Coach Barnes Stressing Team Unity For Andrew Jackson Academy 2024-25 Boys’ Basketball

Pinewood Prep's running back sensation Jeremiah Singleton, photo by Roger Lee

Barons to face Pinewood Prep in second straight state championship contest

Important Information For Schools, Parents, & Fans Concerning The Upcoming SCISA State Football Championship Games Moncks Corner -- The “ High School Sports Report” will be devoting our time, energy and resources this week towards producing individual full-color keepsake souvenir state championship football programs for the 10 teams competing for state titles on Friday (Nov. 22) and Saturday (Nov. 23). All four of the SCISA AAAA, AAA, AA and Class A games will be hosted by Charleston Southern University located in North Charleston at the I-26 205 exit. The SCISA 8-man championship game will be played at W.W. King Academy (near Saluda ) at 7:30 on Friday night. The Hammond School (12-0) will face Porter Gaud (11-1) at Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. Friday night. Then on Saturday, the Class A state title game between Williamsburg Academy (9-1) and Thomas Heyward Academy (11-1) begins at noon. The SCISA AA title game between Pee Dee Academy (11-0) and Bethesda Academy (9-3) follows at 3:30. The night-cap AAA title game on Saturday night is at 7 p.m. between Pinewood Prep (9-2) and Wilson Hall (11-1). Ther HSSR would like to inform all schools involved to please e mail to hsreport@aol.com your varsity football and cheer team pictures by 6 p.m. on Monday. Every team will have their respective football team on the cover of their edition, and your cheer squad will be pictured inside your respective edition. (Important) Each Head of School is offered a free “Welcome Letter” page geared towards your team, fans and community. We need your “Welcome Letter” in at hsreport@aol.com by 7 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov., 19). Please include a picture of yourself and a school logo. The HSSR has four marketing reps assigned to market programs. Should you have interest in supporting your team, along with your favorite player, or cheerleader reps include: Swift Bethea is assigned to market Pee Dee Academy and he can be reached at 843-774-3482. Larry Gamble will be marketing the Hammond School and Wilson Hall’s programs and he can be reached at 414-699-9061. Neill Kirkpatrick will be marketing the Porter - Guad championship program and he can be reached at 704-996-3333. The remaining five schools will be marketed by HSSR Publisher Billy G. Baker and he can be reached at 843-200-9555. Baker will be in Kingstree on Monday with the WA program, Ridgeland on Tuesday with the THA program, and in Summerville on Wednesday wrapping up the Pinewood Prep program. However, feel free to call him or any marketing rep on this list anytime Monday-Thursday. We hope to have the majority of the best wishes ads in house by 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, due to a tight print schedule, but 6 p.m. on Thursday is the final deadline. Fans are asked to follow instructions on the attached official state championship form. Feel free to send your ad information to hsreport@aol.com and Berna Noll will be available at the HSSR “home office” between 9 am and 9 pm to take payment for sponsor ads, or answer any questions. The one request is that once you have all the content for your best wishes ad, please send just one e-mail, and not three or four e mails, so we make sure everything gets in your ad. Participating schools are asked to forward this attached team football program ad order form to the parents and boosters of your team! Good luck to all teams competing for SCISA football championships this weekend!

