By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer  Walterboro – This year’s Colleton County boys basketball team is young, but has a good shot at a successful season with the play of its two seniors and some juniors. The Cougars finished 17-11 overall and 7-3 in Region 7-4A last year, but lost nine seniors from that team. Now in Region 6-4A, Colleton County is 5-6, and after weathering a tough early start in non-region play, the Cougars won three straight games going into their non-region game at Stratford Friday. “We’re pretty much a whole new group,” Cougars head coach Dominic Kahee said. “We have four returning seniors this year, and pretty much a whole new group. They’ve struggled to find their identity early in the season, but I think they’ve caught on.” The Cougars lost two of their first three games, but battled Stratford in a 61-58, two-overtime victory Dec. 3. After that gut check, Colleton County dropped losses to Hampton County , Ashley Ridge , Fort Dorchester and Battery Creek . Colleton County generally plays an up-tempo game that gets its points in transition, from steals to other turnovers. When they play their game, the Cougars can turn the tables fast on an opponent, but there have been moments where they play too fast, and “We like to let our defense create our offense, but we do get a little ahead of ourselves and I have to take it down a notch, slow it down and get them back into their headspace.” A 59-51 win over Bamberg-Ehrhardt Dec. 18 marked the team’s turnaround. Two days later the Cougars played Hampton County—which beat them 65-44 Dec. 6—and won a defensive battle 49-41. Their most recent win came as a 45-38 victory over Ridgeland Dec. 23. Senior guard Da’Veon Varner leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game. He also averages 3.7 rebound and 2.7 assists per game. Senior forward Amauri Sanders averages 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and senior guard Robert Parks averages 5.9 points and 2.2 boards per game. Junior center Xavion Green is the team’s leading defender with 6.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Jaqueas Martin averages 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. “Sanders and Varner are getting a lot more help from our big guys, Xavion Green and Jaqueas Martin,” Kahee said. “It’s been a gradual process, but they have stepped up a lot.” After Friday’s game at Stratford, Colleton County opened Region 6-4A play at May River Tuesday. The Sharks were 8-2 going into their Saturday game against Benedictine and look to be one of the better teams in the region after 10-1 Bluffton , Kahee said. “We were preseason ranked No.5 in the region, and Bluffton is the team to beat,” Kahee said. “They’ve got a pretty good core of players down there, and for right now they’re at the top of the mountain. Behind them is May River, and with the addition of Bishop England (up from 2A) and Beaufort (up from 3A), they’re going to make a little noise along with us.”

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – The 2024 season is off to a rough start for the Colleton County football team as they continue to work on building a foundation for future success under second-year coach Adam Kinloch . While the team has shown improvement and has competed well at times, the early schedule was a lot to handle this fall. The Cougars enter a region game against Beaufort on Oct. 11 with a 1-5 overall record, 0-1 in region play after a loss to May River on Oct. 4 in the region opener. Colleton County’s other losses in the non-region schedule came to Hampton County , Woodland , Lower Richland and Stratford . Two of the first five losses came to top 1o ranked teams – Hampton County in AA and May River in AAAA. After the region game against Beaufort, the Cougars have remaining league contests against Bluffton (Oct. 18), Hilton Head (Oct. 25) and Bishop England (Nov. 1). Senior Sean Williams and sophomore Galil Frazier have shared playing time at quarterback. Cameron Greyson has been the leading rusher in most games. Kinloch says the anchor on the offensive line is sophomore center Chase Jones , who started as a freshman. Carter Stevens , a senior, also returns with experience and Carter Segura will play a prominent role up front. Senior Kendal Farmer is the top returner on defense. The 6-0, 195-pounder is a key returner at linebacker and has added about 25 pounds of muscle since last season. Another key returner on defense is senior Amari Williams , who will be used at several positions because of his versatility but is primarily an outside linebacker. The Colleton County girls tennis team experienced some early season success in their non-region schedule, getting off to a 4-0 start. The road has been more difficult in region play as the league is very strong from top to bottom. The volleyball team also has struggled against the region schedule, losing their first six contests. The team did pick up two early non-region wins. Seniors on the volleyball team this season include Nykeria Gibson , captain Akeelya Daniel , Lanasia Sanders and TaiAnna Fuller . The cross country program has run a full competitive schedule with the boys team leading the way. Philip Michael Witkin is the top runner for the boys team, followed by LaShombre Johnson and Samuel Witkin . All three runners placed among the top 25 finishers at the recent Hampton County Hurricane Invitational with Philip Michael running sixth overall. The only girls participating this fall on a regular basis are Allyson Scott and Madison Scott , who continue to run in competitive meets as newcomers to the sport.

Walterboro – In every measurable way, the Colleton County football team is “way ahead” in their preparations for the upcoming 2024 football season, according to second-year head coach Adam Kinloch . Heading into the 2023 season, Kinloch says his team was behind in terms in strength and overall knowledge of the game plan. The result, as expected, was a 2-9 record. Things are different as the program prepares for year two under the new staff. The coach says his players have improved dramatically in the weight room and in terms of knowing the expectations. “It’s night and day compared to this time last year,” Kinloch said. “We did what we could last year but we were not ready for that schedule physically. We went to work hard in the weight room in November and we have not stopped. We’re bigger, faster and stronger. The guys have really responded to us challenging them. I am very pleased.” The coach says numbers are good with about 85 players, varsity and junior varsity, participating in the workouts. “Our depth, especially along the offensive and defensive lines, will be much improved,” the coach said. “Except for maybe one or two guys, there won’t be guys going both ways. We are going to have about eight or nine guys that we can rep on the defensive line and seven or so on offense.” Kinloch credits the school administration with developing a football class period during the school day, something that is done by many schools. “It has been huge having the group that we have every day,” he said. “The new open period in March really helped us and that carried over into the spring. Now we are in the summer and the work just continues.” There will be several key returning players to carry on leadership roles this season. Senior Sean Williams and sophomore Galil Frazier will share time at quarterback. Kinloch likes what each brings to the table. “Sean is a little more mobile and can really make plays with his legs while Galil is more of a guy who can throw it all over the field,” the coach said. Three players will share carries in the run game with Cameron Greyson, Tavarious Frazier and Chris Platts getting work. The best receiving threat is 6-2 sophomore Kiandre Allen. Kinloch says the anchor on the offensive line is sophomore center Chase Jones, who started as a freshman. Carter Stevens, a senior, also returns with experience. Senior Kendal Farmer is the top returner on defense. The 6-0,195-pounder is a key returner at linebacker and has added about 25 pounds of muscle since last season. Another key returner on defense is senior Amari Williams, who will be used at several positions because of his versatility but is primarily an outside linebacker. Senior Jayden Nesbitt returns in the secondary as a big-time hitter at free safety. The Cougars open the 2024 season at Hampton County on Aug. 23. The 2024 schedule has five home games – Woodland, Stratford, May River, Beaufort and Bishop England.