Balance and big plays lift Summerville to win over South Florence

Summerville - One would expect some fireworks anytime two of the state’s top high school football teams got together and Friday night’s contest between South Florence and Summerville did not disappoint.

South Florence, ranked No. 2 in Class AAAA, and Summerville, ranked No. 5 in Class AAAAA, met at Summerville’s John McKissick Field with nothing on the line except some bragging rights between two state championship contenders.

South Florence has played in the last two AAAA title games, winning in 2022, while the Green Wave has reached the state semi-finals in each of the last two seasons.

Summerville was able to hit on the most big plays as quarterback Jaden Cummings threw for 311 yards and five touchdowns in a 46-20 win.

“We are blessed to have a really good quarterback and we have some playmakers around him so it’s our job as coaches to try to create situations where they can excel,” Summerville head coach Ian Rafferty said. “We executed at a high level against a really good team. This is a good win. We’re just trying to get better each week.”

Summerville led by as many as 18 points in the second half, coming up with two turnovers to thwart successful South Florence drives.

The first half fireworks from Summerville’s side came in the passing game with Cummings connecting on three touchdown passes in the first half for the second straight week. The Dartmouth commit completed his first seven passes on the opening scoring drive.

Two of the first half scores went to sophomore Jaiden Kelly-Murray and another to senior Keshon Washington as the Green Wave built a 22-14 lead. Cummings finished the half with 200 passing yards.

Kelly-Murray finished the night with nine catches for 101 yards while Washington caught six passes for 143 yards and three scores, adding 47 yards rushing.  Running back Jay Williams gained 136 yards with a touchdown.

South Florence senior Jaylen Sellers, a versatile athlete and USC commit, contributed several receptions in the first half but the Bruins scored twice on the ground on runs by Cameron James and Tre Leonard.

Summerville also got a 41-yard field goal from Bennett Kelley. Leading the Green Wave defensive effort were JT Williams (12  tackles), Eli Pressley (11 tackles) and Yasir Smith (6 tackles, sack, TFL.

“Most people don’t know that we are basically 11 new starters on defense,” Rafferty said. “We moved our best defensive player (Kelly-Murray) to offense and moved our returning corner to safety. That group is going to get better as the season wears on.”

Summerville will hit the road next week, visiting long-time area rival Berkeley.