By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Cross –Coming out of the holiday break the Cross High boys’ basketball team is 4-1 and the Trojans have strong potential to be competing for a Class A championship at the end of the season. “ We had a late start to the season, because our football team played for the 1-A State football championship,” said head coach Chaquain Boone . “Our entire team played football with the exception of two players. Our guys have done a good job transitioning from football to basketball, and have worked very hard over the break to round into basketball form.” The starting five is comprised of freshman Isaiah Wright , senior Lavell Joyner , senior Preston Fuller , junior football prospect Caden Ramsey , and senior Micah Flute . Ramsey (6-6) is currently averaging 14.8 points and 9 rebounds a game playing on the inside. Joyner is averaging 10,2 points and 5.4 rebounds a game. Flute is averaging 8 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. Fuller is averaging 8.6 points a game and 4.2 rebounds. Wright is playing excellent defense at 2.6 steals a game. The first three players off the bench include freshman BJ Middleton , junior Kerji Polite and sophomore Tyler Harris . Other members of the team include, junior PG Andrew Mack , junior Patrick Montgomery , sophomore Corinthian Wilson , and junior Micah Dukes . So far, Cross has wins over Stall (57-40) in the first game of the season. They followed up that win with victories over Lake Marion (70-61), Beaufort (59-30) and Timberland (64-31). “We have the potential to be playing late into February, or early March and we expect to be battling for a Class A crown,” said Coach Boone. “Our strength is our size and defensive intensity. Players take pride in their defense and they play extremely hard.” Coming out of the holiday break, Cross will play away at Palmetto Scholars on January, 10, host Timberland on the 11 th , travel to Bethune- Bowman on the 14 th and host Baptist Hill on January, 17.

Abbeville's Junior Darius Riley in the State Title game.

