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Gaffney beats Byrnes 15-9 in double overtime

From staff reports • October 13, 2024

Gaffney's Jamarcus Smith on the carry.

Gaffney – The Gaffney High School football team rallied to force overtime and beat Byrnes 15-9 in double overtime on Friday at The Reservation.


          The Indians, the  No. 1 team in the High School Sports Report AAAA Division II poll, improved to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in Region  2. Byrnes fell to 2-4 and 2-1.

 

         The game was tied 6-6 at the end of regulation. Gaffney’s Evan Olson kicked a 29-yard field goal on its first possession in overtime. The Rebels' Jon Cummings booted a 22-yarder to force the second overtime.

 

         GHS kept the Rebels from scoring on the first possession of the second overtime. On Gaffney’s first play, Jamarcus Smith scored from 10 yards out to win the game.

 

         With Indians quarterback Jayvon Gilmore sitting out the first half because of a suspension, Smith lined up behind center. Smith carried the ball 13 times fo4 132 yards and GHS’ only touchdown. Smith completed 4 of 8 passes for 30 yards with one interception.

 

         Chas Smith rushed for an even 100 yards on 20 carries. Gilmore completed 8 of 17 passes for 68 yards.

 

         Olson connected on 3 of 4 field goals The one miss was blocked. He booted a 24-yarder in the second quarter and a 30-yarder in the third quarter to give the Indians a 6-0 lead.

 

`       Byrnes tied the game on a 1-yard run by Jacobie Fuller at the 9:01 mark of the fourth quarter. However, the extra point attempt was no good.

 

         Clinton 46

         Chesnee 21

 

         Clinton – Clinton led 36-7 at halftime and went on to a 46-21 victory over Chesnee on Friday at the Clinton field.


       The Red Devils, ranked fifth in the AA poll, improved 4-2 overall and 1-0 in Region. Chesnee fell to 2-4 and 0-1.

 

         Javen Cook led the Red Devils by rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Tushawan Richardson completed 9 of 14 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 25 yards on three carries.

 

         DJ Clark rushed for 68 yards on seven carries to go with two catches for 31 yards. Devin Swindler caught four passes for 61 yards and a score, and Chris Boyd caught a 47-yard TD pass.

 

        Chesnee's Evan Lawler rushed for 64 yards and a TD on 10 carries while completing 6 of 14 passes for 67 yards. Jayden Williams had 13 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown, and Kale Thrift had 12 carries for 55 yards and a TD.

 

         Saluda 50

         Pelion 0

         

         Pelion – Saluda improved to 5-0 on the season with a 50-0 victory over Pelion on Thursday at the PHS field.

 

         The Tigers led 22-0 after one quarter and 43-0 at halftime. Saluda, the top-ranked team in the AA poll, won its Region 2 opener while Pelion fell to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in region play.

 

         Brayden Williams carried the ball five times for 74 yards and a score while throwing a 44-yard touchdown pass. He also caught a 22-yard pass.

 

         Quarterback Drew Arant returned to the lineup and completed 6 of 9 passes for 177 yards and a TD. Tristan Daniels had three carries, all going for touchdowns, and 13 yards.

 

         Victavis Gaines caught a 44-yard scoring pass, while Jah Foulks had two catches for 61 yards and a score.

 

         Akiem Mills led the Saluda defense with three tackles for loss among his five total tackles. JT Lott had two TFLs and three total tackles as well as a fumble recovery. CJ Springs had n interception and three tackles.

 

         Timberland 47

         Academic Magnet 14

 

         St. Stephen --Timberland improved to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in Region 6-AA with a 47-14 victory over Academic Magnet on Friday at the THS field.


        Malyk Goodman led THS, rushing for 99 yards and a TD on six carries while completing 2 of 3 passes for 77 yards. Rashad White completed 4 of 9 passes for 115 yards and a score.

 

         Deontae Cleveland had 10 carries for 88 yards and a score, Antuan Faison had six carries for 49 yards and two scores, and Jordan Timmons had two catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.

 

         Carter Hawkins led the defense with two interceptions.


Academic Magnet fell to 3-4 and 0-2.

 

         Loris 40

         Waccamaw 14

 

         Pawleys Island – Deuce Stephens ran for three touchdowns as Loris improved to 6-1 overall with a 40-14 win over Waccamaw on Friday at the WHS field.

