Goose Creek's Shane Potts in action.

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.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR GOOSE CREEK – Goose Creek High School’s football team pulled out a victory in its Region 7-5A opener Oct. 4, holding off visiting Wando High School, 21-20. With the win, Goose Creek improved to 3-3 overall and moved to 1-0 in the region. The Gators travel to Berkeley Oct. 11 before hosting Lucy Beckham and Cane Bay Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. They complete the region slate Nov. 1 at defending league champion Stratford . “The goal is to win the region and go undefeated in the region,” Gators coach Jason Winstead said. “We’ve been better on defense this season and if we keep playing that way, we’ll give ourselves a chance on Friday nights.” Against the Warriors, running back Trevon Goss rushed for 82 yards and scored a touchdown. Jahvae Bowman added 58 yards on the ground. Through the air, quarterback Kymani Clary threw for 144 yards and connected with Teru Davis and Micah Adams on touchdown passes. Davis led Gators receivers with 72 yards. Adams finished with 46 yards and Jaylin Grant chipped in 26 yards. Wando rallied from a 21-6 deficit in the fourth quarter to make it close. Winstead was impressed with the improvement the Warriors have made under first-year coach Isaiah Perrin. “Wando is playing hard and they’re a much better football team than they were last year,” Winstead said. “I’m really impressed with their quarterback. We have some good quarterbacks in the Lowcountry. We have played at least three games just like Friday night and lost the first two at the end. I was proud of the guys for making the plays we needed to win.” Winstead was referring to a 21-20 loss to Fort Dorchester and 10-7 loss to James Island. Goose Creek is still playing without reigning region player of the year, running back Meliq McGowan . The junior has been out with an injury. Winstead hopes to get McGowan back soon. “Meliq is such a playmaker and it’s been a struggle without him,” Winstead said, “but Trevon has stepped up and done a good job.” Goss leads the Gators with 406 yards rushing on the season. He’s scored three touchdowns. McGowan had 274 yards rushing and five touchdowns before his injury. Clary has passed for 708 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for 289 yards and three scores.

Goose Creek – Sometimes a coaching staff needs a little shakeup. Goose Creek head football coach Jason Winstead looked into his program and made what he feels are necessary changes to his 2024 coaching staff. Winstead is not one to pass blame around but says he felt the need to change some coaching personnel in hopes that the Gators will be improved this fall. “It happens sometimes,” said Winstead, heading into his seventh season as head coach. “I have to look at what’s available and decide if the new guys can make a difference. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t. I just felt we needed to be a better team if we want to compete for a region title and beyond.” The biggest changes on the football staff will come on the defensive side. The Gators gave up more than 30 points per game last season. Stepping in as defensive coordinator is Ben Lailson, a well-known defensive coach in the area. Lailson spent several years at Timberland High and also coached at Philip Simmons. He was most recently the head coach at Stall but had little to no success. “The guy can coach defense,” Winstead said. “He will coach the linemen and call the shots. He has a very good football mind and I think our defense will be improved.” Lailson also will take over as the varsity softball coach in the spring, according to athletic director Troy Johnson. Another new defensive coach, Lee Taylor, brings more than 30 years of experience and will coach outside linebackers. Taylor, a former player at Charleston Southern, has spent the majority of his coaching career at several prominent programs in the Upstate. “We got lucky with Lee,” Winstead said. “He has grandkids down here and he and his wife wanted to be closer to them. It worked out great for us.” Returning assistant Joe Marion, another veteran, will move to coach inside linebackers this fall. DeAndre Daniels, a former star player at Goose Creek, is joining the varsity staff in the secondary. Another returning coach, Booker Peake, is moving up from the jayvee program and will coach running backs. That position includes junior Melig McGowans, one of the top 2026 backs in the state. Joey Still returns as the offensive line coach with four returning starters. Johnson also announced the hiring of Vincent Messineo as the new varsity girls soccer. Returning as varsity head coaches are Blake Hall (boys basketball), Jabari Deas (girls basketball), Kirk Rebuck (baseball), Chris and Amanda Cooper (cross country), Joey Still (boys golf), James Taylor (girls golf), Nick Brammer (boys soccer), Paula Spagnolia (girls tennis), Willie Nearhood (wrestling) and Irish Bamba (volleyball).

