THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

This is Rivalry Week in certain Chronicle Country circles.

Teams with longstanding histories against each other usually use the early portion of the schedule for crowd-drawing contests.

It’s also an opportunity for teams to improve before region play.

Here are some of those contests:

• Airport at Brookland-Cayce - This is a unique rivalry. Both teams have faced each other twice a season in the same region. The Region 4-4A title was on the line when last the 2 rivals met. Airport won 38-27 to take a 46-30 lead in the series.

• Batesburg-Leesville at Gilbert - The Panthers dominated “The Battle of Highway 1” with a 27-6 advantage. That changed since Gilbert Coach Chad Leaphart returned to his alma mater. The Indians have won 3 straight for the 1st time ever in the series and are playing the 2nd of 3 home games opening the season.

• Mid-Carolina at Chapin - The “Battle of the Bell” is one of the state’s oldest rivalries. Named after the bell used on the train from Chapin to Prosperity, the matchup dates to 1961. The Chapin Eagles hold a 44-16 advantage and have won the last 6 meetings. Friday’s game will air on WACH 57 (1250 on Time Warner Cable).

TEAM OF THE WEEK - Gilbert

The Indians needed all of the offense in their repertoire to hold off visiting Gray Collegiate Academy. They amassed 670 total yards in the 62-47 shootout win.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK - Bruce Staley, Nanders Lawrence and Markco Gilmore (all of Airport) provided a 3-headed, 6-legged attack for an Eagles’ 41-7 win over Dreher. Each of the backfield trio had 2 TDs and close to a combined 450 total rushing yards.

WEEK 0 GRIDIRON GIANTS

Malachi Brown (Brookland-Cayce) - 13-19 passing, 172 yards, TD

Will Way (Brookland-Cayce) - 7 receptions, 107 yards, TD; 84 rushing yards

Ty Olenchuk (Dutch Fork) - 23-36 passing, 295 yards, 4 TDs Jalin Hyatt (Dutch Fork) - 3 receiving TDs Elijah Spencer (Dutch Fork) - 7 receptions, 124 yards, TD Drew Howell (Gilbert) - 18 tackles John Stewart (Gilbert) - 14 tackles Wells Sykes (Gilbert) - 11 tackles, INT Dre Cook (Gilbert) - 102 rushing yards, 2 TDs Matt Reed (Gilbert) - 6 receptions, 75 yards, 2 TDs; 30 rushing yards Jy Tolen (Gilbert) - 23-30 passing, 358 yards, 4 TDs; 1 rushing TD

Logan Moyer (Gilbert) - 93 % OL grade, 2 pancakes

Will Harman & Jack Leaphart (both of Gilbert) - 90 % OL grade

Hunter Helms (Gray Collegiate) - 17-28 passing, 402 yards, 2 TDs

K.Z. Adams (Gray Collegiate) - 148 rushing yards, 106 receiving yards, 5 TDs

Jack Wood (Gray Collegiate) - 7 receptions, 136 yards

Ahmad Bynem-Scott (Lexington) - 140 rushing yards, TD

Jackson Stone (River Bluff) - 4-11 passing, 117 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rushing TD

Aveon Smith (White Knoll) - 175 total yards, TD

Darius Derrick-Jones (White Knoll) - 6 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TDs

BY THE NUMBERS

Gilbert head football coach Chad Leaphart is 30-6 in 4 seasons at his alma mater...Gilbert and Grey Collegiate combined for 1,254 total yards, but also 29 penalties for 285 yards...Dutch Fork have now gone undefeated in 26 straight games. It has won 19 consecutive road games entering Friday’s game at Spring Valley...Batesburg-Leesville improved to 20-0 all-time against Ridge Springs-Monetta last week.

QUOTABLE

“That was a wild one, too. We lost that 63-60 when I was at Swansea. That might have been as bad too and I think that one we had to come back and finish on a Saturday. But this time, I’m on the winning side. So, I like this a whole lot better.” - Gilbert head coach Chad Leaphart looking back at the classic 2015 overtime matchup against Chapin when he coached at Swansea. The 2 teams combined for 15 touchdowns in the matchup won by the Eagles.