AAAAA REGION PREVIEW

Region 1-AAAAA

1, T.L. Hanna

2. Hillcrest

3. J.L. Mann

4. Woodmont

5. Mauldin

T.L. Hanna favorite to win region

           T.L. Hanna has had consecutive 10-win seasons and have the talent on hand to do that and perhaps a bit more.

           Vashun Burton and Jaylon Boles are back to start in the backfield in the run-heavyWing-T offense. Brandon Cunningham and Eli Hollinger are vying for the quarterback job.

           Chase Gregorek (6-feet-5-inches, 290 pounds) is back at left tackle. Jack Ramsey is back at tight end.

           Burton will start in the secondary with Wils Epps/. Khilon Groves is back at linebacker and Ramsey will also see time on the defensive line.

           Hillcrest: The Rams went 9-2 last year, winning the region title. They are in their first year under head coach Bennett Swygert.

           Another newcomer to Hillcrest is quarterback Caleb Sutton, the former Easley signal caller. He’ll have a couple of strong WRs to throw to in Avery McFadden and Grant Holliday. Thomas Stanley and Q Harris will be in the backfield. Bryce Rainwater is the leader on the offensive line.

           The defense will be led by lineman Antrez Nance and linebackers Tyson Moses and Jy Leake. Holliday and McFadden will be pulling double duty in the secondary.

           J.L. Mann: The Patriots went 7-5 last season and opened this campaign with a 49-0 win over Eastside.

           Ethan Anderson is back at QB after throwing for 2,373 yards and 27 TDs. Mikel McClellan had 56 catches for 1,167 yards and 14 TDs. Jordan Sullivan (6-4, 270) is a 4-year starter on the O line.

           LB Jacari Bennett, a Buffalo commitment, is back to lead the defense. Also returning are junior LB Wyatt Ward, lineman Jalyn Coley (6-1, 260) and senior DB Payton McBroom.

           Woodmont: The Wildcats were 3-7 last season and are now in their first year under head coach Ty Sutherland. They opened the year with a 28-13 win over Palmetto.

           Woodmont is going to a spread offense. Triston Berry and Michael Smith have battled for the QB job. Trae Broughton and TJ Williams are the RBs and Drake Stewart and Jakari Taylor the wide receivers.

           Tackles Ahmad Carwise and Kameron Wallace lead the O line.

           DB AJ Mayberry and LB Jabari Hailstock are the only returning defensive starters.

           Mauldin: The Mavericks were 1-10 last year and are now being led by head coach Andre Cook.

           Mauldin will operate a pass-fast offense with Miller Brezeale at QB. His WRs will be Devon Wilson and Barrett Sweden. Nehemiah Floyd will be the RB.

           LBs Evan Hruska and Keshawn Washington will lead the defense. Shawn Harris returns at cornerback.

Region 2-AAAAA

1.      Gaffney

2.      Spartanburg

3.      Byrnes

4.      Dorman

5.      Boiling Springs

           Gaffney “should” win region

           You never know what is going to happen in Region 2 with the likes of Gaffney, Dorman, Byrnes and Spartanburg as last year proved.

           Gaffney has to be considered the favorite though after going 9-4 and playing Dutch Fork for the AAAAA upper state title.

           Riley Staton, who transferred from Gray Collegiate, is the new quarterback. He has three stud WRs to throw to in Drew Medley, Emazon Littlejohn and Junior Smith.

           The RBs are Jaiden McDowell and Quashon Tate with Calvin Ramsey the tight end. The O line is led by senior Jake Buerk and massive tackle Shadrick Sarratt.

           Six starters return on defense led by LBs Clay Cook, Andrew Ruppe and Amari Boyd. King Dowdle and Jayden Sims return in the secondary and Jarriel Jefferies is on the D line.

           Spartanburg: The Vikings went 8-5 last season losing in the third round to eventual state champion Dutch Fork.

           T.J. Johnson will be Spartanburg’s new QB. His WR targets will be Justin Rice and Ra’el Senghor with senior Trey Harris at RB. Junior Calvin Choice will line up all over the field.

