We interrupt our weekly look back on the achievements of Chronicle County high school football players.

This week’s column instead starts its look back on a memorable weekend for local alumnus on the college level. 

No school’s graduates stood out more nationally than Dutch Fork. It was truly “Wide Receiver U” as a trio of former Silver Fox wideouts combined for eight touchdown receptions. 

At the top of the class was Tennessee junior Jalin Hyatt. Playing before a national audience against the University of Alabama, Hyatt had a day for the record books with five receiving touchdowns of 36, 11, 60, 78 and 13 yards to finish with a career-best 207 yards on six receptions. His five scores set a school record and tied the SEC mark previously held by former Gaffney, University of South Carolina and NFL wideout Sidney Rice.

Most important, Hyatt’s play helped the Volunteers defeat the Crimson Tide 52-49 to remain undefeated on the season. 

“That’s just how we prepared. We didn’t prepare thinking we were going to lose at all. We came in here confident and came in here like it was another game—like we always do. The players here, they know what to expect when you come to the SEC, especially Tennessee. You know the guys you have to beat when you sign that letter of intent, and we did that tonight.”

A “homecoming” awaits Hyatt Nov. 19 when Tennessee visits the University of South Carolina. 

Over in Birmingham, Ala, former Silver Foxes wide receiver Elliott Spencer of Charlotte was drawing attention for his catching prowess. He had four receptions, including a SportsCenter-worthy highlight catch to set up a touchdown, for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Despite his efforts, the 49ers lost 24-10 to UAB. 

Another former Dutch Fork teammate fared batter in the win column. Wide receiver Antonio Williams, who was earlier this week promoted to lead punt return duties with fellow former Silver Fox quarterback Will Taylor, had a career-best 76 receiving yards on two catches. His 59-yard touchdown reception in the 34-28 win over Florida State was a career high and the school’s longest reception since the 2020 ACC championship game. 

Coming out on top also in the Upstate was former Dutch Fork linebacker Hugh Ryan. He had a 39-yard interception in the second quarter to set up a touchdown in the Paladins’ 47-40 win over Western Carolina. 

Other performances on the college level by Chronicle Country graduates:

RB Kendrell Flowers (Irmo) of South Carolina State – team-high 72 rushing yards in win over Lynchburg. The Bulldogs’ starting offensive line has tackle Cam Johnson of Dutch Fork and guard Nick Taiste of White Knoll.

QB Aveon Smith (White Knoll) of Miami, Ohio – 146 total yards, touchdown pass in loss to Bowling Green 

Now back to the highlights taking place now at Chronicle Country high schools.

Team of the Week – Batesburg-Leesville

The Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak for their third win of the season, surpassing last year’s total. 

Week Eight Gridiron Giants

Korey Williams (Batesburg-Leesville) – 175 rushing yards, three touchdowns 

Evan Golden (Brookland-Cayce) – 169 total yards, two touchdowns 

Deshawn Washington and Tanner Staton (both of Brookland-Cayce) – two touchdowns each

Jarvis Green (Dutch Fork) – 158 rushing yards, three touchdowns

Aliam Appler (Dutch Fork) – 127 passing yards

Dutch Fork defense – Allowed 45 total yards against Chapin, second straight shutout 

Drake Braddock (Gilbert) – 134 passing yards, touchdown 

Jaden Allen-Hendrix (Gilbert) – 129 rushing yards, three touchdowns 

Brendon Boatwright (Gilbert) – 12 tackles

Riley Staton (Gray Collegiate) – 225 passing yards, five touchdowns

Devin Johnson (Gray Collegiate) – three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) 

B.J. Montgomery and Caleb Ford (both of Gray Collegiate) – 260 combined rushing yards

Gray Collegiate defense – four turnovers forced against Newberry 

Jordan Smith, Landon Browning and Caleb Strese (All of Gilbert) – 10 tackles each

Jonah Norris (Lexington) – 198 rushing yards, four touchdowns

Taiden Mines (Lexington) – 215 passing yards, touchdown

Kamadi Maxwell (Lexington) – six receptions, 124 yards, touchdown

Jarrod Mewborn (Lexington) – 226 total yards (five returns, 170 yards) 

Landon Sharpe (White Knoll) – 379 passing yards, four touchdowns

Hasan Lee (White Knoll) – six receptions, 137 yards, three touchdowns

Nate Thomas (White Knoll) – 14 tackles

Demenico Banks (White Knoll) – 11 tackles

Tyler Stoudenmire (White Knoll) – 10 tackles 

Collin Woodward (W.W. King Academy) – 163 total yards, two touchdowns; seven tackles

Ben Sauls (W.W. King Academy) – 164 total yards, five touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving, one interception return); three interceptions 

Kevin Crapps (W.W. King Academy) – 100 rushing yards, touchdown 

1,000-yard club

Lexington’s Jonah Norris, River Bluff’s Cooper Johns, Brookland Cayce’s Naahzeikial Mays,  W.W. King Academy’s Ben Sauls and Gilbert’s Jaden Allen-Hendrix are the current members of this group. Fellow Indian Alias Graham-Woodberry needs 68 yards against Dreher to join the club. Dutch Fork’s Jarvis Green has 874 rushing yards on the season.

Streaks continue

Top-ranked Dutch Fork extended its in-state regular-season winning streak to 43 and region winning streak to 30. It heads to “The Swamp” Oct. 21 to face River Bluff looking to win its 40th straight road game. 

Defending Class 2A champion Gray Collegiate won its 26th consecutive region game and fifth straight region title. Since becoming eligible to compete for region titles in 2016, the War Eagles are 30-3 in region play.

By the Numbers

Dutch Fork has posted 19 shutout victories since 2016. Linebacker Jaylin Hinton has a team-high 81 tackles. Gilberts’ Brendan Boatwright has 84 tackles, followed by teammate Jordan Smith with 81.  Lexington running back Jonah Norris has rushed for 1,629 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. Right behind him is River Bluff running back Cooper Johns with 1,308 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Wildcat quarterback Taiden Mines has thrown for 1,564 yards and 16 touchdowns. Gray Collegiate quarterback Riley Staton has thrown for 1,907 yards and 23 touchdowns. South Aiken snapped a four-game losing streak to Lexington County teams with its 62-21 win over Airport. The Thoroughbreds’ last win against a Lexington County team was also against the Eagles last season. Batesburg-Leesville joined Northside Christian and River Bluff as Chronicle Country teams that surpassed their win total from last season. 

Quotable

“To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to have five touchdowns. That’s a lot. It was the looks, what they were showing us. We came to the sidelines and figured out what was going to work against their defense. There’s a lot that goes to it in terms of the game plan and how we prepare. We knew we could execute on big plays, knew that coming into the game and knew we had to in order to win this game. I’m proud of everyone in this locker room, and we’re onto the next.” – Tennessee wide receiver and Dutch Fork graduate Jalin Hyatt