Football Friday Rewind: Gray knocks off North Augusta, Hammond’s win streak ends
Welcome to high school football, Xavier Wright.
Making his second varsity start, the Gray Collegiate freshman quarterback put on a show and threw touchdown passes as the No. 9 War Eagles knocked off unbeaten No. 3 North Augusta, 41-27, on Friday night.
“I have been going against our varsity defense last year when I was on junior varsity,” Wright said. “Going against these great defenses is not really hard because I have practiced against them.”
With the win, Gray moves to 3-2 but 2-0 in region play with wins over Midland Valley and North Augusta.
The War Eagles also have found their quarterback in Wright, who was moved into the starting role with senior quarterback Tyler Waller out with a wrist injury.
Wright, who received a Division-I offer from Southern Miss this summer, was calm and poised in the pocket as he threw three of his five TDs in the second half, and the War Eagles rallied from a 20-17 halftime deficit.
“We had a great gameplan going in, and coach Bryant gave us a great speech at halftime, telling us not to fold,” Wright said. “So we came out at halftime with a great plan, knew what we could do and made plays.”
Gray Collegiate coach D’Angelo Bryant had high praise for his freshman.
“He is calm and one of the most poised young men I have been around,” Bryant said. “It takes guts to come out against a great defense and do the kind of things he did. Guys believe in him and he believes in himself. He can go out and make plays, but he is still humble at the same time.”
Gray needed Wright’s performance to offset a huge night from North Augusta running back Mike Doe, who rushed for 329 yards and three touchdowns.
But the War Eagles jumped out quick in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions. Wright hit JP Sweatt to put the War Eagles up 24-20 on the first drive in the third quarter.
Then, after Gray was pinned at the 1-yard line on the next drive, Wright found Corey Gleaton on a 91-yard touchdown to make it 31-20. Weston Mims added a field goal that made it 34-20.
After North Augusta cut it to 34-27 on another Doe TD run, Wright hit Royce Williamson for a touchdown that made it 41-27.
Wright’s final stats were: 17-of-23 passing for 376 yards.
Williamson and Gleaton each caught two touchdowns. Williamson also sealed the game with an interception with just over two minutes left.
Gleaton led the team with five catches for 182 yards, while Williamson had three for 90.
Gray jumped on top on its first possession when Wright hit Gleaton for a touchdown. North Augusta players thought Gleaton’s knee touched the ground, but he maintained his balance for the TD.
North Augusta chipped away at the deficit with a pair of field goals that cut the score to 7-6. Then Doe scored a pair of touchdowns, the second a 7-yarder that put the Yellow Jackets up 20-10 with 4 minutes, 55 seconds left in the second quarter.
The War Eagles scored just before halftime on Wright’s 29-yard pass to Williamson that cut the lead to 20-17.
Ridge View defeats district foe Westwood
Ryan Williams and Spencer Bobian each had two touchdown runs as Ridge View jumped out to an early lead and defeated Westwood, 46-8.
Bobian finished with 191 yards rushing.
Ridge View led 32-0 in the second quarter. Ashton Chapman had a TD pass to Carter Coleman.
The loss snapped Westwood’s four-game winning streak.
Newberry still unbeaten
Newberry remained one of the area’s few unbeaten teams with a 35-7 win over Saluda.
Newberry’s 6-0 start is its best since going 8-0 to start the 2017 season.
Quarterback Kenton Caldwell threw two touchdown passes to Jamere Crooks and also rushed for a TD. Crooks also had an interception on defense. Ty Abrams and Caleb Johnson also had rushing TDs for the Bulldogs (6-0).
Hammond winning streak ends
Hammond’s 28-game winning streak ended as Northwood knocked off the Skyhawks, 23-10, at Edens Field.
It was Hammond’s first loss since falling to Gray Collegiate, 52-14, on Sept. 1, 2023. The Skyhawks hadn’t loss to a SCISA team since losing to First Baptist, 7-6, on Oct. 9, 2020.
Heathwood wins thriller
Patrick Belk threw a touchdown pass to Jackson Noble with 57 seconds left and found JaMonie Batts on the two-point conversion as Heathwood Hall knocked off Porter-Gaud, 22-21.
Belk finished with three touchdown passes. Noble had two touchdown catches and Batts had one.
Around the Midlands
AC Flora 27, York 6: Jaylin Simmons, Jerquan Williams and Trayvon Gray each ran for touchdowns as the Falcons bounced back from last week’s loss to South Pointe.
Quarterback Roper Wentzky threw a TD pass to Mac Hughey.
Lexington 35, Laurens 0: Freshman quarterback Easton Crocker threw for 162 yards, a touchdown and also ran for a TD in the Wildcats’ win.
Markel Byrd had a TD run, and Nigel Lewis had two catches for 99 yards and a TD.