           The defense is led by junior LB Cam Smith, who had 125 tackles last year. He will be joined by fellow junior Peyton Jones. Charles Woodruff and Demario Bookhart will be the safeties. Damien Coats returns at DE after missing last season with an injury.

           Byrnes: The Rebels went 9-4 last year and reached the third round of the playoffs after going into the playoffs as the region’s No. 4 seed.

           Andrew Stephens steps in at quarterback for the graduated Colby Shaw. RJ Livingston returns at RB along with Knai Cook and Tyleik Dawkins. Stephens has a wide variety of WR targets from which to choose in Armoni Weaver, Chamarryus Bomar and Ethan Morris.

           Byrnes returns Kwai Cook, Bomar and Weaver in the secondary while senior James Oates leads the LBs. The entire D line returns while the Rebels lose four starters on the O line.

           Dorman: Jake Morris takes over as the head coach. The Cavaliers were 9-3 in Dustin Curtis’ only season as head coach.

           Dorman lost several skill position starters as well as a pair of Power 5 Conference O linemen in Markee Anderson (South Carolina) and DJ Geth (North Carolina).

           David Sorenson seems to have won the quarterback job. Jarvis Pearson is at RB and WRs will include KD Hainsworth, Tra’Von Fernandez and Keenan Arcega-Whiteside.

           Middle linebacker Owen Hendricks returns to lead the defense. LB Adam Goudelock is back along with CBs Sammy Brannon and Shane Nash and safety Brannon Teamer.

           Boiling Springs: The Bulldogs went 2-9 in Matt Reel’s first year as head coach in such an unforgiving region. They played a good contest against Region 1 power T.L. Hanna to start the season, falling 34-26.

           Quarterback Lincoln Huskey is back to run a balanced offense. Javen Chhim and Rashan Morgan are back as RBs. Huskey’s top targets will be WR Trayshon Taylor and TE Dekari Sterling.

           Lineman Calvin Johnson is one of six starters back on defense. JoJo Barrett and Bobby McBeth return as LBs. Transfer Jeremiah Favorite could be a favorite in the secondary.

           Region 3-AAAAA

1.      Blythewood

2.      Clover

3.      Nation Ford

4.      Spring Valley

5.      Rock Hill

6.      Fort Mill

           Blythewood favorite despite changes

           Not many football coaches get to inherit a 10-2 team for their first head job, but James Martin is one of them.

           Martin is in his first year in charge at Blythewood. He was the defensive coordinator last season and was named the head coach after Jason Seidel resigned.

           The Bengals lost their season opener, falling to Ridge View 32-21. However, QB Harrison Collins completed 28 of 45 passes for 347 yards and three TDs. Kaleb Kelly had six catches for 122 yards, Quinton Solomon had six catches for 84 yards, Trent Lewis had six catches for 63 yards and Chris Thomas had five catches for 53 yards. Kelly had two TD catches and Solomon one.

           Defensive end Ed Robinson, who led the Bengals with 25 sacks, and Sterling Sanders anchor the defensive line. The secondary will be led by safeties Drayden Young and Trevon Williams and cornerback Jaylin Tyler.

           Clover: Perry Woolbright takes over a program that went 6-5 last season. He inherits a quarterback in Jaylon Hoover who threw for 2,099 yards and 16 TDs. Junior Landon Stone will be the RB. Hoover’s targets will be Cam James and Brayden Woolbright with Travis Sanders as the TE.

           Starters on the O line will include RT Harley Lail, LG Deville Lukinoff, RG Trenton McGill and center AJ Minter.

           Lineman Jayden Bryant will lead the defense. Dillon McCoy and Sam Lee will start at LBs, and Zach Cheatham and Deonte Starr will be key performers in the secondary.

           Nation Ford: The Falcons went 4-7 last year, but were 3-2 in region play. They opened this year with a 29-28 win over Indian Land.

           QB Kaden Barnett completed 19 of 28 passes for 229 yards and three TDs.Josh Ameo had eight catches for 108 yards and a score. Lucas Barz had four catches for 55 yards and a TD, and Jaydon Scott had three catches for 46 yards and a TD.

