Pinewood Prep's running back sensation Jeremiah Singleton, photo by Roger Lee

Barons to face Pinewood Prep in second straight state championship contest

Important Information For Schools, Parents, & Fans Concerning The Upcoming SCISA State Football Championship Games Moncks Corner -- The “ High School Sports Report” will be devoting our time, energy and resources this week towards producing individual full-color keepsake souvenir state championship football programs for the 10 teams competing for state titles on Friday (Nov. 22) and Saturday (Nov. 23). All four of the SCISA AAAA, AAA, AA and Class A games will be hosted by Charleston Southern University located in North Charleston at the I-26 205 exit. The SCISA 8-man championship game will be played at W.W. King Academy (near Saluda ) at 7:30 on Friday night. The Hammond School (12-0) will face Porter Gaud (11-1) at Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. Friday night. Then on Saturday, the Class A state title game between Williamsburg Academy (9-1) and Thomas Heyward Academy (11-1) begins at noon. The SCISA AA title game between Pee Dee Academy (11-0) and Bethesda Academy (9-3) follows at 3:30. The night-cap AAA title game on Saturday night is at 7 p.m. between Pinewood Prep (9-2) and Wilson Hall (11-1). Ther HSSR would like to inform all schools involved to please e mail to hsreport@aol.com your varsity football and cheer team pictures by 6 p.m. on Monday. Every team will have their respective football team on the cover of their edition, and your cheer squad will be pictured inside your respective edition. (Important) Each Head of School is offered a free “Welcome Letter” page geared towards your team, fans and community. We need your “Welcome Letter” in at hsreport@aol.com by 7 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov., 19). Please include a picture of yourself and a school logo. The HSSR has four marketing reps assigned to market programs. Should you have interest in supporting your team, along with your favorite player, or cheerleader reps include: Swift Bethea is assigned to market Pee Dee Academy and he can be reached at 843-774-3482. Larry Gamble will be marketing the Hammond School and Wilson Hall’s programs and he can be reached at 414-699-9061. Neill Kirkpatrick will be marketing the Porter - Guad championship program and he can be reached at 704-996-3333. The remaining five schools will be marketed by HSSR Publisher Billy G. Baker and he can be reached at 843-200-9555. Baker will be in Kingstree on Monday with the WA program, Ridgeland on Tuesday with the THA program, and in Summerville on Wednesday wrapping up the Pinewood Prep program. However, feel free to call him or any marketing rep on this list anytime Monday-Thursday. We hope to have the majority of the best wishes ads in house by 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, due to a tight print schedule, but 6 p.m. on Thursday is the final deadline. Fans are asked to follow instructions on the attached official state championship form. Feel free to send your ad information to hsreport@aol.com and Berna Noll will be available at the HSSR “home office” between 9 am and 9 pm to take payment for sponsor ads, or answer any questions. The one request is that once you have all the content for your best wishes ad, please send just one e-mail, and not three or four e mails, so we make sure everything gets in your ad. Participating schools are asked to forward this attached team football program ad order form to the parents and boosters of your team! Good luck to all teams competing for SCISA football championships this weekend!

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – The Westwood football team’s offense was lacking at key moments in their 5A Division 2 playoff opener Friday night. Luckily for the Redhawks, the defense put in a clutch second-half effort to beat Socastee 34-14 for its first playoff victory since 2019. Westwood (6-5) is in the lower state bracket and travels to Moncks Corner next week to take on Berkeley. The Stags (5-5) received a first-round bye with a second-place finish in Region 7. “It feels good, for sure,” said head coach Robert O’Connell , who won his first playoff game in his three years as head coach of the Redhawks. “It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t have to be. We just talk about being 1-0. That’s all that matters, you just gotta beat the people you’re in front of and keep advancing.” Quarterback Carrington Carter had two touchdown passes, running back Angelo Rios had 102 yards on 14 carries, and Quentin McGill Jr. had a rushing score, but Westwood struggled to sustain drives. Carter threw two interceptions—both to Socastee defensive back Brayden Bolinger —and the Redhawks turned the ball over on downs inside the Braves’ 10-yard line on their opening drive. “We kind of hurt ourselves on some penalties, got off schedule. Nobody’s good in third-and-long,” O’Connell said. “We put ourselves in some bad spots on third down, and we’ve got to keep improving.” The Westwood defense, which held Socastee to 204 total yards, forced two fumbles and three second-half turnovers on downs, all from inside the Westwood 20-yard line. “That’s kind of been our M.O. this year,” O’Connell said. “That ball gets in the red zone, and we bend but don’t break. I’m just really proud of those guys defensively.” D.J. Jones had a solo sack and shared a second sack with Jayce Rios . Rios also had a 36-yard fumble return for his first career touchdown, a drive-ending interception, and another drive-ending pass breakup. “It’s an effort from everybody.,” Rios, a senior and older brother of the sophomore Angelo Rios, said. “Everybody’s always facing some type of adversity.” Westwood scored first, taking over after holding Socastee to a 3-and-out and closing out a quick 53-yard drive with Carter’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Sean Goddard at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter to go up 6-0. The Braves came back quickly, with Brayden Bolinger scoring seconds letter on an 85-yard kickoff return. They took a 7-6 lead on Daniel Devaux’s extra point. Socastee added another score after Bolinger picked off a Carter pass that set up the Braves on the Westwood 12-yard line. Amare Godfrey’s score from six yards out made it 14-6. That lead lasted all of 13 seconds. Westwood’s Cameron Bennett took the kickoff at around the 5-yard line and raced it all the way back for a touchdown at the 6:35 mark of the second quarter. Angelo Rios’ 2-point conversion run evened the score at 14. Westwood capitalized on a Socastee fumble late in the second quarter that set up the Redhawks at the Braves’ 41-yard line. Six plays later Quentin McGill Jr. ran it into the end zone from three yards out to put the Redhawks up 21-14 with 2 minutes left in the first half, a lead they held at intermission. Westwood’s defense led the way in the second half. Rios scooped up a Socastee fumble two minutes into the third quarter. The defensive back returned it 36 yards for a score to give the Redhawks a 27-14 lead. After that touchdown Socastee held onto the ball and threatened Westwood with three long possessions that put the Braves inside the 20-yard line in the third and fourth quarters. Each time Socastee moved into scoring position, Westwood held. First came a turnover on downs at the Redhawks’ 4-yard line after 11 plays beginning at midfield. The Westwood offense went nowhere on the next series and punted from its own 15-yard line, Socastee took the short punt and started at the Redhawks’ 14-yard line after a personal foul. That short drive would have resulted in a 3-yard Haze Weaver touchdown run were it not for a chop block call that set the Braves back at the 18, and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag moved them back to the 33-yard line. Even with those setbacks, Royals completed big passes to Hayes Hardwick and Jonathan Goswick that moved the Braves to a fourth-and-goal situation on the 4-yard line. Once again, Rios crushed the threat with an interception in the end zone. And once again, Westwood’s offense came up short, this time with Carter throwing his second interception of the evening to Brayden Bolinger. By then in the fourth quarter, Bolinger’s return put Socastee at the Westwood 35-yard line, and the Braves moved into scoring position for a third time. Just like the other two attempts, Socastee fell short, and Rios was there for a pass breakup at the goal line on fourth down at the 9-yard line. The Redhawks still could not put together an offensive drive to drain the clock, but Cullen Henderson’s 47-yard punt pinned Socastee back at the 23-yard line, and the Westwood defense picked up another turnover on downs. Westwood’s last score of the game came on fourth down, when Carter inadvertently connected with Bennett, who fell in the end zone but reached for and grabbed the tipped ball to complete a 28-yard touchdown pass play. “We just came together,” Rios said about the second-half defensive effort. “We knew we had to get a stop, and if we got a stop it would end the game. It was a group effort. Everybody played up and physical and it won us the game.” Socastee 7 7 0 0 – 14 Westwood 6 15 6 7 – 34 First Quarter W - Sean Goddard 9 pass from Carrington Carter (kick failed) 4:27 S - Brayden Bolinger 85 kickoff return (Daniel Devaux kick) 4:16 Second Quarter S - Amare Godfrey 8 run (Devaux kick) 6:48 W - Cameron Bennett 95 kickoff return (Angelo Rios run) 6:35 W - Quentin McGill Jr. 4 run (Cullen Henderson kick) 1:56 Third Quarter W – Jayce Rios 36 fumble return (run failed) 10:01 Fourth Quarter W – Bennett 28 pass from Carter (Henderson kick) 2:14 SHS WHS First downs 12 12 Rushes-yds 34-73 31-182 Passing yds 131 85 Att-Com-Int 26-18-1 12-8-2 Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0 Penalties-yds 6-63 6-55 Punts-avg 2-28.0 3-38.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING S – Jonathan Goswick 11-27, Christian Royals 9-13, Amare Godfrey 4-14, David Covalli 4-7, Josh Brown 1-10, Daniel Devaux 1-5, Marcus Brown 1-0, Hayes Hardwick 1-1, Team 3-(-4). W – Angelo Rios 15-102, Quentin McGill Jr. 8-37, Devon Howard 6-37, Kham Cunningham 1-(-1). PASSING S – Christian Royals 18-26-1. W – Carrington Carter 8-12-2. RECEIVING S – Jonathan Goswick 10-68, Hayes Hardwick 3-33, Josh Brown 3-23, Haze Weaver 1-4, Amare Godfrey1-3. W – Kham Cunningham 3-30, Angelo Rios 2-8, Cameron Bennett 1-28, Sean Goddard 1-9, Quentin McGill Jr. 1-10.

Porter Gaud's RB/CB, JJ Flood (6-1, 180) finding the gaps and gaining yards!

SCISA championship games November 22-23

Hammond's senior RB Immanuel Johnson (5-10, 190) looking for more yards.

