Lexington wins thriller. AC Flora, Dutch Fork, Spring Valley pick up non-region wins
Keshawn Gladden’s 3-yard run in overtime gave the Lexington Wildcats a 27-24 win over Irmo on Friday in high school football action. It was Lexington’s fourth straight win in the “Battle of the Dam” series.
Jose Villanueva gave Irmo a 24-21 lead in overtime with a 27-yard field. On the Wildcats’ possession, Gladden scored on third and goal from the 3-yard line for the winner.
Taiden Mines had a touchdown pass and Jonah Norris ran for a score for Lexington, which led 21-14 at halftime.
Irmo tied in the third quarter on Izyah Whiteside’s 5-yard TD pass to Erick Tucker. Whiteside finished with 247 yards passing and two TDs. DeAree Rogers caught 10 passes for 184 yards and a score.
AC Flora flies past Chapin
A.C. Flora busted out of its offensive slump to defeat Chapin 50-28 in a battle of unbeaten teams. Markel Townsend ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns as A.C. Flora erased an early 14-0 deficit to move to 4-0 on the season.
As a team, AC Flora rushed for 422 yards. Freshman Aiden Mosley had 108 yards and a TD in his first varsity action.
The Falcons, who had just three points last week against Camden, scored 50 straight points after trailing in the first quarter Friday night. Flora’s defense and special teams came up with six turnovers, including two interceptions by Tyler Robinson and one by Malik Heyward.
Bennett Galloway had two touchdowns for Chapin, including returning the opening kickoff back 86 yards for a TD.
More Midlands scores
▪ Dutch Fork 42, Spartanburg 13: Davin Patterson threw four touchdown passes, three to Antonio Williams, as the Silver Foxes extended their unbeaten streak to 54 games. Patterson was 13-of-17 for 238 yards passing. Williams had six catches and 242 all-purpose yards. Running back Jarvis Green rushed for 118 yards and two TDs.
▪ Spring Valley 14, South Pointe 7: DQ Smith’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Deshun Jordan with 9:51 left gave the Vikings a big non-region win on the road. Smith finished with 103 yards passing 55 rushing for the Vikings. Spring Valley’s defense had nine sacks and held South Pointe to minus-2 yards rushing.
▪ Dorman 42, Ridge View 20: Demarius Foster rushed for 269 yards and five touchdowns in Dorman’s win over Ridge View. Andre Washington threw three touchdowns to three different receivers for Ridge View. Washington finished with 176 yards passing.
▪ Northwestern 35, River Bluff 21: Will Mattison threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran one in for Northwestern. Hunter Sheppard had two TD passes in the loss for the Gators.
▪ Lower Richland 28, Fairfield Central 0: Jeremy Barney ran for three touchdowns as the Diamond Hornets took over first place in Region 4-3A standings.
▪ Hammond 42, Laurence Manning 0: CJ Stokes rushed for two touchdowns and Cam Scott caught a pair of touchdowns in a rematch of last year’s SCISA Class 3A championship game. Stokes finished with 110 yards rushing and Scott had five catches for 57 yards. Adam Canzater added 90 yards on the ground and a TD.
▪ Pelion 34, Ridgeland-Hardeeville 14: Azwan James rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ victory. Peyton Whitten had a TD pass to Jacob Osmanski and Pelion’s defense picked off three passes.
▪ Gaffney 38, Gray Collegiate 35: Gray Collegiate’s comeback came up just short at 5A Gaffney. The War Eagles missed a game-tying 47-yard field goal with two seconds left.. Gray trailed 38-21 with seven minutes before scoring twice to pull within 38-35. Tre Robinson had a TD run and pass in that stretch. KZ Adams ran it 41 times for 213 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. Grayson Loftis threw for 261 yards, two touchdowns and Tyler Smith rushed for 129 yards and two scores for Gaffney.
▪ Camden 11, Lake City 6: The Bulldogs won a defensive struggle in their region opener. Averee Hickmon had Camden’s lone TD and the Bulldogs’ defense used a pair of defensive stands in the second half to preserve the win.
▪ Gilbert 49, Wagener-Salley: The Indians won their final game before Region 5-3A play begins next week. Alias Graham-Woodberry rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns, and Jaden Allen-Hendrix added 151 yards and TD.
