5 Takeaways from Week 3 of South Carolina high school football

Here comes Batesburg-Leesville, Dutch Fork dominates, Summerville survives

Summerville got all it could ask for from Berkeley, Friday night, but the Green Wave had enough in the tank to pull down a 41-25 victory. / Summerville Football Instagram

It was another week full of expected results as well as surprises in South Carolina high school football.

Here are five key takeaways from this week’s games.

Watch out for Batesburg-Leesville

Batesburg-Leesville has had many successful seasons in the past but it has been a while.

Not anymore, it seems.

The Panthers just beat Abbeville for the first time in 10 years. It was a 37-35 thriller over a Class A heavyweight in which quarterback Tanner Watkins threw for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns. Amadre Wooden ran for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Dutch Fork rolls to its 10 consecutive victory

Last year, the Silver Foxes played a brutal non-region schedule that included games with out-of-state teams. They struggled to a 2-5 start before winning eight in a row and taking their second straight Class AAAA state championship.

That winning streak now stands at 10 after a 38-0 rout of Ridge View. Quarterback Ethan Offing threw for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. 

Dutch Fork’s defense has allowed one touchdown in two games. There was no slow start this year for the Silver Foxes.

Summerville survives an upset bid by Berkeley

The Green Wave overcame an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to fend off Berkeley’s upset bid, 41-35. Jaden Cummings, a Dartmouth commit, threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Green Wave made a goal line stand at the end of the first half. 

This was no gimme. Berkeley features sophomore quarterback Henry Rivers, who recently received an offer from The Citadel.

Northwestern is rocking and rolling in Class AAAAA

Northwestern was a good Class AAAA program. The Trojans have moved up to Class AAAAA and they’re not slowing down.

Led by senior quarterback Finlay Polk, the Trojans dismantled South Florence 48-7. It has been a long time since South Florence, the 2022 Class AAAA state champion, got beaten so decisively.

Barnwell wins its showdown with Bamberg-Ehrhardt

Jaquan Peeples ran for a pair of touchdowns as the War Horses throttled Bamberg-Ehrhardt and star quarterback Chanston Crosby, 21-7.

It was an impressive effort by the Barnwell defense in stopping Crosby, who has 11 college offers and committed to North Carolina Central.

Barnwell (3-0) is coming off an 8-5 season in which the War Horses fell to eventual Class AA state champion Oceanside Collegiate Academy in the third round. The War Horses could be primed for another extended playoff run this season.