High School Playbook

Dorman 10, Gaffney 0, 4A Div I Lower State Championship
Both defenses played exceptionally well, but when rising star DeEdward Burris throws 3 interceptions, the other defense definitely has the advantage. That was the story in the Lower State Championship as a turnover-plagued Gaffney team could not muster enough strength to take on one of its biggest rivals.

Fast Facts

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1. In 2005, Gaffney defeated Dorman 35-21 after being shut out by the Cavaliers in the season opener.
   
2. Dorman and Gaffney have split the past 4 meetings (2-2).
   
3. Gaffney recorded 4 interceptions in the second half against Summerville last week.
   
4. These teams have played in a combined 33 state championships.
   

Byrnes 51, Spartanburg 16, 4A Div I Upper State Championship
The Vikings tied it up at 10 in the first half, but Byrnes knows how to run away with a victory, and after a 30-16 halftime lead the Rebels finished with a 51-16 rout of Spartanburg on their way to a third straight state title appearance.

VIDEO: Marcus Lattimore Breaks Loose

Clinton 35, Daniel 28, 3A Upper State Championship
Neither Kenny Cook nor Deandre Hopkins played much of a factor in the Upper State Championship. Instead, it was Clinton's running game and the efficiency of QB Grant Templeton in the only 5 passes he threw (4 completed). The Red Devils won on defense as well, intercepting a pass from Tavaris Robinson and forcing a fumble from star RB C.J. Davidson. Clinton won its 4th straight road game in the playoffs, defeating its 3rd #1 seed in the playoffs, and move on to face Myrtle Beach in the State Championship.

VIDEO: Daniel Defends Record

Central 34, Abbeville 7, 2A Upper State Championship
For the second year in a row, the 2A championship game will not feature an area team. Abbeville season's was very impressive, but the Wishbone offense of Central was too much for a hungry Panthers squad.

VIDEO: Abbeville Scores Easily

Game of the Week

Part 1

Part 2

Clinton 39, Belton-Honea Path 13, 3A Playoffs
On September 26, Clinton traveled to undefeated Belton-Honea Path and claimed victory 21-14. In Round 2 of the playoffs, the Red Devils made sure it wouldn't be close. WR Kenny Cook put on a great show for the fans, and Clinton's defense recorded enough interceptions to keep the Bears out of the endzone. Next week, Clinton faces region rival Union County.

Fast Facts

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1. Clinton defeated B-HP 21-14 in Week 5.
   
2. Belton-Honea Path won the AAA state championship in 2004.
   
3. The Red Devils have made it to the second round five years in a row.
   
4. B-HP averages 26 points per game, while Clinton averages 27.
   

Daniel 27, Chester 24, 3A Playoffs
The Lions reversed history with a 27-24 win of their own, thanks mainly to a strong performance by Deandre Hopkins, who played with 17 stitches in his right hand! Daniel faces Greenville next week for another exciting matchup.

VIDEO: Chester Upsets Daniel

Ware Shoals 40, Christ Church 14,  A Div. II Playoffs
Ware Shoals rolled over the powerful Cavaliers, and advance to face Williston-Elko in the Upper State championship game.

VIDEO: Robert Taylor's NFL Catch

Spartanburg 41, Rock Hill 28
Rock Hill entered the matchup 11-0 and the #3 team in South Carolina. Spartanburg, on the other hand, was 3-8 and absolutely lucky to be in the postseason. The Vikings played at Rock Hill and dominated in the second half, upsetting one of the best teams in 4A.

Batesburg-Leesville 24, Woodruff 17
The #1 team in 2A, also #3 in our Power 4 Rankings, fell 24-17 to the team that always troubles the Wolverines. Jake Lambert and crew ended their undefeated season with a heartbreaking loss, leaving only Abbeville to represent the Upstate in the 2A playoffs.

4A Div. I Playoffs

Dorman 31, Clover 28

Mauldin 32, Fort Dorchester 21

Gaffney 31, Stratford 0

Byrnes 58, White Knoll (4-7)

4A Div. II Playoffs

James Island 56, Wren 55 OT

Irmo 28, Hillcrest 0

Greenwood 28, Beaufort 0

Hartsville 14, TL Hanna 7

3A Playoffs

Union County 34, JL Mann 7

Greenville 35, Riverside 0

2A Playoffs

Abbeville 28, Keenan 6

Strom Thurmond 31, Broome 12

Central 20, Chesnee 13

The annual Shrine Bowl pits the best high school football players from North Carolina against the best players from South Carolina. The 2009 Shrine Bowl Roster includes 13 players from the Upstate. Here are the local players you'll be able to watch on team South Carolina on December 19th in Spartanburg:

Matthew Ashley, OL, Belton-Honea Path

Andrew Bailey, DL, Dorman

Martavis Bryant, WR, TL Hanna

James Costello, OL, Gaffney

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Daniel

Conelius Jones, WR, Spartanburg

Marcus Lattimore, RB, Byrnes

Corey Miller, DL, Byrnes

Ruben Perez, K, Laurens

Kelcy Quarles, DL, Greenwood

Logan Stewart, OL, Boiling Springs

Dylan Thompson, QB, Boiling Springs

Taylor Hudson, OL, Mauldin

There was also one coach from the Upstate named to the Shrine Bowl coaching staff. Mike Hawkins from Laurens will serve as one of the assistant coaches.

shrine bowl archive

Walt Canty, MVP

Denzelle Makes a Good Tackle

Big Hits and Quick Moves

J.L. Mann's Tyler Felt In Shrine Bowl

Westside's Luckadoo Leads SC Shrine Bowl Team

Rams' Luckadoo To Coach Shrine Bowl

Wren 63, Easley 20, Region I-4A
The Green Wave offense performed above par in the final game of the season but Wren demolished its biggest rival. The Hurricanes finished the season with a perfect 5-0 region record.

Fast Facts

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1. Wren defeated Easley 35-0 in Week 5.
   
2. Easley has a 4-29 overall record since 2007.
   
3. Hurricanes QB Austin McCaskill has thrown for 32 TDs this season.
   
4. The Green Wave offense averages 9.8 points per game.
   

Daniel 38, Berea 0, AAA Playoffs
Deandre Hopkins once again took the spotlight in the first round of the playoffs. Berea could nothing against the stout Lions defense, and next week Daniel hosts Chester, the team taht defeated the Lions in last year's playoff race.

VIDEO: Daniel Finishes Regular Season 10-0

Woodruff 42, Crescent 6, AA Playoffs
Woodruff has never lost a game against Crescent in the ten meetings between these teams. And when the Wolverines are this hot, that never doesn't look like it will change just yet. In the previous meeting, Woodruff crushed Crescent 53-30.

VIDEO: Woodruff's Great Catch

Northwestern 30, Gaffney 23, Region III-4A
As predicted, this game was very close thanks to great performances by both quarterbacks. QB DeEdward Burris totaled 350 yards (200 passing/150 rushing) and 3 TDs. In the Indians final possession, Burris took his team from the 2-yard line but threw an interception that sealed the win for Northwestern. Trojans QB Justin Worley showed Gaffney why he was an All-American sophomore last season and should repeat his honors in 2009.

VIDEO: Gaffney Scores Quickly

Chesnee 28, Pendleton 19, AA Playoffs
Once again, #4 Chesnee upset #1 Pendleton in the playoffs. Chesnee moves on to face Central in the second round of the playoffs.

VIDEO: 2007 AA Playoffs

A Playoffs

Christ Church 65, McCormick 44

Bamberg-Ehrhardt 48, Landrum 21

Ware Shoals 37, Whitmire 0

Buford 14, Ninety Six 13

AA Playoffs

Broome 35, Emerald 6

Abbeville 42, Palmetto 12

Keenan 41, Newberry 35

AAA Playoffs

Belton-Honea Path 41, Eastside 14

Greenville 59, West-Oak 0

JL Mann 35, Seneca 17

Union County 38, Chapin 0

Riverside 42, Lugoff-Elgin 35

Clinton 35, Fairfield-Central 0

Chester 27, Greer 21

Region I-4A

Greenwood 42, Laurens 17

TL Hanna 40, Westside 16

Region II-4A

Dorman 28, Spartanburg 0

Byrnes 53, Boiling Springs 0

Mauldin 48, Hillcrest 6

1. Byrnes (9-1) - The Rebels never slowed down against Mauldin, and the offense rained down 72 points in the overwhelming victory. Chas Dodd threw five TDs and Marcus Lattimore ran for three on big nights for both offensive stars. The defense performed exceptionally well against a solid Mauldin offense, including one defensive touchdown among the many times Byrnes found the endzone.

VIDEO: Byrnes and Daniel Win Big

2. Dorman (9-1) - Dorman dominated Hillcrest on senior night. The defense held the Rams to 80 total yards of offense. A.J. Booker scored the opening two touchdowns, but the backups took over the rest of the game against the struggling Rams.

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3. Woodruff (10-0) - The Wolverines defeated Chesnee to win the region outright. Jake Lambert passed for three TDs and ran for two to continue a remarkable senior season. Sophomore surprise Shun Tribble had another big game with over 100 yards. Woodruff is 10-0 for the first time since 1984, and the top-ranked 2A team faces Crescent in the first round of the playoffs.

VIDEO: Woodruff Undefeated

4. Daniel (10-0) - Lions defense recorded 4 shutouts and have only allowed 28 points all season. Dominated region rival Pickens 70-7 and enter playoffs as #1 overall seed. Hopkins scored 2 TDs in 10 seconds.

