2 state champions, 3 runners-up vying for AAAA crown

Sumter – Perhaps this isn’t the oddity that it appears to be upon first glance. It may have

occurred on multiple occasions, but when you think about it, it’s hard to imagine that it has happened all that often.

Consider this though: how many times in the now voluminous annals of high school football in

the state of South Carolina have two defending state champions and three defending state runners-up competed for the same state title the following year?

This rarity – if not first time ever occurrence – is taking place due to the South Carolina High

School League’s reclassification of schools for the next two school years.

Defending AAAA champion Westside and defending AAAA runner-up South Florence will be

trying to get to the AAAA title game for a second straight season. Meanwhile, defending AAA title

winner Daniel and AAA runner-up Camden will go after a crown with a fourth jewel along with

defending AA runner-up Gray Collegiate Academy.

How did reclassification cause all this, you might ask? With the expansion of AAAAA to 55

schools, that opened the door for AAA schools to move up to the AAAA classification. Daniel and

Camden, who have both dominated AAA over the past several years, got caught in the AAAA movement. Neither Westside nor South Florence were large enough to join AAAAA.

For Gray Collegiate, it was the multiplier rule that led to its jump from AA to AAAA. The charter

school met protests in all sports last year as its then region members refused to play, citing competitive imbalance.

Thus you have five teams – any of which could have been a state champion last year – in the

running for the same title this year. And if defending Class A state champion Christ Church had not won its appeal, it too would be in AAAA. It won its appeal and is AAA.

Westside went 14-1 last season, beating defending state champion South Florence 34-32 in the

title game at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg. The Bruins had a 29-

game winning streak snapped as they were going for their second consecutive 15-0 season.

On the same day in Orangeburg, Daniel edged Camden 49-48 in overtime as the Lions stopped

Camden quarterback Grayson White from getting into the end zone on a 2-point conversion attempt

following a touchdown.

It was the third state title in four years for Daniel and head coach Jeff Fruster, each of them an

undefeated team. The Lions finished 15-0, won the 2021 title with a 14-0 record and the 2020 title with a

10-0 record during the COVID-19 season.

And what about 2022 when Daniel didn’t win the state title? The Lions lost to Powdersville 36-

35 in the quarterfinals to finish with a 12-1 record. So over the past four seasons, Daniel has gone 51-1.

Not bad.

Gray went 15-4 last season, losing to Oceanside Collegiate Academy 35-28 in the AA title

game.

So how does this quartet shake out when it comes to preseason rankings? Westside head coach

Brian Lane has a lot of talent back, including quarterback Cutter Woods, who recently committed to the University of South Carolina. All Woods did last year was complete 220 of 317 passes – meaning he only had 97 incompletions – for 3.915 yards and 42 touchdowns against just eight interceptions.

The Rams do have to find a new group of wide receivers for Woods to get the ball to, but running

back Sharode Richardson, who rushed for 1,139 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 221

yards and three more scores, returns.

As for South Florence and head coach Drew Marlowe, it lost some talented players from last

season. However, the Bruins have defensive tackle Amare Adams, considered one of the top down

linemen in the country and a Clemson commitment, returning along with wide receiver/athlete Jayden Sellers. He is the younger brother of LaNorris Sellers, who led South Florence to the 2022 state

championship and is slated to be the starting signal caller at USC this season. Jayden, who missed most of last season with an injury, is slated to join his brother in Columbia as he is a Gamecock commitment.

           Daniel lost most of its top offensive talent from a year ago, but that has never seemed to deter the Lions over the years. There has always been someone else to fill the vacancies. Senior linebacker

Spencer Conn returns after leading the team with 148 tackles and 15 tackles for loss and sharing the team lead in quarterback sacks with seven.

Like Daniel, Camden lost most of its key skill players from last season’s 11-4 team that gave the

Bulldogs their third title game appearance in four years. However, that isn’t deterring head coach Brian

Rimpf in his belief that Camden will be in the mix in AAAA.

“Our varsity football team returns 11 starters from the 2023 AAA Lower State championship

team,” Rimpf said. “Three starters return on offense and eight on defense. The biggest loss to graduation is Camden’s all-time winningest QB, Grayson White. Replacing White at QB after a record-setting career is senior Wyatt Thompson. Thompson started all 15 games in 2023 at safety. 

“Our 11 returning starters will all be players to watch as four were All-Region selections last

year: senior defensive back JoJo Crim (who has a Power 4 offer), junior DL Dontrell Wilson, senior DL

Tanner Bracey, and SR DB Lavonte Williams. Newcomers to keep an eye on this season are junior RB

Navi Boykin, junior LB Evan Presbot, senior LB Javon Wesley, junior DB Tristan Hollingsworth and

sophomore QB Greyson Rimpf. 

“We are in a new region this year, a new classification, and have a new schedule, but our

expectations and post-season goals remain the same.”

Camden will be part of Region 3, which also includes 2020 AAAA state champion A.C. Flora

and 2021 AAAA state champion South Pointe.

Westside, Daniel and South Florence will be the odds-on favorites in regions 1, 2 and 5,

respectively.

Gray Collegiate will be part of Region 4. The Eagles will be in their first season under former

Silver Bluff head coach De’Angelo Bryant.