Camden 43, Dreher 0: Greyson Rimpf threw four touchdowns as the Bulldogs rolled past the Blue Devils.
Rimpf was 10-of-14 passing for 197 yards. Tylin Drakeford had two TD catches for Camden. Navier Boykin carried it 14 times for 131 yards and a TD.
Gilbert 30, Aiken 13: Jiraiya Staley rushed for 100 yards and a TD in the Indians’ victory. Chandler Guthrie and Adam Lepley added TDs for Gilbert. Kitt McLauchlin had a TD pass to Ethan Collins.
Blythewood 46, Spring Valley 0: Quarterback James Veasey ran for two touchdowns and threw one in the Bengals’ win over the Vikings.
Veasey finished with 212 yards of offense. Chance Johnson had two catches for 128 yards, including a 91-yard TD. Braden Mayre and Landyn Strong also had touchdown runs for Blythewood.
White Knoll 40, Fort Dorchester 0: Brayden Briscoe kicked two field goals and five different White Knoll players ran for touchdowns in the win on the road.
White Knoll rushing touchdowns were scored by Jordan Keith, Tiyon Fanning, Jhais McKiever, Kentrell Bonnette and JJ Keith.
Swansea 36, Columbia 6: Kendall Wright threw a pair of touchdown passes as Swansea moved to 6-0 on the season.
Trace Selfridge caught two touchdowns and also ran for one. William Geddis had a TD catch and Dante Caldwell rushed for a score.
North Central 42, Buford 0: Quayson Peoples ran for two touchdowns and blocked a punt in the Knights’ win.
Peoples finished with 101 yards rushing. Jonathan Coates had two touchdown runs. North Central’s defense picked off two passes and forced 24 turnovers in six games.
Cardinal Newman 14, Augusta Christian 9: The Cardinals picked up their first victory of the season.
Lancaster 21, Richland Northeast 14 (OT): Jy’Seer Stover scored on the Bruins’ first possession of overtime in the win over the Cavs.
RNE led 14-7 until Lancaster tied it with 9:14 left in regulation .Isaiah Smalls had two touchdown runs for RNE.
Fairfield Central 35, Andrew Jackson 0: Keylin Culp returned a blocked field goal for a 95-yard touchdown in its win over the Volunteers.
It was Fairfield Central’s third shutout of the season. Tyquarious Shannon and ErDreus Walker each had TD caches for the Griffins.
Richard Winn 50, Christian Academy 6: The Eagles won their second straight game with the road victory.
Eli Smith and Bennett Nicholson each had two touchdowns for Richard Winn.
Midland Valley 34, Brookland-Cayce 7: Xavier Geter ran for two touchdowns in the win over the Bearcats.
Sumter 57, Lugoff-Elgin 42: Zach Williams threw three touchdowns to Shamil Saadiq in the loss for L-E.
Williams was 23 of 35 for 321 yards passing. Saadiq caught 13 passes for 206 yards and three TDs. EJ Richardson had 310 all-purpose yards and ran for a score, caught one and threw one.
Thursday’s games
Pelion 48, Eau Claire 30: Alan Moore threw three touchdown passes to Jai Chuniesingh as the Panthers defeated the Shamrocks. Moore was 8-of-11 passing for 211 yards. Chuniesingh had seven catches for 196 yards.
Tre Jackson added two TD runs and Brady Cottingham had one for Pelion. Both Jackson (149) and Cottingham (118) each rushed for more than 100 yards.
Batesburg-Leesville 41, Mid-Carolina 24: Andre Wooden ran for two touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score in the Panthers’ victory.
Reese Boehke threw two TD passes, one to KD Whitt. The Touchstone Energy Bowl selection also returned a punt for a score and intercepted a pass.
Next Week’s Football Schedule
Friday
American Leadership at at Saluda
Augusta Christian at Heathwood Hall
Cardinal Newman at Northwood
Chapin at Dutch Fork
Dreher at Richland Northeast
Eau Claire at Chester
Gilbert at South Aiken
Gray Collegiate at Brookland-Cayce
Hammond at Laurence Manning
Hartsville at Lower Richland
Irmo at Lexington
Lancaster at AC Flora
Lewisville at CA Johnson
Lugoff-Elgin at Blythewood
Mid-Carolina at Fairfield Central
Midland Valley at Airport
Newberry Academy at Richard Winn
Ninety-Six at Pelion
North Central at Chesterfield
Porter-Gaud at Ben Lippen
River Bluff at White Knoll
Silver Bluff at Newberry
South Pointe at Camden
South Carolina Spartans at Northside Christian
Spring Valley at Ridge View
Strom Thurmond at Batesburg-Leesville
Swansea at Keenan
WW King at Christian Academy
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 11:49 PM.
