I think there is alot that Rick Tate & his staff can take away from the Dorman film & I think Boiling Springs will be improved in Week 2 but the task doesn't get any easier as their defense will have to be ready to defense a senior heavy, high powered Chapman offense. After seeing Settle & DJ Black last week, I think those two will be problems for alot of teams this season. I think the Panthers rebound well on Friday night.
Cole's Pick: Chapman 35, Boiling Springs 17.
Dutch Fork at Byrnes:
I will be doing a separate article for this game that goes into deeper detail on Friday as well as my pick for this game in that article.
Hillcrest at Spartanburg:
I have gone back and forth all week on this game and I am still not certain how I really feel on this outcome. Hillcrest comes into this game with a 1-1 record with a win over Woodruff last week and a loss to Greenwood in Week 0. Spartanburg is still looking for it's first win of the season as they have dropped the first 2 games to Gaffney & Mauldin. According to QB Coach Grey Ramsey in a tweet sent out on Saturday, Raheim Jeter will be back this Friday at 100% full strength. Hillcrest has had a solid rushing attack in the first two weeks led by junior RB Logan Coldren but Spartanburg has a deadly rushing attack in Drek Carter as well. I think this one is close for the majority of the game, but I like Spartanburg to edge out the Rams on Friday night and get their first win of the season.
Cole's Pick: Spartanburg 24, Hillcrest 19.
Fairfield Central at Chesnee:
The Chesnee Eagles are still looking for their first win of the season after dropping their first two games to Woodruff & Broome. Fairfield Central enters this game 1-1 with a loss to Blythewood and a win over Lancaster on Friday night by a score of 22-18. Chesnee will have to find a way to finish this Friday against a solid Griffins team. The encouraging thing about Chesnee is that their offense has been there. They have scored 69 points in two games but were not able to get the win in either of those. The Griffins offense is not quite as high powered, and I think the Griffins will struggle with the run heavy attack from Chesnee. I expect this to be a very close game, but I like Chesnee to get their first win of the season.
Cole's Pick: Chesnee 35, Fairfield Central 28.
Dorman at Fort Dorchester:
The Cavaliers are entering this road trip with a 1-1 record with a loss to Clover and a win last week over Boiling Springs. Dorman has had a 3 man rotation at the QB position this season and I think it will be interesting to see how long that continues. Fort Dorchester comes into this game with a 1-0 record and a dominating 58-26 win over a really good Carolina Forest football team. From what I am hearing, this is one of the better Patriot teams we have seen in quite a while, and I think this will be a really tough test for Dorman. In the end, Dorman will have to pick the best QB & go with him, in my opinion. I think Dorman struggles on the offensive end Friday and the Patriots take care of business at home.
Cole's Pick: Fort Dorchester 28, Dorman 20.
Westside at Greer:
As of right now, this game is still on but the Westside Rams have over a dozen players (JV & Varsity) in quarantine. Westside has struggled out of the gate in 2021 coming into this game with a 0-1 record after a 23-20 loss to Belton-Honea Path. Greer did not play last week but they Jackets are also 0-1 on the season after a Week 0 loss to Byrnes. I know both of these teams are wanting to get the bad taste out of their mouth, so I think this will be a competitive game, but I think Greer comes out on top.
Cole's Pick: Greer 30, Westside 21.
Crescent at Landrum:
With not much preseason games or practice, Landrum struggled last Friday against Christ Church as the Cardinals fell 36-14. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much easier for Landrum in a tough non-region stretch as Landrum now hosts Crescent. The Tigers are 1-0 on the season with a 19-7 win over Dixie. Landrum will improve as the course of the season goes on in my opinion, but the Cardinals have some tough opponents out of the gate.
Cole's Pick: Crescent 21, Landrum 7.
St. Joseph's Catholic at Carolina Academy:
The Knights of St. Joseph's come into this game 2-0 on the season as Carolina Academy has not played yet in 2021. The Knights have had two nice wins in 2021 defeating Cardinal Newman & Buford and putting up 99 points in only 2 games. They have shown Greenville county that their offense is nothing to joke about. I like the Knights to continue to roll to 3-0.
Cole's Pick: St. Joseph's 40, Carolina Academy 20.
Berea at Riverside:
Two undefeated teams face off Friday night in Riverside & Berea. Yes, Riverside is undefeated. After a solid campaign in 2020, the Warriors are continuing to build on the success and look to be much improved in 2021. The Warriors defeated Travelers Rest 42-20 in Week 0 and defeated J.L. Mann 14-7 in Week 1. Berea comes into this game after a dominating 47-13 win over Liberty in Week 1. I expect another close on on Friday night, but I think the Bulldogs of Berea end the winning streak of the Warriors.
Cole's Pick: Berea 28, Riverside 21.
Travelers Rest at J.L. Mann:
J.L. Mann comes into this matchup 1-1 on the season with a win over Eastside in Week 0 & a loss to Riverside in Week 1. The Devil Dogs of TR are looking for their first win of the season. I think this is a very close game, but I like Travelers Rest to come out on top.
Cole's Pick: Travelers Rest 21, JL Mann 10.
Wade Hampton at Eastside:
These are two teams that are looking for their first win of the season. The Eagles of Eastside are 0-2 on the year with losses to J.L. Mann & Pickens. Wade Hampton fell to Greenville on Friday night by a score of 70-7. This one should be very close and very competitive and could go either way, but I like the Eagles to notch their first win of the season on Friday at home.
Cole's Pick: Eastside 28, Wade Hampton 21.
Mauldin at Greenville:
Both of these teams have had great starts to the season as the Red Raiders are 2-0 on the season after wins over Rock Hill & Wade Hampton while Mauldin is 1-0 after a Week 1 win over the Spartanburg Vikings. Mauldin had a low scoring affair on Friday, while Greenville had quite the opposite as they cruised to 70 points over Wade Hampton. My analysis is simple on this one. Greenville's offense is too good & Mauldin will not be able to keep up & the Greenville defense will be too much as well.
Red Raiders 38, Mauldin 14.
Southside at Jefferson:
I do not know anything about Jefferson other than that they are 2-0 on the season while Southside is 0-2. The Tigers have struggled out of the gate and I think this is another tough test on Friday.
Cole's Pick: Jefferson 35, Southside 14.
For a full recap and breakdown of all of these games, tune into the Saturday Morning Scramble on Saturday from 8-10am on ESPN Upstate with Cole Bryson & Jed Blackwell.