           Junior RB Kaleb White ran for 90 yards on 18 carries.

           Senior DB Zayvious Neely had 15 tackles to lead the defense. Linebackers Connor Hill and Cade Gowdy had 11 tackles apiece. Braydon Flores had two of Nation Ford’s seven quarterback sacks.

           Spring Valley: The Vikings are another region school with a new head coach. Nygel Pearson inherits a team that went 5-6.

           Pearson operates out of a spread offense. Aden Jones will start at QB again. Spring Valley has four starters back on the O line in Sir Stokes, Alan Hartwell, Robert McGriff and Joel Amos.

           The D line is led by Jonas Wilson KJ Griffin, Khalil Allen and David Alford. The secondary is anchored by Will Smith and Devan Crumpton.

           Rock Hill: The Bearcats have won just two games each of the past two seasons.

           Senior Matthew Wilson is back at quarterback. In Rock Hill’s final nine games, it averaged about 22 points a game. It hopes to continue that trend.

           The defense will be led by senior OLB Isaiah Palmer, junior DT Justice Foster and junior free safety Rakwon Stradford.

           Fort Mill: The Yellow Jackets were winless in 10 games and started this season with a 35-14 loss to Catawba Ridge.

           Quinn Kelly and Collin Martin are battling for the QB job. Grayson Diehl and Tanners Mays are the RBs with Landon Kurtz and Tysen Helms the WRs.

           Defensive leaders are LBs Gavin Brandwood and Kurtz at DB.

           Region 4-AAAAA

1.      Dutch Fork

2.      Lexington

3.      White Knoll

4.      River Bluff

5.      Chapin

           Yes, Dutch Fork is the pick

           This is one of the easiest picks to make until someone proves you wrong. Dutch Fork is the king of high school football in South Carolina and generally goes beyond domination.

           The Silver Foxes won their sixth state title in seven years last season. And though they lost badly to Colquitt County, Georgia to start the year – 48-13 – someone has to prove it inside the state’s borders.

           Dutch Fork will be led by senior quarterback Jon Hunt. His top target will be Jacob Hamilton, who had 30 catches for 598 yards and five TDs last season. Ron DiPietro will be at WR as well.

           Trenton Lodge will get his chance to carry the ball regularly after serving as Jarvis Green’s backup.

           Defensively, the Silver Foxes will be led by DB Tyler Jones and lineman Dakota Jordan. Jones had 76 tackles while Jordan was an All-State pick with six sacks. DE Terrance Wells and OLB Syler Elsey are leaders on defense.

           Lexington: Dustin Curtis is in charge of his alma mater, inheriting a 9-3 team after leaving Dorman following a 9-3 season.,

           Curtis won his debut at Lexington, beating West Florence 17-7.

           Senior Taiden Mines is the quarterback. He threw for 2,250 yards and 23 TDs last season while rushing for 522 yards and six scores.

Running back Cam Morris ran for a TD against West Florence following a blocked punt by Matt McCauley.

           TE Cameron Sutton (6-3, 240) will be a key cog as well.

           Leaders on the defense are DB Terry Lowery and LBs Christian Sexton,  Broxton Grantt and Dylan Bolin

           White Knoll: The Wolves made a big step forward, going 7-34 last year. They hope to take a step or two more this year.

           They have quarterback Landon Sharpe back after throwing for 2,208 yards and 25 TDs. He was 15-for-20 for 287 yards and three TDs in a 49-0 win over Orangeburg-Wilkinson.

           Evan Henderson had five catches for 90 yards, while Hasan Lee had five for 85 and a TD. CJ Earl and RB Tiyon Fanning also had TD catches. Fanning ran for 108 yards and a TD.

           The defense is led by linebacker by Demencio Banks. Mondo Domenech had seven tackles and three TFLs against O-W. Jaiden Kimble had six tackles and a sack.

           River Bluff: The Gators went 7-4 last season and opened this season with a 47-13 win over Lugoff-Elgin.

           Parker Murray returns as QB after throwing 14 TDs last year. He completed 13 of 19 passes for 161 yards against L-E. WR Stephen Collier had three catches for 63 yards, Aaron Griffin had five for 48 and Lathan Smalls had two for 89.