 

         Stephens had five carries for 77 yards for the Lions, who improved to 2-0 in Region 5-AAA. Khalid Sherman had 126 yards and a TD on eight carries, while Roderick Purchia had 10 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.

 

         Zaerion Skinnerhad 10 carries for 129 yards, including an 80-yard scoring run to lead the Warriors, who fell to 3-3 and 1-1

 

       Dutch Fork 38

         White Knoll 0

 

         Irmo – Dutch Fork remained undefeated with a 38-0 win over White Knoll on Friday at Dutch Fork Stadium.

 

         The Silver Foxes, the top-ranked team in the AAAAA Division I poll, improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in Region 5. Fourth-ranked White Knoll fell to 4-3 and 0-2.

 

         Maurice Anderson rushed for 81 yards and two TDs on 13 carries while catching five passes for 68 yards and another score to lead Dutch Fork. Ethan Offing was 15 of 20 for 202 yards and a touchdown.

 

         Justin Welch booted a 50-yard field goal and was 5-for-5 on extra point attempts. Elgin Sessions returned an interception 55 yard for a TD.

 

Mauldin 36

Easley 28

 

         Mauldin – Mauldin outscored Easley 14-0 in the fourth quarter to pick u0 a 36-28 win on Friday at the MHS field.

 

         Aaron Tolbert led Easley by rushing for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He also had a 14-yard catch.

 

         Jay Stoker completed 14 of 32 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns for Easley. Kadin Davis had three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

 

         Kobe Preston led the Easley defense with 11 tackles. Kyler Turner had nine tackles and an interception, and Cason Michael Brewington had eight tackles and a pick.


          Mauldin improved to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in Region 1-AAAAA. Easley fell to 1-4 and 0-1.


         Thomas Heyward 48

         Andrew Jackson 6

 

         Ehrhardt – Thomas Heyward Acsademy led 41-0 at halftime and rolled to a 48-6 victory over Andrew Jackson Academy on Friday at the AJA field.


THA, ranked second in the SCISA Class A poll, improved to 6-1. The Warriors fell to 1-7.

 

         Tony O’Banner led the Rebels by rushing with 73 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. Mitchell White had two carries fro 52 yards, one of them a 47-yard scoring run.

 

Kiran Boggess completed 4 of 4 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Gibson had a 65-yard scoring catch and Donovan Robinson had a 2-yard TD catch.

 

Gibson also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score.

 

Donovan Robinson led the THA defense with three interceptions and four tackles. Kelan Fripp led the THA defense with five tackles, two TFLs and a sack. Beau Pinckney had three tackles, two of them for a loss. Gua Twenge and White both had seven tackles, Twenge had a TFL.

         

         North Myrtle Beach 28

         Socastee 14

 

         North Myrtle Beach – Drew Prince scored a pair of fourth-yuarter touchdowns to lift North Myrtle Beach to a 28-14 win over Socastee on Friday at The Hank.

 

         Prince had scoring runs of 19 and 31 yards, respectively after Socastee had tied the game on an interception return for a score. Prince had 25 carries for 194 yards.

 

         Land Cloninger threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Reo Stevenson and also ran for a 3-yard score for the Chiefs. He compelted 9 of 18 passes for 128 yards.

 

         Stevenson had two catches for 64 yards, Brown Reaves had two catches for 20 yards, Kaden Gore had two cactches for 12 yards and Andrew Kreider had two cagches for nine yards.

 

         Jaden Chestnut had 11 carries for 60 yarards.

 

         NMB improved to 2-4 overall and 2-0 in Region 6-AAAAA. Socastee fell to 2-5 and 0-2.

 

         Northwestern 65

         Fort Mill 6

 

         Fort Mill – Northwestern improved to 8-0 with a 65-6 win over Fort Mill on Friday at Bob Jones Stadium.


         The Trojans, ranked third in the AAAAA DII poll, are 4-0 i Region 3. Fort Mill fell to 1-6 and 0-4.

 

         Zymier Gordon-Miles led the NHS offense by rushing for 190 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Finley Polk completed 16 of 22 passes for 270 yards and two scores while rushing for 42 yards and two scores on six carries.

 

         TaDarrian Knox had seven catches for 153 yards and a TD. Kameron Vance had four catches for 47 yards and a score.

 

         Mason Grier led the defense with five tackles, 3 ½ tackles for loss, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Dmitri Robinson had four tackles, three TFLs nd one sack.