HSSR Playoffs Rankings! Now available on the HSSR home page banner. https://www.hssr.com/hssr-football-rankings-page

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Moncks Corner —The region winners in the AAAAA SCHSL football classification all received byes for the first round of the play-offs that started on November, 15 th so if any upsets are brewing involving the top seeded teams in the two divisions we will have to wait until Nov., 22 nd for that to possibly happen. In the Upper State AAAAA D-1 a bye went to number one rated Dutch Fork (9-0) and they will play the winner of the Boiling Springs (6-3) versus Dorman (6-3) in a week two in Irmo. Rock Hill (5-5) received a bye and they will play the winner of the Mauldin (2-8) versus River Bluff (8-2) game in week two. JL Mann (8-2) got a bye and they await the winner of the Blythewood versus Clover (7-3) game on Nov., 15. Number four- rated Spartanburg , fresh off a close game loss with rival Gaffney awaits the winner of Lexington versus Byrnes in week one. In Lower State Div. I Summerville (10-0) has a bye and they await the winner between Fort Dorchester and Stratford. Cane Bay , a winner over Berkeley last week, received a bye and they await the winner between Spring Valley and Ridge View. Carolina Forest has a round one bye and they await the winner between Wando and James Island . Highly regarded Sumter (9-0) has a first- round bye and they will host the winner between West Ashley and Ashley Ridge on Nov. 15. Now, we move on to Div. II AAAAA: In the Upper state number one rated Northwestern (10-0) will host the winner between Eastside and Indian Land on Nov., 15. Greenwood received a first- round bye and they will host the winner of the nation Ford versus Hillcrest first round game on Nov., 15. T.L Hanna earned a bye and they await the winner of the Woodmont versus Catawba Ridge winner in round two. Gaffney , fresh off of a come from behind win over Spartanburg that clinched the region title, awaits the winner of the Greenville versus Riverside game. In the Lower state Div. II AAAAA: Irmo (9-1), fresh off of a loss to Dutch Fork , awaits the winner between Goose Creek and Chapin in week one. West Florence has a week one bye and they will host the winner between Lucy Beckham and North Myrtle Beach in round two. Berkeley has earned a bye and they await the winner between Socastee and Westwood in round one. Finally, Myrtle Beach earned a first- round bye and they await the winner between Lugoff - Elgin and White Knoll from first round action. The HSSR predicts that Dutch Fork and Summerville will emerge as respective bracket winners in Div. I AAAAA and will meet in the gold medal round at South Carolian State University on Friday Dec., 13 at 2 p.m. Tom Knotts , the head coach at Dutch Fork, told the HSSR after his 24-14 big win over Irmo last week, ““I pay attention to Dutch Fork, but now that I’ve played Irmo, these are the two best teams in the state,” said Coach Knotts after the Irmo win. “They’re going to be in the smaller (school size) 5A and we’re in the larger 5A, so thank goodness we don’t have to play them again and they’re probably saying thank goodness they don’t have to play us again. “We like to get to this time of year, the kids behave better, they focus better, they lift better, they meet better,” Knotts said. “This is our time of year. We’re used to it.” Summerville head coach Ian Rafferty shared these thoughts about the play-offs, ““Unfortunately we will have to play some teams we’ve already seen in the playoffs but it is what it is,” said Coach Rafferty. “Against Fort Dorchester we did some uncharacteristic things on special teams and turned the ball over near the goal line, but moving forward the key is the way our guy’s work. We have kind of built a good mentality throughout the season and just work and show up to play on game night. Basically, we just need to be the Green Wave.” The Summerville offense spreads the ball around and the team suffered some key injuries on both sides of the ball this season so a lot of players have seen action and contributed to the second consecutive undefeated regular season. In Div. II AAAA, the HSSR predicts a Northwestern versus Gaffney final in the gold medal round scheduled for 06 p.m. on December, 14 at South Carolina State University. Gaffney head coach Dan Jones told the HSSR after his win over Spartanburg last week, “Coach Jones said that during the bye week Gaffney would stay focused on getting ready to compete in the second round of the play-offs on November, 22. “We will study film and lift weights on Monday but we will have three full practices on Tuesday through Thursday,” said Coach Jones. “We will be hard-at-work getting ready to play wither Greenville or Riverside.” For the regular season, the Gaffney offense produced 1,423 yards rushing and 1,849 yards passing and that defines a balanced attack on offense. Gaffney out-scored teams 275-139. Northwestern , led by veteran QB Finley Polk has dominated teams 514-158 this year. Head coach Paige Wofford has done a great job coaching the Trojans for the past several years and his team is expected to plow through the competition in the play-offs on the way to the finals.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Moncks Corner —In AAAA of the SCHSL, the Westside (9-0) Rams finished the regular season undefeated and they are favored to defend the state title they won a year ago with a fourth quarter rally to defeat South Florence . The AAAA state title game will be played at South Carolina State University on Friday December, 13 at 7:30 p.m. While Westside has the horses to pull another state championship wagon in a future victory parade, “we” can’t rule out Daniel, as the spoiler if the two teams keep winning in the play-offs, when could meet at Westside on December, 6 for the upper state AAAA championship. After going a combined 8-14 in his first two seasons at Daniel back in 2016 and 2017, head Daniel coach Jeff Fruster , has said he was thankful that he was not fired at the time. What a great decision school officials made to retain him. Since 2018, under Coach Fruster, Daniel has a collective record of 82-5, including three state titles as they prepare to play host Dreher High this week in the first round of the AAAA play-offs. Daniel’s only loss was to AAAAA member JL Mann (28-23) early in the season. To date Daniel is 9-1 and they have defeated teams 496-153 at the end of the regular season. Daniel won the Region 2-AAAA title with a 6-0 record after beating Seneca 42-21 in the regular-season finale last week. Daniel was trailing 14-7 late in the first half before coming up with a pair of long touchdown passes in the final minute to take a 21-14 lead to the locker room. That started a run of 35 straight points. Quarterback Grayson Clary had a monster game, completing 19 of 27 passes for 374 yards and five touchdowns. Trey Wimbley had a big night, catching four passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Jason Bish had seven catches for 147 yards and the other two touchdown receptions. Clary’s performance put an exclamation point on what was a tremendous regular season for him. Heading into the Seneca contest, the sophomore had completed 120- of-162 passes for 1,847 yards and 26 touchdowns. That means he has 31 touchdown passes on the season when you add in his performance against the Bobcats. Bish had 29 catches for 481 yards and six scores while Wimbley had 21 receptions for 405 yards and five scores. Quint Cumbie had 30 catches for 354 yards and five scores, and Elijah Lipsey had 23 catches for 438 yards and six touchdowns. Clary had also rushed for 240 yards and five touchdowns. Tremaine Davis Jr. was the leading rusher with 332 yards and five scores on 29 carries. The Daniel defense is led by senior linebacker Spencer Conn and junior defensive end Dexter Johnson . Conn has a team high 78 tackles to go with nine tackles for loss. Johnson has a team 14 ½ TFLs among his 57 stops. Johnson is also the sack leader with 6 ½. Junior Bryson Freeman has 4 ½. Davis and Christian Chancellor Jr. led in interceptions with two apiece. They had both returned an interception for a touchdown as had Conn. When the Lions can’t get the ball in the end zone, they have pretty good opportunity to get some points. Placekicker Bruce Brown, a North-South pick , was 9- of -11 on field goal attempts with a long of 48 yards. He’s also made 48- of 49- PAT’s. extra points. Westside will host Lakewood this week in the first round of the play-offs. Woods, a South Carolina football commitment, was also chosen for the Shrine Bowl. After 8 games of the season Woods had completed 107-0f-164 passes for 2,045 yards and 24 TD’s. His top WR targets are fellow Shrine Bowl member Chamarryus Bomar who had 777 receiving yards on 77 catches and 11 TD’s after 8 games. The leading rusher for the Rams is senior Sharode Richardson with 650 net yards on 80 carries and 9 TD’s after 8 games. On defense the rams are very stout. They are led by junior MLB Jaxx Wilson (55 tackles) and senior OLB Jameson Wilson (50 tackles), Soph LB Malachi Peterson has also contributed (42 tackles, 1 TFL). MLB Jaydon Hall (5-10, 190) has 44 tackles and the sack leader is junior DT Kwon Simpkins with four. A favorite to win the lower state AAAA is ball control Hartsville (8-1-1) who is ranked third in the current HSSR AAAA ranking. The Red Foxes have out-scored teams 453-181 this season and they have a quality win over Dillon on their resume this season. Hartsville has pounded out 2,628 rushing yards on 348 carries. Their top three running backs are Hakeen Watters (119-1,053-17 TD’s) along with Kylif Miller (102-696). Dual threat QB EJ Smith has completed 66-0f-123 passes for 1,302 yards and as a rusher he has gained 535 yards on 78 carries and 9 TD’s. (Please see feature story on Hartsville on page 55 of this issue) South Pointe is also loaded with a lot of talent and they have state championship tradition on their resume as well.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Moncks Corner— For the majority of the 2024 football season BHP, and first year charter school Mountain View Prep were the top two teams in the weekly HSSR AAA football rankings and one of the them is heavily favored to compete in the gold medal round hosted at South Carolina State University on Saturday December, 14 at noon. In the HSSR final AAA ranking Mountain View Prep has moved to number one in the ranking with BHP a close number two led by Clemson running back commitment Marquis Henderson (5-11, 179). With their 48-7 win over Broome last week, they finished the regular season as the only undefeated team in AAA. The Stars simply have too many offensive weapons (roster boasts 72 players) to be denied an opportunity to win a AAA football championship in their first year of playing varsity football. They are led by Broome running back transfer Jaylin McGill who went into the game this past week with 1,237 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 108 carries. McGill is among the top running backs in the Southeast area in the Class of 2026. MVP senior quarterback Bryson Drummond went into the final regular season game having completed 99-of-142 passes for 1,807 yards and 22 touchdowns. His top targets have been junior WR Kadarius Hainsworth (37-903-15 TD’s) and senior WR Kaevon Washington (18-426-2 TD’s). McGill is right behind with (19-385-7 TD’s). Senior RB T.J. Gassoway provide depth at running back for MVP and he had 245 rushing yards on 28 carries and 3 TD’s going into the Broomer game. This first year charter school is simply loaded with a team of transfers with a roster loaded with potential next level players for head coach Grey Ramsey . This team’s mascot is “Stars” for a reason. On defense MVP is led by senior LB Eli Smith with 57 tackles, 6 TFL and two interceptions. Senior DL Quay McCauley has 38 tackles on the hit index with 11 TFL including a team leading seven sacks. Senior DL Shannon Whiteside has 36 tackles, 9 TFL and four sacks. Junior DB Jacobe Smith has 30 tackles, three TFL also. MVP will host Carolina High School this week at Newberry College in the first round of the AAA play-offs. With either top ranked MVP, or second ranked BHP favored to emerge as the AAA upper state champions the AAA lower state is not as predictable but the favorites at this point are region rivals Loris, ranked number three in AAA and Dillon ranked number four. When the two teams met earlier in the season at Loris, the Lions pulled out a 30-27 win and neutral observers at the game were quick to point out that Dillon was flagged around 18 times to only four penalties for the Lions. “It seemed every time we got a drive going, we had some odd penalties called that killed our scoring opportunities, and after we looked at the film on Saturday, we wondered why several of them were called at all,” said Dillon head coach Kelvin Roller . (No doubt a highly rated crew of officials will call the next game if these two teams meet in the play-offs and the HSSR predicts the penalties will not favor either team 18-5. (See in-depth story on Dillon on page 14 of this issue) No doubt, Loris has one of the better defenses in AAA. Their 14-13 lost to Socastee is the only blemish on their Lions season to date. Loris (9-1) have defeated teams 363-83. The Lions have three talented running backs and none of them are seniors. Sophomore Makel Stephens (5-8,175) finished the regular season with 642 yards and 13 TD’s while soph Roderick Purcha (5-10, 160) contributed 478 yards and seven TD’s. Junior Khalil Sherman (5-11, 175) has contributed 438 yards and seven TD’s. Loris has a junior QB Zamire “ Moon ” Gerald who has a strong arm. He finished the regular season completing 109 passes for 1,298 yards and 16 TD receptions. His top targets are senior Quantez Dyson (6-11, 165) who has 382 reception yards on 17 catches and five TD’s to date. Junior Jacobien Lewis is next with 14 catches for 287 yards and fie TD’s. Senior Zhimir Herring has caught 13 passes for 205 yards. On defense, Loris is led by three veteran seniors. Senior MLB Avery Todd (6-0,185) has 70 tackles along with two TFL. The most impressive head hunter for the Lions has been senior OLB Javon Johnson (5-10, 210) who also has 70 tackles, but his 19 TFL and a team leading seven sacks are very impressive. Senior ILB Patrick Bellamy is third on the hit index with 60 tackles and three TFL. Loris also gets additional defensive support from junior DE/LB Landon Connor ((6-0,225) who has 56 tackles and 8 TFL along with junior DE Damarea Thurmond who has 53 hits and seven TFL. Woodruff is also having an outstanding season from the up-state and lower state foe Oceanside Collegiate won the AA state title a year ago, and they could be a spoiler in the play-offs. (See story on Oceanside on page 45 of this issue).