Power Rankings 5-12>>>

Greenville 30, JL Mann 11, Region II-3A
Patrick Langley stepped up in the clutch and threw two TDs of over 50 yards. The Red Raiders defense also found the endzone, and Greenville won yet another Peach Blossom championship and will head into the playoffs on an 8-game winning streak!

Fast Facts

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1. Greenville has won 13 straight games over JL Mann.
   
2. JL Mann's average margin of victory in region play is 53 points.
   
3. Greenville has allowed only 33 total points and 260 total yards in region play.
   
4. JL Mann started the season 1-4 and Greenville lost its opening two games.
   

Byrnes 72, Mauldin 27, Region II-4A
In our earlier preview, I said not to expect the same 70-27 score as last year. Well, I hope no one expected the same because Byrnes increased the margin of victory by 2 points. Chas Dodd found his receivers with ease, and the Rebels clinched the region title with commanding fashion.

Wren 28, Greenwood 3, Region I-4A
Wren seemed to have faced a weaker schedule than the Eagles, but the Hurricanes passing game was too much when Wren scored 21 points in the 4th quarter. Both teams make the playoffs, but Wren is a top seed region champion.

VIDEO: 2008 Greenwood vs. Wren

Christ Church 62, Landrum 29, Region II-A
The Cavaliers scored 36 points in the final minutes of the first half, and blew open what started out as a close game. Christ Church scored points through the air and on the ground, and the defense kept Landrum's talented quarterback from upsetting the defending region champs.

VIDEO: 2008 Christ Church vs. Landrum

The Region Mess
Gaffney faces Northwestern next week to decide the winner of Region III-4A. In Region III-3A, four teams are tied at 3-2. Union County could be the winner with the only head-to-head loss with a 3-2 team to Clinton, a team that lost to Riverside and Greer, and both those teams lost to Union. Confusing, right? We won't know the results until tomorrow.

Region I-4A

TL Hanna 18, Laurens 17

Westside 29, Easley 9

Region II-4A

Dorman 43, Hillcrest 7

Boiling Springs 39, Spartanburg 35

Region III-4A

Gaffney 35, Clover 28

Region I-3A

Daniel 70, Pickens 7

Belton-Honea Path 38, Woodmont 6

Seneca 14, West-Oak 6

Region II-3A

Berea 34, Travelers Rest 14

Eastside 29, Wade Hampton 26

Region III-3A

Riverside 29, Greer 26

Union County 26, Blue Ridge 16

Clinton 20, Chapman 0

Region I-2A

Abbeville 50, Liberty 12

Pendleton 14, Crescent 6

Emerald 29, Walhalla 14

Region II-2A

Woodruff 45, Chesnee 23

Broome 25, Palmetto 22

Southside 31, Carolina 24

Region I-A

Ware Shoals 16, Ninety Six 9

Mid-Carolina 20, Newberry 19

Region II-A

Blacksburg 27, Southside Christian 20

1. Byrnes (8-1)- Byrnes kept Dorman close all game, and was able to pull out the much-needed victory over the threatening region rival. Marcus Lattimore rushed for 150 yards and 2 TDs to carry the Rebels to victory, but the defense truly saved the game after limiting Charone Peake to only one catch (a 63-yard TD) and adding constant pressure on QB Johnny Foster.

VIDEO: Byrnes 17, Dorman 10

2. Dorman (8-1) - Dorman snapped its 20-game regular season winning streak in the 17-10 loss to Byrnes in Week 9. Regardless, the Cavaliers never let the game slip out of their hands and show every intention of making the possible postseason rematch even tougher.

3. Woodruff (9-0)- Jake Lambert took a back seat in Woodruff's biggest region win when the stifling defense held Broome to 120 total yards of offense. Josh Hyman, the Wolverines leading receiver, intercepted a pass (one of four turnovers) and returned it for a touchdown. Now that Broome is out of the way, Woodruff faces no problem in the region race and can now look ahead to its promising playoff run.

VIDEO: Woodruff and Daniel Stay Unbeaten

4. Daniel (9-0)- The Daniel defense allowed its 35th point of the season in the team's win against West-Oak, but that shouldn't concern fans who watched the blocked field goal and the rest of Daniel's dominating performance. Daniel's last game is at Pickens, which has dropped 6 straight losses and should pose no problem for the Lions.

Rankings 5-8>>>

Game of the Week

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Randy Robinson has only lost one regular season game since 2007. In 2009, the Lions are not only 8-0, but the defense has only allowed a total of 28 points! High school scouts doubted Daniel at the beginning of the season, but Coach Robinson erased those doubts with a commanding win against Belton-Honea Path. Watch the highlights in the video above.

Congratulations to Coach Randy Robinson!