Friday rewind: How Ridge View got the best of Blythewood in rivalry game

Ridge View has produced its share of college receivers through the years. The Blazers might have another one.

Sophomore Jordon Gidron caught three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Breylon Boyd as the Blazers defeated rival Blythewood, 32-21, in the season opener Friday for both teams.

“Ridge View, wide receiver factory right?” Ridge View coach Derek Howard said. “We’ve got a lot of good receivers. Jordon is special, with about four or five other special kids we got. Tonight was his night and I’m proud of him.”

Gidron looks to help fill the void left by Zion Agnew, Adonis McDaniel and Zion Agnew — Ridge View alums who are all playing in college this year. The sophomore finished with five catches for 113 yards.

Ridge View had a long offseason to get ready and shake off the disappointment from last season. The Blazers were banned from the postseason last year after a ruling that they had used ineligible players.

Boyd said that was a motivating factor in getting ready for the new year.

“That feeling when we walked off the field at A.C. Flora and we couldn’t play again. That hurt us,” Boyd said. “All spring and summer, that was our drive to get this win tonight.”

Boyd, a senior who saw action last season, put together a strong performance running and throwing the ball.

He finished with 185 yards passing and had some key runs.

The win spoiled the debut for new Blythewood coach James Martin. The Bengals were coming off a 10-win season and first region championship in a decade.

Quarterback Harrison Collins threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Kaleb Kelly, to put the Bengals up 14-13 with 3:51 left in the second quarter. Kelly finished with six catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Ridge View answered as running back Aidan Keeffe ran it in from 5 yards out to put the Blazers up 19-14 late in the second quarter.

The Blazers extended the lead to 26-14 when Boyd hit Gidron on a 20-yard pass on fourth-and-14 with 4:27 in the third quarter. Siah Mack, who moved over from receiver to running back, added a TD run to make it 32-14 in the fourth quarter. Mack finished with 128 yards rushing.

“These kids tapped in and did the things we asked them to do,” Howard said. “We played against a good football team that people felt was a top-10 5A program. And for the most part we dominated the whole game.”

Final high school football scores from Midlands and SC games as season kicks off

Top Performers

Grayson White, QB, Camden: Senior was 17-of-23 for 321 yards passing and five total touchdowns as the Bulldogs went on the road and defeated Myrtle Beach, 43-0. It was the first time Myrtle Beach has been shut out since 2017 against Byrnes.

BJ Montgomery, RB, Gray Collegiate: Junior running back rushed for 303 yards and four touchdowns as the War Eagles knocked off defending Class A champion Christ Church, 46-21.

Patrick Belk, QB, Heathwood Hall: Sophomore quarterback accounted for five touchdowns in the Highlanders’ 42-6 win over Great Falls on Thursday.

Jesse Hoover, QB Airport: Hoover threw four touchdown passes to Avery Jones and ran for one in Airport’s win over Swansea. He finished with 215 yards passing and rushed for 56 yards.

Jamel Howse, WR, Newberry: Howse caught seven passes for 207 yards and four touchdowns from Bryce Satterwhite in Bulldogs’ 47-20 win over Union County. It was the second-most points Newberry has scored in a season opener in school history.

AJ Brand and Jaden Allen-Hendrix, Irmo: The duo combined for five touchdowns in Irmo’s 49-3 win over Chapin. Brand was 14-of-21 passing for 220 yards, two touchdowns and also rushed for 120 yards and a TD. Hendrix, a running back, rushed for 257 yards and two TDs.

Strong debuts, impressive team efforts

Lexington 17, West Florence 7: Dustin Curtis won his opening game as coach at his alma mater Lexington. Quarterback Taiden Mines threw a touchdown to Jonathan Rolland, and Cam Morris had a TD run. The Wildcats held the Knights to just 100 yards off offense.

Airport 36, Swansea 2: Shane Fidler won his first game as Airport coach in the Eagles’ win over the Tigers. Hoover accounted for five touchdowns in the win. Avery Jones caught nine passes for 149 yards and four touchdowns.

Westwood 27, Spring Valley 7: Antwan Nelson and Quentin McCall each had TD runs and Ako Taylor returned a fumble for a touchdown in the Redhawks’ win over Spring Valley. It was just the second win and first since 2014 for the Redhawks over the Vikings.

Around the Midlands

Colquitt (Ga.) 48, Dutch Fork 17: Quarterback Neko Fann threw for four touchdowns, ran for one and had 317 yards of offense in the Georgia-Carolina Challenge on Saturday night. Georgia commit Ny Carr caught two of the touchdowns and finished with seven catches for 134 yards. Ethan Offing had a TD pass and Maurice Anderson a TD run for Dutch Fork, which lost its season-opener for the first time since 2015.

Cardinal Newman 42, Trinity Collegiate 12: Duncan Skehan threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns in Amarii King. Cortez Lane ran for two TDs. Braxton Rodgers returned an interception for a touchdown and Pedro Reyes had a punt return for a score.

Ben Lippen 62, Asheville Christian (NC) 54: Quarterback Jayvon Gilmore threw five touchdown passes as the Falcons win a high-scoring opener on the road.

Brookland-Cayce 45, Harding (NC) 6: Deshawn Washington rushed for three touchdowns as the Bulldogs won the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

CA Johnson 34, Columbia 2: Quarterback Caleb Pearson accounted for four touchdowns in the Hornets’ win.

Clinton 50, Batesburg-Leesville 27: Seven different players scored TDs in Clinton’s win over B-L.

Crestwood 49, Richland Northeast 21: Crestwood QB Javion Martin ran for three TDs and threw for two in the Knights’ win over RNE.

Dreher 26, Keenan 25: Colby Fuller hit Jayden Haygood with the go-ahead TD with 1:12 left in the Blue Devils’ victory.

Fairfield Central 41, Carvers Bay 0: The Griffins scored twice in the span of less than a minute to start the game in the victory over the Bears.

Greenwood 24, AC Flora 23: The Falcons rallied from down 17 in the fourth quarter but just came up short at Greenwood. Roper Wentzky had a pair of TD passes for Flora.

North Central 28, Johnsonville 21: Casey Shropshire ran for three touchdowns, including the game-winner with less than three minutes left as Daniel Sisk won his opening game as Knights’ coach. Shropshire finished with 201 yards rushing.

Northside Christian 45, First Baptist 42: Sam Burks rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns and also caught two passes for 68 yards and a TD for Northside Christian.

Pelion 22, Bethune Bowman 8: Quarterback Luke New had a TD pass and ran for a score for the Panthers.

Prince Avenue (Ga.) 42, Hammond 13: The Skyhawks dropped their opener to the defending Georgia Class A Division I champions.

River Bluff 47, Lugoff-Elgin 13: Darius Caine, Hayden Myers, Stephen Collier and Trace Nettles all scored TDs for the Gators.

Saluda 42, Mid-Carolina 10: Kyree Etheredge rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers.

West Ashley 23, Lower Richland 20: Jacob Adams hit a field goal as time expired as the Diamond Hornets dropped their opener on the road.

White Knoll 49, Orangeburg-Wilkinson 0: Quarterback Landon Sharpe threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns and running back Tiyon Fanning rushed for 108 yards and a TD.