 

         Manning 33

         Mullins 6

 

         Manning -- Manning remained undefeated in Region 7-AA with a 33-6 win over Mullins on Friday at Ramsey Stadium.


       The Monarchs, ranked 12th in the AA poll, improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in region play. Mullins, ranked 11th, fell to 6-2 and 2-2.

 

         Jontavious Canty had a big game both offensively and efensively for the Monarchs. He rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while coming up with 12 tackles.

 

         Jeffery Ceasar also had a strong performance on both sides. He had eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown and returned an interception 99 yards for a score.

 

         Quarterback JaRae Mitchell completed 11 of 16 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. He also had five carries for 30 yards and at touchdown.

 

         CJ Robinson returned a punt 47 yards for a touchdown.

 

         Dillon 49

         Aynor 7

 

         Aynor – Dillon scored the game’s final 42 points to defeat Aynor 49-7 on Friday at the AHS field.

 

         Dominick Felton rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns on five carries for the Wildcats. He had scoring runs of 49, 48 and 29 yards.

 

         Zamaurious Robertson had three catches for 86 yards and two scores. Quarterback Rahmond Hamilton completed 5 of 11 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 53 yards another score on five carries.

 

         Keryien Brown led the DHS defense with 23 tackles. Tyler Huggins returned a fumble 27 yards for a score. Tristan Blue had 10 tackles and a sack.

 

         Wilson Hall 34

         Trinity Collegiate 7

 

         Darlington -- Wilson Hall clinched the SCISA Region 2-AAA title with a 34-7 victory over Trinity Collegiate on Friday at the TC field.


       The Barons, ranked No. 1 in SCISA AAA, improved to 7-1 overall and finished 4-0 in region play. Trinity Collegiate fell to 3-4 and 1-1.


      Milling Galloway led the Barons with by rushing for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries while catching two passes for 56 yards and another score. Quarterback Owen Meyers completed 7 of 11 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

 

         Ford Wilder caught four passes for 64 yards and a TD. Cameron Wilsey had eight carries for 33 yards and a TD and Ben McLaurin had six carries for 35 yards.

 

         Peyton Gilley led the defense with seven tackles and two TFLs while Carson Wilsey had seven tackles.


         Ridge View 50

         Lugoff-Elgin 0


         Columbia -- Tre Howard threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns to lead Ridge View to a 50-0 victory over Lugoff-Elgin on Friday at the RVHS field.


         Howard completed 14 of 18 passes for the Blazers, who won their third straight game to improve to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in Region 5-AAAAA. He also rushed for 35 yards on six carries.



         Khristian Jackson had four catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Hayden Morris had six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Chris McDonald had a 50-yard TD catch.


         Daryl Spencer had four tackles for loss and three sacks among his five tackles. Tyler Cheatham had eight tackles and Jordan Outen had five tackles and two TFLsl;.


          L-E lost its fourth straight game, all region contests, to drop to 3-5 and 0-4.

         

          Batesburg-Leesville 42

          Ninety Six 14


          Ninety Six -- Batesburg-Leesville remained undefeated on the season with a 42-14 victory over Ninety Six on Friday at the NSHS field.


          Amadre Wooden led the Panthers, who improved to 5-0 in winning their Region 2-AA opener, with 209 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. Tanner Watkins completed 7 of 11 passes for 145 yards and two scores. Jamerius Clark had three catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.


          Zay King ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to lead Ninety Six, which fell to 2-4 and 1-1.


         






 

PHOTOS: Mar 8th SCHSL BB Championship - Greenville vs Goose Creek

By Larry Gamble • March 10, 2025
Photos from March 8th, the SCHSL Class AAAAA Div. 2 Boys Championship Game between Greenville and Goose Creek . Enjoy this sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery

PHOTOS: Mar 8th SCHSL BB Championship - Greenwood vs Berkeley

By Larry Gamble • March 10, 2025
Photos from March 8th, the SCHSL Class AAAAA Div. 2 Girls Championship Game between Greenwood and Berkeley . Enjoy this sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery

PHOTOS: Mar 8th SCHSL BB Championship - ACA vs HPA

By Larry Gamble • March 10, 2025
Photos from March 8th, the SCHSL Class AA Boys Championship Game between High Point Academy and Atlantic Collegiate . Enjoy this sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery

PHOTOS: Mar 8th SCHSL BB Championship - AJ vs EC

By Larry Gamble • March 10, 2025
Photos from March 8th, the SCHSL Class AA Girls Championship Game between Andrew Jackson and Eau Claire . Enjoy this sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery

Greenville outlasts Goose Creek in two overtimes to capture the AAAAA Division II Title

By Neill Kirkpatrick • March 10, 2025
By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Florence – Since February 28 th, the Florence Center played host to the best SCHSL basketball teams in the state as it ended the best game was saved for last, not only did we get a great game between Goose Creek and Greenville but it took two extra periods for the Red Raiders to finally prevail 81-71 to capture their first AAAAA state championship. The state championship is Greenville’s sixth overall moving them into a tie for fourth on the all-time state championship list with Lower Richland , Gaffney , Irmo and fellow Greenville County school Southside . They won five at the AAA before moving up in classification. They finished the year 28-2. “This is special is very special to me but I am just happy for the guys. We ask a lot of them year-round sometimes it is not fun and it is hard. We have been chasing this moment for a long time,” said Greenville Head Coach Mike Anderson . “It was a heck of a game Goose Creek wouldn’t go away and we made a couple of mistakes. But in the end they were able to make the plays to win the game.” The Gators end the year at 25-4 with their fifth lower state championship in school history but for senior Shane Potts and junior Ja'Quell Brown it was bitter sweet as they were part of the team that came up short against Dorman 2022-23 season. “It is disappointing ending to the season but I am very proud of my guys. They are champions on how they behave in the community, on campus and on the court. I love this guys and the result of a game does not change that,” said Goose Creek head coach Blake Hall. The two biggest difference in the game both went Greenville’s way as they dominated Goose Creek on the boards, out rebounding the Gators 39-18 with half being on the offense. The second was the foul discrepancy and free throw shooting. The Gators were whistled for 29 fouls while the Red Raiders were whistled for 13 despite being the more physical all night. Greenville shot 36 free throws to Goose Creek’s 16 and the Red Raiders made 27 of those free throws which turned out to the difference in the game. Goose Creek made more threes and two-point basket but the free throw line was the difference in the game. If you were a Gator fan you thought the officials were wearing red and white striped shirts instead of black and white. Gator head coach Hall said, “You can’t beat a team when they shoot almost 40 free throws. I told our guys you have no control over the officiating but you have to play through it. For the most part I thought we did but it was too much to overcome.” The first quarter was a harbinger of how the game would play out. Goose Creek’s points came from the field as they hit three-pointers with Ja'Quell Brown nailing two of them. Meanwhile the Red Raiders went 8 for 10 from the line as Caden Coleman went 3 for 4 from the line and had a two-point basket to help the Red Raiders lead after one 14-13. The second quarter saw the Gators continuing to hit three pointers as they had for in the quarter with Shane Potts hitting two and Brown and Terrell Johnson Jr. hitting the other. They helped the Gators go on an 8-0 run to start the quarter to go up 24-16. For Greenville, they countered by going inside to Franklin Whitley and Roman Cooley scoring 13 of the Red Raiders 16 points in the quarter and lead them on a 9-0 run to wipe the Gator lead. The teams went to the half with Greenville still on top by one at 30-29. The third quarter was the only one where the Red Raiders did not go to the free throw. Instead, they attacked on the inside for all of their points in the quarter. Potts dominated the third quarter for the Gators scoring 11 of his game high 29 points and Johnson Jr. added another three as the Gators took a 45-42 lead into the fourth quarter. Leading by three the Gators took their biggest lead of the game after Potts scored in the paint at 47-42. From there you saw Greenville march to the free throw line for most of the quarter as they scored 9 of their 16 points from the charity stripe. The biggest shot of quarter came from Greenville senior Israel Deaver. Setting up in the left corner he hit the first three of the night for the Red Raiders to tie the game. Also, Coleman had a big quarter scoring seven points helping them to a three-point lead 58-55 with 10 seconds remaining in the contest. Needing a three to tie the game and force overtime coach Hall called time out to set up a final play for the Gators. They were inbounded the ball under Greenville’s basket and after getting the ball past half court they ran a play for Brown, who dribbled to the left and then launched a three the hit nothing but the bottom of the net to tie the game at 58-58. Greenville was unable to get a shot up and we were headed to overtime. The Gators found themselves down by three at 65-62 but Potts scored down low and then hit a free throw to send the game into a second over time. The second overtime was all Red Raiders as Deaver hit his second three, this time from the right side to start a 7-0 Red Raider run that the Gators had no answer for the run. The Red Raiders would hit 9-10 free throws to close out the game and bring the championship trophy back to Greenville. Greenville was led by Whitley with 24 points while Coleman dropped in 23 and Coleman and Tucker Scholl scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Brown finished with 27 points to join Potts as the only Gators in double figures.

