Week 8’s top Midlands high school football matchups
Friday
A.C. Flora (3-3, 0-1) vs. Richland Northeast (1-5, 0-1)
LAST MEETING: 2014, Richland Northeast 17-14
LAST GAME: A.C. Flora lost to Camden 27-12; RNE lost to Chapin 28-8
PLAYERS TO WATCH – ACF: DB Lane Botkin, QB Brendan Greene; RNE: LB T.J. Brunson, RB TyQuandre Davis
NOTES: Game being played at Spring Valley. … RNE leads series 3-0 and handed A.C. Flora only region loss last season. … Thomas Hollingsworth leads ACF with five TD catches.
Abbeville (5-2, 1-1) at Batesburg-Leesville (7-0, 2-0)
RADIO/INTERNET: 1340 AM and www.palmettosportscast.com
LAST MEETING: 2014, Abbeville, 34-28 (playoffs)
LAST GAME: Abbeville def. Saluda 48-20; B-L def. Ninety Six 44-36 (OT)
PLAYERS TO WATCH – A: RB T.J. Rogers, QB Joseph Battle; B-L: RB Terrence Wilson, QB Mike Smith
NOTES: Batesburg-Leesville leads all-time series 27-8-1. Teams split two meetings last season with Abbeville defeating B-L in first round of Class 2A Division II playoffs. … Batesburg-Leesville is No. 2 in S.C. Prep Writers’ Class 2A poll and Abbeville is No. 4. … B-L’s Terrence Wilson needs 137 yards to become school’s all-time leading rusher. Wilson is averaging 145.3 yards in three games against Abbeville, but was held to 47 in last year’s playoff game.
Camden (3-3, 1-0) at Dreher (4-2, 1-0)
RADIO/INTERNET: 102.7 FM and www.kool1027.com
LAST MEETING: 2014, Camden 39-30
LAST GAME: Camden def. A.C. Flora 27-12; Dreher def. Lower Richland 36-16
PLAYERS TO WATCH – C: DE Tyrone Kelly, QB Devin Beckley D: QB Avery Armstrong, RB Jay Washington
NOTES: Camden holds 18-10 lead in series, but teams have split past four games. … Camden’s Tyrone Kelly is a Shrine Bowl selection. … Bulldogs have won two in a row after 1-3 start. … Dreher RB Jay Washington is averaging 102 yards per game and has scored 12 touchdowns. ... Dreher defense is giving up just 248 yards and 15 points per game this season.
Chapin (6-0, 1-0) at Lower Richland (2-4, 0-1)
INTERNET: www.chapinfootball.net
LAST MEETING: 2014, Chapin 35-12
LAST GAME: Chapin def. RNE 28-8; Lower Richland lost to Dreher 36-16
PLAYERS TO WATCH – C: QB Logan Bailey, WR Evan Estridge; LR: QB Tevaughn Higgins, WR Larry Collins
NOTES: Chapin has won three in a row in the series. … Chapin’s Logan Bailey was named a finalist for S.C. Mr. Football on Thursday. Senior has accounted for 30 TDs this season. … Lower Richland has lost three in a row since 2-1 start.
Dutch Fork (4-3, 0-1) at Blythewood (5-1, 0-0)
LAST MEETING: 2014, Dutch Fork 56-14
LAST GAME: Dutch Fork lost to Ridge View 28-21: Blythewood def. South Florence, 38-34
PLAYERS TO WATCH – DF: WR Alec DeBoer, DE Rory Gallman; B: QB David Israel, LB Micah Byrd
NOTES: Region opener for Blythewood, which hasn’t played since Oct. 1. … Dutch Fork is playing its second game in four days. … Dutch Fork linebacker Taylor Wiggins is out following ankle surgery Wednesday after being injured against Ridge View. … DF has won past three games between teams. … Blythewood’s Derambez Drinkard is averaging 36.2 yards per kickoff return and has two TDs. The Bengals have six interceptions, matching their total from last year.
River Bluff (6-1, 1-0) at Lexington (6-1, 1-0)
LAST MEETING: 2014, Lexington 16-15
LAST GAME: River Bluff def. South Aiken 42-31; Lexington def. North Augusta 54-33
PLAYERS TO WATCH – RB: QB Brandon Tillmon, L: RB Slade Carroll, WR Jayson Hopper
NOTES: Second meeting between Lexington County schools. … Both teams have won six consecutive games since losing their Week 0 contests. … Lexington has scored 40 or more points in its past three games. … River Bluff’s Brandon Tillmon leads team in passing, rushing and sacks. … River Bluff is averaging 228 yards per game on the ground. … Lexington’s Slade Carroll needs 179 yards to go past 1,000 yards on the season.
Saturday
Ridge View (4-3, 1-0) at Westwood (6-1, 1-0)
LAST MEETING: 2014, Westwood 49-18
LAST GAME: Ridge View def. Dutch Fork 28-21; Westwood def. Lugoff-Elgin 56-14
PLAYERS TO WATCH – RV: DE Damani Staley, RB Alli Kelley; W: RB Rudy Mitchell, LB Darieus McKaskill
NOTES: Westwood leads series 2-1. … Ridge View won its region opener for the first time since 2007. … Ridge View QB Jaylen Nelson will miss the next four weeks after having surgery for injured collarbone suffered against Dutch Fork. D’Marco Zeigler will start in his place. … Westwood’s Darieus McCaskill leads Midlands in tackles with 116, and RV’s Damani Staley leads in sacks with 14. … Westwood running back Rudy Mitchell has nine TDs over his past two games.
This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 10:30 PM.