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – The Westwood football team’s offense was lacking at key moments in their 5A Division 2 playoff opener Friday night. Luckily for the Redhawks, the defense put in a clutch second-half effort to beat Socastee 34-14 for its first playoff victory since 2019. Westwood (6-5) is in the lower state bracket and travels to Moncks Corner next week to take on Berkeley. The Stags (5-5) received a first-round bye with a second-place finish in Region 7. “It feels good, for sure,” said head coach Robert O’Connell , who won his first playoff game in his three years as head coach of the Redhawks. “It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t have to be. We just talk about being 1-0. That’s all that matters, you just gotta beat the people you’re in front of and keep advancing.” Quarterback Carrington Carter had two touchdown passes, running back Angelo Rios had 102 yards on 14 carries, and Quentin McGill Jr. had a rushing score, but Westwood struggled to sustain drives. Carter threw two interceptions—both to Socastee defensive back Brayden Bolinger —and the Redhawks turned the ball over on downs inside the Braves’ 10-yard line on their opening drive. “We kind of hurt ourselves on some penalties, got off schedule. Nobody’s good in third-and-long,” O’Connell said. “We put ourselves in some bad spots on third down, and we’ve got to keep improving.” The Westwood defense, which held Socastee to 204 total yards, forced two fumbles and three second-half turnovers on downs, all from inside the Westwood 20-yard line. “That’s kind of been our M.O. this year,” O’Connell said. “That ball gets in the red zone, and we bend but don’t break. I’m just really proud of those guys defensively.” D.J. Jones had a solo sack and shared a second sack with Jayce Rios . Rios also had a 36-yard fumble return for his first career touchdown, a drive-ending interception, and another drive-ending pass breakup. “It’s an effort from everybody.,” Rios, a senior and older brother of the sophomore Angelo Rios, said. “Everybody’s always facing some type of adversity.” Westwood scored first, taking over after holding Socastee to a 3-and-out and closing out a quick 53-yard drive with Carter’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Sean Goddard at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter to go up 6-0. The Braves came back quickly, with Brayden Bolinger scoring seconds letter on an 85-yard kickoff return. They took a 7-6 lead on Daniel Devaux’s extra point. Socastee added another score after Bolinger picked off a Carter pass that set up the Braves on the Westwood 12-yard line. Amare Godfrey’s score from six yards out made it 14-6. That lead lasted all of 13 seconds. Westwood’s Cameron Bennett took the kickoff at around the 5-yard line and raced it all the way back for a touchdown at the 6:35 mark of the second quarter. Angelo Rios’ 2-point conversion run evened the score at 14. Westwood capitalized on a Socastee fumble late in the second quarter that set up the Redhawks at the Braves’ 41-yard line. Six plays later Quentin McGill Jr. ran it into the end zone from three yards out to put the Redhawks up 21-14 with 2 minutes left in the first half, a lead they held at intermission. Westwood’s defense led the way in the second half. Rios scooped up a Socastee fumble two minutes into the third quarter. The defensive back returned it 36 yards for a score to give the Redhawks a 27-14 lead. After that touchdown Socastee held onto the ball and threatened Westwood with three long possessions that put the Braves inside the 20-yard line in the third and fourth quarters. Each time Socastee moved into scoring position, Westwood held. First came a turnover on downs at the Redhawks’ 4-yard line after 11 plays beginning at midfield. The Westwood offense went nowhere on the next series and punted from its own 15-yard line, Socastee took the short punt and started at the Redhawks’ 14-yard line after a personal foul. That short drive would have resulted in a 3-yard Haze Weaver touchdown run were it not for a chop block call that set the Braves back at the 18, and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag moved them back to the 33-yard line. Even with those setbacks, Royals completed big passes to Hayes Hardwick and Jonathan Goswick that moved the Braves to a fourth-and-goal situation on the 4-yard line. Once again, Rios crushed the threat with an interception in the end zone. And once again, Westwood’s offense came up short, this time with Carter throwing his second interception of the evening to Brayden Bolinger. By then in the fourth quarter, Bolinger’s return put Socastee at the Westwood 35-yard line, and the Braves moved into scoring position for a third time. Just like the other two attempts, Socastee fell short, and Rios was there for a pass breakup at the goal line on fourth down at the 9-yard line. The Redhawks still could not put together an offensive drive to drain the clock, but Cullen Henderson’s 47-yard punt pinned Socastee back at the 23-yard line, and the Westwood defense picked up another turnover on downs. Westwood’s last score of the game came on fourth down, when Carter inadvertently connected with Bennett, who fell in the end zone but reached for and grabbed the tipped ball to complete a 28-yard touchdown pass play. “We just came together,” Rios said about the second-half defensive effort. “We knew we had to get a stop, and if we got a stop it would end the game. It was a group effort. Everybody played up and physical and it won us the game.” Socastee 7 7 0 0 – 14 Westwood 6 15 6 7 – 34 First Quarter W - Sean Goddard 9 pass from Carrington Carter (kick failed) 4:27 S - Brayden Bolinger 85 kickoff return (Daniel Devaux kick) 4:16 Second Quarter S - Amare Godfrey 8 run (Devaux kick) 6:48 W - Cameron Bennett 95 kickoff return (Angelo Rios run) 6:35 W - Quentin McGill Jr. 4 run (Cullen Henderson kick) 1:56 Third Quarter W – Jayce Rios 36 fumble return (run failed) 10:01 Fourth Quarter W – Bennett 28 pass from Carter (Henderson kick) 2:14 SHS WHS First downs 12 12 Rushes-yds 34-73 31-182 Passing yds 131 85 Att-Com-Int 26-18-1 12-8-2 Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0 Penalties-yds 6-63 6-55 Punts-avg 2-28.0 3-38.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING S – Jonathan Goswick 11-27, Christian Royals 9-13, Amare Godfrey 4-14, David Covalli 4-7, Josh Brown 1-10, Daniel Devaux 1-5, Marcus Brown 1-0, Hayes Hardwick 1-1, Team 3-(-4). W – Angelo Rios 15-102, Quentin McGill Jr. 8-37, Devon Howard 6-37, Kham Cunningham 1-(-1). PASSING S – Christian Royals 18-26-1. W – Carrington Carter 8-12-2. RECEIVING S – Jonathan Goswick 10-68, Hayes Hardwick 3-33, Josh Brown 3-23, Haze Weaver 1-4, Amare Godfrey1-3. W – Kham Cunningham 3-30, Angelo Rios 2-8, Cameron Bennett 1-28, Sean Goddard 1-9, Quentin McGill Jr. 1-10.

