Lower Richland has gone a perfect 3-0 against Lakewood recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Diamond Hornets will venture away from home to face off against the Gators at 7:30 p.m. Lower Richland will be strutting in after a win while Lakewood will be coming in after a defeat.
If Lakewood heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Lower Richland took over last week. The Diamond Hornets strolled past Wilson with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 28-13.
Solomon Kelson
| 09/19/25 @ Darlington | 3 |
| 10/09/25 vs Wilson | 2 |
| 09/12/25 vs Batesburg-Leesville | 2 |
Solomon Kelson went supernova, rushing for 76 yards and a pair of scores. He also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because Lower Richland is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 2-3 otherwise.
Another reason for the win was Lower Richland's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Wilson's QB won't forget Dominick Heath anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Another thorn in the Tigers' side was Maurice Horry, who picked up 1.5 sacks and made five total tackles (3.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, Lakewood was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their 13th straight loss dating back to last season. They had to suffer through a 49-0 loss at the hands of South Florence. While losing is never fun, the Gators can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Bruins are ranked fifth).
Lower Richland's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Lakewood, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-7.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Lower Richland has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Lakewood, though, as they've been averaging only 68.9 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Lower Richland against Lakewood when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 53-6 win. In that contest, the Diamond Hornets amassed a halftime lead of 28-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