Berkeley tops Greenwood 60-54 to win AAAAA Division II girls basketball state title

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • March 10, 2025
Stags become first AAAAA Division II champion with first ever state crown

Ridge View surges past Blythewood for 5A D1 state crown

By Worthy Evans • March 9, 2025
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer FLORENCE – Ridge View’s boys basketball team had played Region 5-5A rival Blythewood twice before—two double-digit victories punctuated the Blazers’ region season in early February. On Friday night, the Blazers added a third victory over the Bengals, a 71-47 win that secured the 5A Division 1 state championship at the Florence Center. “I’m really happy for the young men because they bought into what we’re doing,” Ridge View head coach Josh Staley said. “It’s all about experience when you lead young people, you want to give them experiences to help them grow and be better people, and they bought into the process.” Junior guards Korie Corbett and Yale Davis led the way for the Blazers (23-7). Corbett scored a game-high 23 points and Davis added 13 points. “It was really just rebounds and getting to the basket, being down and dirty with everybody so my team can get the win” Corbett said. He was 8-for-11 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line, and got a team-leading seven rebounds and four steals.  “That’s just who he is. He puts the work in, he’s a humble young man who accepts coaching,” Staley said of Corbett. “He does things like he does tonight and we’re not surprised by it.” The win is the second straight state championship for Ridge View, which won the 4A state title last year before moving to the 5A classification. It’s the fifth state championship for the Blazers since 2018. Ridge View jumped to a 7-0 lead off of a Corbett jumper, two foul shots from Malachi Cooper and one foul shot from Treyvon Smith , and a basket from Reginald Mack . Blythewood finally got on the scoreboard with Torrean Sims’ 3-point play at the 4:05 mark of the first quarter. Sims later scored on a dunk to make it 7-5, and Mujahid Jones drained a 3-pointer with 2:58 left to give Blythewood an 8-7 lead. It was the Bengals’ only lead of the game. Seven seconds later, Corbett went to the foul line and sank two free throws to give Ridge View a 9-8 lead. From that point Ridge View’s furious man-to-man coverage flustered Blythewood’s offense. The Bengals shot just 17-for-54, or 31.5 percent. The Blazers ended the first quarter with a 17-11 advantage and outscored the Bengals 13-7 in the second quarter to carry a 30-20 lead into intermission. In the second half Blythewood lost two players to foul trouble—Sims, who fouled out at the 4:25 mark of the third, and Kemuel Little , who fouled out in the 6:42 mark of the fourth. Starting forward Tyler Stephens played with four fouls on him since early in the third quarter. Even with being in foul trouble, the Bengals kept trying to get the ball in the net. At the start of the fourth quarter Little’s layup cut Ridge View’s lead to 46-35. Seeing a score to start the fourth quarter may have given some hope for Blythewood fans, who saw the Bengals rally late for a 46-45 upper-state victory over Dorman the week before. Ridge View blotted that hope out awfully fast. The Blazers went on a 20-4 scoring run to take a 66-39 lead with 1:50 left, and afterward brought in the second-stringers to finish the game. “That’s how you prepare. You prepare to play a whole game, and the work you put in comes out in moments like this,” Staley said. Davis, who scored all his points in the second half, said he put the pressure on himself to improve over the third and fourth quarters. “In the first half I knew my shots weren’t falling, so I had to get to the rack and get my teammates involved,” Davis said. “I just did what I needed to.” Senior T.J. Lewis was the only player who scored in double figures for the Bengals (23-6). Lewis had 17 points, while the rest of his teammates scored six points or less. “It was a really great run,” head coach Zeke Washington said. “We rode our seniors as much as we could. T.J. had a phenomenal year and our seniors played hard. We had some young kids that played hard.” Friday night was Blythewood’s second state championship game. The Bengals fell to Dorman in the 5A state title matchup in 2017. Washington won state titles with Fairfield Central boys (3A) in 1998 and with Chester girls (3A) in 2004. Blythewood 13 7 13 14 – 47 Ridge View 17 13 16 25 – 71 B – T.J. Lewis 17, Tyler Stephens 6, Torrean Sims 6, Kemuel Little 5, Mujahid Jones 5, Terrion Mack 4, Eugenio Bandini 2, Elijah Major 2. R – Korie Corbett 23, Yale Davis 13, Malachi Cooper 9, Talon Staley 8, Robert Wylie 7, Brayden Mack 5, Reginald Mack 3, Joshua Vankallen 2, Treyvon Smith 1.

