Gray Collegiate and Gilbert are on the verge of winning region titles for the 2nd time in school history.
Both teams put themselves in position to join Dutch Fork as region champions by rallying for home victories this past Friday. The War Eagles fell behind Calhoun County 14-13 before scoring 45 unanswered points for the 58-20 victory at Midlands Sports Complex in West Columbia.
Over at Leonard Price Stadium, things were more perilous for the 5th ranked Indians. After answering 9th ranked Strom Thurmond’s opening score with 17 unanswered points, Gilbert found itself down 26-17 with less than 10 minutes left. 
Sparked by 2 late touchdown passes by Jy Tolen to Alec Holt and 2 key defensive stops, Gilbert came away with the 30-26 win on a night 3 fellow Top 5 teams (Dillon, Chester and May River) fell to defeat.
The Indians moved up to number 3 in the Class 3A Top 10 prep football polls, while the War Eagles remained 9th in Class 2A. More important for both teams is winning this Friday in road contests to wrap up region titles.
The War Eagles travels to  Richland 1 Stadium on the campus of W.J. Keenan High School to face Eau Claire. Gilbert will head to Cordova in Orangeburg County to face Edisto and 1st year head coach and former Airport assistant coach Preston Deaver. 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Dre Cook (Gilbert)
The senior outside linebacker had a season-best 13 tackles (5 tackles for loss) and a sack and rushed for 2 touchdowns. 

TEAM OF THE WEEK - W.W. King Academy
The Knights became the last Chronicle Country team to post their 1st win of the season. The 27-24 win over Newberry Academy snapped a 6-game losing streak dating back to last year.

WEEK 8 GRIDIRON GIANTS 
Jahmad Barr-Williams (Batesburg-Leesville) - 154 rushing yards, 2 TDs
Tre Robinson (Batesburg-Leesville) - 100 total yards, TD
Will Way (Brookland-Cayce) - 111 rushing yards
Deonte Baker (Brookland-Cayce) - 108 rushing yards, 3 TDs
Peyton Whitten (Brookland-Cayce) - 198 passing yards, 2 TDs
Roger Pedroni (Chapin) - 389 total yards, 3 TDs (2 passing, 1 rushing)
Zavier Short (Chapin) - 8 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TDs 
Jon Hall (Dutch Fork) - 3 rushing TDs
Ty Olenchuk (Dutch Fork) - 206 passing yards 
Tyrik McDaniel (Dutch Fork) - 180 all-purpose yards, 82-yard kickoff return TD; INT 
Drew Howell (Gilbert) - 15 tackles
Wells Sykes and Colten Mason (both of Gilbert) - 11 tackles each
Jarrett Cason (Gilbert) - 10 tackles
Jy Tolen (Gilbert) - 282 total yards, 2 TDs
Alec Holt (Gilbert) - 4 receptions, 87 yards, 2 TDs
Hunter Helms (Gray Collegiate) - 355 passing yards, 3 TDs
K.Z. Adams (Gray Collegiate) - 157 rushing yards, 5 TDs
Trenton Higgins (Gray Collegiate) - 6 receptions, 189 yards, TD
Omarion Dollison (Gray Collegiate) - 5 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TDs
Alex Reed (Lexington) - 112 kick return yards 
Josiah Schrodt (Lexington) - 11 tackles 
Jackson Stone (River Bluff) - 164 passing yards, 3 TDs
Riley Myers (River Bluff) - 105 rushing yards, 2 TDs
MJ Reed (Swansea) - 303 total yards, 2 TDs
Pryce Whitten (Swansea) - 160 passing yards, TD
Messiah Robinson (Swansea) - 12 tackles, fumble recovery
Jaelin Gray (White Knoll) - 212 total yards, 3 TDs
Luis Orellano (White Knoll) - 50.6 yards kickoff average; 38.5 yards punting average 
Donovan Johnson (White Knoll) - 107 rushing yards
Darius Derrick-Jones (White Knoll) - 8 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TDs

STREAKS CONTINUE
The Dutch Fork football team, now ranked 23rd in the USA Today Super Expert Top 25 prep football rankings, extended its undefeated streak to 34 games with the 43-7 win over Lexington. The 3-time defending Class 5A champions also won their 33rd consecutive game versus South Carolina-based teams and 22nd straight region game. Since head coach Tom Knotts' arrival in 2010, the Silver Foxes have either won outright or shared a region title every season. 

BY THE NUMBERS
Gray Collegiate quarterback Hunter Helms has thrown for 2,841 yard and 28 TDs. Wide receiver Omarion Dollison has 61 receptions for 1,151 yards and 15 TDs. Running back K.Z. Adams has rushed for 980 yards and 22 TDs...Gilbert quarterback Jy Tolen has thrown for 2,542 yards and 28 TDs. Wide receiver Alec Holt has 30 receptions for 590 yards and 14 TDs...Dutch Fork has scored 40 or more points in 8 straight games. The last team to hold the Silver Foxes under 40 points was Fort Dorchester on Sept. 1, 2017. Running back Jonathan Hill has rushed for 21 TDs this season...Chapin quarterback Roger Pedroni has thrown for 2,110 yards and 14 TDs and rushed for 13 TDs. Wide receiver Zavier Short has 60 receptions for 1,020 yards and 13 TDs. linebacker Jake Hames has 77 tackles this season…Despite White Knoll’s loss to Spring Valley, Region 5-5A posted a combined record of 24-4-1 in non-region play. 

NO FOOTBALL IN IRMO, SWANSEA
The town of Irmo will be quiet this Friday as both Dutch Fork and Irmo are idle. Swansea also has a bye as well. 

PREP FOOTBALL BROADCASTS

Fox Creek at Batesburg-Leesville - WBKR (1430 AM) 

Aiken at Brookland-Cayce - www.mixlr.com/bearcatsports or www.thedove1620.com

Chapin at Lexington - @dixiefriedsports on Twitter or http://mixlr.com/wildcat-sports-net/