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – At long last, the regular season came to an end and the Class AA state playoffs are upon us. The brackets are set and the fans of the favorites are hoping to make plans in mid-December for Orangeburg and the state finals scene. Who are the favorites in AA? Is there a sleeper or two that may surprise everyone and get to the title game. Most of the time, the teams that survive the grind and reach the fifth week of the playoffs, the title game, are teams that everyone who follows the sport predicts will be there. Let’s have a little fun and handicap the AA field. My process is to list my top four teams in the Upper State bracket and top four in the Lower State, as I see it. Any team not in my top four would be considered a sleeper to make it through the bracket. But, it can be done. In the Upper State, my No. 1 team is Batesburg-Leesville . I know, shocker. The 10-0 Panthers have answered every challenge and have proven to be quite formidable. They allow seven points per game with a defense that has speed and physicality. Nearly half of the total points they have allowed in 10 games came in one game, to Abbeville, in a two-point win. Abbeville is the top-ranked team in Class A and their coach , Jamie Nickles , is a believer. “They are certainly capable of winning the state championship,” he said. Running back Amadre Wooden and quarterback Tanner Watkins are a solid one-two punch offensively. Wooden has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and Watkins has passed for more than 1200 yards. My No. 2 pick to win the Upper State is Clinton. The 7-2 Red Devils have lost only to Woodruff and Daniel. Each of those teams has just one loss this season. The tough non-region schedule makes me feel the Red Devils are battle-tested for close, big games. Quarterback Tashawan Richardson makes it all go for the offense with James Cook adding a major threat in the run game. My No. 3 pick in the Upper State is Fairfield Central . The Griffins lost their season opener to Ridge View and have won nine straight games since. The scouting report needs just one word – speed. The Griffins can run and are explosive. Running back Tydarion Grier has gained more than 1.400 yards and averages 9.3 yards per carry. And, my No. 4 is Saluda . The Tigers’ only loss came to Batesburg-Leesville and they would love another shot at their region rivals. Saluda is another of the top defensive teams in AA and defense wins championships. Tahe your pick as the favorite in the Lower State cause several teams have a shot. My No. 1 going in is Barnwell . While not flashy or dominant, the Warhorses are solid and athletic. Senior Cameron Austin is a great leader at quarterback and if they have success on the ground, game over. No. 2 is Barnwell rival Hampton County . Again, the Hurricanes run the football and have good solid play at quarterback. They made a good run a year ago and I think their confidence level is high. The last two favorite picks are difficult and I ended up with three teams for two spots. At No. 3 I am going with Cheraw . The 8-2 Braves are not great at anything but very solid at most. Running back Cam McClendon is a threat to score from anywhere and the defense gets after it pretty good. For No. 4, I am sharing the spot between Manning and Philip Simmons . Manning has just one loss, the season opener to Crestwood, but their schedule and region was not overly difficult.  Philip Simmons went undefeated in a tougher region and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Iron Horses have a veteran quarterback and they really play hard on defense. Class AA state playoff first-round pairings Upper State Pelion at Clinton Strom Thurmond at Chester Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville Andrew Jackson at Liberty Chesterfield at Fairfield-Central Ninety Six at Chesnee Landrum at Central Mid-Carolina at Saluda Lower State Academic Magnet at Barnwell Lake City at Timberland Edisto at Cheraw Andrews at East Clarendon North Central at Manning Woodland at Hampton Co. Mullins at Philip Simmons Kingstree at Whale Branch

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – The regular season in high school football is always special, but there is nothing that compares to the postseason. Looking at the brackets, seeing what has to happen for this particular matchup to happen, the anticipation of said matchups and the excitement that builds up as teams try to make a run toward a state championship. With the reclassification put forward by the South Carolina High School League for this year, all of the classifications will have a different vibe. Class A no longer will have Christ Church , Southside Christan School and St. Joseph’s because of the multiplier rule, but it does have a new dominant force in Abbeville . The Panthers, long a force in AA, is now in Class A and has to be seen as the prohibitive favorite. Still though, you’ve got to play the games and see what happens. We can’t do that, but we can fill out the bracket to see who we have facing off for the championship in Orangeburg the second week of December. WHO’S IN: Upper State Region 1 : 1. Abbeville 2. Ware Shoals 3. Whitmire 4. Dixie 5. McCormick 6. Calhoun Falls Region 2 : 1. Lewisville 2. Lamar 3. Lee Central 4. McBee 5. C.A. Johnson Region 3 : 1. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler 2. Blackville-Hilda 3. Calhoun County 4. Ridge Spring-Monetta 5. Williston-Elko Lower State Region 4 : 1. Bamberg-Ehrhart 2. Ridgeland 3. Denmark-Olar 4. Hardeeville Region 5 : 1. Cross 2. Branchville 3. Baptist Hill 4. Scott’s Branch 5. Military Magnet 6. Bethune-Bowman Region 6 : 1. Lake View 2. Hannah-Pamplico 3. Latta 4. Carvers Bay 5. Johnsonville 6. Green Sea Floyds FIRST ROUND Upper State C.A. Johnson (2-8) at Abbeville (8-1) Dixie (7-2) at Blackville-Hilda (8-2) McCormick (3-7) at Lamar (7-3) Calhoun County (3-7) at Lee Central (5-4) McBee (4-5) at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (9-1) Williston-Elko (2-7) at Ware Shoals (4-5) Calhoun Falls (1-8) at Lewisville (9-1) Ridge Spring-Monetta (5-5) at Whitmire (3=7) Lower State Green Sea Floyds (1-9) at Cross (8-2) Scott’s Branch (4-6) at Ridgeland (6-4) Military Magnet (2-6) at Hannah-Pamplico (7-2) Carvers Bay (4-6) at Denmark-Olar (3-6) Hardeeville (3-7) at Lake View (8-1) Johnsonville (4=6) at Branchville (8-2) Bethune-Bowman (1-9) at Bamberg-Ehrhardt (6-2) Latta (5-5) at Baptist Hill (6-3) The first round of any high school sports playoff is usually filled with blowouts, and that could easily be the case with these 16 games. However, there are intriguing matchups in this group. While Blackville-Hilda has to be the favorite with an 8-2 record, it will take on a 7-2 Dixie squad. Ridgeland finished second in a weak Region 6, while Scott’s Branch came on strong down the stretch to go 4-6. Carvers Bay is 4-6 and will play at 3-6 Denmark-Olar . Latta at Baptist Hill will be an intriguing matchup because the Vikings pound the ball while Baptist Hill pushes the ball through the air. Johnsonville may be just 4-6 and going against an 8-2 Branchville squad, but Johnsonville is the 2-time defending lower state champion. Don’t look for them to go down easy. First-round winners: Upper State: Abbeville, Blackville-Hilda, Lamar, Lee Central, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, Ware Shoals, Lewisville, Ridge-Spring Monetta. Lower State: Cross, Scott’s Branch, Hannah-Pamplico, Carvers Bay, Lake View, Branchville, Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Latta. SECOND ROUND Upper State Blackville-Hilda at Abbeville Lee Central at Lamar Ware Shoals at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Ridge Spring-Monetta at Lewisvlle Lower State Scott’s Branch at Cross Carvers Bay at Hannah-Pamplico Branchville at Lake View Latta at Bamberg-Ehrhardt This is the round where the fun starts to kick in with matchups of teams with gaudy records and outstanding reputations. Also, with the Class A regions so widespread, you can easily get pairings of teams that aren’t geographically close, thus leading to first-time matchups. The two most noteworthy showdowns in this round would be 2-loss Blackville-Hilda playing at 1-loss Abbeville. The Panthers will be favored and are led by Damarcus Leach . He will be going up against a future teammate at South Carolina in B-H’s Jaquel Holman . The best lower state matchup will have 2-loss Branchville at 1-loss Lake View . Second-round winners: Upper State: Abbeville, Lamar, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, Lewisville: Lower State: Cross, Hannah-Pamplico, Lake View, Bamberg-Ehrhardt THIRD ROUND Upper State Lamar at Abbeville Lewisville at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Lower State Hannah-Pamplico at Cross Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Lake View You’ve got the three champions of the upper state regions and the three region champions from the lower state still alive. The other team in the upper state is No. 2 seed Lamar , while No. 2 seed Hannah-Pamplico is the fourth lower state team. In years past, a matchup between Lamar and Abbeville would be a premier showdown. While Lamar is still a top program, Abbeville is simply a cut above. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler has had a great season, but Lewisville has been on a mission after going out in the second round last season. These lower state matchups would be fun to watch as the pairings have two teams that go about their business in different ways. Third-round winners: Upper State: Abbeville, Lewisville Lower State: Cross, Bamberg-Ehrhardt SEMIFINALS Upper State Lewisville at Abbeville Lower State Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Cross This would be the “collision course” game of the upper state bracket. Lewisville and Abbeville have been dominant all season. The lower state game will be a pairing of two teams that like to pound the football. However, Bamberg-Ehrhardt has senior quarterback Chanston Crosby to give it a better passing option. Semifinal winners: Abbeville, Bamberg-Ehrhardt STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Abbeville vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt The Red Raiders will present a physical challenge, but Abbeville has tremendous throughout its roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball. However, I go back to what I said at the beginning of the story. Abbeville has to be considered the favorite to win until someone beats it. Your state champion: Abbeville

