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

A.C. Flora Football Head Coach, Ken Floyd

Reclassification has 2 State Champions & 3 Runners Up vying for Class AAAA Title

Abbeville is the clear cut "team to beat" in Class A football in 2024!

By WORTHY EVANS A.C. Flora spring sports all made decent runs in the postseason, but the Falcons golf team claimed their 18 th state championship May 14 in Hilton Head. The team finished the 2-day 4A state tournament with a total score of 589, 10 shots lower than second-place North Augusta . Thomas Lamar led the team with a two-day total of 145. Coleman Ferguson came in with a 147. James Rhodes and Charles Cauthen shot a 149 and 153, respectively. The championship is a fitting end to the tenure of head coach Robert Dargan , who announced May 31 that this golf season would be his last as head of the boys program. “I told the kids halfway through the season,” Dargan told the Columbia Star. “It was something I’ve been thinking about for a couple of years. Dargan coached the boys team for 12 years and the girls team for 10 years. His boys teams won six state championships, and the girls team under his leadership was a state runner-up once and had a third-place finish once. Ferguson and Lamar made All-State. Dargan was named Region 5-4A Coach of the Year and Cauthen was Region Player of the Year. Owen Atkinson, Ferguson, Lamar, and Rhodes made All-Region. Among team awards, Cauthen won the Harry Huntley Award, Price Roof was named Most Improved, Zim Atkinson and Layton Joye won the Nic Poole Award, and Thomas Sabalis won the Academic Award. Falcons spring sports teams won six region championships, in golf, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys tennis. The A.C. Flora softball team (16-6) won the region 5-4A championship and beat Northwestern 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs April 30. The Falcons’ season took a downward turn two days later with a 2-1 loss to Hartsville and then were eliminated May 4 in a 4-2 loss to South Florence . “We’re excited about the future of our pitching staff with (Garner) Lanford, with (Pressli) Reynolds,” A.C. Flora head coach James Marlow said after the Hartsville game. “They have both come out and did what Lanford did tonight. They have thrown complete games. They’ve given their team a great chance to win. I’m proud of the effort tonight. This is probably the longest Lanford has gone, and the temperature is up a little bit. I’m just super proud of her tonight.” Nostrant made the All-Star team and Reynolds made All-State. Reynolds also made All-Region along with Nostrant, Johanna Anderson , and Zy’Kayah Thomas . Among team honors, Anderson received the Toughness award, Ava Grier won the Coach’s Award and the Academic Award, Nostrant won the Spirit Award, Annie Storm won the Sportsmanship Award, and Reynolds won the Hustle Award. In baseball A.C. Flora (14-12) won the Region championship. Rence Best made the All-Star team and Roper Wentzky made All-State. Head coach Andy Hallett was named Region Coach of the Year, and Best, Wentzky, Sam McCutcheon , and Charlie Scott made All-Region. Among team awards, McCutcheon won the Cy Young Award, Jack Chetwood won the Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove awards. Wentzky was named team MVP, Colby Ridgell won the Moody-Tresky Award, and Culver Choate won the Academic Award. In boys tennis , James Smith was named Region Player of the Year, Amy Martin was named Region Coach of the Year, and Jude Smyth , Will Hewitt , and William Beasley made All-Region. Among team awards, William Beasley won the Falcon Award, Smyth was named MVP, Tripp Van Vlake won the Sportsmanship and Spirit Award, and Hugh Smith won the Academic Award. In boys soccer , Walker Miller made the All-Star team and All-State. Cullen Maas also made All-State and was Region Player of the Year. Finn Porter , J.C. Blackwelder , Shep Huggins and Miller made All-Region. Among team awards, Miller was Defensive MVP, Maas was Offensive MVP. Smith Templeton and Farid Tavakoli won the Falcon Award, Miller won the Raymond Dean Ellis Award, and Blackwelder won the Academic Award. In girls soccer , Harlan Lyons , Greylyn Rentz , and Emma Valdes made All-State. Lyons, Valdes, Lilly Anne Stokes , and Mary Elizabeth Riddle made All-Region. Among team awards, Lyons won the Falcon Award, the Golden Boot (Top Scorer), and the Academic Award. Sammi Lawther won the Scurry Award (Defense), and Stokes won the Talon Award (Leadership). In boys lacrosse , Wright Gibson , Owen Barker , Palmer Mood and Win Milliken made All-State. Gibson was named Upper State Attackman of the Year. Gibson, Barker, Mood, Michael Quinn, Alex Hammond , Milliken, Gerritt Degood made All-Upper State. William King was named MVP. Among the team awards, Gibson won MVP, Pope Johnson was Offensive Player of the Year, Max Elliott was Defensive Player of the Year, Mood won the Coaches Award and Hammond won the Academic Award. In girls lacrosse, Arden Gallagher and Louise Vipperman made All-Upper State. Vipperman was the Upper State Attack Player of the Year. Among team awards, Savannah Bradley was Most Impactful Player, Caroline Herpel was Defender of the Year, Vipperman was Attack Player of the Year, Arden Gallagher was Midfielder of the Year and Margaret Gallagher won the Academic Award. In boys track , Jack O’Cain was All-Region. Among team awards, Solomon Kelson was Most Improved, Elyjah Montaque was Most Valuable Athlete, Kaleb Smith was Most Valuable Distance Runner, O’Cain was Most Valuable Jumper and also won the Academic Award. In girls track , Jazmine McDonald-Craft made All-Region. Among team awards, Tyve Wilson was Most Improved, Destiny Wilson was Most Valuable Sprinter, Emory Dargan was Most Valuable Distance Runner, McDonald-Craft was Most Valuable Field-Event Athlete and she also won the Academic Award.