Blythewood girls capture first state crown

By Worthy Evans • March 9, 2025
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer FLORENCE – Around this time three years ago, the Blythewood girls basketball team finished the season 0-19. On Friday night at the Florence Center, the Bengals won the 5A Division I state championship with a 62-59 victory over lower-state champion Summerville . “Their hard work has definitely paid off,” second-year head coach Emily McElveen - Schaeffer said. “That was what I was most proud of, that they worked hard since June, day in and day out, fall ball, and I’m glad they get to reap the benefit of that.” Over the past three years India Williams , Chase Thomas , and Hayley Hightower have developed into team leaders, and it showed on the court and in the box score Friday night—Williams led Blythewood (29-2) with 22 points, Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Hightower had 11 points. “It means a lot, this is the first state title in, like ever,” Williams said. “It’s a great opportunity to be a part of this, and in only my third year here, it’s incredible. We started off working very hard, and we were like, this is our season, and we definitely came out and performed to that.” It was a Williams-Thomas-Hightower show against the Green Wave (24-4) in the first half. The veterans got around Summerville’s 3-2 zone by hitting six 3-pointers in the first half, which was just enough to help the Bengals to a 29-25 halftime lead. Thomas had just four points in the first half, a free throw and a 3-pointer. Williams had 14 points in the first half, but just one layup to join her four 3-pointers. “She stepped up big in the first half,” Schaeffer said of Williams. “She had the first six points of the game from that corner. The corner 3, that’s her shot.” Hightower scored nine points in the first half—a 3-pointer, two foul shots, and two layups. Hitting baskets from behind the 3-point line has been a trait for all Blythewood players this year, and Friday’s 3-pointers—four from Williams, one from Thomas and one from Hightower, proved to be the difference. “I play a little team. We have a lot of guards so we rely on that,” Schaeffer said. “We shoot a lot in practice. We knew they would come out in a zone and I told the girls to occupy the guards, get it to the corners and let us shoot the ball.” While the Green Wave’s zone prevented a lot of easy baskets, Blythewood did just enough in the second half to keep Summerville behind. “Like I told the girls, basketball is a game of runs,” Schaeffer said. “When teams go on runs you’ve got to be able to control those runs. You can’t let the atmosphere take over, because in this kind of atmosphere here, the crowd’s gonna be involved. I think we did a good job of responding to their runs.” Aniyah Guerrero sank the first basket of the second half to give the Bengals a 31-25 lead, but Cailah Tucker and Molly Daugherty put up baskets to cut that margin to two. Williams made good on a jumper and a foul shot, and a jumper from Hightower brought Blythewood’s lead back up to 36-29 at the 4:53 mark of the third quarter. The Bengals outscored Summerville 9-8 the rest of the way to end three quarters of play with a 45-37 lead, even with senior point guard Sharron Waters on the bench in foul trouble. Without Waters, who’s a consistent 3-point hitter as well as a good ball-handler, the team relied on Thomas in the paint and at the free-throw line, and Daniella Bosmans who had nine points in the game, as the game drew to a close. “Our team is more than one person,” second-year head coach Emily McElveen-Schaeffer said. “We rely on each other and Chase had to do her role tonight, and in the fourth quarter they went man, and we could open up against what we’re used to playing all year, and that just shows that all five on the court can go.” Bosmans’ basket early in the fourth gave the Bengals a 47-37 lead, the first double-digit lead of the game. Thomas, who had a 3-point play in the third quarter, made good on another 3-point play in the fourth quarter that put Blythewood up 57-45 with just over three minutes to go. She scored 11 points—seven from foul shots—in the final quarter to help preserve the win. Tucker’s 3-pointer with 19 seconds left was the last score of the game, and as Molly Daugherty’s 3-point attempt failed at the buzzer, Blythewood players cleared the bench in celebration of closing out the season with a victory. Molly Daugherty scored 22 points and Tucker had 18 points to lead Summerville. “One of the things I felt that hurt us was that we had like 10 days off,” Green Wave head coach Calvin Davis said. “But we gave it our all, we left it all on the floor. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, but in the end they grew, and they became special in that sense of being developed.” Summerville’s five seniors, tucker, Lavassar, Emma and Molly Daugherty, and Madison Thomas , provided a strong foundation for the team over the past three years. “Three of them will go on to play at the next level, and the other two might,” Davis said. “They’re very special to me. They’ve been with me for at least three to four years. I love them, they grew up as my leaders.” Blythewood 16 13 16 17 – 62 Summerville 13 12 12 19 – 56 B – India Williams 22, Chase Thomas 18, Hayley Hightower 11, Daniella Bosmans 9, Aniya Guerrero 2. S – Molly Daugherty 22, Cailah Tucker 18, Jayden Bennett 5, Emma Daugherty 4, Madison Thomas 3, Krissa Lavassar 2, Destinee Grant 2.