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Summerville —When former First Baptist head coach Johnny Waters took over the football program at Northwood Academy, at the start of the 2023 season, the Chargers program had hit rock bottom with 29 straight losses. Needless to say, Coach Waters had to develop some players and bring in some coaches along to help rebuild the team from the ground-up. Well, Coach Waters is known as a coach who works hard to develop players, and he has done a masterful charge with the Chargers (10-2) coming into a semi-finals SCISA AAAA match-up with Porter - Gaud (10-1) on the road this week. Last week Northwood defeated a rebuilding Laurence Manning team, 49-20 at home in a first-round play-off tune-up game before facing the Cyclones this week. “We got up early tonight and we jumped on them early and that was the game plan,” said Coach Waters. “ Kaven Ford ran really well tonight and it is a shame that Keshon Singleton broke his leg last week and he is out for the season. I called them thunder and lightning and they were a great one-two punch in our back field. Ford rushed for 140 carries on 20 carries against LMA and he scored five touchdowns in a dominating performance. Ty Washington had three catches for 26 yards and WR Ayden Hogan caught four passes for 50 yards and one touchdown. Senior quarterback Austin Grady (6-3, 190) passed for 105 yards and one touchdown during the game also. Earlier this season P-G beat the Chargers and their will be a lot on the line this week on the road. “Porter-Guad is a great football team but in all honesty, we felt like we gave that game away with our mistakes,” said Coach Waters. “We might make a couple adjustments this week but we just need to cut out the penalties and mental mistakes. If we do that, we can be hard to beat.” Coach Waters is very high on DE Will Watts who has 82 tackles and 12 Sacks on the season. Gabe Roper is a DT with 80 tackles and seven sacks, along with MLB Cody Mccleary who has a team leading 116 tackles. Right behind him with 101 tackles is senior LB Riley Vicars . Junior Edward White plays at a DT slot and he has 61 tackles on the season. Junior FS M.J. Davis is a prospect and he has 67 tackles from his FS position. Junior Quincey Lingard has 57 tackles from his OLB slot. Junior DT Edward White has contributed 51 tackles. On the season Ford now has 962 yards on 127 carries and 12 TD;s. Singleton finished the season with 931 net yards on 129 carries and 15 touchdowns. Grady has a strong year passing the ball completing 114-of-168 for 1,580 yards and 11 TD’s. This week’s game with P-G could be that signature win that Coach waters and his hard-working staff of coaches have been working towards this season. A win Friday night and the Chargers will be playing for the SCISA AAAA state championship.  (Just two seasons after losing 29 games in a row).

Volleyball is a growing sport in the Palmetto State. Here is the All State Lists - for All Classifications. Tap the Download button to view the PDF file.  "Success is not counted by how high you have climbed, but by how many you have brought with you." Wil Rose

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt — Andrew Jackson Academy Athletic Director, and head boys’ basketball coach, Josh Barnes is starting his 15 th season on the hardwood with the Warriors, and he is focused on total team unity, to the point he considers all 10 of his varsity players “potential starters.” Last year the Warriors, with no seniors on the team, finished 18-17 and 5-5 in their SCISA AA region making it to the semi-finals in the play-offs. “I am not naming starters because I feel like all 10 of our players will be major contributors this season,” said Coach Barnes, a proud Citadel graduate. “Our goals this season are focused on team unity and unselfishness. “Last season we were a very balanced scoring team with numerous players averaging in double figures,” said Coach Barnes. “Our success will depend on the team having balanced scoring once again.” The season will begin on November, 18 with a home gamer against Curtis Baptist . Based on last year’s final stats, the Warriors should be led once again by senior combo-guard prospect Gage Dicks. Dicks, who is listed among the top senior guards by recruiting services in the region, averaged 18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 steals a game. In an earlier interview, Coach Barnes, complimented Dicks as a very good shooter with above average ball skills. Senior point guard Hayden McClung (5-9) returns after averaging 15.3 points and 5.9 rebounds a game as a junior. Sophomore shooting guard Oliver Barnes (6-0) is also back after an impressive freshman season where he averaged 11.3 points, 2.9 points, and 1.6 assists a game. Senior small-forward Carter Brown (6-0) is also back after he helped the team’s success last year with 9.4 points and 8.4 rebounds a game. Brown led the team in rebounding. Junior guard-forward Hall Sease can use his 6-2 height either on the inside or outside. Sease averaged 8.6 points and 6.5 rebounds a game last season. Junior newcomer power forward Vashahd Schofield is a 6-4 power forward who will most certainly have an immediate impact for the Warriors success this season. He is expected to be a force inside on the boards and he is listed as a prospect by Prep Hoops. The combination of Schofield on the inside and Dicks on the outside, certainly makes the AJA boys’ team an early favorite to compete for a state SCISA AA championship this season. (Coach Barnes is avoiding any comments about winning a state championship as he is more focused on team unity and competing “one game at the time” this season.) The one player up from the jayvee is junior forward Tanner Chassercau who will add depth to the perimeter game of the team. Senior forward Jacobe Best returns to the team, along with 6-2 sophomore Elijah Davis who contributed 2.2 rebounds a game last season. Junior forward Tres Mixson is also back. “We will continue to be up-tempo on offense, and we hope our over-all team depth, will allow us to keep fresh players on the court most of the time,” said Coach Barnes. “Our goal is to develop a mentally tough team with hard physical practices that push our players to the limits of their talent. We are stressing player development and growth with every practice and every game.”  The Warriors will be competing in a SCISA AA region with teams from Bethesda Academy , Cross Schools , Beaufort Academy , Holy Trinity and Thomas Heyward . The Warriors will compete in a Christmas Tournament hosted by Blackville - Hilda High School December 26-30. “We know that every team will be high quality at this public-school event, where our players will be challenged by excellent competition,” said Coach Barnes. “This tournament should get us ready for a very competitive region schedule after the holidays.” Coach Barnes is assisted by Marcus Riveria , including former players Zachary Bolten and Chandler Hayden , along with Doyle Hayden .

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Dillon —The HSSR’s number four ranked Dillon Wildcats (8-2) used their bye week to nurse some minor injuries, while focusing on being more fundamentally sound, as they prepare to host Battery Creek (3-6) in the first round of the AAA football play-offs, starting on November, 15. Fourth year head coach Kelvin Roller, said that Battery Creek is very athletic and well coached. “Right now, our goal is to be 1-0 every week, and play one week at the time,” said Coach Roller. “If we work hard in practice, we should play just as hard on Friday night, hopefully. We used the bye week to get better fundamentally. We also brought up several jayvee players after their season, and we used the bye week to get them acclimated to being on the varsity.” Coach Roller was very proud of the way Dillon finished the regular season with four straight region wins over Aynor ( 49-7), ( Marlboro County 35-12), Waccamaw (47-39) and Georgetown (56-0). “We had a strong finish to the regular season, and I am really proud of all of the hard work put in by our players and coaches,” said Coach Roller. “I am also super proud of our huge region win over Marlboro County on October 18 th at home. “All of our players are home grown, and have come up through our program, and this game meant a lot to them, and I am proud of the way we played against Marlboro County,” said Coach Roller. “In that game, our two inside linebackers, Daniel Capehart and Kelvion Brown had 16 and 17 tackles each. with two sacks each also. Both of them came to play against Marlboro County. “I give a lot of the credit for their improved play this season to our Defensive coordinator, and inside linebackers coach Bill Young, who coached in college at UNC Pembroke before we were fortunate to hire him at Dillon,” said Coach Roller. “Our defensive side of the ball has been well coached this season.” Against MC, senior quarterback Rahmond Hamilton completed 7-of-14 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Hamilton also added 24 rushing yards on four carries. “Very proud of the way Rahmond has grown into the position at quarterback, after being a wide receiver for the past few years,” said Coach Roller. “In all honesty, we were able to do more with him at quarterback then with other quarterbacks in recent years. He can make plays with his arm, and his feet, and he has continued to improve at the position with every game this season.” Going back 30 seasons, Dillon has had at least one player earn a spot on either the Shrine Bowl, or North South teams most years, but not this season. “I know what a challenge it is to pick all-star teams so I am not going to fuss about Dillon being over-looked this season,” said Coach Roller. “Hopefully, when we play Battery Creek, because their head coach ( Ed Susi ) is the South head coach; he will have the opportunity to see a deserving player like our running back Jamarion Fling play. “Hopefully, if he needs a replacement player, he can consider Fling, or any other of our hard-working seniors,” said Coach Roller. “We hope to play well against Battery Creek in the first round of the play-offs. “I think Fling will go down among the best to every play at Dillon, and that is saying a lot,” said Coach Roller. “In one of our last games, near the end of regular season, he rushed for 276 yards and scored six touchdowns in one game.” Coach Roller said that having junior prospect Zay Robertson (6-1, 175, 4.39) available to play at both WR and DB, along with the good play of CB Zeph Campbell, allowed Dillon to be able to rest Fling a lot on defense, where he had more than 10 interceptions, as a top flight DB his junior season. Speaking of Robertson, Coach Roller said that this honor roll “A” student, and 200- meter sprint region champion, picked up his first major college offer from Coastal Carolina recently. Just a few weeks ago N.C. State called about Robertson. “No doubt in my mind, he is a major college receiver,” said Coach Roller. “He is a very good guard on our basketball team also, and he runs routes with precision, and he uses great moves to get open in coverage. “I know Zay impressed the Gamecock coaches during the 7-on-7 camp finals game that he and our 8 th grade quarterback led us to at South Carolina last summer,” said Coach Roller. “If he is not what major colleges are looking for, as a total package well-rounded student athlete, I can’t imagine what they are looking for, in all honesty. This kid is a gamer.” The Wildcat offensive line has been intact for the majority of the season. This hard-working group includes first- year senior starting LT Ky’heim Lester (6-4, 255) who is also a basketball prospect. The other tackle is soph Keyshawn Ray along with guards Mishaad Gilchrist and Kiele Pompey . The starting center is Nicholas Byrd . The Nasty Cats of defense had seven defensive players with 32, or more tackles, at the end of the regular season. At the top of the tackle index currently is junior MLB Keryien Brown (6-0,210) with 118 total tackles, 8 TFL and two sacks. Daniel Capehart is at 96 tackles, including three TFL and two sacks. Third on the list is junior OLB Tristan Blue who has 43 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions. Senior DE Ta’Marein Rogers (6-1, 185) has 41 tackles with three TFL and four sacks. Senior DT Azavion Deberry (6-0,275) has played well with 38 tackles, including three sacks and one TFL. Sophomore prospect Kelvion Manning has played well at strong safety and he comes into the Battery Creek game with 37 tackles, four TFL and one sack. Senior CB Dan Graves has 35 tackles and a tea m leading five interceptions. Senior CB Zeph . Campbell rounds out the top Nasty Cat tacklers with 32 tackles and one interception. On offense, Hamilton has completed 95-of-169 passes for 1,377 yards and 14 TD’s with only three interceptions. Fling is the top rusher with 910 net yards on 164 carries with 17 TD’s. Robertson is the top receiver with 46 catches for 744 yards and 8 TD’s at the end of the regular season. Running back Dominick Felton was having a good junior season with 449 yards on 58 carries and 9 TD’s but he was recently lost for the season due to injury. Senior WR EJan Green has caught 13 passes for 245 yards and three TD’s and Fling has caught 10 passes for 146 yards and one TD. “If we can limit our mental mistakes, and play turnover free football, I feel like we can make a deep run in the play-offs,” said Coach Roller. “We also need to make explosive plays on offense. Our goal at Dillon is to always be playing in the last game of the season.”

