After 10 weeks, the South Carolina high school football regular season is headed to a dramatic finish. 

Throughout the Palmetto State in the public and private school realms, games to decide region titles, playoff positions and even post-season berths will be prevalent. 

No area captures the importance and excitement level of Week 10 than Chronicle Country. Nearly all of this week’s games carry major ramifications:

Dutch Fork (8-1, 3-0) at Lexington (8-1, 3-0) – It’s No. 1 versus No. 3 in a match-up for the Region 4-5A title. 

The top-ranked Silver Foxes enter the contest riding streaks of 44 straight victories against in-state teams in regular-season play, 40 consecutive road wins and 31 region wins in a row. 

They have also won eight straight against the second-ranked Wildcats and are 9-1 all-time with head coach Tom Knotts. Since Knotts’ arrival in 2010, Dutch Fork has won or shared 13 consecutive region titles.

Meanwhile, Lexington is riding its longest winning streak since 2015. After a 42-35 loss to undefeated third-ranked West Florence in Week 0, the Wildcats have run off eight straight victories and are seeking their first region title since 2015.

This is the final WACH 57 Sonic Friday Night Rivals Game of the Week. The game can be seen on Spectrum Channel 1250 or streamed at wach.com or the Lexington Wildcat page on Facebook Live. 

Brookland-Cayce (6-3, 4-0) at Gilbert (7-2, 4-0) -  Since 2016, the Region 5-3A title has seen the Bearcats and Indians take turns as champions.

Last season saw Brookland-Cayce reclaim the title for the second time in five years after beating out Gilbert on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Now, Gilbert is seeking to win the region for the fourth time in its history, all under current head coach Chad Leaphart. 

“That’s as big one right here at the end of the schedule,” said Leaphart, who claimed his 64th career win at Gilbert. “Us and Brookland-Cayce have really developed into a rivalry over the years. Us and them have played a lot of games with the region championship on the line. We’ve got some, they’ve got some. They’ve got a good football team this year and it should be exciting, exciting game next week at Tomahawk Stadium.”

After a challenging non-region schedule which included games against ranked teams in higher classifications in J.F. Byrnes, Northwestern and A.C. Flora, the Bearcats have rebounded with five straight wins. After a 3-0 start, Gilbert suffered back-to-back losses to Lexington and Saluda before winning four straight region games. 

Spartanburg Christian Academy (5-4, 1-1) at Northside Christian Academy (6-3, 2-0) - The Crusaders can tie a school record for victories and win their first-ever region title under second-year head coach Dean Howell. 

This is the first region game since Week 2 for Northside Christian. It’s the only undefeated team in region play, while the Knights have won two straight games after suffering its first region loss to Orangeburg Prep. 

There are other contests taking place where teams look to solidify their playoff positions:

Irmo (5-4, 1-3) at Lugoff-Elgin (4-5, 1-3) - A victory potentially moves the Yellow Jackets as high as third place in Region 5-4A. A loss would knock Irmo out of the playoffs. 

Chapin (3-6, 0-4) at River Bluff (6-3, 1-2) - A win clinches third place in Region 4-5A for the Gators, while an Eagles’ win creates a three-way tie for third place. This also leaves the possibility of the fifth-place team earning an at-large playoff berth. 

Orangeburg-Wilkinson (2-7, 1-3) at Swansea (3-6, 0-4) - The Tigers have one final chance at Doug Bennett Stadium to claim a playoff berth. A win creates a three-way tie with the Bruins and Dreher should it lose to Lower Richland. The tiebreaker would then get determined by points differential in the matchups between the three teams. 

Saluda (7-2, 2-2) at Batesburg-Leesville (4-5, 2-2) - The Panthers have already clinched a post-season berth with last week’s 55-7 win over Pelion. A victory over the Tigers moves them to third place in Region 3-2A. 

