Vikings claim first championship in program history in head coach Hercules Davis' final game

Day 1 - of the SCHSL Championships Games: 4 games with 8 teams going for the gold! Thursday, March 6 2:00pm - Lee Central vs. Military Magnet - Girls Class A State Championship 4:00pm - Abbeville vs. Denmark Olar - Boys Class A State Championship  6:00pm - Dillon vs. Walhalla - Girls Class AAA State Championship 8:00pm - Powdersville vs. Keenan - Boyss Class AAA State Championship Tickets are available at the gate at The Florence Center for $15. . Gates open 1 hour before the first game. If you want to watch at home, the SCHSL announced coverage from stations in these markets on March 6th, 7th, and 8th : Asheville, NC / Greenville, SC WMYA (My40 Asheville-Greenville ) Columbia, SC WACH.2 – (TBD Network) – the network is called TBD Charleston, SC WCIV (MyTV Charleston) Myrtle Beach, SC Thursday – Friday: EPDE(CW21 Myrtle Beach) Saturday: HPDE (WPDE-4)

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Florence — Denmark - Olar’s two senior all-star players produced 39 points ( Terrence Hinton & Joshua Goodman ) in leading the Vikings over Bethune - Bowman, 63-49 in the Class A lower state basketball finals at the Florence Civic Center on Thursday. Denmark-Olar now has the challenge of playing upper state champion Abbeville who defeated CA Johnson 58-46 for the state Class A boy’s title to be played at 4 p.m. on March, 6 at the Florence Civic Center. After the game, veteran head Denmark-Olar coach Hercules Davis shared his thoughts. “They came hitting some outside shots, and we changed up our defense to a 2-3 early, when they hit some early outside baskets, and our team made that adjustment very well,” said coach Davis. “We were able to break their press by putting our man in the middle and that allowed us to pick them an apart. “Their big guy (6-3 Terreance McFadden ) tried to pound-pound us down low and while he was effective some, when he did miss, we were able to rebound and push the ball down the court quickly for transition baskets,” said Coach Davis. “Our top two scorers today are our all-star players ( Joshua Goodman & Terrence Hinton ) and they provide a lot of senior leadership to the team. “We last won a state title in 1991 and we last won a lower state title in 2006,” said Coach Davis. “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to a state final. The players also have to be willing to learn from their coaches and buy into the game plan and the team goals.” Bethune- Bowman head coach Charles McCray talked with the HSSR after the game, “We had a good season, and we just did not get the points today when we needed them. We had a good run in the third period, but we could not sustain the momentum we had gained, and we could not execute the game plan like we had hoped. “I told the players at half-time that the game was on the line in the third quarter, and the team would win who wanted it more,” said Coach McCray. “We cut it down to one possession but we just could not turn the corner. “We will miss our three key senior players ( Bryson Robinson , Kaden Woods , & Christopher Young ) but we will build next season around McFadden,” said Coach McCray. “We lost in the finals last season and we will just stay focused and keep building the program.” Denmark-Olar built a 14-7 lead after the first period behind Hinton’s six points and five points by Goodman, who made a three-point shot from the next zip code with 30.5 seconds left in the period to make it a 14-7 lead. In the second period the Vikings out-scored Bethine-Bowman 11-8 to take a 25-15 lead into the half. Hinton and Goodman each had 11 points at the break. Bethune Bowman won the third period 20-19 to close the deficit to 44-35 entering the fourth period. McFadden was a force inside for the Mohawks in the third period when he scored six points and made several key rebounds. However, the Vikings used a strong defense and they made most of their late free throw’s chances to win the game 63-49 with a strong finish. Bethine-Bowman was led in scoring by McFadden who had 15 points and 9 rebounds in the game. Woods contributed 14 points and Bryson Robinson had 13 points.  Behind Hinton’s 20 and Goodman’s 19 points came 8 points from Nyheem Brimfield .

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Florence — Military Magnet (25-5) played up to their talent level, led by junior Danariyah “D” William’s 14 points, 17 rebounds, and five steals for a 56-36 win over Denmark - Olar at the Florence Civic Center on Thursday, to win the Class A girls’ basketball lower state championship. Military Magnet will now compete for a Class A state title at 2 p.m. on March, 6 at the Florence Civic Center against upper state champion Lee Central , who beat North , 67-28. After the game Military Magnet veteran head coach Nathaniel Taylor told the HSSR, “Our team is a determined bunch right now,” he said. “We hang our hats on defense and that is what we do best. We get maximum effort off of our defense. “We have confidence we can beat anyone we play but you always worry about having a bad game and the team beating themselves,” said Coach Taylor. “We missed out on making the finals last year so we came into the season focused on getting to the finals. We have now made the finals five out of the past six seasons.  “We have a good tradition because the young ladies in our community have bought into what we are trying to accomplish and they spend a lot of time in our open gym year-round,” said Coach Taylor. “There are not a lot of things for them to do in the community so they focus most of their time on improving their basketball skills. Senior Military Magnet captain Dream Watson added 9 points and three steals in the win. “She is a strong candidate for the Class A Player of the Year,” said Coach Taylor. “She has been in our program for a long time and she is a great senior leader.” Watson has ben on the varsity for seven seasons. “It feels great to help my team get to the state finals in my senior year,” she said from the court. “We take a lot of pride in our defense. We just have to keep playing well for one more game.” Seventh grader Mariah Brown has a bright future for MM and she added 9 points in the big win. Senior Jada Davis scored 8 points with four assists and teammates Sabri Mitchell and freshman Lauren Willis contributed five points and freshman Destinee Wilson had four points. Denmark-Olar, who lost to Lake View in the finals a year ago, was realigned to the lower state this season. The Lady Vikings were led in the game by veteran senior Aveion Walker who had 14 points in the game. Walker finished the season scoring 11.1 points with 9.1 rebounds a game. Senior PG Ry’Naisha Barnes added 10 points for the Vikings while 8 th grader Azuria Wright had five points. On the season the Vikings top scorer was junior Kalen Mayes who averaged 13.9 points and 3.9 steals a game. Sophomore Joy Johnson will also return for the Vikings next season after averaging 8.1-point sand four rebounds a game this season. Military Magnet led the game 29-17 at the half on balanced scoring from Brown and Williams who had seven points each at the break. MM went into the final period leading 44-32. Davis hit a three-point shot from the top of the key to put MM up 32-20 with 6:52 le3ft in the third period and then three steals in the quarter led to six transition points. Denmark-Olar hit back-to-back three-point shots from Mayes and Barnes in the third period but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. Denmark-Olar coach Terence Jones told the HSSR after the game, “I am very proud of this team and what they have accomplished not only this season, but over the past four or five seasons,” he said. “We will miss the leadership of Aveion but we have a strong group of younger players returning.”

