Midlands results: Spring Valley holds off Ridge View. Lower Richland wins region title
Spring Valley used a second-half comeback to keep its region title hopes alive Friday night.
Quarterback DQ Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown and the Vikings had a late defensive stand to beat Ridge View, 30-27. Spring Valley improved to 2-0 in Region 4-5A and will host Northwestern for the region championship next week.
“That’s our DNA since I got here,” Spring Valley coach Robin Bacon said. “We aren’t going to quit. We are going to scratch and claw. ... Gutsy performance by DQ, and the defense made plays when they had to. I can’t tell you how proud I am of these guys.”
The Vikings trailed 27-14 going into the fourth quarter. Smith threw his third TD of the night, a 4-yarder to cut the lead to 27-21 with 11:54 left.
Spring Valley got within 27-23 on a safety after a bad snap on a punt went out of the end zone. The Vikings marched for the go-ahead score on the next possession as Smith scored on a 3-yard run to make it 30-27 with 5:23 left. Smith also was 18-of-28 through the air for 224 yards and three touchdowns, two to Keelon Holman.
Ridge View drove it inside Spring Valley territory on its next possession but turned it over on downs. It looked like the Blazers would get the ball back as they recovered a fumble when Spring Valley was trying to kneel down and run the clock out. The referees called Ridge View for a penalty and the Vikings ran out the clock.
Ridge View quarterback Andre Washington threw two touchdowns to Zion Agnew and also ran for two scores in the loss.
More scores and results from the Midlands
Dutch Fork 69, Chapin 21: Jarvis Green ran for five touchdowns and Antonio Williams returned two punts for scores as the Silver Foxes extended their unbeaten streak to 56 games. Green finished with 149 yards on 12 carries. Williams caught seven passes and had 358 all-purpose yards. Quarterback Davis Patterson threw for 219 yards and a TD and also ran for a score.
Lexington 31, White Knoll 13: Tyler Walker ran for two scores and Taiden Mines had a TD pass as the Wildcats won their sixth straight game.
Lower Richland 35, Mid-Carolina 0: Robert Adams ran for two touchdowns and threw for one, and the Diamond Hornets clinched the Region 4-3A championship. Jeremy Barney rushed for two scores for LR.
Northwestern 28, Blythewood 0: Will Mattison threw for 202 yards and a TD and Turbo Richard added 111 yards on the ground as the Trojans pulled away in the second half.
Camden 40, Marlboro County 20: Quarterback Grayson White ran for three touchdowns and threw for one as Camden clinched its third straight region title. The Bulldogs trailed 14-10 at halftime.
AC Flora 39, Richland Northeast 3: Markel Townsend ran for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass in AC Flora’s win. Quarterback Phillips Daniels added two touchdown passes for the Falcons, who improved to 6-0 on the season.
Irmo 48, Dreher 0: Quarterback Izayah Whiteside had a big night in the air as the Yellow Jackets moved to 2-0 in Region 4-4A. Whiteside threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns. De’Aree Rogers caught seven passes for 154 yards and three TDs.
Gilbert 41, Fox Creek 13: Jaden Allen-Hendrix rushed for three scores and Alias Graham-Woodberry added one in the Indians’ win. Allen Hendrix finished with 133 yards while Graham-Woodberry led the team with 180.
Strom Thurmond 17, Brookland-Cayce 7: The Rebels picked off three passes and Ty Lott returned on back for a touchdown in the win over the Bearcats.
Gray Collegiate 50, Columbia 0: KZ Adams and Caleb Ford each rushed for more than 100 yards and combined for four touchdowns in Gray’s victory. Adams finished with 153 yards and Ford had 130. Quarterback Riley Staton threw for 223 yards and three TDs in place of starting quarterback Tre Robinson.
Hammond 48, First Baptist 0: Omari Bennett had three catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns as the Skyhawks stayed unbeaten. It was Hammond’s third straight shutout. Robert Malanuk was 7-of-10 passing for 148 yards and three touchdowns for the Skyhawks.
Westwood 40, Lugoff-Elgin 28: Quarterback Cam Brown threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers and Julian Milligan ran for two TDs in Westwood’s victory. Noah Jennings led Westwood with seven catches for 203 yards and a TD.
Heathwood Hall 21, Florence Christian 14: Donald Tomlin threw two touchdowns to Will Morris, including one with 13 seconds left, to give the Highlanders a win Thursday night. Rondarius Porter also blocked a punt and returned for a touchdown.
South Aiken 27, River Bluff 14: Jevon Edwards rushed for 238 yards and a TD as South Aiken handed River Bluff its second straight loss. South Aiken had 545 yards of offense, 395 on the ground. Cooper Johns rushed for 161 yards and two scores for River Bluff.
Saluda 46, Newberry 26: Jonah McCary threw three touchdowns and Montrevious Baker ran for two scores in Saluda’s win on Saturday. McCary finished 12-of-18 passing for 196 yards and Baker ran for 152 yards for the Tigers, who led 25-6 after the first quarter. Newberry quarterback Zy Epps threw for 243 yards, and Zack Chalmers had seven catches for 127 yards and a TD.
The State’s Midlands Power Rankings
A look at The State’s Top 10 power rankings after Week 7 action:
1. Dutch Fork (6-0)
Previous Ranking: 1
This Week: Defeated Chapin, 69-21
Next Game: vs. River Bluff
2. A.C. Flora (6-0)
Previous Ranking: 2
This Week: Defeated Richland Northeast, 39-3
Next Game: at Irmo
3. Gray Collegiate (6-1)
Previous Ranking: 3
This Week: Defeated Columbia, 50-0
Next Game: vs. Saluda
4. Spring Valley (5-1)
Previous Ranking: 4
This Week: Defeated Ridge View, 30-27
Next Game: vs. Northwestern
5. Lexington (6-1)
Previous Ranking: 8
This Week: Defeated White Knoll, 31-13
Next Game: at Dutch Fork (Oct. 22)
6. Gilbert (6-1)
Previous Ranking: 7
This Week: Defeated Fox Creek, 41-13
Next Game: at Brookland-Cayce
7. Saluda (5-1)
Previous Ranking: 9
This Week: Defeated Newberry, 46-26
Next Game: at Gray Collegiate
8. Lower Richland (5-1)
Previous Ranking: T-10
This Week: Defeated Mid-Carolina, 35-0
Next Game: vs. Keenan
9. Camden (6-2)
Previous Ranking: T-10
This Week: Defeated Marlboro County, 40-20
Next Game: vs. Manning (Oct. 22)
10. Hammond (7-0)
Previous Ranking: NR
This Week: Defeated First Baptist, 48-0
Next Game: at Augusta Christian
Dropped out: Chapin, Brookland-Cayce
Keep an eye on: Chapin, Irmo
Next Week’s 5 games to watch
AC Flora at Irmo: Winner of the game is in the driver’s seat in Region 4-4A race.
CA Johnson at Lamar: CAJ returning from two-week COVID break and looks to spoil Lamar’s chance at clinching Region 3-A title.
Saluda at Gray Collegiate: First-place in Region 3-2A likely on the line in this matchup.
Gilbert at Brookland-Cayce: B-C looks to stay in Region 5-3A title race while Gilbert can wrap up no worse than a No. 2 seed with a victory.
Northwestern at Spring Valley: Matchup of top-10 teams in Class 5A with the winner clinching Region 4-5A title.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 11:30 PM.