Week 9 Gridiron Giants

Jesse Hoover (Airport) – 178 passing yards 

Apollos Cook (Airport) – five receptions, 122 yards, touchdown

Brendon Powe (Airport) – 12 tackles

Ivan Taylor, Trey Neil and Kendell Stroman (all of Airport) – 10 tackles each

Korey Williams (Batesburg-Leesville) – 230 rushing yards, three touchdowns 

Cade Bouknight (Batesburg-Leesville) – 73 yards, two touchdowns 

Tanner Watkins (Batesburg-Leesville) – 181 passing yards, touchdowns

Deshaun Washington (Brookland-Cayce) – 138 rushing yards, four touchdowns; defensive touchdown 

Naahzekial Mays (Brookland-Cayce) – 126 rushing yards

Brady Albro (Chapin) – 206 passing yards, one rushing touchdown

Norman Beerman (Chapin) – 65 rushing yards, two touchdowns 

Jarvis Green (Dutch Fork) – 191 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns; four receptions, 106 yards, two touchdowns

Aliam Appier (Dutch Fork) – 257 passing yards, three touchdowns 

Alias Graham-Woodberry (Gilbert) – 249 rushing yards, two touchdowns

Jaden Allen-Hendrix (Gilbert) – 227 rushing yards, three touchdowns 

Brenden Boatwright (Gilbert) – 13 tackles

Caleb Strese (Gilbert) – 11 tackles 

A.J. Brand (Irmo) – 240 passing yards, three touchdowns; 72 rushing yards, touchdown

Taiden Mines (Lexington) – 162 passing yards, two touchdowns 

Jonah Norris (Lexington) – 90 rushing yards, two touchdowns 

Kamadi Maxwell (Lexington) – five receptions, 109 yards, two touchdowns 

Lexington defense – Allowed 50 total yards versus Aiken

Jefferson McCallum (Northside Christian Academy) – 154 passing yards

Sam Burks and Matt Diaz (both of Northside Christian Academy) – two touchdowns each 

Cooper Johns (River Bluff) – 132 rushing yards, touchdown

Landon Sharpe (White Knoll) – 316 passing yards, two touchdowns

Hasan Lee (White Knoll) – five receptions, 151 yards, two touchdowns

Hayden Cushman (White Knoll) - 17 tackles

Nate Thomas (White Knoll) – 12 tackles for White Knoll (7-3, 2-2) 

By the Numbers 

Lexington’s 50-0 win over Aiken was the team’s first shutout since last year’s first-round playoff win over Conway by a 24-0 score. 

Gray Collegiate quarterback Riley Staton has thrown for 1,919 yards and 23 touchdowns. Teammate Kaine Williams has 128 tackles, followed by Jordan Robinson with 12. 

White Knoll quarterback Landon Sharpe has thrown for 1,863 yards and 21 touchdowns. Teammates Tyler Stoudenmire and Hayden Cushman both have 76 tackles, followed by teammate Demenico Banks with 75.

Gilbert’s Brendan Boatwright has 97 tackles, followed by Dutch Fork’s Jaylen Hinton with 91, the Indians’ Jordan Smith (86) and Jake Torbett and Caleb Strese each with 86. Running backs Alias Graham-Woodberry and Dutch Fork’s Jarvis Green became the latest members of the Chronicle Country 1,000-yard club. Other members include Gilbert’s Jaden Allen-Hendrix, River Bluff’s Cooper Johns, Brookland-Cayce’s Naahzekial Mays, W.W. King Academy’s Ben Sauls and Lexington’s Jonah Norris. Up next is Batesburg-Leesville’s Korey Williams with 849 yards.

Top College Numbers by Chronicle Country Players

WR Jalin Hyatt (Dutch Fork) of Tennessee – seven receptions, 174 yards, two touchdowns against UT-Martin. He leads the nation with 12 receiving touchdowns.

RB Kendrell Flowers (Irmo) of South Carolina State – 84 rushing yards, touchdown in win over North Carolina Central

OL Nick Taiste (White Knoll) of South Carolina State – Named MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week after grading out at 96% against North Carolina Central, helping the Bulldogs accumulate 386 yards of total offense in 73 snaps. He recorded six pancake blocks without committing a penalty or yielding a sack.

Elijah Spencer (Charlotte) – six receptions, 77 yards in loss to FIU.