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Charleston – The saying goes that it is hard to beat the same team twice in the same season but Friday night at John Singleton Stadium the Porter-Gaud Cyclones made it look easy as they beat Heathwood Hall Episcopal Highlanders 44-13 to move into the second round of the SCISA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. The Cyclones defeated the Highlanders 44-0 during the regular season. “You know you play a team a second time the game is different. It was just a couple of plays here and there. We put the ball on the ground a couple of times which we have not done all year. That is something we cannot do at this time of year,” said PG head coach Brad Bowles. “ Overall, it was 44-13 and I am proud of the way we responded when we were pushed a little.” The Cyclones moved to 10-1 on the year and will host area rival Northwood Academy (10-2), a 49-20 winner over Laurence Manning Academy Friday night. The two teams met during the regular season with Porter-Gaud winning 28-12. “Northwoods is a really talented team. We had a great game the first time we played. We cannot make the same mistakes we made tonight with penalties and turnovers and expect to win,” coach Bowles said. The Cyclones jumped out to a 21-0 lead as they scored on their first three possessions as their offensive line of Frank Schmidt, Haze Marchant, Alexander Stiglic, James Temple, and Kyler Boggan paved the way on drives of 49, 81, and 72 yards. Each drive was capped by a JJ Fludd touchdown run. Fludd carried the ball 11 times for 115 yards. “Our offensive line has been outstanding all year and we lean on them to establish control of the line of scrimmage each game,” Bowles said, Meanwhile, the Cyclone defense was equally impressive as they held the Highlanders to minus three yards on their first four possessions. Daven Brown and Hugh Buxton applied pressure from the defensive line on the Highlander quarterback Patrick Belk while linebackers Austin Smith and Julian Buxton closed the running lanes. Porter Gaud was set to put the finishing touches on a solid first half when they took over at the Highlander 47-yard line with 3:13 on the clock. Running back Tony Brown broke through line on an 8-yard run but as he was going down he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Highlanders at the 32. The Highlanders put together their best drive of the game as they went 68-yards in 10 plays to cut the lead to 21-7 on Belk’s four-yard touchdown run. He accounted for 64 of the yards as he went 2-4 for 41 yards with a 33-yard pass to JaMonie Batts which put the ball at the Cyclone 8-yard line. He also rushed for 23 yards and the score. Heathwood received the second half kickoff and promptly marched 67 yards in 8-plays to pull within 8 at 21-13. Belk again was the catalyst as he went 3 for 3 through the air for 61 yards including a 54-yard strike to Chip Ravenell. He scored his second touchdown from the one, unfortunately he was hurt on the play and had to leave the game. He finished the game 7-15 for 110 yards and he had 11 carries for 22 yards and the two scores. “I have been telling my kids all year just give your effort and your heart every game and we will live with the results. We are trying to build a program and our seniors are the foundation. I could not be prouder of the effort tonight. That is a great Porter Gaud football team but we played better than last time and that shows where we are headed,” said Heathwood Hall head coach Tymere Zimmerman. Porter Gaud took over on their first possession of the second half and reestablished control as they went 60-yards in 8 plays as Fludd scored his fourth touchdown of the night from 15-yards out. The score was the start of a 23-0 run to end the game. The defense also stepped up their efforts as they forced three interceptions in a row. Safety Chase Anderson had two of the picks and Hampton Geils had the other the Cyclones. The offense capitalized on each turnover with Brown scoring from the one, Quinn Mulholland drilled a 32-yard field goal and Jackson Shealy finished the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run. Mulholland was 5 of 6 on extra points. The road graders up front were the key to the 450 yards plus of rushing offense the Cyclones had on the night. Fludd led them with 144 rushing yards, Brown had 136, quarterback Nolan Shuman had 71 and Shealy added 78 yards.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Write CHAPIN – While Region 4-5A contenders Dutch Fork and Irmo were battling for the region championship down I-26 Friday night, another region battle blew up in the fourth quarter at Cecil Woolbright Field. There, fourth-place White Knoll took a 21-7 lead on the Eagles early in the third quarter, but Chapin battled back and eventually defeated the Timberwolves 35-34. Anthony Turnbow scored three touchdowns for Chapin in the second half—a receiving score, an interception return for a touchdown, and a kickoff return for another TD. He had 176 all-purpose yards on the night, from the pick-6, the kickoff return, the touchdown reception, and 37 rushing yards. Besides Turnbow’s effort, Colione Martin rushed 21 times for 132 yards and a score, and quarterback Brady Albro had two interceptions but threw for 159 yards and a clutch TD pass to Turnbow. “Our kids really played really hard, we talked about trusting the process in all phases of the game and they came in together and didn’t give up on each other, which is really good,” Chapin head coach Ryan Cole said. “We had a couple of turnovers we created on defense, which was great, Cole Martin had a really good second half, the linemen tightened down, and Brady led them. I was happy that everybody came together at a time when we needed them to.” That need came after Turnbow’s TD reception and pick-6 tied the game at 21 by the one-minute mark into the fourth quarter. In a fantastic finish, both teams scored four touchdowns within one minute and 20 seconds late in the game. Chapin made it 28-21 on Gavin Stam’s 3-yard TD run at the 4:28 mark. Fifty-five seconds later, Jh’Quez Montgomery broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28 at the 3:53 mark. Special teams had a moment over the next minute. Turnbow broke free on his 76-yard return that gave Chapin a 35-28 lead with 3:40 to go. Then White Knoll’s Devin Geronomi took the Eagles kick to the end zone on an 85-yard romp with 3:28 left. Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, the game came down to extra points. Johnny Aguilera , who was 4-for-4 up until that point, missed the point after. Chapin took yet another kickoff, but this time ran out the clock and sealed its first region win of the year. “I’ve told our kids from time to time that I’ve been waiting for them to put it all together,” Cole said. “White Knoll is a good football team and they do some great things, and I’ll be excited to play them again.” Without senior staring quarterback Landon Sharpe , who did not play Friday, the White Knoll offense sputtered in the first quarter. The Timberwolves defense kept Chapin from capitalizing. Geronomi put White Knoll on the scoreboard with a 45-yard interception return at the 9:37 mark of the second quarter. The Eagles answered that pick-6 soon afterward, recovering a Timberwolves fumble at the White Knoll 34-yard line. Six plays later Martin burst into the end zone from two yards out to tie the game at 7. White Knoll had just two first downs in the game with about two minutes left in the first half, but took over the ball at midfield after a Chapin punt. Jhais McKeiver , a sophomore filling in for Sharpe, seemed to find his stride, connecting with Griffin for 11 yards first, then a 38-yard touchdown connection with Griffin 40 seconds before intermission. White Knoll took a 21-7 lead with McKeiver’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Griffin early in the second half, but Chapin awakened a Senior Night crowd with three Turnbow touchdowns and a wild ending. Montgomery finished the game with 103 yards on 19 carries for the Timberwolves. McKeiver threw two interceptions, but the sophomore passed for 173 yards and two TDs. The game’s result puts White Knoll, Chapin, and Lexington in a three-way tie at the bottom of the region standings. All three teams are 5-5 overall and 1-4 in the region. As Dutch Fork (10-0, 5-0) snapped 9-1, 4-1 Irmo’s 21-game regular-season winning streak dating back to October 2022, River Bluff (8-2, 3-2) finished third in the region with a 24-10 victory over the Wildcats. I’m hoping we’re in and I heard a rumor that we’re matching up with White Knoll again,” Cole said. “But we’re just excited to get the chance to play, and if we get the opportunity, we’ll be looking forward to it.”  White Knoll 0 14 7 13 – 34 Chapin 0 7 7 21 – 35 Second Quarter W - Devin Geronomi 45 interception return (Johnny Aguilera kick) 9:37 C - Colione Martin 2 run (Cooper Derrick kick) 4:39 W - Javon Griffin 38 pass from Jhais McKeiver (Aguilera kick) :40 Third Quarter W – Griffin 15 pass from McKeiver (Aguilera kick) 9:01 C – Anthony Turnbow 43 pass from Brady Albro (Derrick kick) 5:24 Fourth Quarter C – Turnbow 20 interception return (Derrick kick) 11:06 C – Gavin Stam 3 run (Derrick kick) 4:48 W – Jh’Quez Montgomery 62 run (Aguilera kick) 3:53 C – Turnbow 76 kickoff return (Derrick kick) 3:40 W – Geronomi 85 kickoff return (kick failed) 3:28 WK CHS First Downs 9 17 Rushes-yds 29-122 38-195 Passing yds 173 159 Att-Com-Int 18-10-2 29-17-2 Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1 Penalties-yds 7-60 4-20 Punts-avg 6-36. 7 5-26.4 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING W – Jh’Quez Montgomery 20-103, Jhais McKeiver 4-6, Caleb Miller 3-4, Javon Griffin 2-7, James Smith 1-2. C – Colione Martin 21-132, Brady Albro 7-(-13), Anthony Turnbow 3-33, John Rossi 4-37, Gavin Stam 1-3, Team 2-3. PASSING W – Jhais McKeiver 10-18-2. C – Brady Albro 17-29-2. RECEIVING W – Javon Griffin 6-140, Jaylin Prior 2-20, James Smith 1-8, Caleb Geronomi 1-5. C – Khalen Bostic 7-45Stone Ferrey 3-17, Colione Martin 3-26, Connor Finney 2-24, Anthony Turnbow 1-43, Johnathan Sheppard 1-5.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor’ Dalzell – The Thomas Sumter Academy girls cross country program has a rich history of strong teams in SCISA, no matter the classification. This year’s edition added to that legacy in the AAA state meet at the Heathwood Hall course in Columbia on October 26. The TSA boys joined in the fun as well as both teams finished as state runners-up. It was the first ever second-place finish for the boys under head coach Rob Coursey . The TSA girls finished second for the first time since 2021. The Lady Generals finished with 61 points, 14 behind state champion Spartanburg Christian Academy . They were led by senior Kelsey Martin , finishing fourth in the individual competition. Martin finished in a time of 21 minutes, 44.29 seconds. Freshman Skylar Spilker finished 13 th , eighth-grader Annie Boss 14 th and seventh-grader Keira Anderson 16 th, finishing within 0.31 seconds of each other. Spilker finished in a time of 23:16.94, Boss in 23:34.17 and Anderson inn 23:47.00. Senior Abbie Fisher rounded out the scoring lineup, finishing 22 nd in a time of 24:23.73. She was followed by eighth-grader Risden Dunlap in 29th with a time of 25:35.23. Freshman Kenleigh Anderson , who has been battling a knee injury, ran for the first time in several weeks, finishing 49 th in 32:57.70, “This year with the girls we just had so much success,” said TSA head coach Rob Coursey, who just completed his 10 th season in charge of the cross country program. “We had three different No. 1 runners all year in Skylar, AJ Fisher and Martin. “A lot of those girls had to step up. Once Kenley went out and Hannah Burnside (who was unable to run in the state meet) stepped in, we had to adjust. It was good to be able to see. It was just one of those seasons that was collectively good.” Shannon Forest dominated the boys meet, placing all five of its scoring runners in the top eight to finish with 24 points. However, the battle for the runner-up trophy was a tight one. TSA claimed it with 72 points, edging Spartanburg Christian by one point. “I thought we were poised to do something really good,” Coursey said. “It was just doing what we've done all year. It was a nice ending for that group.” Sophomore Nate Livingston crossed the finish line with a time of 17:52.20. Freshman Ty Fisher and eighth-grader Ashton Pierce finished 12 th and 13 th , respectively, with times of 18:44.39 and 18:57.11. Seventh-grader Wyatt Swinehart finished 21 st in 19:21.72 and sophomore Henry Sturkey finished 23rd in 19:42.55. Though unlikely known at the time, Sturkey was in a battle with Spartanburg Christian’s Nelson Abuzeid to determine the second-place team. Abuzeid finished 23 rd in 19:44.44, less than two seconds behind Sturkey. “Before the meet, I told Henry he was going to have to be the guy,” Coursey said. “We knew about our 1-2-3 guys all year. I told him, ‘You’re the guy that’s going to have to step up and be the key for us.’ Sturkey was just that guy.” Eighth-grader Aiden Pierce finished 35 th in 22;21.08. Senior Trent Spilker started the race but was unable to finish due to an injury. Both teams will return all the runners who scored in the state meet.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – And that’s why you play the game, or in this case, run the race. Projected to finish fifth in the SCISA AAAA boys cross country state meet at the Heathwood Hall course in Columbia on October 26, Wilson Hall drove back to Sumter with the state championship trophy in tow. The Barons won their first state title since 2015, scoring 71 points to edge John Paul II by one point. WH head coach Reid Schwartz said the title came as a very pleasant surprise. “We knew we had an outside shot of doing it,” Schwartz said. It was all depending on if everybody hit their personal records, if a couple of things went our way, if we won some one-on-one battles. It was definitely a surprise.” Sophomore Caulder Williamson led the way. He finished second overall in a time of 15 minutes, 49.08 seconds while Heathwood Hall’s Jack Wilcox won in 15:42.08. Williamson broke the school record set by Connor Smith by three seconds. Freshman Trip Hunt joined Williamson on the All-State team by finishing eighth in 16:37.45. Sophomore Abel Ayres finished 11 th in 17:00.45 despite injuring a hip during the race. Junior Ben Rabon was 17 th in 17:16.50, and freshman Gavin Getz rounded out the scoring by finishing 33 rd in 17:41.95. Though no one could know it at the time, a strong finish by Rabon was the difference between a state championship and a second-place finish for the Barons. “Ben Rabon passed a John Paul runner coming down the chute,” Schwartz said in reference to Brayden Frickel , who finished 18 th and half a second behind Rabon. “That was pretty critical.” Aiden Bradford and Wil Alexander finished 46th and 53 rd , respectively, for the Barons. The Wilson Hall girls had a strong showing as well, finishing second to Heathwood Hall, which won its fourth straight state title. Wilson Hall had 59 points while Heathwood had 46. Senior Molly Jones led the Lady Barons, finishing fifth overall in 18:47.56. That was a new school record, the third time Jones set it this season, bettering her time by over 30 seconds. Junior Mary Ellen Thorne and eighth-grader Emmie Williamson finished ninth and 10 th , respectively, to join Jones on the All-State team. They too surpassed the old school record entering the season, Thorne finishing in 19:19.46 and Williamson in 19:21.65. Sisters Mary Foley , a freshman, and seventh-grader Jane Foley finished 16 th and 24 th , respectively. Mary had a time of 19:51.23 and Jane a time of 20:13.65. Marsha Kate Skey and Ann Phillips Zitzke added finishes of 48th and 70th. With Jones the only senior on either team who ran in the state meet, the future indeed looks bright for Wilson Hall. “We’re excited to be putting the program back on the map,” Schwartz said. “It looks like we have a lot of good years in the future.”