By WORTHY EVANS Columbia - The A.C. Flora baseball team is no stranger to playoff brackets and titles, having won seven state championships under head coach Andy Hallett. Many of this year’s Falcons actually are newcomers to the varsity level, and Hallett says they’re learning the ins and outs of the program every day. “We’re just trying to find our way and understand what it’s like to play varsity baseball at a young age,” Hallett said. “Represent the program and understand that people don’t care how old you are, it’s still varsity baseball. The kids are growing every day that we’re out here. I’m excited to coach them and they’re a lot of fun to be around.” Indeed, Flora is young. The first five players in the batting order are sophomores, First baseman Tyler Hernandez , second baseman (and Falcons quarterback in football) Roper Wentzky , outfielder Charlie Scott , third baseman Jack Chetwood , and outfielder Scott Graham . Behind them is the only senior in the lineup, outfielder Evan Smith . Freshmen Rohan Bremmer and Joe Ray usually hit in the seventh and eighth slots. Junior catcher Lucus Biel rounds out the usual lineup, but freshman catcher Dylan Hernandez makes the order depending on the starting pitcher. Senior right-handers Hank Collins and Ryan Harrelson top the list of starting pitchers. Juniors Carter Harrington , Luke Shalkham , Harris Rivers , and Adger Johnson also see time on the mound, as well as sophomores Scott, Tyler Hernandez , and Sam McCutcheon . The Falcons got off to an 0-5 start this season, with two of those losses were by one run apiece. A.C. Flora has since improved to 5-5 and 4-0 in Region 5-4A as of March 28. “Every game is important with the roster we have. We’re not looking ahead, we’re not looking behind, we’re focusing on the task at hand,” Hallett said. “As long as we don’t get caught up in a lot of noise. I told the guys (after the first four games) that we’re two hits away from being 2-2, and if we’re 2-2, nobody cares. Don’t panic, don’t push the button, don’t listen to the noise, concentrate on what you do and things will balance out.” Since that time they chalked up their first win of the season, a 7-5 victory over Dreher March 16. The Falcons beat Westwood twice to open region play, and recently beat Richland Northeast Twice. They won those games, each by 10 runs or more, by a total score of 58-8. A.C. Flora is currently playing in their longtime tournament, the Forest Acres Classic. This year features Dutch Fork , Miller, Va., Brookland-Cayce, Dorman, Oceanside Collegiate, Defending 5A champion River Bluff, and Region 4-4A champion Airport. We’re excited about that,” Hallett said. “It’s going to be a really good crowd, and I look forward to watching baseball besides playing in it. It’s always fun to sit around and watch baseball all day right here at the park.” The A.C. Flora softball team got off to a 9-0 start to the season before running into Dixie and Gray Collegiate Academy. The Falcons lost 4-1 and 6-5 to the Hornets March 23, then fell 13-2 to the War Eagles March 25. At 2-0 in Region 5-4A, A.C. Flora resumes region play April 9 at Irmo.