Atlantic Collegiate Academy holds off High Point Academy 58-52 to claim first state championship

By Neill Kirkpatrick • March 8, 2025
By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Florence – When you have two evenly matched teams a lot of times it is the little things that make the most impact in a game such was the case in the Class AA state championship game between Atlantic Collegiate Academy and High Point Academy . Second year Atlantic Collegiate Academy was able to make more plays and hit their free throws as they knocked off High Point Academy 58-52 Saturday at the Florence Civic Center to capture their first state championship. “This is the guys championship. They earned it. They put in a lot of time and effort at work end in a championship. That is what I’m most proud of with this team, ” said Atlantic Collegiate head coach Tanner Massey . The Armanda went 20-2 last year in their initial season beating some the best teams in the state so this run to a championship was not unexpected. This team was ranked number one in class AA all season and they proved they were the best. They finished the year at 24-3. “The rankings proved right as the two best teams battled for the title. I would put my team up against anyone,” Coach Massey said. The Grizzlies were looking for their second state championship and first at the AA level. They won the class A title in 2019. They finish the year 27-4. “We made two many mistakes and didn’t take advantage of our opportunities at the line but they forced us into some of the mistakes so give them a lot of credit,” said High Point head coach Lee Sator . The opening quarter was back and forth with High Point leading by one at 16-15. Senior Chonci Miller led High Point with five point while Atlantic Collegiate was led by Jaylen Bellamy, who also knocked down five points in the quarter. The second quarter was much like the first with neither team gaining control of the contest as they were tied at 21 when a TV time out stopped play. After the timeout, the Armada took control as they went on an 11-0 run to end the quarter and take a 32-21 lead into the half. Bellamy continued to lead the Armada as he had six points in the quarter with Jamie Brooks and Justin Bellamy combining for 8 points. High Point came out on fire in the third quarter as Trapp Morman nailed to three-pointers and Miller had a basket for an 8-0 run to start the quarter cutting the Atlantic lead to three at 32-29 with 5:54. Causing coach Massey to use a time out. “We knew they would come out strong in the third quarter. We called the timeout to settle us down and I put Justin back in the game because he is our defensive stopper and as soon as he went in he forced a turnover,” coach Massey. After Justin Bellamy forced the turnover the Armada went on a 5-0 run to regain control of the game. They would finish the quarter outscoring the Grizzlies 11-6 taking a 43-35 into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter High Point cut the lead to four at 46-42 with 2:01 to go but they would got 4 for 10 from the line in the quarter while Atlantic Collegiate would knock down 13 of 22 attempts from the line to maintain their cushion and ultimately close out the game 58-52. Free throw shooting proved to the biggest difference in the game as the Armada went 17 for 25 while the Grizzlies were 13 for 26. The Armada and the Grizzlies were about even in every other category but the free throws were the difference. The Armada was led by Jaylen Bellamy, who had a game high 20 points to go with six rebounds and a team high four steals. Brooks had 14 points and team three blocks while Clayton Hemingway chipped in 9 points. The Grizzlies were led by Morman with 16 points. Also, scoring in double figures were Jaden McNeil with 11 and Miller with 10.

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