Trojans will take over Carvers Bay in third round

Cross – As the 2023-24 regular season winds down, the boys and girls basketball teams at Cross High are looking forward to competing in the Class A state playoffs. The Cross boys team enters a Jan. 30 game against Burke with a shot at the region championship. Cross is 15-4 overall and 9-1 in region play with the region loss coming to Burke. The Trojans are secured a top two finish in the region standings. Cross head coach Chaquain Boone feels his team is peaking towards a strong finish. “I love the way we are playing right now,” Boone said. “We are playing well together and playing with good intensity. We have been faced with adversity and have responded well. I think with injuries and some sickness, our guys have stepped up.” Cross finished fourth in the region standings last season. After a quick start, the Trojans limped to the finish line. This season, the focus was to finish strong and this team appears to be headed in that direction. Anchoring the team this winter are senior guard Jamez Way and sophomore forward Caden Ramsey. Ramsey leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest. Way is averaging 17.4 points, 4.7 steals and 3.4 assists per outing. “The biggest thing is their leadership,” Boone said. “They are the vocal leaders and they lead by example. Their leadership is really just as important as their play and their stats.” Senior Dominick Lampkin also averages in double figures at 10.6 points per game. Lampkin scored 22 points in a recent win over Baptist Hill. Junior Micah Flute is averaging 6.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while junior Preston Fuller adds 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. Senior Tyshawn Gavins contributes 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. The Cross girls team is secured a second-place finish in the region. The Trojans are 13-3 overall and 7-2 in region play. The two region losses came to Military Magnet, the top-ranked team in the state among Class A schools. Junior guard Lauren Middleton continues to set the pace offensively, averaging 17.3 points and 4.3 assists per game. Junior Zhania Fredricks is adding 11.4 points and 3.2 steals while center Ma’Laysia Johnson is averaging 6.9 points and 9.1 rebounds an outing. Senior Layla Wright is averaging 5.3 rebounds and junior Kierra Wright is averaging 9.4 rebounds per game.

Cross – Though it’s early in the season, the Cross High basketball teams are playing well and off to a good start to the 2023-24 season. Both the boys and girls teams are looking to contend for a region championship this winter as each team returns a wealth of experience to their respective rosters. The girls team opened the season by winning five of their first games under third-year coach Angela Hall. Among the early season wins were victories over AAAAA Stall and AA Lower State contender Timberland. “This team has a lot of potential,” Hall said. “We have experience and we have some talent. The key with this team will be their focus and consistency. If we can stay focused every day in practice and be consistent with our energy and our effort, we can have a very successful season. “We have shown what we are capable of with the wins but we also had a loss to Timberland in a game where we simply didn’t show up with the same energy. I keep stressing that whether we are at home or on the road, we have to bring the same energy and focus. That’s what championship teams do.” Junior point guard Lauren Middleton is one of the top players this season. Middleton is averaging 16.2 points and 5.3 assists through the first six games. “She’s having a good year so far,” Hall said. “She seems to be more relaxed and more confident in her role this season.” Junior Zhnia Fredricks also scores in double figures, averaging 11.1 points per game. Senior Diamonique Nelson is a veteran guard and adds nearly eight points and 3.2 steals per game. Senior forward Ma’Laysia Johnson averages 8.5 points and 8.7 rebounds early on, while 5-11 sophomore Kierra Wright has been productive inside as well. The boys team also is 5-1 early under coach Chaquain Boone. Cross finished 13-9 last season and Boone has a wealth of experience back. Senior Jamez Way leads the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game, adding 5.3 steals per contest. Sophomore forward Caden Ramsey is averaging 16.2 points and 11.6 rebounds in the early going. Senior guard Dominick Lampkin is adding 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while junior Preston Fuller contributes 8.7 points per game. Seniors Cobey Coleman and Malik Becoate, along with junior Micah Flute are providing solid minutes on the floor as well. Senior D’andre Bartelle and junior Lavell Joyner round out the 2023-24 roster.

Cross – Since an opening game loss to Calhoun County, the Cross High football team enters the second round of the Class A Lower State playoffs on a major roll. Cross hosts Allendale-Fairfax in round two, riding a 10-game winning streak. The Trojans breezed through region play, not allowing a point, and continued the shutout streak with a 52-0 blanking of Hemingway in the first-round of the playoffs. Allendale-Fairfax (5-6) enters the Cross game after a huge first-round upset of Latta, who was 9-1 in the regular season. “Goes to show anything can happen in the playoffs. You better be ready to play every week or you go home,” Cross coach Shaun Wright said. “We know we have to be ready to play and we have to play well. We’re playing a team with a lot of confidence.” Through 11 games, Cross has yielded only 75 points all season. A defense led by junior linebacker David Wigfall and sophomore linebacker William Grant has been in beast mode all year. Defensive backs Jamez Way and Caden Ramsey, also key receivers, have been strong defensively as well. Cobey Coleman paces the secondary with four interceptions. Two-way lineman Jayden Middleton was recently selected to play in the North-South all-star game. “It feels great to be selected to the North-South game,” Middleton said. “I wasn’t expecting to be picked but I try to be great every week. God is good and he gave me the talent.” Senior Caleb Cornell is the center, flanked by guards Trejur Jones and Jayden Smith, both seniors. Middleton and Ty Bryant are the starting tackles. Senior quarterback Tyler Mungin has had a solid final season running the offensive show. Mungin has passed for more than 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, He was five-for-five for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the playoff win over Hemingway. Way and Ramsey each caught touchdown passes in the playoff win with Way also returning a kickoff for a touchdown. The running game has been a strength as well offensively. Junior Karmello Jones and freshman Mah’ky Green have each topped the 700-yard mark on the ground. Wright feels both are college prospects. While pleased with his team’s season to date, Wright has expectations for big things. Cross advanced to the Class A Lower State championship game in 2022, losing to Johnsonville. The 2023 team certainly has the type of potential if they can perform at a high level each time out.

