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 Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSSR Bamberg – The old saying ‘goes the more things change the more they stay the same’ and it applies to the Bamberg-Ehrhardt Volleyball team as Lauren Etheridge took the reins from Deanna Merchant and the Lady Red Raiders are again among the top-class A volleyball teams in the state. The Lady Red Raiders currently sit at 13-1-8 overall and they currently sit a top region 7A. They have two region matches left and if they win those they will reach their first goal on the season of winning the region and two home matches when the playoffs start. “ I am proud of our play so far this season. We set have high expectations for our team. We always prioritize scheduling with high level teams to help expose our strengths and weaknesses and push us to improve,” said coach Etheridge. “We have been strong at the net and in our service game this year and we are always working to improve defensively.” The Lady Red Raiders are led by senior starters Brantley Brown , Kathleen Evans , Cailyn Youmans , and Addi Jameson . Youmans has 71 kills on the year as part of a front line that has 230 kills on the year. Evans and Brown have been the teams top servers and have a 30% ace percentage with Evans having severed a time high 229 times. Jameson is the teams libero and defensive specialist. She is not afraid to hit the floor as her team high 54 digs would attest. Rounding out the starting lineup are juniors Briaunjenai McMillan and E’zariah Williams and sophomore Raelynn Jarrett . Williams leads the team in kills with 72. Coming off the bench to provide valuable minute are seniors Nalanie Eckels , Neaeha Ricks and junior Shantell Black . The Lady Red Raiders have region matches against Allendale Fairfax and rival Branchville as well as two non-region matches against Silver Bluff and one of the top AAA teams in Orangeburg-Wilkinson . “After coaching all of these ladies on JV and many of them in club, I am honored to be working with them at the varsity level! It is my goal to send the seniors off with a season to remember,” said coach Etheridge.

Lewisville WR Jacorreun Howze on the run after a catch.

Barnwell's Sr. QB Cameron Austin

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

Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Bamberg – The Bamberg-Ehrhardt Red Raiders had an outstanding season in 2023 by most standards (12-2), but their season ended on a disappointing note as they fell to Johnsonville in the lower state championship game 20-10 after leading 10-0 late in the second quarter which brings us to their focus during Spring football practice, FINISH! In both of their losses last season (rival Denmark-Olar 22-15) the Red Raiders led both games at halftime before they as head coach Corey Crosby said did not finish. “We haven’t talked about the Johnsonville game in the off season because we wanted to focus on the positive things from last season and the areas we need to improve upon,’ said coach Crosby. “The biggest thing we wanted the kids to understand is that when we have the chance to finish an opponent we cannot let up. I felt like both times last season when we got the lead we relaxed a bit and when you play championship caliber teams as we found out they will make you pay.” Bamberg-Ehrhardt is one of the few class A teams that reloads and not rebuild each year. Despite losing one of the best senior classes in school history, especially on defense, spring practice was also about getting reps for the next man up. “We had a great senior class last season and we will miss their leadership but we also have several guys ready to step in and play at a high level,” coach Crosby said. One group that stood out during spring practice was the linebackers. The Red Raiders lost three All-State linebackers in Jamie Downing , Nick Folks and Eric Lee but waiting in the wings are Lever Miller , Jalen McGraw , and Jordan Logan . Miller finished second in the triple jump at the state track and field meet. “We were ready to get Lever, Jalen, and Jordan on the field to see what we had and they did not disappoint. The biggest thing is their speed to the ball. They may be the fastest linebacking group we have had,” said coach. The Red Raiders have two All-State defenders returning in juniors tackle Jarvis Logan and safety Colt Bunch . Juniors Marcus Cann and Jaquanta Garvin head up the secondary and both had solid sophomores seasons. Offensively, the Red Raiders return two All-State selections in quarterback Chanston Crosby and left tackle Tristan Jenkins .