Week three of high school football action has wrapped after 11 action-packed games featuring 13 local teams. 

Three games featured match-ups between Lexington County teams, while everyone else played outside competition. There were a few close contests, but most games were decided well before the end. 

Here are some of the biggest storylines from week three of the Lexington County high school football season. 

Lexington County has one less winless team after lackluster week 3

Entering last week, four local teams had yet to win a game. After Friday’s games, that number decreased to three. 

Northside Christian picked up its first win of the season after a 30-20 victory over Andrew Jackson Academy. The Crusaders' offense exploded and scored its most points in a game this season by far. Previously, the team scored zero, six and 12 points in its games.

The Crusaders are 1-3 this season and will look to secure their first home win of the season in their game against Spartanburg Christian. 

Airport, Chapin and Brookland-Cayce are the only remaining winless teams in Lexington County. Airport lost to Westwood 65-7, Chapin lost to Newberry 45-22 and Brookland-Cayce lost to May River 36-29.

Northside joins Gray Collegiate, Lexington, Gilbert and Batesburg-Leesville in the one-win club. 

Irmo, Dutch Fork and Swansea are the only undefeated teams, sitting at a combined 11-0. 

3 local teams face dramatic endings 

Three games involving local teams came down to the wire.

Lexington lost to Greenwood after allowing a late go-ahead touchdown. The Wildcats led in the closing minutes but Greenwood running back and South Carolina commit Triston Lewis punched in a score with less than a minute to go. 

The Wildcats have dropped three straight games since winning their season-opener on the road versus Gilbert. The team has one game left before starting region play. Lexington hosts Laurens this week. 

River Bluff and Gilbert played in a low-scoring defensive battle. The Gators took the game 14-7, scoring two passing touchdowns, including a deep 76-yard score.

The Indians had a chance to even the score late in the game, but their final drive ended with an interception, and the Gators lined up in victory formation and took a knee. 

River Bluff, now 2-2, will prepare for its final non-region game against Cheraw. Gilbert begins region play this week with a tough test on the road against defending region champions North Augusta.

Swansea and Pelion each entered their game undefeated during the early portion of the season. Each team played like it wanted to stay that way, battling it out in a back-and-forth thriller. 

The Tigers beat the Panthers 28-27 after scoring the only touchdown of the fourth quarter and adding a go-ahead two-point conversion. Swansea improved to 4-0 with the victory, while Pelion dropped to 2-1. 

Region season set to begin in 4A-Region 4

While most of the teams from Lexington County still have some time to work through their kinks and test themselves before beginning region play, the teams in the 4A Region-4 conference do not. 

This week marks the first week of region play for those teams. Lexington County teams account for four of the eight programs in the region. 

Gilbert, Gray Collegiate and Brookland-Cayce will play conference foes this week. Airport, on a bye this week, will begin its region season next week. 

Region games are more important than non-region games because, at the end of the year, they determine the playoff seeding. The higher you place in the conference, the higher seed you have in the playoffs. If you finish too low in the conference standings, you could miss the playoffs altogether. 

Gilbert finished second in the region last season and got to host its first game in the playoffs. Brookland-Cayce finished fourth, Airport placed sixth and Gray Collegiate finished last after having to vacate all of its wins. 

Last week’s big performances 

Maleek Miller had two rushing and a receiving touchdown in Irmo’s win against Carolina Forest. 

DeAndre Caldwell ran in two touchdowns for Swansea in a win over Pelion. 

Brayden Moore threw two touchdown passes, including a 76-yarder, in River Bluff's win against Gilbert. 

Quintin Wilson scored two touchdowns for Dutch Fork in the team’s win over Gray Collegiate. 

Week 4 games to watch 

River Bluff vs. Cheraw

Gilbert at North Augusta 

Gray Collegiate at Midland Valley

Swansea at Barnwell

Week 3 scoreboard

Newberry: 45, Chapin: 22

Dutch Fork: 42, Gray Collegiate: 14

Irmo: 51, Carolina Forest: 21

Greenwood: 36, Lexington: 30

River Bluff: 14, Gilbert: 7

Westwood: 65, Airport: 7

May River: 36, Brookland-Cayce: 29

Swansea: 28, Pelion: 27

Ridge Spring-Monetta: 22, American Leadership: 0

Lower Richland: 28, Batesburg-Leesville: 6

Northside Christian: 30, Andrew Jackson: 20