Monarchs lose to Crestwood 32-27 in opener before topping Scott's Branch 43-32

Senior Silas Brawner had nearly 1,000 passing yards in the first three weeks of Pinewood Prep’s season.

WA senior running back Grant Small , a 2,000-yard rusher from last season rambled for 155 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against Trinity Collegiate.

Cross senior RB/LB Jimmy Smith at the 2024 state title game.

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By Billy G. Baker Publisher Cheraw —Four talented senior football players have been playing together, on various teams in the Cheraw community, since they were 8 years old; so finding a way to close their “brotherhood closeness” with a Class A state football championship at the end of the ’26 season would be a dream fulfilled. Cheraw will travel to Dillon this week for a non-region game and head coach Andy Poole, who is starting his 10 th season at Cheraw, said it has been six years, or so, since the Braves played against the Wildcats, who he describes as a very talented football team. Cheraw began the season with a gut wrenching 13-12 loss to Andrew Jackson . They bounced back in week two with an impressive 21-0 win over Lewisville . Now let’s meet the four senior leaders of the team through the eyes of their head coach. Thes four men are wide receiver/DB Nick Gordon (5-10, 178, 4.3), WR/DB Derrick Isaac (5-7, 145 ) , DL Crawford Poole ( 5-10,212 ), and DL Anthony Strong (6-4, 245) and they are all committed Cheraw Braves football players. who have playing on the varsity since the 9th grade. We asked head coach Andy Poole, beginning his 19 th season as the head coach of the Braves, to comment on these committed players and he no problem handling the request. “First of all, these four guys are very competitive and they started playing rec basketball together on the same team when they were 8 years old,” said Coach Poole. “It seems like they have been plying on the football team for 10 years, but time goes buy fast and this will be their final season together, so you hope the stars align and they can all go out with a championship ring on their fingers.” First up is Nick Gordon . “At a skills combine camp put up by the Football Coaches Association since last season, Nick ran a 4.31 laser time in the forty making him the fastest football player on the field in South Carolina every night this season,” said Coach Poole. “He can take it to the house whether he is on offense or defense, on any given play. He is also an all-state baseball player and he runs a 6-4 sixty which is big time for a baseball player.”  Next up in “Mighty Mite” Derrick Isaac . ” Derrick has a quick first step as a slot receiver and on defense he is a lock down corner back who can shorten the field in a hurry,” said Coach Poole. “He is equally impressive on either side of the ball but I feel like he makes some great plays on defense. He is an honor roll student on top of everything else also.” Now we bring Crawford Poole into the conversation. “Right off the top, I will say that Crawford is my son, but I think everyone on the team knows that he is the heart and soul of our defense,” said Coach Poole. “Barring injury, Crawford will likely finish his senior season as the all-time sack leader, and TFL leader, in the history of our football program. When you think of all the great defensive players that have come through Cheraw High that will be quite an accomplishment. “Craford is a hybrid DE and we call it a “jack position,” said Coach Poole. “He is honesty like having a coach on the field. He and Anthony are so competitive and they have a friendly rivalry as to who can have the most tackles or the most sacks in a game every Friday night.” Drum roll for Anthony Strong please. “Anthony is also a four-year starter with a high motor and he has a wing span like I have never seen,” said Coach Poole. “He has some firm offers from smaller schools like Anderson , Newberry and even Miami of Ohio, but I feel like he can play at a power four school. As I was saying he and Crawford feed off each other during a game.” Sophomore QB Kobi McDonald is under center for the Braves this season. Justyn Joint returns for his senior year at RB. Senior Kamari Cue is a WR along with senior George Little . The offensive line is made up of junior LT Winston Davis , RT Charlie Holter , LG Jayden Horne , RG Lemonte Brown and junior center Easton Quick . Sam Phillips is the combo kicker. Senior Jayden Horne and senior Tristen Marquiss join Poole and Strong up-front in the DL. Seniors Brenden Pace and Austin Adams are the two linebackers. Joining Gordon, Isaac, and Little in the secondary, are sophomore Jarmarcus Frazier , and freshman Darryl Hersey.

Abbeville’s tough non-region schedule will continue to test the Panthers as they start the season 1-1.

“I’m a hard worker, and I believe these young men are hungry. Marion has always had athletes. I’m glad I was lucky enough to get it.” exclaimed Aundres Perkins.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt was the only school in the state of South Carolina to go undefeated at 15-0 in it's 2025 run for the state football title.

Junior two sport athlete, Beau Hite (6-1, 170) starting strong for 2026 in two games 36 of 54 passing for 607 yards and 6 TDs.

Hanahan's sophmore RB Nevaehas Gourdin (6-0, 170) racked up 3 TD's against Kingstree on 115 yards. (Photo courtesy Cyril Samonte)

Monarchs play host to Crestwood on Monday at 7 p.m. at Ramsey Stadium

Top teams in Class AA and AAA met for their opening game, Camden would win 35-13.

James Island senior q uarterback Brady Dantzler completed 8-of-16 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the Trojans 41-21 win over defending AAA state champions Oceanside Collegiate.

Hanahan High School running back Nevaehus Gourdine (right) scores on a short touchdown run while Hawks quarterback Tripp Gallus (2) celebrates.

SOUTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES 8/21/26 - UPDATED 2 AM - 8/22/2026

The Green Wave opened its 2026 season Aug. 21 by handing Sumter a 28-7 loss.

Summer weather brings afternoon thunderstorms and game delays.

Berkeley QB Henry Rivers scrambling in a game last season.

River Bluff faced North Augusta at the Lexington County Sports-A-Rama.

The Pinewood Panthers take the field Aug. 14 for their season opener against First Baptist. Photo by Roger Lee

It is one of many jamborees still going on while a few have been canceled because of expected high heat indexes

Dutch Fork senior Jaden Werth

Goose Creek and Timberland meet again Friday, Aug. 14, in the Moncks Corner Lions Club jamboree at Berkeley High School.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR HANAHAN - Two Berkeley County football programs locked horns in a controlled scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 6, and both team's leaders came away somewhat pleased with what they saw. Hanahan coach Milan Turner and Stratford coach Dennie McDaniel were less concerned with the scoreboard and more focused on the small things as the Hawks and Knights battled on the turf at Hanahan's Hawk's Nest facility by Bowen's Corner Elementary. "I'm very pleased with our effort," McDaniel said. "Our attitude has to get a bit better. We had some plays where we broke down in some stuff. We've just got to get out of our feelings and play the next play. That's a young team for you. We've got some maturing to do. We'll do that in the early part of the season. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good performance for a young team." The Class 5A Knights are replacing quite a few starters off a squad that won 10 games and advanced to the third round of the playoffs in 2025. The Knights figure to be able to build around their front seven on defense. Offensively they were hit hard by graduation, though. In terms of returning impact players, the Class 3A Hawks are in a better situation on offense. They bring back a three-year starter at quarterback in big junior lefty Tripp Gallus (6-5, 231). A few other playmakers are back, too, including receivers Grayson Mathes and Quamel Grant . Turner's bunch finished 6-6 in 2025. "For me, I want to see a physicality and a toughness from our kids," Turner said about the first scrimmage. "I told them before we started. I said be violent between the whistles. We know they're going to make some mistakes and obviously we want to try to minimize those. We want to see things like running to the football, all the things that don't take talent. Those are the things I have to see. If I don't see those, we've got a lot of work to do. I feel like we saw that." During Hanahan's opening set of offensive plays, Gallus hooked up with Mathes for an 81-yard touchdown pass on a tunnel screen and Grant over the middle for an 80-yard scoring strike. Stratford defensive lineman Kermit Davis got the Knights on the board with a sack and fumble return for a tally. When the situational scrimmage moved to red zone work, Knights running back Malachi Breland reached paydirt twice, while quarterbacks Dathan Haywood and Caleb Lott tossed touchdowns to Denzel Lazo and Jayden Lee. The Hawks recorded three scores from the red zone, with running back Xavier Sabback scoring on the ground and Gallus distributing his third and fourth touchdown tosses to Jesiah Smith and Evan Knight. During goal-line possessions, which capped the scrimmage, Breland crossed the goal line for the third time and Haywood hooked up with Tyrese Simmons for a score. Sabback capped the scoring for the Hawks with a touchdown run out of the wildcat formation. Earlier, Stratford defensive back Jayden Judge and Hanahan safety Landon Hubler snagged interceptions. Mathes snuffed out Stratford's first drive with a pick in the end zone. The Hawks host Cane Bay Friday, Aug. 14, in a scrimmage. "Now, it's about shrinking the amount of mistakes," Turner said. "We've got tape of this. We want to identify those mistakes: what were mental errors, what were physical errors and what did us as coaches do. Maybe it was us that didn't put our kids in position to be successful." Stratford suits up in the Moncks Corner Lions Club jamboree Aug. 14 at Berkeley High School. "It's going to be a quick opportunity for us," McDaniel said. "We've only got two quarters but we want to make it as game-like as possible. I want to see us clean up the silly penalties and get better at just playing the next play."

Athletic director and head baseball coac h Mack Hite will move into the role of interim principal.

Dillon graduate Keith Coward ( 2004) is beginning his 4th season as the athletic director in the tradition rich Wildcat athletic program.

The athletic director at Woodland High is Ty Sibert, wh o grew up in McCormick, SC. and is a role model for all students not just the student athletes.

Tyler Clark is one of six head coaches joining the Green Wave staff next school year.

Patrick Moffitt spent the past two seasons working with a “B” team and a junior varsity team to get prepared for varsity football at the SDS.

Since Estill and Wade Hampton merged to become Hampton County High School they have quickly become one of the top AA programs in the lower state.

Cory Johnson enters his third season as the head football coach and now athletic director, he has brought focus back to football and getting better on the field.

Executive Director of the SCACA, Scott Earley spends much of his time traversing the state to listen to concerns from coaches.

Myrtle Beach High finally filled an opening for athletic director after more than a year, hiring of long-time coach and administrator Hal McManus.

Former head softball coach Henry Lockey will assume duties within the basketball program this season.

Burnette, who played football at Timberland High from 2002-05 has returned to his alma mater as the next head football coach.

De'Angelo Bryant says this about his team and losing 16 seniors from last year's team, "I really like our guys. From a talent standpoint, there’s still some holes, but I think our guys will fill them.”

Back to run the OCA high-powered offense is senior Aiden Manavian, who took over as the starter during the playoffs of his freshman year.