Porter Gaud's RB/CB, JJ Flood (6-1, 180) finding the gaps and gaining yards!

SCISA championship games November 22-23

Hammond's senior RB Immanuel Johnson (5-10, 190) looking for more yards.

HSSR Playoffs Rankings! Now available on the HSSR home page banner. https://www.hssr.com/hssr-football-rankings-page

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Moncks Corner —The region winners in the AAAAA SCHSL football classification all received byes for the first round of the play-offs that started on November, 15 th so if any upsets are brewing involving the top seeded teams in the two divisions we will have to wait until Nov., 22 nd for that to possibly happen. In the Upper State AAAAA D-1 a bye went to number one rated Dutch Fork (9-0) and they will play the winner of the Boiling Springs (6-3) versus Dorman (6-3) in a week two in Irmo. Rock Hill (5-5) received a bye and they will play the winner of the Mauldin (2-8) versus River Bluff (8-2) game in week two. JL Mann (8-2) got a bye and they await the winner of the Blythewood versus Clover (7-3) game on Nov., 15. Number four- rated Spartanburg , fresh off a close game loss with rival Gaffney awaits the winner of Lexington versus Byrnes in week one. In Lower State Div. I Summerville (10-0) has a bye and they await the winner between Fort Dorchester and Stratford. Cane Bay , a winner over Berkeley last week, received a bye and they await the winner between Spring Valley and Ridge View. Carolina Forest has a round one bye and they await the winner between Wando and James Island . Highly regarded Sumter (9-0) has a first- round bye and they will host the winner between West Ashley and Ashley Ridge on Nov. 15. Now, we move on to Div. II AAAAA: In the Upper state number one rated Northwestern (10-0) will host the winner between Eastside and Indian Land on Nov., 15. Greenwood received a first- round bye and they will host the winner of the nation Ford versus Hillcrest first round game on Nov., 15. T.L Hanna earned a bye and they await the winner of the Woodmont versus Catawba Ridge winner in round two. Gaffney , fresh off of a come from behind win over Spartanburg that clinched the region title, awaits the winner of the Greenville versus Riverside game. In the Lower state Div. II AAAAA: Irmo (9-1), fresh off of a loss to Dutch Fork , awaits the winner between Goose Creek and Chapin in week one. West Florence has a week one bye and they will host the winner between Lucy Beckham and North Myrtle Beach in round two. Berkeley has earned a bye and they await the winner between Socastee and Westwood in round one. Finally, Myrtle Beach earned a first- round bye and they await the winner between Lugoff - Elgin and White Knoll from first round action. The HSSR predicts that Dutch Fork and Summerville will emerge as respective bracket winners in Div. I AAAAA and will meet in the gold medal round at South Carolian State University on Friday Dec., 13 at 2 p.m. Tom Knotts , the head coach at Dutch Fork, told the HSSR after his 24-14 big win over Irmo last week, ““I pay attention to Dutch Fork, but now that I’ve played Irmo, these are the two best teams in the state,” said Coach Knotts after the Irmo win. “They’re going to be in the smaller (school size) 5A and we’re in the larger 5A, so thank goodness we don’t have to play them again and they’re probably saying thank goodness they don’t have to play us again. “We like to get to this time of year, the kids behave better, they focus better, they lift better, they meet better,” Knotts said. “This is our time of year. We’re used to it.” Summerville head coach Ian Rafferty shared these thoughts about the play-offs, ““Unfortunately we will have to play some teams we’ve already seen in the playoffs but it is what it is,” said Coach Rafferty. “Against Fort Dorchester we did some uncharacteristic things on special teams and turned the ball over near the goal line, but moving forward the key is the way our guy’s work. We have kind of built a good mentality throughout the season and just work and show up to play on game night. Basically, we just need to be the Green Wave.” The Summerville offense spreads the ball around and the team suffered some key injuries on both sides of the ball this season so a lot of players have seen action and contributed to the second consecutive undefeated regular season. In Div. II AAAA, the HSSR predicts a Northwestern versus Gaffney final in the gold medal round scheduled for 06 p.m. on December, 14 at South Carolina State University. Gaffney head coach Dan Jones told the HSSR after his win over Spartanburg last week, “Coach Jones said that during the bye week Gaffney would stay focused on getting ready to compete in the second round of the play-offs on November, 22. “We will study film and lift weights on Monday but we will have three full practices on Tuesday through Thursday,” said Coach Jones. “We will be hard-at-work getting ready to play wither Greenville or Riverside.” For the regular season, the Gaffney offense produced 1,423 yards rushing and 1,849 yards passing and that defines a balanced attack on offense. Gaffney out-scored teams 275-139. Northwestern , led by veteran QB Finley Polk has dominated teams 514-158 this year. Head coach Paige Wofford has done a great job coaching the Trojans for the past several years and his team is expected to plow through the competition in the play-offs on the way to the finals.