▪ Cardinal Newman 27, Wilson Hall 21: AJ Reyes ran for three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 10:41 left to give the Cardinals their first win of the season.
▪ Richard Winn 32, Palmetto Christian 20: Landon Caulder threw for two touchdowns to Drew Spires and ran for one in the Eagles’ win. Spires also had a TD pass and Colt Hatchell had three sacks on defense.
▪ Trinity Collegiate 58, Ben Lippen 41: Bryce Craft ran for two scores and caught a TD pass in Ben Lippen’s loss. Ellis Jones added two TD passes and Evan Werner also caught passes for the Falcons.
▪ North Central 36, Battery Creek 14: Kaleb Caldwell had three interceptions and blocked a punt for a touchdown in North Central’s road win. Layton Smith also had two TDs for North Central.
▪ May River 24, Blythewood 14: Gavin Douglas had two rushing touchdowns and Naszier Chisholm returned an interception for a touchdown for May River. Harrison Collins had two TD passes for Blythewood.
▪ Chester 48, Keenan 34: Zan Dunham rushed for 202 yards and threw for 122 yards with three total TDs in Chester’s win. Zhydem McCullough had 18 carries for 197 and three total TDs for Chester.
▪ C.A. Johnson 38, Great Falls 20: The Green Hornets led 22-0 on its way to a win at Great Falls. Dawan Rice had four TDs and CeCe Bailey had one.
▪ Lancaster 28, White Knoll 21 (OT): Jermaine Flowers’ 6-yard run in OT gave the Bruins the win over White Knoll. Mikal McCollum had 147 yards rushing and two TDs for Lancster including the game-tying one with 3:42 p.m. Jaquez Frederick had 211 yards rushing and two touchdowns for White Knoll.
▪ Brookland-Cayce 35, Airport 0: Tanner Staton threw four touchdown passes, three to Naahzeikiel Mays as the Bearcats defeated their rivals. Skylar King also had a TD catch for B-C and Benjamin Pugh had a TD run.
The State’s Midlands Power Rankings
A look at The State’s Top power rankings after Week 5 action:
1. Dutch Fork (4-0)
Previous Ranking: 1
This Week: Defeated Spartanburg, 42-13
Next Game: at White Knoll
2. A.C. Flora (4-0)
Previous Ranking: 2
This Week: Chapin, 50-28
Next Game: vs. Westwood
3. Gray Collegiate (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 3
This Week: Lost to Gaffney, 38-35
Next Game: at Batesburg-Leesville
4. Spring Valley (3-1)
Previous Ranking: 6
This Week: Defeated South Pointe, 14-7
Next Game: vs. Rock Hill
5. Chapin (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 4
This Week: Lost to AC Flora, 50-28
Next Game: vs Dutch Fork (Oct. 8)
6. Brookland-Cayce (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 7
This Week: Defeated Airport, 35-0
Next Game: vs. Fox Creek
7. Gilbert (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 8
This Week: Defeated Wagener-Salley, 49-6
Next Game: vs. Orangeburg-Wilkinson
8. Lexington (4-1)
Previous Ranking: NR
This Week: Defeated Irmo, 27-24 (OT)
Next Week: at River Bluff
9. Saluda (3-1)
Previous Ranking: 9
This Week: Off
Next Game: vs. Eau Claire
10. (tie) Lower Richland (4-1)
Previous Ranking: NR
This Week: Defeated Fairfield Central, 28-0
Next Game: at Mid-Carolina (Oct. 8)
10. (tie) Camden (4-2)
Previous Ranking: 10
This Week: Defeated Lake City, 11-6
Next Game: vs. Crestwood
Dropped out: Ridge View
Keep an eye on: Hammond, Ridge View
Next Week’s 5 games to watch
▪ Gray Collegiate at Batesburg-Leesville: Region 4-2A opener for both teams.
▪ Dutch Fork at White Knoll: Former Dutch Fork assistant Nick Pelham faces Tom Knotts and former team.
▪ Hammond at Trinity Collegiate: Could be a preview of the SCISA Class 3A championship game.
▪ Lexington at River Bluff: Latest installment of one of the Midlands best rivalries.
▪ Ridge View at Northwestern: Ridge View looks to snap two-game losing streak in Region 4-5A opener.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 11:36 PM.