Panthers claim program's 13th overall title, ninth in last 15 years

A championship season deserves championship recognition when your school makes it to the biggest game of the season. This past Friday, the Upper State Champions and Lower State Champions were decided. Now, these teams go to SC State University’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium for “the cherry-on-top” of an already successful season and compete for the title of State Champion . Every school playing this week is a Champion. Now is the time for schools and parents to celebrate making it to the State Championship Game. After all, your team made it further than any other team in your region and classification. Every team and every player earned their spot in State Championship game. The Championship Game Programs capture those life-long memories made during this season, culminating in getting to the state title game. Let’s celebrate the achievement of your student athletes. The SCHSL has the HSSR produce the official, full color, championship game program. This is a valuable keepsake for parents and students to mark the conclusion of a great football season. For each game, the HSSR produces two unique programs that are tailored to the Upper State Champion and Lower State Champion with ad from their supporters and the opposing team’s roster included to know who is on the field. In previous years and in addition to the parents, businesses, and alumni supporting the school, other sports have used half or full-page ads to show their support and highlight their own accomplishments along with a team photo. We have ads from baseball, softball, basketball, and cheer to mention a few that congratulate the football and show their support. The official game program ads earn double credit so your ad supporting your school, your team, and your student athlete also supports continuing sports coverage for your school and all other student athletes for another school year. The High School Sports Report monthly edition goes to over 250 colleges and universities athletic departments.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Cross – Momentum in any football game can change in the blink of an eye, Friday night at A.E. Ravenell Stadium on the campus of Cross High School it took 1:59 for the homestanding Trojans to completely change their third-round match up with Hannah-Pamplico as they forced two turnovers that led to two scores on their way to a 12-7 win over the Raiders. The Trojans (11-2) will host the Lake View Wild Gators (11-1) a 42-32 winner over Bamberg Ehrhardt . The HSSR’s number three (Lake View) and number four (Cross) teams have met several times in the Class A playoffs with the Trojans defeating the Wild Gators 21-8 in their last meeting in 2022. “I told the kids all week to play for four quarters. Do not worry about the score, do not worry about the clock just keep playing play after play and we did that. Our defense is as good as it comes in one A and hats off to our guys to keep fighting and we came out on top,” said Trojan head coach Shaun Wright . About Lake View coach Wright said, “We figured that we would play Lake View and that is what we wanted. We wanted to be one of the last four teams playing in Class A and now we have a big challenge ahead.” The Raiders finished the year at 9-3 with their only losses coming against Lee Central a play-off team and the Class A lower state finalist Cross/Lake View. Raider head coach Trey Woodberry told his team after the game, “Very proud of the effort that his team played with all night long. Tough lose but it did not take away from the season.” Cross and Hannah Pamplico came into Friday’s contest with offenses averaging over 30 points per game but it was the defenses that took center stage as only 19 points were scored in the contest. On their first possession the Trojan’s with Karmello Jones running behind Marquis Pringle, Michael Bennett, Jailyn Broughton, David Wigfall, Dakari President, and Andrew Hocket moved the ball down the field reaching the Raiders 35-yardline. After picking up a first down on a fourth and five on a completion from Tyler Harris to Caden Ramsey to the Raider 20-yard line. Jones was injured a play earlier and with him out the Raider defense stiffened as William Faulkenberry , Kain Calcutt and Jaquann Bryant put pressure on Harris forcing back-to-back incompletions and they turned the Trojans over on downs. The drive took 8:14 off the clock with no score. Taking over at the 18 the Raiders also moved the ball down the field with quarterback Wade Poston connecting on two of three throws with a 23-yarder to Tylin Jenkins that gave them a first down at the Trojan 27. However, on fourth down the Blue Steel defense rose to the occasions as Wigfall burst through the line and sacked Poston for a ten-yard loss and a turnover on downs for the Trojans. Defense dominated the rest of the first half as the Raiders would turn the Trojans over on downs and then the Trojan defense forced a punt. The Trojans got the ball back with 1:01 to go in the first half. Jones ripped off a 25-yard run to give the Trojans a first down at the Hannah Pamplico 48-yard line. After Harris spiked the ball to stop the clock. Harris attempted to hit Ramsey deep down the right side but the Raiders Demarion Amonte Sparks went high and made the pick to stop the drive and send the teams to the half tied at 0. The Raiders received the second half kickoff and after Aveion Wells returned the ball 24-yards to the Cross 43. On first down, Poston his Sparks for an eight-yard gain and he ripped off a 14-yard run. A facemask penalty moved the ball to the Cross 19. Poston then hit Jenkins with a 10-yard pass to a first and goal at the Cross nine yard. Then momentum turned on Hannah Pamplico as Jones broke through the line, hit Chris Eldridge, and ripped the ball out. He then picked it up and took off on an 84-yard touchdown fumble return. The two-point conversion was no good but the Trojans led 6-0. The Raiders were unfazed as Poston hit Sparks on first down for a 23-yard gain to the 46. After an incompletion disaster struck again for the Raiders when Poston’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and into the waiting arms of Ramsey for a turnover. Starting at the Hannah Pamplico 49, the Trojans handed the ball off to Jones who gained 22 yards to the Raider 27 and chop block called on the Raiders moved the ball to the 12. Harris then hit Ramsey down to the two and Jones finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. The two-point was no good but the lead was 12-0. “What can you say about Karmello, he stripped the ball and then picked the ball up and went the distance. He is a great football player on both sides of the ball. We are just waiting for him to get some offers,” said coach Wright. The Trojan defense forced a quick three and out and appeared poised to break the game open. Starting at the Raiders 45, Harris moved the Trojans down the field by completing three passes, two to Lavell Joyner setting up a first down at the Raiders 16. The Raider defense then stepped up as the Trojans bobbled the hand off and the ball hit the ground where the Raiders Xavier Self fell on the ball at the Cross 14. Poston then led the Raiders on an 86-yard march in 10-plays to get the Raiders on the board when he connected with Jenkins on a three-yard scoring pass on the first play of the fourth quartet. The point after by Lazaro Santiago cut the Trojan’s lead to five at 12-7. The Trojans appeared to have put the game away on their next play as Jones started right, then cut back left and went untouched for a 69-yard touchdown run. However, behind the play a flag was thrown for holding wiping out the touchdown jaunt. The Trojans would run over four- minutes off the clock before they punted for the first time all game. The Raider started off the next drive off just like the previous drive as Poston hit Jenkins and Keimonti Wilson moving the ball into Trojan territory to the 35. The Trojan defense would not allow the Raiders to go any further and they forced a turnover on downs. “Our defense has been outstanding all year. Our coaches do a great job of getting the guys prepared and ready each week,” said coach Wright. “This was the best quarterback we faced all year and he made some plays but at the end we were able to make enough to win.” The Trojan got the ball back with 4:38 left. They gave the ball to Jones on 7 of 8 plays and carried it for 37 yards but more importantly they ate up over four minutes on the clock before the punted the ball away to the Raiders with less than 20 seconds to go.