           RB Trace Nettles had 135 yards and a TD on 14 carries.

           Senior Alonzo Singleton had two sacks to lead the defense, and Reese Lawrence had one. Linebacker Kameron Woodruff had six tackles. LB Hayden Cushman had four tackles.

           Chapin: The Eagles went 3-8 last season and got off to a rough start this year, losing to Irmo 48-3.

           Brady Albro is back at quarterback, passing for 2,055 yards and 14 TDs last season. Weldon Gunter had 33 catches last season and will be part of the receiving corps with Khalen Bostic, Jonathan Sheppard, Jacob Nerone and Isaiah Green.

           Region 5-AAAAA

1.      Sumter

2.      Carolina Forest

3.      St. James

4.      Conway

5.      Socastee

           Sumter the favorite again

                      Mark Barnes is in his ninth season at Sumter. The Gamecocks have won seven region titles in the first eight years and probably only lost that one when their quarterback broke his collarbone just before halftime in the game to decide the region crown.

           That being said, Sumter is in the same position again, expected to win the region crown. It is led by quarterback Pate Merchant, who started last year. In the Gamecocks’ 53-8 win over Lakewood to start this season, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 241 yards and three TDs.

           His favorite target was sophomore WR Jamirh Bey. He caught five passes for 120 yards, three for TDs, in his first varsity start.

           The Gamecocks also have RB Jon Peeples back after he went over 1,000 yards as a sophomore.

           The SHS defense is led by DEs Anthony Addison and Jordane Lowery. Both had eight tackles against Lakewood, Loweryu with three TFLs and Addison with 2 ½.

           Carolina Forest: The Panthers went 8-5 a year ago, but made it to the third round of the playoffs.

           Kalil Johnson is the featured back after rushing for 451 yards and six TDs last season. Ethan Hamilton has taken over at QB. Finn Manhood and Hayden Soles. Left tackle Phil McLean (6-6, 295) is the O line leader

           The defensive leaders are CB Jamauri Davis and safety Charles McCray.

           Anchoring the defensive line is senior nose guard Ty’Reke Livingston, a three-year starter.

           St. James: The Sharks went 5-6 last season and made it to the state playoffs.

           They return QB Connor Schwalm along with senior WRs Ja’Saan Faulkner.and Jace Shropshire. Isiah Brown Kiondre Haynes will split carries at RB and will also start on defense.

           Conway: The Tigers went 4-7 last year and Josh Pierce was brought in as the new head coach. Conway lost to AAAA power Hartsville 55-7 in his debut.

           Devin Grainger returns at quarterback. Derek Grant and Trevon Washington at WRs. Blocking up front is senior tackle Micah Wiley.

           Leading the defense are noseguard Louvensky Auguste, CB Justin Hill and OLB Moses Freshley.

           Socastee: The Braves were 2-8 last year, but opened this season with a tough 6-0 win over North Myrtle Beach.

           The lone points in the game came on a 44-yard TD pass from Rocco Wojcik to Josh Brown. Wojcik was 9 of 20 for 201 yards.

           Quadir Scott is another target for Wojcik. Caden O’Keee is back at RB. Senior tackle William Hall (6-3, 270) anchors the O line.

           Safety Brayden Bolinger had an interception for the Braves. Other key performers are end Cade Radvansky, safety Jonathan Goswick and MLB Michael Goswick.

           Region 6-AAAAA

1.      Cane Bay

2.      Stratford

3.      Goose Creek

4.      Wando

5.      Berkeley

Cane Bay region favorite

     Cane Bay went 8-3 a year ago and appears to be in line to win a region title this season.

     Senior Mark Stewart returns at quarterback after getting some starts last year. Seniors Deshawn Tompkisn, Langston Rhodes and junior Brycen Johnson will be the running backs. Returning on the O line are center Jayden Ferguson and tackle Andrew Tumbleston.

Leading the defense are CB Jonas McKeen, safety Keaton Colley, LB Parker Osborne and DL Will Coker.

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     Stratford: The Knights were just 2-9 a year ago, but it appears they could be poised to move forward.

