Senior RB Kinson Holland making the yardage for Hammond.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – With the 2024 football season drawn to a close, several Midlands teams had much to celebrate. Region 4-5A rivals Dutch Fork and Irmo reached the two SCHSL 5A state championship games in December. The Silver Foxes celebrated their ninth state championship after beating Summerville 35-21 in the Division 1 game and Irmo fell 34-31 against Northwestern in the Division 2 game. In November SCISA power Hammond won its eighth straight state championship with a 28-21 victory over Porter Gaud in the 4A final game. Richard Winn outplayed Laurens Academy 43-6 for the 8-man state championship, its first since 2014. Other notable playoff performances include Fairfield Central , which reached the 2A upper state championship game at Clinton , and Batesburg-Leesville , which had a surprising 12-1 season following its 5-6 effort in 2023. It was the Panthers’ first winning season since 2019. Dutch Fork claims ninth state championship The Silver Foxes made the regular season and playoffs look easy. With a roster heavy with 31 seniors hardened from a difficult yet successful 2023 state title win, Dutch Fork blew through the competition, never falling behind racking up six shutouts and outscoring opponents 474-73 going into the championship game. Summerville (13-1) gave the Silver Foxes a shock in the 5A Division 1 state championship game Dec. 13 when it went up 14-6 early in the second quarter. “Just stay the course,” Tom Knotts told the team by that point. “We knew there were some things we could do and we were shooting ourselves in the foot, we were letting our emotions take over, and we did some things really I thought were uncharacteristic of the way we played this year. We played in the first half like it was our first game of the year.” Dutch Fork did get things straight. Junior quarterback Ethan Offing connected with senior Boykin Bickley for a 19-yard touchdown pass, and then found Jalen Montgomery in the end zone for the game-tying 2-point conversion. B.J. Platts later powered into the end zone from eight yards out to give the Silver Foxes a 21-14 lead at the half. Offing found Bickley again for a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-14 in the third quarter. After Summerville responded with a third-quarter touchdown, Platts’ 38-yard TD run with two minutes left in the game secured the win for the Silver Foxes. “This is a very deserving senior group,” Knotts said. “I wasn’t pleased with the way we won, we played with a lot of effort and the game just got a little chippy for my liking but we did come out with a ‘W’ which is always a great thing.” Two senior defenders, Georgia Tech commit and cornerback/strong safety Elgin Sessions and South Carolina commit Josh Smith made the South Carolina Football Coaches Association’s All-Classification All-State team. Four seniors, running back Maurice Anderson , offensive lineman Cayden McFadden , defensive back Derek Smith and wide receiver K.J. Smith were selected to the 5A All-State Team. Late FG lifts Northwestern over Irmo in 5A Division 2 final Much like its crosstown rival, Irmo (12-2) breezed through the regular season under the leadership of passing and running quarterback A.J. Brand . The Virginia Tech commit passed for 2,600 yards and 21 touchdowns, and rushed for 2,029 yards and 27 touchdowns this season. The Yellow Jackets’ only slip was a 24-14 loss at Dutch Fork Nov. 8 to close out the regular season. The Yellow Jackets beat Chapin and West Florence convincingly, then hung on to beat White Knoll 29-25 to reach the 5A Division 2 championship game against unbeaten Northwestern Dec. 14. The Yellow Jackets led 17-10 after a Matthew Fish field goal early in the third quarter, but Brand ran for a touchdown to tie the game. After Irmo forced a turnover on downs, Brand rushed 20 yards for another score to put the Yellow Jackets up 24-17 early in the fourth quarter. Irmo’s first and only lead of the game was short-lived. Quarterback Finley Polk connected with Kameron Vance for two touchdowns to take a 31-24 lead with about four minutes to go. Brand, who finished the night 12-for-17 in passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns, and with 21 carries for 168 yards and two scores, connected with Donovan Murph for the game-tying touchdown pass in the final minute. Murph, who committed to South Carolina Jan. 2, had eight catches for 123 yards and two TDs. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, Polk led the team 70 yards to the Irmo 10-yard line in that time. Fish lined up for a 27-yard field goal and hit it as time expired. “I know they hurt and I hurt also,” Coach Brand said. “We’ve got a bunch of winners. We’ve got a bunch of playmakers and our playmakers made plays. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough stops and that early turnover. “Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you, and tonight was not our night and they got us at the end,” he added. “There's something to be said about going perfect all year. It is what it is. I don’t want to take anything away from them, but I wish we could get a couple of those drives back.” Murph, who had 1,328 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, made the All-Classification All State team, along with offensive lineman Ryan Love and Brand. Brand was selected for the all-purpose spot because of his passing and running for 4,629 total yards and 57 total touchdowns. Irmo reached the Division 2 championship by eliminating region rival White Knoll 29-25 Dec. 6. The Timberwolves finished the season 8-6. Defensive back Devin Geronomi made the All-Classification All-State team. Quarterback Landon Sharpe made the 5A All-State team. Hammond’s game-winning drive clinches eighth straight state championship The Hammond football team edged Porter Gaud 28-21 in the closing minute of the game Nov. 22 to claim yet another state championship, but the Skyhawks’ eighth straight state title and 22 nd in school history did not come easily. After Porter Gaud’s game-tying score and a Hammond fumble that nearly spelled disaster, the 13-0 Skyhawks made good on Andrew Turner’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Michael Tyler with 45 seconds left. “Just so proud of this group, their resilience, their fight,” Hammond head coach Jon Wheeler said after the game. “We’ve been down at halftime in three of our last four state championship games. This team is battle-tested and they rise to the occasion.” Porter Gaud tied the game at 21 on Tony Brown’s 1-yard touchdown run—the first play of the fourth quarter. The Cyclones drained the clock on that 51-yard drive, using 15 plays to tie the game with just under 12 minutes to go. Hammond lost the football on the next possession, which set Porter Gaud on the Skyhawks’ 17-yard line. Poised to take their first lead of the game, the Cyclones actually had a touchdown play shortly after taking over, but the play was called back for a holding penalty. After that flag, the Hammond defense forced Porter Gaud so far back that it had to punt from the Hammond 38. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of a defense because we were outmatched up front,” Wheeler said. “I’ve got to give credit to our defense for just fighting and fighting. I’m just so proud of them.” That stand gave the break that the Skyhawks offense needed to close out the game. They went 80 yards and drained the rest of the fourth quarter on the drive. When it came time for points on the board, Wheeler said he knew what play to run. “We haven’t tried a 40-yard field goal all year. Let’s put it in the hands of our senior quarterback, our senior offense, our skill players,” he said. “Let’s see if we can hit a pass and it’s déjà vu with Mike Tyler. And if we missed it, they’ve got 40 seconds and one time out, and they’re a running team, it’d go to overtime. Mike T and Andrew made a play, the offensive line protected, and that drive was unbelievable.” It was the second straight year that a Turner-to-Tyler connection won the state championship. Hammond beat Laurence Manning 28-21 in 2023. RWA claims first state football title since 2014 Richard Winn Academy’s surprise of a season ended on a happily unsurprising note Nov. 22 with a 43-6 victory over Laurens Academy at Wyman King Academy’s football field. Senior quarterback Charlie Bonds closed out his high school career rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and passing for 155 yards and two scores. As head coach Paul Brigman explained, as Charlie Bonds and his fellow seniors go, so goes the team. “It’s the leadership that we got from those senior guys most of all. Charlie Bonds has been one of our best guys,” Brigman said. “Charlie has led the team from ninth grade on and this group’s been together for a long time. They’ve been a joy to coach and so receptive to coaching and just wanting to get better. In the end it turned out like we wanted it to. It was a great win.” The Eagles (12-0) ran