By Dennis Brunson’ hssr.com Associate Editor Turbeville – The East Clarendon High School football team is going into the AA state playoffs with a 7-3 overall record. The Wolverines finished 4-2 in Region 7, good for second place. ECHS head coach Larry Cornelius believes his team has the ability to make deep run in the playoffs. It will open with a home game against Andrews on November 15 at Shad Hall Field. “We’re definitely capable of winning every game,” said Cornelius, who is in his second season at East Clarendon. “Our three losses have come by a combined 10 points. One thing this team does is compete.” The Wolverines suffered a 21-20 loss to AAAA Lakewood after opening the season with three wins. The two region losses came by a 15-12 count to Manning and 24-18 in overtime to Mullins . Cornelius said his team has played up to its expectations. “We’re where we thought we would be,” he said. “We’ve been competitive in every game and we’ve had a chance to win them all. “We’ve got a lot more diversity than we did last year,” added Cornelius, who led East Clarendon to a 5-6 record and the second round of the Class A playoffs in 2023. “We’ve got a lot more people to throw the ball to, we’ve got several ball carriers on the team. Each week it’s like we have a different leading rusher.” The Wolverines are averaging 234.4 rushing yards a game. They have five players with at least 292 yards. Jay Webb , who missed most of the last two games with an injury, leads the way with 684 yards and five touchdowns on 107 carries. Quarterback Takoda Cornelius has 486 yards and 10 touchdowns on 79 carries. Tyquan Wilson has 429 yards and two scores on 51 carries, Hunter Mixon has 358 yards and seven TDs on 63 carries, and Syrus Brown 292 yards and eight scores on 47 carries. Takoda Cornelius has completed 89 of 142 passes for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns. His favorite target has been Whit Nesbitt with 34 catches for 547 yards and eight scores. Dawson Beard has 29 catches for 319 yards and one touchdown. Coach Cornelius said ECHS needs to get off to better starts. “Our issue has been the first half,” he said. “That’s been true on both side of the ball, both on offense and defense. We’ve played well in the second half, but we can’t hang out hats on that.” The East Clarendon defense is a big play defense as it has 105 tackles for loss, 16 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries. “Defensively, we thought our D line was going to be a strength,” Coach Cornelius said. “Our linebackers have been good and our defensive backs have stepped up. We’ve done a great as we Increased turnovers.” Linebacker Mixon has 20 TFLs among his 59 tackles to go with three fumble recoveries. Linebacker Colby McKenzie leads in tackles with 60 and has 10 tackles for loss. Outside linebacker Darius McCray has 11 TFLs to go with 34 tackles, defensive lineman Jordan Wright has 10 TFLs, defensive tackle Xavier Smith has 29 tackles and nine TFLs, linebacker Mike Woods has 51 tackles and nine TFLs, and defensive lineman/linebacker Jesse Floyd and outside linebacker Ke’haun Porter had eight TFLs. Defensive backs Picasso Brown, Cornelius and Nesbitt each have three interceptions. Wright leads in sacks with 3 ½ while Mixon and McCray have 2 ½.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Latta – It took a little while for the Latta High School football coaching staff to figure things out, but head coach Brandon Iseman likes where his team is at as it prepares for the Vikings prepare for the Class A state playoffs. After losing three of its first four games, LHS won four of its final six contests. It is taking a 5-5 overall record into the Class A state playoffs after finishing third in Region 6. Latta will open the playoffs on November 15 by going on the road to face Baptist Hill . “Coming off of last year where we had so many seniors, we had a lot of question marks,” said head coach Brandon Iseman, who led Latta to a 9-2 record last year. “We were filling certain holes, and we had to go through a process of fitting puzzle pieces together.” After beating East Columbus from North Carolina 49-6 to open the season, the Vikings lost to Marion 8-7, McBee 28-7 and Mullins 6-0. Following the McBee loss, Iseman and his staff decided to get out of its spread offense and switch to the wishbone. “We were kind of getting the pieces into place all year,” he said. “Where we ran the spread, throw it and run out of it, that didn’t fit us this year. Game 3 we switched into the wishbone. “We were not being as competitive as we could be. We decided to hang out hats there, being physical, controlling the game, controlling the clock. Our mentality changed and we shifted our focus. I wish we would have been in it all year.” LHS is averaging 241.1 rushing yards per game. It is led by Makinley Wallace , who has 119 carries for 885 yards and 14 touchdowns. Amir Rogers has 85 carries for 520 yards and five TDs, quarterback Jayden Alford has 353 yards and six scores on 61 carries, and Fischer Richardson has 50 carries for 293 yards and one TD. Latta has only thrown the ball 38 times, completing 20 of them with no touchdowns. The leading receiver is Adrian McDonald with nine catches for 184 yards. The defense is led by linebacker Xy’Mari Bethea with 71 total tackles for 11. Defensive tackle Tyquan Drawhorn leads in TFLS with 16 to go with 65 tackles, and linebacker Gavin Aubin has 54 tackles and seven TFLs. Drawhorn has a team high six quarterback sacks while Rogers, a defensive end, has four sacks. Iseman is looking forward to seeing what his team can do in the playoffs. “All year we’ve been going through a transition,” he said. “We’ve just got to believe, trust and believe in the work we do each week. If we do that, good things will happen. I think we’re clicking at the right time. We’re going to focus on execution.” 