Trojans win Region 8-Class A title, have homefield advantage through state playoffs

Berkeley County matchup has cousins Shawn Wright of Cross and Timberland's Greg Wright coaching against each other

Cross – The 2022 football season was a memorable one for the Cross High Trojans but head coach Shaun Wright has even higher expectations for his 2023 squad. Cross finished with an 11-3 record last season, reaching the Class A Lower State finals before losing to Johnsonville. Cross last won a state championship in 2012 but Wright feels this year’s team could make a strong run again. “We feel we have the potential to be competitive in every game,” Wright said. “Our strength is up front where we have a lot of experience returning. If you win in the trenches, you have a great chance to win games.” The Trojans have opened this season with a 1-1 record. They lost their season opener to Calhoun County, a top 10 ranked team in Class A, 35-20, but recorded their first win on Aug. 25 with a 43-6 win over Hemingway. Senior Tyler Mungin returns as the starting quarterback this season and Wright looks for more production in the passing game. Mungin had about 700 passing yards and 400 rushing yards with 14 total touchdowns last season. “We feel we can be more balanced offensively,” the coach said. “Teams will have to honor our guys out wide.” Mungin has solid help in the backfield in junior running back Karmello Jones, who has more than 150 yards and four touchdowns in the first two weeks. Jones also is a leader defensively at linebacker, posting 84 tackles a season ago. Senior Da’Lanron Huger also will see carries out of the backfield. Top returning receivers include senior Jamez Way and 6-4 sophomore Caden Ramsey. Way caught 33 passes for more than 300 yards last season. Both have been solid in the first two games. Way had a touchdown catch and an interception return for a touchdown against Hemingway while Ramsey caught three passes for 75 yards in the season opener. A slew of veterans anchor the offensive and defensive lines. Senior Caleb Cornell is the center, flanked by guards Trejur Jones and Jayden Smith, both seniors. Seniors Jayden Middleton and Ty Bryant are the starting tackles. Working at tight end are juniors Preston Fuller and David Wigfall. Those linemen also see time on defense, as do most of the offensive starters. Another key defender is sophomore end Devaughn Sutter, who tallied 47 tackles as a freshman. The Trojans are hosting county rival Timberland on Sept. 1. Wright and Timberland head coach Greg Wright are first cousins.

Cross – Even after a run to the Class A Lower State finals in 2022, Cross High head football coach Shaun Wright felt the need for a fresh energy in his program. Wright, who guided the Trojans to an 11-3 record last fall, made several new hires to his football coaching staff this spring and summer. “We had lots of turnover but I couldn’t be more pleased with the staff we have right now,” said Wright, who won the 2012 Class A state title. “Really good coaches and a new energy.” With new hires, Wright now has two former head coaches among his staff. New offensive coordinator Will Lampkin has been a head coach at several schools and has been coaching for nearly 30 years. Lampkin has been head coach at Darlington, Kingstree and Ridgeland-Hardeeville. He has a long history in Berkeley County, having worked at Berkeley, Stratford and Goose Creek as an assistant. Wright said Lampkin served in a volunteer role last season. Hired to coach linebackers is David Smith, who enters his 37 th year in coaching. Smith was the head coach at Orangeburg Prep in 2006-07. He is no stranger to Berkeley County, having coached at Berkeley from 1998-2006. He also has been an assistant at several schools, including Barnwell, White Knoll, Mid-Carolina and Pelion, where he recently retired. Smith says he also will coach softball in the spring. Omar Collier is the new defensive coordinator, coming over from Philip Simmons. It is Collier’s second stint at Cross, his first beginning in 2001 under Art Craig. Frank Green will coach the receivers while newcomer Jeffery Whisenhunt will coach the offensive and defensive linemen. Assisting with the linebackers is newcomer Matthew Vinson, who also comes from Pelion High School. Vinson also has been hired to take over the wrestling program. He was an assistant wrestling coach at Pelion at one point. Derrick Mack will work with the secondary on the varsity while also serving as the defensive coordinator for the junior varsity team. Stanley Hickson will be the head coach of the junior varsity. Wright, who became head coach at Cross in 2009, says the new staff has hit the ground running this summer and the 2023 team has made great strides during their workouts. The Trojans will open the 2023 season at home on Aug. 18 against Calhoun County. Quarterback Tyler Mungin and running back/linebacker Karmello Jones are among the top returners from last season.