Midlands high school football: Region play heats up. Best Week 7 games, picks
It is the seventh week of the 2025 regular season for South Carolina public high school football.
And for many teams, it is the start of region play while others are in the thick of the region games.
Here is a look at this week’s top games in the Midlands and predictions for winners for Week 7:
Irmo (5-0, 0-0) at Lexington (2-3, 0-0)
Players to watch: Irmo: DE Jaiden Bryant, ATH Maleek Miller. Lexington: QB Easton Crocker, WR Nigel Lewis
Notes: Region opener for both teams. Irmo leads the all-time series, 36-24-1, including last year’s 34-8 win. The victory snapped Lexington’s six-game winning streak in the series. Irmo is ranked No. 1 in the latest SC Class 5A High School Football Media poll. Irmo QB Drevon Dopson has thrown for 1,253 yards and 15 touchdowns. Maleek Miller leads Irmo with 17 catches for 439 yards. Yellow Jackets defensive end Jaiden Bryant has six of the team’s 12 sacks. Markel Byrd leads Lexington with 408 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Nigel Lewis leads the Wildcats with 16 catches for 300 yards and three scores.
Lugoff-Elgin (3-3, 0-2) at Blythewood (3-3, 1-1)
Players to watch: Lugoff-Elgin: ATH EJ Richardson, WR Shamil Shadiq. Blythewood: OL Reed Paolucci, RB Landyn Strong
Notes: Blythewood leads all-time series, 9-1, including last year’s 37-24 victory. L-E has lost two straight after a 3-1 start. L-E quarterback Zach Williams has thrown for 1,206 yards and 12 touchdowns. Touchstone Energy Bowl selection Shamil Shadiq leads the Demons with 42 catches for 817 yards and seven touchdowns. Junior EJ Richardson averages 121 all-purpose yards per game. Jace Coleman leads L-E with 64 tackles and six sacks while Corey Murphy has picked off three passes. Blythewood QB James Veasey needs 25 yards for 1,000 passing yards on the season. Landyn Strong has three 100-yard rushing games and leads the Bengals with 634 yards and five touchdowns. Defensive lineman Jeremy Harris has four of Blythewood’s 19 sacks.
River Bluff (3-2, 0-0) at White Knoll (4-1, 0-0)
Players to watch: River Bluff: RB Hayden Myers, WR Darius Carter; WR/DB Caleb Geronomi, RB Tiyon Fanning
Notes: Region opener for both teams. White Knoll leads the all-time series, 7-4, but Gators won 24-21 last season. River Bluff RB Hayden Myers has rushed for 714 yards and three touchdowns. RB quarterback Brayden Moore is 58 yards shy of 1,000 passing yards on season and has thrown for nine touchdowns. Gators WR Darius Carter has 30 catches for 486 yards and five touchdowns. Mason Stewart leads River Bluff with nine tackles for loss and four sacks.
South Pointe (4-1, 1-0) at Camden (5-1, 2-0)
Players to watch: South Pointe: QB/DB J’Zavien Currence, DL Seth Tillman. Camden: WR/DB Tylin Drakeford, QB Greyson Rimpf
Notes: South Pointe won the only previous meeting between the teams, 64-0, last season. It’s the second trip to Midlands in the last three weeks for top-ranked South Pointe, which had a bye last week. South Pointe QB/DB J’Zavien Currence and OL Anthony Baxter are South Carolina commits and were selected to the NC-SC Shrine Bowl on Sunday. Currence has accounted for 1,177 yards and eight total touchdowns. On defense, he has 28 tackles and a team-high three interceptions. Stallions LB/DE Brysen Ginn has five of the team’s 23.5 sacks. KJ Burg leads South Pointe with 57 tackles. Camden is averaging 52 points per game in region play against Richland Northeast and Dreher. Camden WR/DB Tylin Drakeford was selected to the NC-SC Shrine Bowl and leads the Bulldogs with 604 all-purpose yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Tyler Edwards leads Camden’s defense with 10 tackles for loss and Lavay Penny has a team-high 63 tackles. RB Navier Boykin has rushed for 550 yards and six touchdowns. QB Greyson Rimpf has thrown for 1,005 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Strom Thurmond (3-2, 0-0) at Batesburg-Leesville (3-2, 0-0)
Players to watch: Strom Thurmond: QB Bri’shaun Lee, LB Deonte Phillips. Batesburg-Leesville: RB Amadre Wooden, WR/DB KD Whitt
Notes: Region opener for both teams, who are both ranked in Class 2A SC High School Football Media poll. Strom Thurmond is No. 4 and B-L ranked fifth. Strom Thurmond has won 10 of the last 12 in series but the Panthers won, 8-7, last year. Strom Thurmond quarterback Bri’shaun Lee has thrown for 758 yards and 11 touchdowns. Batesburg-Leesville running back Amadre Wooden has back-to-back 200-yard rushing games and is just under 1,000 yards shy of becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher.
Game schedule, predictions
(Winner picks in boldface. Games start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted)
Friday
American Leadership 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
Last Week’s Record: 24-6
Season Total: 151-38