Oceanside Collegiate's Sophomore QB, Aiden Manavian (6-0, 185)

Irmo quarterback AJ Brand AAAAA Player of the Week

Timberland's big man on the line, Jr. Desmond Green (6-5, 340) plays Guard and DT.

Batesburg-Leesville beats Saluda 28-7 in battle of unbeatens

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Hollywood - Friday night at Marion Brown field in Hollywood, the best rivalry in the low country that no one talks about between the home standing Baptist Hill Bobcats and the visiting Cross Trojans renewed and as usual there was a region championship on the line. The Trojans came into the game with a 5-0/7-2 region record while the Bobcats were 4-1/ 6-2. A win by the Bobcats and region 5 A would have a three-way top with Branchville being the third member. However, the Trojans made sure that would not happen as they jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter on their way a region clinching 36-0 win. It was the Trojans third straight win the series as well as the third straight shut out by the Trojans. “We have had our way the last three years with them but you can never take a Marion Brown coached team lightly. We knew coming into the game it would be a tough matchup,” said Cross head coach Shawn Wright . “We wanted to jump on them early and I’m proud of my guys for taking care of business.” Coach continued, “It is always nice to win another region championship (6-0/8-2) but this win gave us home field for as long as we are in the playoffs. We are also looking forward to the week off to get some rest and get some guys healthy so we can hopefully make a deep run in the playoffs.” The lose dropped Baptist Hill to third in the region with 4-2 record and 6-3 overall. The Bobcats will be on the road when the playoffs start in two weeks. “We knew Cross was going be tough and physical like they always are but offensively we had too many blown assignments. We put our defense in a bad position by giving them a short field but I felt our defense played well most of the night,” said coach Brown. While the Trojans did score 36 points on the night it was the Trojan defense that stole the show as they limited the Bobcat offense to 75 total yards and forced five turnovers. The Bobcats were only able to cross into Trojan territory twice all night. Leading the charge for the Trojans were two sophomores: defensive linemen Jaylin Broughton and linebacker Jimmy Smith . Broughton was in the backfield all night and when a Bobcat broke the line of scrimmage Smith made several jarring hits. “Our Defensive coordinator and defensive coaches do a great job of getting the kids ready to play. They put together a great scheme tonight and all year,” coach Wright said. The opening series for the Bobcats showed how long of a night it was going to be for them. As they fumbled on their second play and Cross recovered inside the ten-yard line but a face mask wiped out the play. Then, on second and 22, Baptist Hill quarterback Johnquez Henderson lofted a pass up the left side where Cross’s safety Caden Ramsey went over everyone for the interception at the Cross 38. Starting from the 38, the Trojans took eight plays to cover the 62 yards. Karmello Jones scored his first touchdown of the night on a four-yard run. The two-point conversion was no good and the Trojans lead 6-0. Things did go well for the Bobcats on their next possession. They lost ten yards on their first play when Henderson recovered a fumble. Then on fourth down the snapper snapped the ball over the punters head and the punter fell on the ball for an eight-yard loss. Jones scored his second touchdown of the night one play later on another four-yard run to push the lead to 12-0 Trojans in the first quarter. While the Bobcat offense continued to struggle, the defense led by linebacker Kevin Smalls started making an impact and making plays in the Cross backfield. They forced the Trojans to punt but the Bobcat offense still could not move the ball. The Trojans would put the game away in the final two-minutes of the first half as they would score 16 points in this two minutes to take a 28-0 lead into the half. First, Ramsey capped a 61-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down. Jones rushed for 59 of the 61 yards on the drive. Second, after forcing a Bobcat punt and taking possession at the Bobcat 42. The Trojans needed just two pass plays from Tyler Harris to Ramsey to cover the 42 yards and with the two two-point conversion the lead was pushed to 28. The Trojans finished the scoring on Ramsey’s third touchdown of night as he scored on a two-yard run. Harris connected with Preston Fuller for the final two-points of the night and the final of 36-0. Harris had a solid night for the Trojans completing six passes for 103 yards and touchdown while Jones rushed 18 times for 150 yards to go with his two scores. Jones also had an interception. Ramsey and Fuller each had three receptions and also a pick each while William Grant tallied 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack to lead the defense.

Williamsburg Academy's Jr. QB Micha Baulder rolling out looking for a target

Championship weekend set for November 22-23

SCISA ready for postseason; one more week left for SCHSL

Blazers set to take on Sumter for Region 5-5A championship 

Dillon's Jamarion Fling AAA Player of the Week

The HSSR Week 9 Rankings are available! Playoffs are looming large and every team is hoping for some luck to make to Championship weekend. Keep up with your favorite team at: The High School Sports Report HSSR Div. I AAAAA Ranking - (Ranking After Week “9” Games October, 25) 1. Dutch Fork – 7-0 (291-17) 2. Summerville –9-0 (404-190) 3. Sumter- 8-0 (378-138) 4. Spartanburg-7-1 (378-138) 5. River Bluff- 7-1 (250-160) 6. JL Mann 6-2 (296-127) 7. Dorman 5-3 (162-159) 8. Boiling Springs 5-2 (251-94) 9. James Island 6-3 (151-80) 10. Blythewood 6-3 (230-146) HSSR Div. II AAAAA Ranking- (Ranking After Week “9” Games Oct. 25) 1. Irmo 8-0 (302-130) 2. Northwestern- 9-0 (469-158) 3. Gaffney- 6-1 (205-115) 4. Hillcrest 7-1 (269-142) 5. Greenwood 6-2 2340150) 6. Catawba Ridge 7-2 (269-188) 7. TL Hanna 6-2 (326-233) 8. West Florence 6-3 (238-189) 9. Goose Creek 5-3 (181-137) 10. Riverside 4-3 (198-167) HSSR AAAA Ranking - (Ranking After Week “9” (Oct. 25) 1. Westside - 7-0 (329-141) 2. Daniel -8-1 (448-132) 3. Seneca 9-1 (391-133) 4. May River 7-1 281-104) 5. Wren 6-1 (320-65) 6. South Pointe- 7-2 (413-94) 7. Hartsville-7-1-1 (397-148) 8 South Florence 7-2 (348-181) 9. Gray Collegiate 6-2 (267-137) 10. North Augusta- 7-1 (195-123) 11. AC Flora 7-2 (292-239) 12. Bishop England 7-2 (230-152) 13. Hilton Head 6-2 (281-83) 14. Camden 6-3 (193-199) 15. Richland Northeast 7-2 (273-214) HSSR AAA Football Rankings - (Ranking After Week “9” Games, Oct. 25) 1. BHP 8-1 (381-137) 2. Mountain View Prep 8-0 (372-138) 3. Loris 7-1 (335-75) 4. Dillon 7-2 (320-161) 5. Woodruff 6-1 (300-189) 6. Marlboro County-6-1 (301-115) 7. Hampton County 7-2 (285-159) 8. Swansea- 7-2 (242-180) 9. Oceanside Collegiate 6-3 (224-187) 10. Keenan 6-3 (307-240) 11. Orangeburg-Wilkinson-7-2 ((224-187) 12. Newberry-4-3 (268-148) 13. Powdersville 5-3 (268-213) 14. St. Joseph’s 5-3 (212-170) 15. Walhalla 5-3 (261-153) HSSR AA Football Rankings (After Week 9 Games, October, 25) 1. Saluda- 7-0 (215-64) 2. Barnwell 8-1 (272-90) 3. Batesburg-Leesville 8-0 (351-60) 4. Fairfield Central 7-1 (324-114) 5. Clinton 6-2 (318-183) 6. Hampton County 6-1 (235-117) 7. Strom Thurmond 5-2 (246-87) 8. Manning 7-1 (251-90) 9. Philip Simmons 7-2 (270-150) 10. Woodland 7-2 (284-127) 11. Cheraw 6-3 (188-173) 12. Woodland 7-2 (284-127) 13. Andrews 6-3 (270-145) 14. Timberland 6-3 (264-133) 15. Mullins 7-3 (276-203) HSSR CLASS A RANKINGS (After Week “9” Games, Oct. 25) 1. Abbeville- 6-1 (356-129) 2. Lewisville- 8-1 (312-94) 3. Lake View-7-1 (283-169) 4. Cross 7-2 (376-83) 5. Branchville 8-1 (314-171) 6. Lamar 7-2 (378-129) 7. HKT 7-1 (265-102) 8. Bamberg-Ehrhardt 6-2 (304-80) 9. Dixie 6-2 ((222-202) 10. Baptist Hill 6-2 (228-141) 11. Blackville-Hilda-6-1 (226-156) 12. Hannah Pamplico-6-2 (235-153) 13. Lee Central 5-4 (211-225) 14. Latta 4-5 (245-146) 15. Ridge Spring Monetta 5-2 (109-124) HSSR-SCISA AAAA Ranking - (After Week “9” Games, Oct. 25) 1. Hammond-9-0 (415-125) 2. Porter-Gaud-8-1 (358-150) 3. Northwood Academy-8-2 (305-136) 4. Ben Lippen 4-4 (118-161) 5. Augusta Christian 2-6 (138-277) 6. Laurence Manning 3-6 (229-330) HSSR-SCISA AAA Ranking - (After Week “9” Games, Oct. 25) 1. Pinewood Prep 6-2 (282-1`45) 2. Wilson Hall-8-1 (252-103) 3. Northside Christian-8-1 (259-147) 4. Hilton Head Christian 5-3 (253-232) 5. Florence Christian 5-3 (231-166) 6. Trinity Collegiate -4-5 (166-190) HSSR-SCISA AA Ranking - (After Week “9” Games, Oct. 25) 1. Pee Dee Academy-8-0 (199-103) 2. Calhoun Academy 7-2 (346-181) 3. Greenwood Christian 6-2 (273-115) 4. Bethesda Academy 6-2 (220-120) 5. Orangeburg Prep 4-5 (199-187) 6. St. Johns Christian 4-5 (251-309) 251-309) HSSR-SCISA Class A Ranking - (After Week “9” Games, October, 25) 1.Williamsburg Academy-6-1 (211-94) 2. Thomas Heyward-8-1 (339-112) 3. Beaufort Academy 7-2 (257-162) 4. Dorchester Academy-5-2 (123-133) 5. Colleton Prep 6-3 (211-187) 6. Carolina Academy-4-4 (191-210) HSSSR SCISA 8-Man Ranking - (After Week “9” Games, Oct. 25) 1. Richard Winn-8-0 (363-108) 2. Jefferson Davis 9-1 (451-110) 3. Holly Hill Academy 8-1 (410-140) 4. Wardlaw 7-1 (322-184) 5. Cathedral Academy- 8-2 (427-215) 6. Laurens Academy-6-3 (328-276)