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 HSSR Hollywood - Friday night at Marion Brown field in Hollywood, the best rivalry in the low country that no one talks about between the home standing Baptist Hill Bobcats and the visiting Cross Trojans renewed and as usual there was a region championship on the line. The Trojans came into the game with a 5-0/7-2 region record while the Bobcats were 4-1/ 6-2. A win by the Bobcats and region 5 A would have a three-way top with Branchville being the third member. However, the Trojans made sure that would not happen as they jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter on their way a region clinching 36-0 win. It was the Trojans third straight win the series as well as the third straight shut out by the Trojans. “We have had our way the last three years with them but you can never take a Marion Brown coached team lightly. We knew coming into the game it would be a tough matchup,” said Cross head coach Shawn Wright . “We wanted to jump on them early and I’m proud of my guys for taking care of business.” Coach continued, “It is always nice to win another region championship (6-0/8-2) but this win gave us home field for as long as we are in the playoffs. We are also looking forward to the week off to get some rest and get some guys healthy so we can hopefully make a deep run in the playoffs.” The lose dropped Baptist Hill to third in the region with 4-2 record and 6-3 overall. The Bobcats will be on the road when the playoffs start in two weeks. “We knew Cross was going be tough and physical like they always are but offensively we had too many blown assignments. We put our defense in a bad position by giving them a short field but I felt our defense played well most of the night,” said coach Brown. While the Trojans did score 36 points on the night it was the Trojan defense that stole the show as they limited the Bobcat offense to 75 total yards and forced five turnovers. The Bobcats were only able to cross into Trojan territory twice all night. Leading the charge for the Trojans were two sophomores: defensive linemen Jaylin Broughton and linebacker Jimmy Smith . Broughton was in the backfield all night and when a Bobcat broke the line of scrimmage Smith made several jarring hits. “Our Defensive coordinator and defensive coaches do a great job of getting the kids ready to play. They put together a great scheme tonight and all year,” coach Wright said. The opening series for the Bobcats showed how long of a night it was going to be for them. As they fumbled on their second play and Cross recovered inside the ten-yard line but a face mask wiped out the play. Then, on second and 22, Baptist Hill quarterback Johnquez Henderson lofted a pass up the left side where Cross’s safety Caden Ramsey went over everyone for the interception at the Cross 38. Starting from the 38, the Trojans took eight plays to cover the 62 yards. Karmello Jones scored his first touchdown of the night on a four-yard run. The two-point conversion was no good and the Trojans lead 6-0. Things did go well for the Bobcats on their next possession. They lost ten yards on their first play when Henderson recovered a fumble. Then on fourth down the snapper snapped the ball over the punters head and the punter fell on the ball for an eight-yard loss. Jones scored his second touchdown of the night one play later on another four-yard run to push the lead to 12-0 Trojans in the first quarter. While the Bobcat offense continued to struggle, the defense led by linebacker Kevin Smalls started making an impact and making plays in the Cross backfield. They forced the Trojans to punt but the Bobcat offense still could not move the ball. The Trojans would put the game away in the final two-minutes of the first half as they would score 16 points in this two minutes to take a 28-0 lead into the half. First, Ramsey capped a 61-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down. Jones rushed for 59 of the 61 yards on the drive. Second, after forcing a Bobcat punt and taking possession at the Bobcat 42. The Trojans needed just two pass plays from Tyler Harris to Ramsey to cover the 42 yards and with the two two-point conversion the lead was pushed to 28. The Trojans finished the scoring on Ramsey’s third touchdown of night as he scored on a two-yard run. Harris connected with Preston Fuller for the final two-points of the night and the final of 36-0. Harris had a solid night for the Trojans completing six passes for 103 yards and touchdown while Jones rushed 18 times for 150 yards to go with his two scores. Jones also had an interception. Ramsey and Fuller each had three receptions and also a pick each while William Grant tallied 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack to lead the defense.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Cross – With the loss of 11 seniors and having a roster this fall that includes only five seniors, Cross head football coach Shaun Wright expected a few growing pains early on. Those growing pains came in losses to Timberland (43-14) and Lake Marion (7-6, OT) in consecutive weeks. While the losses pained the coach, it also helped the team grow. Entering an Oct. 11 game against Scott’s Branch , the Trojans sit with a 5-2 record overall and off to a 3-0 start in region 5-A. Those three region wins were impressive as they beat Military Magnet (56-0), Branchville (56-7) and St. John’s (70-0). “Sometimes a loss can do you some good and I think those games we lost sort of showed our team that we needed to be more consistent and clean some things up,” Wright said. “The whole focus is the region, getting that No. 1 seed for the playoffs.” Cross has remaining region games with Bethune-Bowman and Baptist Hill , as well as Scott’s Branch . Senior Karmello Jones is having a season to remember this fall, posting big numbers at running back and linebacker. Jones leads Cross in rushing with 827 yards and has scored 15 touchdowns. Six of those touchdowns came in the win over Branchville. He added four more scores in the following game against St. John’s. Jones also is the leading tackler defensively, racking up 47 total hits. “We played on a Monday and a Friday. I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy score 10 touchdowns in less than a week,” Wright said. Sophomore running back Mah’ky Green was slowed early by injury but is up to 382 yards and five touchdowns on only 32 carries. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Harris , a first-year starter, has passed for 789 yards and eight touchdowns. Six of those scoring tosses have gone to Caden Ramsey , who has 21 receptions for 421 yards. Lavell Joyner and Preston Fuller also have more than 100 receiving yards early on. Working along a rebuilt offensive line are tackles David Wigfall and Michael Bennett , guards Dakari President and Orin Schultz , and center Jailyn Broughton . Broughton also starts on the defensive line and has 36 tackles and three sacks in seven games, while Wigfall, a linebacker, has 33 tackles and eight tackles for loss. William Grant has 30 tackles and eight tackles for loss while Bennett has six tackles for loss. Ramsey, at safety, has seven interceptions in seven games and has returned two picks for touchdowns.

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