Week 3 of the 2024 South Carolina high school season has past into history and, as usual, there were many standout performances.

SBLive will choose a Player of the Week throughout the season.

Congratulations to last week’s winner: Moon Gerald of Loris.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. – SBLive Sports

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sep. 22nd. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

The Bruins’ quarterback was close to perfect, throwing for three touchdowns while completing 11 of 13 passes in a 49-14 romp over Fort Dorchester. Jackson also had a 43-yard touchdown run.

Richardson turned in a near flawless effort in Pee Dee’s 48-16 romp over previously undefeated Florence Christian. The senior quarterback was 11-of-14 for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had 5 carries for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns. In addition, Richards had an interception on defense.

The 6-foot, 165-pound senior rocked on both sides of the ball in a 50-36 win over Bluffton. Singletary ran 15 times for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns. On defense, he returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

Thompson is in his first year as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback and he is playing like a star. In a 43-26 win over Ridge View, Thompson was 10-of-13 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns while also running 22 times for 196 yards and a touchdown. And as if that wasn’t enough, Thompson averaged 41 yards on 4 punts.

The 6-foot, 170-pound senior intercepted 2 passes and made 10 tackles in the Griffins’ 33-8 pounding of previously undefeated Lewisville.

What didn’t Weaver do in the Rams’ runaway 55-14 win over Belton-Honea Path? The Appalachian State commit caught two touchdown passes, returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown and returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown. 

Foster turned in a great dual threat game at quarterback in a 43-6 victory over cross-border rival Polk County (N.C.). The 5-foot-11 junior was 7-of-12 for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground he had 6 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown.

Ballard threw for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns to three different receivers while running for 57 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 win over Hanahan.

The star tailback ran 14 times for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 42-19 victory over Augusta (Ga.) Christian. Fludd also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and made a couple of tackles on defense.

Offing was 16-of-26 for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns with an interception in the Silver Foxes’ 35-0 shutout of Gray Collegiate Academy. The 6-foot, 185-pound junior also had a rushing touchdown and punted twice for a 41.5-yard average.

South Carolina football is coming off a heartbreaking 36-33 home loss to LSU. Now comes a tune-up game in which they can bounce back.

The Gamecocks are set to host Akron, their second mid-major opponent of the season. The Zips are well-coached and creative, but they are not particularly talented.

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. AKRON GAME, TV INFO

Who: South Carolina (2-1) vs. Akron (1-2)

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPNU

VEGAS ODDS, POINT SPREAD

The Gamecocks are 27.5-point favorites against the Zips, according to the Action Network. The over/under is 46.5 points.

LAST MEETING, TRENDS

The Gamecocks won the last and only meeting between the teams, a chilly 28-3 victory in a cold and wet game in 2018 that was played in December as a makeup when a hurricane canceled an early-season contest.

STATE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

South Carolina let one slip away Saturday, blowing a 17-0 lead to LSU and losing late in an avalanche of mistakes and ill-timed penalties. The Gamecocks were painfully close to pulling off a 2-0 start in conference play.

The offense showed more potential, with more than 350 yards of explosive plays. The defense had some good moments but seemed to wear down and struggle with tackling down the stretch. The offensive production came despite QB LaNorris Sellers missing half of the game with an ankle injury.

Missing the chance to get to 3-0 means Shane Beamer’s team will still need to pull one SEC or Clemson upset to reach a bowl game. Had they won last week, they’d be in pole position to make the postseason and almost guarantee minimal uncomfortable questions in the offseason.

State of the Akron Zips

In Year 2 under Joe Moorhead, the Zips are trying to make progress after consecutive 2-10 seasons. They took a pair of brutal losses (outscord 101-23 by Ohio State and Rutgers) before topping FCS Colgate.

Moorhead, a former ace Penn State offensive coordinator and failed Mississippi State head coach, has been scheming things up to take most advantage of what he has. His quarterback, Ben Finley, bounced back from getting knocked out of the Ohio State game and torched Colgate. The defense plays hard and gets after it, but they were at such a talent disadvantage the first two weeks that the numbers were ugly.

Life for the Zips program is always going to be difficult and an uphill battle. Since returning to Division 1-A/FCS in 1988, they’ve posted only eight winning seasons and played in three bowls.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers: In less than a half of work, Sellers had some moments against LSU. The second-year player hit a few nice passes and broke off a 75-yard run before tweaking an ankle. He’ll probably be fine for the Zips and could probably use a game where he can slow down a bit.

South Carolina RB Rocket Sanders: The former Arkansas star started the season slowly, then got lathered up against LSU. He posted 143 yards, including a 66-yarder. The Zips give up 5.9 yards per carry to power conference opponents, so Sanders might have a chance to feast.

South Carolina DE Kyle Kennard: The LSU game featured a lot of positives for the veteran pass rusher, but he also committed a (controversial) penalty that took a potential game-icing score off the board. He’s already been terrorizing offensive linemen, and Akron has a decidedly struggling pass protection situation.

Akron QB Ben Finley: After stints at N.C. State (where his brother starred) and Cal, Finley has finally found a place in a lineup. He just got hammered by Ohio State, but he finally got going with 358 yards and four scores vs. Colgate.

Akron DE C.J. Nunnally: A quick and tough defensive end at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Nunnally can be a dangerous pass rusher for the Zips. He’s already got a sack and 1 .5 tackles for loss after posting seven and 13.5 last season.

Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight continues to organize off South Carolina’s coast.

The low pressure does not have enough tropical features right now, but it could be upgraded to a tropical storm. If it is upgraded to a tropical storm, it will be named Helene, making it the eighth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

Monday, the low is forecasted to make landfall south of Myrtle Beach.

After landfall, the system will continue to move NW, pulling rain into Ohio and as far north as Southern New England.

The storm will continue to cause rough surf, heavy rains that may lead to flooding, and tropical-storm-force winds over 40 mph. The National Hurricane Center issued Tropical Storm Warnings along coastal South and North Carolina.

As for the Gulf Coast tropical development chances, there no areas of concerns.