The Lady Vikings are getting ready to make another run to the state championship game By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Denmark – Third ranked Denmark-Olar Lady Vikings are rounding into playoff form but head coach Terence Jones knows his team still has a lot of work to do if they are going to defend their upper state championship and make it to their fourth straight Class A state championship game. “We need to play for the full 32 minutes. We have gotten off to fast starts at times and we have started slowly in games. We cannot take anyone lightly. We have to continue to play hard,” coach Jones told the Times Democrat. The Lady Vikings are 18-4 overall but more importantly they are 9-0 in region 4 A play with a region championship game coming up against county rival Bamberg Ehrhardt (20-2/8-1). A win will be the Lady Vikings fifth consecutive region championship and would run their region winning streak to 58 consecutive games. “The region championship is one of our goals, but it isn’t the ultimate goal,” coach Jones said. “We still have a lot of work to do before the playoffs. We will continue to scrimmage in practice and clean up some of the mistakes.” Coach Jones has three seniors that have been the leaders of the team in Chardasia Jackson, Aveion Walker, and Ry”Naisha Barnes. Walker is a returning All State selection after averaging a double-double last year. She was also named as one of the top five seniors in Class A entering the year. She has played at an All-State level again this year leading the Lady Vikings in rebounds at 9 a game and is second in scoring at 11.6 ppg and is one of six Lady Vikings averaging over three steals per game at 4.2 per contest. She has over 1200 career points with a shot at 1000 career rebounds and 400 steals. Barnes is averaging over 7 ppg to go with 3.7 boards and 3.5 steals a night. Juniors Kalen Mayes and Ashanti Johnson have provided an inside/ outside punch for the Lady Vikings offense. Mayes leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg and is averaging 3.8 steals a game while Johnson is second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 rpg. Joy Johnson, a sophomore, is third on the team in scoring at 8.2 ppg. That is up from the 6.5 ppg she averaged last season. If she continues at her present pace she could be another 1000-point career scorer. Freshman Azauria Wright has picked up where she left off as an eighth grader averaging over four points a game and five boards a game while eighth grader Amuria Wright leads the team in steals at 4.8 per game and is knocking down 6.5 ppg

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 Denmark – The Denmark-Olar Vikings heads into the home stretch of their schedule needing to play their best football of the season if they want to make the class A playoffs and have a shot a region championship. The Vikings have had some tough luck this season as they sit at 1-5/0-1 with three region games remaining. They will host Hardeeville (1-6,0-2) and Allendale Fairfax (0-5,0-0) before they travel 6.45 miles down Hwy 78 to take on rival Bamberg Ehrhardt (4-2,1-0). All three games are region games and the Vikings will need to win at two of the games to secure a spot in the class A Lower State playoffs. Offensive consistency has been the biggest issue for the Vikings all season. They have had some good moments but penalties, turnovers and mental mistakes have stopped promising drives all year. Freshman quarterback Nykeem Brimfield (6-4, 220) and sophomore quarterback Tiberius Duncan (6-5, 200) have taken most of the snaps. Both have live arms but they have showed their inexperience as well. Against Blackville Hilda head coach William Raysor put in junior Robert Bovain (6-1, 180) at quarterback to add a little experience to the position. “Robert is a special player. He will do anything we ask him to do. He makes plays wherever we play and we know he is going to give us his all every play,” said Coach Raysor. Bovian is the teams leading rusher and is on his way to a 1000-yard year. He rushed for 141 yards against Blackville Hilda at running back and then switched to QB and almost led a come from behind win. Defensively, he has been unblockable from his outside linebacking position. He pressures the quarterback on pass plays and makes tackles behind the line on running plays. He is one of the top juniors in the state by the HSSR. Playing opposite of Bovain is HSSR Top 100 Senior Tykeem Ross (6-3, 245). Offenses game plan around Ross as causes havoc as well. He has also shown his ability at tight end making several catches. Blackville Hilda head coach Kevin Jones said, “We went to wishbone to run away from Ross. He is tremendous player and you have to account for him on every play.” Charleston Brown (6, 250) has been a terror on the inside for the Vikings on defense. He gets in the backfield and disrupts offenses. He is also the leader of the offensive line. Terrance “Agent Zero” Hinton (5-8, 165) has been the main target in the passing game but has not had a lot of opportunities down field. “We have stressed all year that we have to play four quarters football to win games and we just have not done that. When we play our best we can compete with anyone but we have to finish and that has been the issue all year,” said coach Raysor.

Lewisville WR Jacorreun Howze on the run after a catch.

Hawks' Holman rushes for 125 yards and 3 TDs in victory