     Sophomore QB Jachin Davis will be the starter after taking ovaer last season. His top targets will be TE Jacob Dean and WR JQ Crosby. Kerwin Squire will see a lot of action at RB.

.    Four starters return on the O line with Landon Stradcutter and DJ Crawford leading the way.

     Darrell Holmes is at linebacker after two years starting at end. Otis Gardner is the noseguard and Trey Davis and Ahnrei McMillan are back at LB.

     Goose Creek: The Gators were 5-7 overall but won the region title with a 4-0 record. However, they lost a lot to graduation.

     Junior Jehoava Williams will take over at QB. He has a good trio of receivers in Davion Malloy (an Army commitment), Evan Daniels and Ashton Drayton.

     Center Maurecio Summers is the only starter back on the O line.

     LBs Devante McNeil and Fred Mouzon will lead the defense along with CB Joran Ravenel.

     Wando: The Warriors were 3-8 last year and lost a lot of the defensive unit from that team.

     Senior Zach Osthoff is the starting QB. Carter Adams and Cole Fletcher will likely be his top targets. Also TE Brock Feinberg will be back.

     Feinberg will play at LB on defense. Seniors Jameson Bell and Nathan Dennis and juniors Landon Miller and Kingston Taylor will play on both sides of the line.

                       Berkeley: Eric Lodge is in his first year with the Stags, a proud program that was just 3-9 last year.

                      It will be almost like starting from scratch on offense freshmen Henry Rivers taking over at QB. He will have a big target in senior TD Jovan Wigfall (6-3, 220).

Three seniors returning on the O line in Malachi Purdie, Tylique Gillians and Austin Bridges.

Lineman Jove Rouse is the only senior on defense.

           Region 7-AAAAA

1.      Summerville

2.      Fort Dorchester

3.      West Ashley

4.      Ashley Ridge

5.      Stall

           Summerville to overtake Fort Dorchester

           Head coach Ian Rafferty led Summerville to the lower state championship game where they lost to region foe Fort Dorchester. The Green Wave return a load of talent from that team and will overtake the Patriots.

           Seniors Yannick Smith and Quintrelle Pettiford will provide Cummings with good targets. Smith is an ECU commit.

           Summerville returns four LBs in Ike Rutherford, Jaidyn Pennix, Markel Holman and Kayden Gaddist. Seniors Ryland Mitchell and Michael Woodfield lead the secondary and Jacob Cotterill is the top D lineman.

           Fort Dorchester: Josh Smith takes over after an odd departure by Steve LaPrad as head coach. The Patriots also lost 4-year starter Zolten Osborne at QB.

           Battling for the QB sports Bennett Riffer and C.J. Watson. Running back Davian Brown is back after rushing for over 1,500 yards last season. Mul-Ty Snider is the top returning receiver. Ryan Campbell will be getting most of the RB carries.

           On defense, Fort D will be experience up front with Malachi Watson, Jayden Acevedo and Landon Whitlock.

           West Ashley: The Wildcats were 7-4 on the season, but struggled in the region, winning just once.

           West Ashley’s top player is senior RB/OLB Terry Grant. He will line up by Christopher Dolloff at QB. Senior Mason White may get some carries as well while starting at strong safety.

           Linebacker Matthew Chorba is back along with LB Roman Hamilton.

           Working on both sides of the line are Daniel Dounian, Hampton O’Donald and Max Beckstiine.

           Ashley Ridge: The Swamp Foxes were 7-4 last season under head coach Shane Fidler. He left for Airport and veteran head coach Jeff Tate took over.

           Jayden Acosta is returning at RB and Derrick Salley is a top WR. Leading the O line are Bryce Lawhon and Cody Peterson.

           Tackle Isaiah Washington and DL Justice Lewis lead the defense.

           Stall: The streak of winless seasons for Stall is over at four. The Dolphins opened the 2023 campaign with a 33-2 win over Burke.

           Leading the offense are QB Jaden Mack, RB Manny Foster, WR Montrell Davis.

Defensively, Bernard Waiters leads he line with Jaden Oliver and Savon Garrett the top LBs.