Manning wins Region 7-AA title with a 38-13 triumph over Marion

Two weeks left in regular season

Daniel Island - It has been a minute since the Bishop England High football program hosted an important game eight weeks into a season, but that was the case on Friday as the Bishops took on Bluffton in a crucial region 6-AAAA contest. Few would have predicted the Bishops, in rebuild mode under first-year head coach Logan Hall, could be in a game of such magnitude when the season began. But the Bishops were seeking their seventh win o the 2024 season (the most since 2017) and a chance to move into a first-place tie in the standings. The Bishops overcame a 10-point deficit with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to pull out a 28-24 win. Quinn Mahoney’s 38-yard touchdown connection to Jacob MacKara with 2:37 to play in the game provided the game-winner, lifting the Bishops to a 3-1 record in region play and 7-2 overall. Trailing by 24-14 early in the fourth, Mahoney hit Nick Brunetti with a five-yard pass on fourth-and-goal to put the Bishops within range. The game featured two of the top quarterbacks in region six. Bluffton junior Aedan McCarthy accounted for more than 2,100 total yards and 25 touchdowns in the first seven games, while Mahoney had racked up nearly 2,000 yards and 18 scores through eight games. Neither quarterback found any rhythm in the first half, aside from their first drives. The game began with plenty of offense with three scores in the first nine minutes. Defenses took over for the rest of the first half with each team punting several times. Bluffton had a touchdown nullified on their first possession of the game, settling for a 31-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. Bishop England’s first possession resulted in a touchdown as Mahoney scored on a five-yard keeper with 5:13 left in the first period. Bluffton answered about 90 seconds later with Kendall Holley capping a quick drive with a six-yard run to give the Bobcats a 10-7 lead with 3:37 remaining. Bishop England mounted one good drive late in the second quarter but missed on a 35-yard field goal as time expired. The Bishops opened the third quarter with a great drive and Mitchell Plaisance scored on a 19-yard run for a 17-14 lead. Bluffton, however, scored twice on Holley runs of four and nine yards to take a 24-14 lead into the fourth quarter. Bishop England will close out the regular season against Colleton County next Friday.

As we get deeper into the region play and make up Hurricane Helene games, the competition is tightening up. SCISA Championship Weekend starts Nov. 22nd. SCHSL Championship Weekend is the weekend of December 14th at SC State's Oliver Dawson Stadium. HSSR Div. I AAAAA Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Dutch Fork – 7-0 (291-17) 2. Summerville – 8-0 (363-176) 3. Sumter- 7-0 (378-138) 4. Spartanburg-6-1 (220-81) 5. River Bluff- 7-1 (250-160) 6. Ashley Ridge 6-2 (366-248) 7. JL Mann 5-2 (261-127) 8. Boiling Springs-4-2 (210 9. Lexington-5-3 (139-155) 10. Blythewood- 6-3 (230-146) HSSR Div. II AAAAA Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Gaffney- 6-0 (198-106) 2. Irmo – 8-0 (302-130) 3. Northwestern- 8-0 (434-151) 4. Hillcrest 6-1 (213-125) 5. Catawba Ridge 6-1 (243-167) 6. Greenwood-5-2 (196-150) 7. TL Hanna 5-2 (244-187) 8. Riverside 4-2 (186-129) 9. West Florence-5-3 (208-129) 10. Goose Creek 5-3 (181-137) HSSR AAAA Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Westside - 6-0 (280-138) 2. Daniel -6-1 (322-104) 3. Seneca 7-1 (287-119) 4. Wren 5-1 (257-65) 5. South Pointe- 6-2 (355-84) 6. Hartsville-6-1-1 (312-162) 7 South Florence 6-2 (327-140) North Augusta- 6-1 (239-95) Gray Collegiate 5-2 (312-131) AC Flora 7-2 (292-239) 11. Hilton Head 5-2 (216-77) 12. May River- 6-1 (225-90) 13. Bluffton-5-2- (235-162) 14. Bishop England-6-2 (202-128) 15. Richland Northeast-6-3 (246-198) HSSR AAA Football Rankings - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. BHP 7-1 (333-130) 2. Mountain View Prep 7-0 (323-118) 3. Dillon 5-2 (273-122) 4. Loris 6-1 (334-75) 5. Woodruff 5-1 (256-179) 6. Marlboro County-6-1 (334-75) 7. Swansea- 6-2 (221-173) 8. Oceanside Collegiate 6-3 (224-187) 9. Keenan 6-3 (287-195) 10. Orangeburg-Wilkinson-6-2 ((233-111) 11. Newberry-4-3 (223-128) 12. Mid-Carolina-4-3 (155-159) 13. Powdersville-4-3 (234-206) 14. St. Joseph’s 4-3 (177-156) 15. Fox Creek 4-3 (221-151) HSSR AA Football Rankings - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Saluda- 6-0 (180-38) 2. Barnwell 7-1 (238-82) 3. Batesburg-Leesville 7-0 (303-61) 4. Fairfield Central 7-1 (324-114) 5. Clinton 5-2 (257-169) 6. Hampton County 6-1 (235-117) 7. Strom Thurmond 5-1 (221-52) 8. Manning 6-1 (213-67)) 9. Philip Simmons 6-2 (249-143) 10. Woodland 5-2 (228-120) 11. Landrum-5-2 (255-120) 12. Central 6-2 (218-109) 13. Timberland 6-2 (257-112) 14.. Chesterfield-5-2 (241-145) 15. Andrews- 5-2 (216-118) HSSR CLASS A RANKINGS - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Abbeville- 5-1 (293-115) 2. Lewisville- 7-1 (260-87) 3. Lake View-7-1 (282-69) 4. Cross 6-2 (324-83) 5. Blackville-Hilda-6-1 (213-103) 6. Branchville-7-1 (291-149) 7. Dixie 6-1 (208-139) 8. Lamar-6-2 (329-113) 9. HKT-6-1 (206-90) 10. Baptist Hill- 5-2 (206-113) 11. Hannah Pamplico-5-2 (208-131) 12. Bamberg-Ehrhardt- 5-2 (261-76) 13. Latta-4-4 (213-119) 14. Lee4-3 (173-186) 15. Ridge Spring Monetta 5-2 (103-110) HSSR-SCISA AAAA Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Hammond-8-0 (367-108) 2. Porter-Gaud-7-1 (309-143) 3. Northwood Academy-7-2 (277-130) 4. Ben Lippen 4-3 (181-272) 5. Laurence Manning 3-5 (204-302) 6. Augusta Christian 2-5 (132-249) HSSR-SCISA AAA Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Pinewood Prep 5-2 (238-131) 2.. Wilson Hall-7-1 (209-103) 3. Northside Christian-7-1 (225-140) 4. Florence Christian 5-3 (231-166) 5. Hilton Head Christian-4-3 (211-226) 6. Trinity Collegiate -3-5 (128-165) HSSR-SCISA AA Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Pee Dee Academy-7-0 (274-81) 2. Bethesda Academy 6-2 (220-120) 3. Calhoun Academy- 6-2 (296-174)) 4.Greenwood Christian-5-2 (236-109) 5. St. Johns Christian 4-5 (251-309) 6. Orangeburg Prep-3-5 (159-159) HSSR-SCISA Class A Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) Williamsburg Academy-6-1 (211-94) 2. Thomas Heyward-7-1 (288-106) 3. Dorchester Academy-7-0 (204-60) 4. Beaufort Academy 6-3 (251-203) 5. Colleton Prep 6-3 (211-187) 6. Carolina Academy-4-3 (185-159) HSSSR SCISA 8-Man Ranking - (After Week “8” Games, Oct. 18) 1. Richard Winn-7-0 (301-96)) 2. Jefferson Davis 9-1 (383-104) 3. Holly Hill Academy 7-1 (356-132) 4. Wardlaw 6-1 (268-172) 5. Cathedral Academy- 7-1 (419-143) 6. Laurens Academy-6-2 (316-214)