Updated Midlands football schedule and postponements, Week 7’s top games and predictions
The aftermath of Hurricane Helene is still being felt in the Midlands and across the state with several games being postponed this week.
Here are some of the top matchups of games being played in the Columbia area:
Camden (4-2, 1-1) at South Pointe (3-2, 1-0)
Players to Watch — C: WR/DB Tylin Drakeford, TE/DL Tanner Bracey; SP: WR/DB Javien Currence, OL Anthony Baxter
Notes: First meeting between the two schools. Greyson Rimpf started at quarterback for Camden last week and threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns against Dreher. Tanner Bracey leads Camden in sacks with 5.5. South Pointe quarterback Cam McMillon has thrown for 713 yards and nine touchdowns in three games since returning from injury. Senior Tameron Williams leads SP with four sacks to go along with 28 tackles, five for loss and 10 QB pressures.
Prediction: South Pointe
Chapin (4-1, 0-0) at Dutch Fork (4-0, 0-0)
Players to Watch — C: QB Brady Albro, WR Khalen Bostick; DF: LB/DE Josh Smith, RB Maurice Anderson
Notes: Region opener for both teams. Dutch Fork leads all-time series, 11-2, including 11 straight wins. Chapin’s last win over DF came in 1993, 15-7. Chapin QB Brady Albro has thrown for 1,521 yards and 17 TDs. Khalen Bostick is leading Chapin with 29 catches for 570 yards and nine touchdowns. Josh Smith leads DF with 26 tackles and is second in sacks with three. Dutch Fork has outscored its opponents, 148-7, this season. DF quarterback Ethan Offing has completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 874 yards and nine touchdowns.
Prediction: Dutch Fork
Irmo (5-0, 0-0) at Lexington (4-1, 0-0)
Players to Watch — I: QB AJ Brand, WR Donovan Murph; L: RB/LB Matt McAulay, DL Artem Kalinkin
Notes: Region opener for both teams. Lexington leads the all-time series, 35-24 and has won six straight against the Yellow Jackets. Irmo’s last win over the Wildcats came in 2014. Irmo WR Donovan Murph announced this week he is reclassifying from Class of 2026 to Class of 2025. He won’t be enrolling in college early and is likely to announce his college choice before the second signing period for football in February. Murph leads Irmo with 42 catches for 600 yards and three TDs. Irmo QB AJ Brand has thrown for 1,288 yards, rushed for 490 with 21 total touchdowns. Major Taylor leads Irmo with five sacks. Lexington’s Matt McAulay had three touchdowns last week against Laurens.
Prediction: Irmo
White Knoll (4-1, 0-0) at River Bluff (5-0, 0-0)
Players to Watch — WK: QB Landon Sharpe WR/DB Devin Geronomi, RB: QB Parker Murray, WR/DB Stephen Collier
Notes: Region opener for both teams. White Knoll leads the all-time series, 7-3, and defeated the Gators, 40-0, last season. Connor Burgess leads WK with 58 tackles and Devin Geronomi has three interceptions. WK quarterback Landon Sharpe has 1,062 yards of offense and 12 total TDs. White Knoll running back Tiyon Fanning is expected to miss another week with a leg injury. Sh’Quez Montgomery started in Fanning’s place last week against Fort Dorchester. River Bluff is averaging 414 yards of offense per game. River Bluff QB Parker Murray is completing 78% of his passes for 837 yards and eight TDs. Hayden Myers leads RB with 510 yards rushing. Caleb Pinkney leads the Gators with three interceptions.
Prediction: White Knoll
Keenan (4-2, 0-0) at Swansea (5-1, 0-0)
Players to Watch — K: QB Desmond Washington, WR Tyheim McNeil; S: RB Teysean Charley, LB DJ Green
Notes: Game moved to 6:30 p.m. Saturday because both teams were out of school until Wednesday. Region opener for both teams. First meeting between two teams since 2011. Swansea leads the all-time series, 4-0. Keenan QB Desmond Washington has thrown for 1,047 yards and eight total touchdowns. Hunter O’Neal leads Keenan in rushing (607 yards) and Tyheim McNeil in receiving (27 rec, 535 yards, 5 TDs). Sophomore Darius Dixon leads Keenan with 66 tackles. Swansea is averaging 224.7 yards rushing per game, led by Teysean Charley (534 yds, 7 TDs) and Dante Caldwell (404, 6 TDs). DJ Green leads the Tigers with 54 tackles and four sacks.
Prediction: Keenan
Game schedule, predictions
(Winner picks in bold face caps)
Friday
AC FLORA at Lancaster
BLYTHEWOOD at Lugoff-Elgin
CA Johnson at LEWISVILLE
CHESTERFIELD at North Central
Laurence Manning at HAMMOND
NORTHWOOD at Cardinal Newman
Pelion at NINETY-SIX
Providence Athletic Club at NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN
RICHLAND NORTHEAST at Dreher
RIDGE VIEW at Spring Valley
Saturday
Lower Richland at HARTSVILLE
——Games postponed——
American Leadership at Saluda
Airport at Midland Valley
Batesburg-Leesville at Strom Thurmond
Ben Lippen at Porter-Gaud
Brookland-Cayce at Gray Collegiate
Fairfield Central at Mid-Carolina
Heathwood Hall at Augusta Christian
Richard Winn at Newberry Academy
South Aiken at Gilbert
Newberry at Silver Bluff
Oakbrook Prep at WW King
Last Week: 13-4
This Season: 138-29
Midlands Power Rankings
Here are the area’s power rankings by The State Newspaper’s Staff. A look at the top 10 teams in the area and those just on the outside.
1. Dutch Fork (4-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 1
- Last Week: Off
- This Week: vs. Chapin
2. Irmo (5-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 2
- Last Week: Off
- This Week: at Lexington
3. White Knoll (4-1)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 3
- Last Week: Defeated Fort Dorchester, 38-0
- This Week: at River Bluff
4. Richland Northeast (6-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 4
- Last Week: Defeated Lancaster, 19-6
- This Week: at Dreher
5. Hammond (5-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 5
- Last Week: Off
- This Week: vs. Laurence Manning
6. River Bluff (5-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 6
- Last Week: Off
- This Week: vs. White Knoll
7. Saluda (4-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 7
- Last Week: Off
- This Week: vs. American Leadership
8. Chapin (4-1)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 8
- Last Week: Off
- This Week: at Dutch Fork
9. Lexington (4-1)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 9
- Last Week: Defeated Laurens, 29-0
- This Week: vs. Irmo
10. Batesburg Leesville (5-0)
- Last Week’s Ranking: 10
- Last Week: Defeated Mid-Carolina, 48-0
- This Week: at Strom Thurmond
Dropped out: None
Others considered: Camden, Keenan, Fairfield Central, Gray Collegiate, Swansea
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 8:00 AM.