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Summerville — One day after a hard-fought loss to arch-rival Fort Dorchester (5-4), the Summerville Green Wave girls’ soccer team defeated Goose Creek , 5-2 and will now prepare for a first-round playoff game at Cane Bay on April, 30. Senior tri-captain Mary Morgan Lewis made some scrap-book memories in her final two regular season games for the Green Wave. The talented “left-footed” striker left it all on the field against the Patriots, scoring a Hat-trick with three goals, while often being double teamed. Lewis followed that accomplishment up with two goals against Goose Creek 24 hours later on John McKissick Field . “Last night’s game against the Fort was exhausting, and I came into this game today with tired legs and bruises all over my body, but you have to want it, and you have to keep going,” said Lewis who hopes to walk-on to the team (or play Club Soccer) at South Carolina next season. “I am a very competitive player and I love to win. “I know sometimes, in my desire to win, I might take it out on my team as a captain, but I hate to lose and I love the game of soccer,” said Lewis. “I have been playing soccer for the past 11 years and I just do not want this season to end.” Lewis leads the Green Wave in goals for the season as she scored her 16 th and 17 th goals of the season against the Gators. Lewis joined the varsity program at Summerville High late in her freshman season. She has been a three-year starter for the Green Wave and she was named all-region in her sophomore and junior seasons. She is an All-State candidate this season. After the win over Goose Creek, Summerville head coach Mandy Holcomb (who played under retired Drew McNealey at West Ashley High) commented on the game, and on the leadership of tri-captains Lewis, mid-fielder Meghan Donoghue , and mid-fielder Logan Kelly . “You always worry about playing a game the next day after a very competitive game like we had against Fort Dorchester last night,” said Coach Holcomb now in her third year coaching the team. “Even after we got down 2-0, I knew our girl’s had a lot of trust in each other and it was still early in the game. Much of this sport is a mentality thing and I had confidence in this team getting more mentally focused after getting down early.” Coach Holcomb talked about the team’s captains. “Mary Morgan brings a lot of energy to the game and she leads this team both on- and- off the field,” said Coach Holcomb. “On the field it is always about the goals she scores. Mary Morgan has also been a good role model for our younger players coming up. We have a lot of youth on the team. “Meghan plays center- mid along with our other captain Logan Kelly and they are able to dominate in the middle,” said Coach Holcomb. “Meghan is dynamic in that she is all over place and she is hard to nail down. Logan is cool, calm and collected and she is the yang to Mary Morgan’s yang. I rely on Logan to control the middle.” Freshman Mary Bryce Nye had a hat trick of three goals against Goose Creek and she has a bright future in the sport. The Green Wave goalie is sophomore Addison Rollinson and she is consistent with her towering major college boots “high down the field” on a consistent basis. Goose Creek head coach Chris Cooper told the HSSR after the game, “We were leading 2-0 before our striker ( Maya Gonzales ) went out with an ankle injury,” said Coach Cooper. “She is our leader on offense so losing her was a blow to the team.” Gonalez scored the first goal of the game just two minutes into the game when she made a heads-up play beating the goalie to the ball in front of the goal for an easy score. The other goal for Goose Creek was scored by senior team captain Kamily Santanna who also assisted on the first goal. Summerville rallied for five straight goals after being down 2-0. At the 17:02 mark of the first half Lewis scored on a break-away from a cross-over assist from Nye to cut the deficit to 2-1. With 1:30 left in the first half, Nye tied the score at 2 off of a penalty kick. Summerville dominated the second half and the Green Wave kept the ball on their offensive side of the field for the second half. At the 30:09 mark of the second half Nye scored on a header off a corner kick to give Summerville a 3-2 lead. At the 18:49 mark of the second half, Lewis scored on an unassisted “streak shot” from the right side using her strong left-foot to arc over the goalie’s head into the back of the net to give her team a 4-2 lead. Nye scored the final goal of the game at the 11:08 mark of the game on an unassisted goal from the left side of the field.