Final Top 10 girls and boys ranked below story

Larry Gamble Photo Editor, HSSR Photos from the SCHSL Basketball Tournament, from the Florence Center for the Riverside HS vs AC Flora girls in the Class AAAA Championship basketball game on Saturday. High resolution prints and digital downloads from this event are available at www.LarryGamble.com by clicking this link to the photos.

By WORTHY EVANS HSSR Contributing Writer Columbia - Yes. The 4A state championship game for the A.C. Flora girls basketball team was just plain bad.  The Falcons fell 62-32 to Riverside Saturday night at the Florence Center. The Warriors outrebounded them 59-33, lashed out a 16-0 run to start the third quarter and pushed their lead to double digits. Falcons leading scorer Terriana Gray , a senior who averaged 17.8 points per game going into Saturday, scored just six points. A.C. Flora’s shooting was 10-for-49 or 20.4 percent, on the night. Head coach Jacob Thompson knows these facts. He said his team is well aware that it was not the best day for Falcons basketball. Thompson and the girls also know that this year was the team’s best year in a long time. A.C. Flora finished Region 5-4A 8-2 and in second place for the second straight year. The Falcons ran through the playoffs and beat region champion Ridge View 47-42 to win the lower state championship—going one game better than last season, when Westwood beat the Falcons for the lower state crown. They finished the season 23-8 and in spite of the loss to the Warriors, A.C. Flora’s girls program promises a bevy of good seasons to come. “That group right there, no matter what you say to them, they’re going to go do what they need to do, and that’s what they’ve done all year,” Thompson said. “So getting here is a testament to them. They deserve all that credit, all that love, all the support that we’ve got from all these fans who showed up tonight, they deserve that.” Thompson has a great respect for his seniors, who with the seniors last year were the ones who put the program on a good foundation in the first place. Among them is Gray, an Alabama A&M signee who scored a team-high 13 points against Ridge View in the lower state championship win. She and the seniors leave the program on a high note, Thompson said. “They’re so amazing. They’re going to do great things. Not just with Terriana Gray going to Alabama A&M , but Jazmine McDonough-Craft and Emily Curnell and the other three seniors Rihanna Hylton , Juell Wethington , and Ruqiya Bashir , They’re going to be amazing young women. And the group coming back is not going to want to feel this again. So hopefully that drives them.” The Riverside loss may well drive the returners next year to go one game better—as the 2023-24 Falcons went one game better than last year. Even though Saturday at the Florence Center did not go as hoped, Thompson said the girls proved themselves repeatedly over the season, and did everything they could to make the program better than before. “I told them from the beginning that they’re special, and I mean that,” Thompson said. “Tonight didn’t turn out like we wanted. Riverside’s a really good team. They did a lot of great things and frustrated us at times to where we missed some shots. But how much I love and respect that group of girls in there, I can’t put it into words.” The A.C. Flora boys basketball team finished 20-6 and 7-3, third place behind Westwood and Ridge View. While they did not claim the region title, the Falcons played spoiler to the Blazers, beating them 46-45 Feb. 9 and handing the region championship to Westwood. The Falcons beat Colleton County 63-49, but fell 44-35 to Wilson in the second round.