The 10 non-region HS football games in Midlands we’re most looking forward to

High school football will begin in full force this week throughout the state of South Carolina, with opening games for most teams set for Friday night.

Realignment among the public and private schools will create some strong region matchups in the next two years. But there also will be some intriguing non-region games in the early portion of the schedule.

Here are 10 non-region games involving Columbia-area teams that we’re most looking forward to:

10 must-see non-region games

Christ Church at Hammond (Aug. 23): A battle of state champions takes place at Edens Stadium. Christ Church is the defending SC High School League Class A champion that is making the move up to Class 3A this year. Hammond won its seventh straight SC Independent Schools Association championship and is the favorite once again this year.

Christ Church features Division I prospect and South Carolina target Jackson Repp at WR and QB Tucker Hendrix, who threw 43 touchdowns last year. Hammond has LSU commit Mike Tyler at tight end as well as Davidson running back commit Manny Johnson and Hampden-Sydney QB commit Andrew Turner.

Gilbert at Lexington (Aug. 23): Lexington County rivals meet in the season opening game that will be WACH Fox’s Sonic Rivals Game of Week. Game marks the debut of new Gilbert coach Ozzie Exume. Lexington leads the all-time series, 4-2, but Gilbert won 14-3 last season.

White Knoll at Camden (Aug. 24): Week 1 ends in the Midlands on Saturday night with a strong matchup between two state finalists from last year. White Knoll is coming off its best season in school history and made it to the Class 5A championship game. Camden played for the 3A championship and came up a yard short, losing to Daniel in overtime. The Bulldogs are making the move up to Class 4A this season.

Dutch Fork at Spartanburg (Aug. 30) : Season opener for last year’s Class 5A champion and preseason No. 1 Dutch Fork , which only has nine games scheduled this year. The Silver Foxes return a ton of talent back from last year’s team including West Virginia DB commit Elgin Sessions and Coastal Carolina DE commit Josh Smith. Spartanburg has 16 starters back and is ranked No. 7 in preseason SC High School Media poll.

Gray Collegiate at Baylor (Tenn.) (Aug. 30): Gray Collegiate heads out of state to take on Erik Kimrey’s Baylor squad. Kimrey, a former USC quarterback and assistant coach, built Hammond into a powerhouse and is in his third season in Tennessee. Baylor will play on ESPN2 six days before its matchup with Gray. Baylor’s roster features three players ranked as three-star recruits or better by 247Sports in the Class of 2025 — ATH Cam Sparks , Ole Miss RB commit Shekai Mills-Knight and Tennessee WR commit Joakim Dodson .

Northwestern at Ridge View (Aug. 30): Home game with Trojans is part of a tough non-conference slate for Ridge View, which includes games with Camden and Dutch Fork. Ridge View features the No. 1 prospect in SC for Class of 2026 in receiver Jordon Gidron . Northwestern is ranked No. 4 in Class 5A preseason poll and features QB and Gardner-Webb commit Finley Polk.

Hartsville at Camden (Sept. 6): One of the state’s longest running rivalries continues with both schools in the same classification in Class 4A. This will be the 95th meeting between the two schools. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 of 4A rankings.

Irmo at Butler (NC) (Sept. 6): Entertaining out-of-state matchup with two title contenders in their state’s classes. Irmo made it to the Class 4A Lower State championship last year and is moving up to 5A Division II this season. The Yellow Jackets have Virginia Tech commit AJ Brand at quarterback and top junior prospect in receiver Donovan Murph .

Butler went 12-2 last season and made it to the regional semifinals. The Bulldogs have a new coach in Glenwood Ferebee, who was briefly the coach at Wilson in SC for four months before leaving in April. He replaced Irmo coach Aaron Brand at Chambers in NC when he left for Irmo. Butler has UMass commit Zach Lawrence at quarterback. Lawrence threw for 1,900-plus yards and 24 touchdowns last season. The Bulldogs’ defense features Charlotte 49ers commit Jadyn Farmer.

White Knoll at Brookland-Cayce (Sept. 6): Strong matchup between title contenders in Class 4A and 5A. It will be the first matchup between the two teams since 2019. B-C is coming off an 11-win season and trip to the Class 3A Lower State championship. The Bearcats are moving up to 4A this season.

Oceanside Collegiate at Dutch Fork (Sept. 20): Another matchup of state championships from a year ago. Oceanside won the Class 2A championship and is moving up to Class 3A this year. It will be the first matchup between the two schools.

Others to watch: AC Flora at Chapin (Aug. 30); Byrnes at Irmo (Aug. 30); Sumter at White Knoll (Aug. 30); Dutch Fork at Ridge View (Sept. 6); Chester at Saluda (Sept. 13); Gray Collegiate at Dutch Fork (Sept. 13); Ridge View at Camden (Sept. 13); and River Bluff at Gilbert (Sept. 13)