Sumter – Everything got back to normal in AAAAA football in the state of South Carolina last
season: Dutch Fork High School was back at the top of the heap after a one-year hiatus.
How to knock the Silver Foxes and legendary head coach Tom Knotts down from that perch was
no doubt a topic of conversation among the other AAAAA coaches at the coaches clinic in Greenville.
The Silver Foxes had their run of five consecutive state championships snapped in 2021 in a
scintillating showdown against Gaffney, which capped off a perfect season by rallying for a 22-19
victory. Dutch Fork was also undefeated at the time.
Last season Dutch Fork went 14-1 with the only loss coming by a 25-7 count to St. Frances
Academy out of Baltimore. Take away that game and the Silver Foxes outscored their foes 661-176.
Dutch Fork won its five playoff games over Mauldin, Dorman, Spartanburg, Gaffney and Fort
Dorchester by a combined score of 252-70. The closest game was 35-18 against Dorman, and the Silver
Foxes beat Fort Dorchester 47-10 in the state championship game.
Dutch Fork lost some talented players from that squad, including 2,000-yard rusher Jarvis Green.
However, Knotts always seems to have someone to fill the holes with, and until someone shows it can do
it, the Silver Foxes are again the choice to win the state championship.
Here’s a look at the top 10 teams in the High School Sports Report AAAAA preseason poll.
1. DUTCH FORK
Along with Green, the Silver Foxes also lost quarterback Aliam Appler to graduation
and several other starters on both sides of the ball.
It will be interesting to see if senior Jon Hunt will slide into the quarterback role after
losing the job to Appler last season.
The Silver Foxes do have senior wide receiver Jacob Hamilton returning after coming
up with 30 catches for 598 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, senior defensive end/linebacker Derrick McBride returns after coming up
with three tackles for loss last year. Junior lineman/linebacker Josh Smith had nine TFLs and
senior defensive lineman Dakota Jordan had 62 tackles and six TFLs.
Dutch Fork is scheduled to open its season on August 19 by traveling to Georgia to face
Colquitt County.
2. SUMMERVILLE
Summerville made a big jump in Ian Rafferty’s third season as head coach, going 11-3
after winning just eight games in his first two years. The Green Wave reached the lower state
championship game where they lost to Fort Dorchester.
Summerville has a lot of talent returning on the defensive side of the football and
quarterback Jaden Cummings has transferred in from Hanahan High School.
Summerville opens its season on August 25 with a road game against Carolina Forest.
3. FORT DORCHESTER
There has been a bit of turmoil within the Fort Dorchester program with head coach
Steve LaPrad resigning twice in a 5-month period, the final time coming in May when he said he
was “too old to coach.”
LaPrad obviously did a pretty good job of it last year, taking the Patriots to the
championship game. There is a lot of talent returning from that team, enough so that interim head
coach Joshua Smith inherits a good situation.
4. GAFFNEY
The Indians went 9-4 last season, losing to Dutch Fork in the upper state championship
game. They will have to replace quarterback Grayson Loftis. That job will go to Riley Staton.
Gaffney returns four wide receivers, including Emazon Littlejohn and Drew Medley.
While the offensive line is huge, head coach Dan Jones said it needs to build depth.
The Indians look to be strong defensively. “We’ve got six guys that can play three spots,”
Jones said.
Gaffney opens its season on August 18 against Crest in Shelby, North Carolina.
5. Byrnes
Byrnes will be looking to break in a new quarterback with the graduation of Colby Shaw.
Whoever it is will have some nice offensive weapons around him.
Junior RJ Livingston is back after rushing for 829 yards and 10 touchdowns and
catching 28 passes for 237 yards. Byrnes has some big play receivers back in junior Armoni
Weaver, junior Chamarryus Bomar and senior Ethan Morris.
The Rebels were 9-4 last year, finishing fourth in the difficult Region 2. However, they
reached the third round of the state playoffs.
6. LEXINGTON
There is a lot of buzz around the Lexington football program as people are interested to
see how Dustin Curtis does as the Wildcats’ head coach. Curtis, who won a AAAA state title at A.C.
Flora in 2020, left Dorman after one season to coach his alma mater. Curtis replaces Perry Woolbright,
who left Lexington so he could coach at his alma mater, Clover.
Lexington will open its season on August 18 at home against West Florence.
7. SPARTANBURG
Spartanburg returns six starters on both sides of the ball from a team that went 8-5,
reached the third round of the state playoffs and tied for the Region 2 title.
The Vikings lose standout quarterback Raheim Jeter, however, head coach Mark Hodge
is excited to see what his replacement, TJ Johnson, can do.
“TJ Johnson will provide a true dual threat at the QB position,” Hodge said. “His
leadership, along with his cerebral and physical gifts, allows us the ability to empower the offense.
The OL (offensive line) is stronger and more confident in the schematics. The depth and skill set
of our perimeter players will allow our offense the opportunity to be one of the best in the state.”
Spartanburg opens its season on August 18 at home against South Pointe.
8. SUMTER
The Gamecocks are coming off of another successful season under head coach Mark
Barnes. They went 11-2, won the Region 6 title and reached the third round of the state playoffs.
Sumter will be returning senior quarterback Pate Merchant as well as running back Jon
Peeples, who rushed for well over 1,000 yards last season. The Gamecocks have put out several standout
defenders over the years, last season being defensive back Zyeir Gamble, now at Appalachian State.
Barnes always finds a way to have a strong defense.
The Gamecocks open their season on August 18 on the road against Lakewood.
9. HILLCREST
Hillcrest will be under the guidance of a new head coach in former South Carolina
State offensive coordinator Bennett Swygert. He replaces Anthony Frate, who left to become
the head coach at Wren.
The Rams went 9-2 last year with Bennett Judy leading a high-powered offense. While
the quarterback isn’t back, one of his top receivers is in senior Avery McFadden. He had 69
catyches for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns.
Hillcrest opens its season on August 18 on the road against Laurens.
10. T.L. HANNA
T.L Hanna went 10-2 under head coach Jason Tone in winning the Region 1 title. The
Yellow Jackets return eight starters on both sides of the football.
T.L. Hanna has loads of experience with 38 seniors on this year's team.
The Yellow Jackets open their season on August 18 against Boiling Springs.
While Hanna lost leading rusher SaSheen Latimer, it has plenty of candidates to take over in the
likes of Eddie Pino, Vashun Burton, Josh Donald and Jalen Boles.
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