straight through the regular season with none of their games even close. Richard Winn’s dominance throughout the year was reminiscent of the school’s back-to-back 2A state championships in 1995-1996 under head coach David Porter . “We got the ball and scored and went from there. It’s kind of our plan the whole time,” Bonds said. “We couldn’t have done much better, I’ll say that.” Bonds led the offense throughout the year. Bonds went 52-for-69 in passing for 1,406 yards, 23 touchdowns and no interceptions, and rushing 107 times for 1,226 yards and 22 TDs. FC falls to Clinton in 2A upper state championship Fairfield Central’s drive to reach a state championship game for the first time in 27 years fell one game short. The Griffins, who won 12 straight games after a season-opening loss to 5A Ridge View, fell 32-21 to Clinton Friday night at the Red Devils’ Wilder Stadium. “If you would have told me back in May that we would have made it to the upper state championship, I would’ve looked at you like you was crazy,” 14-year head coach Demetrius Davis said about his team’s surprise year in which the Griffins caught fire early and outscored opponents 587-199 going into the Clinton game. “This team played like heck. This defense played, and let me tell you, man, I’m super proud of these kids,” Davis added. Senior running back and Shrine Bowl pick Ty’Darion Grier , who had 1,983 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns going into Friday, led Fairfield Central with 212 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Quarterback Kaden Diggs , who had 655 passing yards and 607 rushing yards before Friday, had a 19-yard touchdown run and 76 yards on 13 carries. B-L falls to Red Devils in 3 rd Round Although falling 31-14 to Clinton in the third round of the playoffs Nov. 29, Batesburg-Leesville celebrated a reawakening of its football team that has won five state championships. Since going 8-8 in 2019, The Panthers have won 15 out of 34 games going into the 2024 season. Greg Lawson , in his third season as head coach of Batesburg-Leesville, saw his team blossom. The Panthers showed themselves to be prolific scorers, outscoring opponents 493-21 on the year. The defense threw six shutouts. Batesburg-Leesville won the Region 2-2A championship easily, and blasted Columbia 42-6 and Andrew Jackson 49-14 in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Only Clinton, which went on to rout Barnwell 35-6 in the 2A state championship game Dec. 12, got the best of the Panthers. At 12-1, Batesburg-Leesville’s record is the best since 2013, when the Panthers went 12-2 and won the 2A state championship under Jerry Brown. RNE’s Wilson claims Mr. Football title Will Wilson , a wily and prolific quarterback who singlehandedly led Richland Northeast to an 8-4 record, was selected as the 30 th recipient of the South Carolina Mr. Football award. He is the 11 th quarterback to win the award. Wilson received the recognition at halftime of the Touchstone energy Cooperatives Bowl at Myrtle Beach’s Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium Dec. 21. Wilson, a North Carolina State signee, completed 66.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,482 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,144 yards and 20 touchdowns. He missed two games after having his knee scoped. Other finalists for the award were Westside quarterback Cutter Woods , Rock Hill wide receiver Malik Clark , Belton-Honea Path running back Marquiese Henderson , and Gaffney offensive lineman Shed Sarratt . Midlands Top 10 1. Dutch Fork (13-0, 5-0 Region 4-5A) 2. Irmo (13-2, 4-1 Region 4-5A) 3. River Bluff (10-3, 3-2 Region 4-5A) 4. Batesburg-Leesville (12-1, 5-0 Region 2-2A) 5. Fairfield Central (12-2, 4-0 Region 3-2A) 6. Hammond (13-0, 7-0 SCISA Region 4A) 7. Camden (9-3, 4-2 Region 3-4A) 8. Ridge View (8-5, 5-1 Region 5-5A) 9. Newberry (7-4, 4-0 Region 4-3A) 10. AC Flora (8-4, 4-2 Region 3-4A)

North Charleston - In the immortal words of former wrestling superstar Ric Flair, “To be the man, you have to beat the man.” Porter-Gaud took on Hammond School i n the SCISA Class AAAA state championship game on Friday night, looking to snap Hammond’s seven-year run as the state champion. After four quarters of football, Hammond is still “the man.” But not without a fight. With the game tied at 21, the Skyhawks put together a game-winning 80-yard touchdown drive, scoring on Andrew Turner’s 23-yard pass to Michael Tyler with :45 seconds remaining in the game to win, 28-21.Turner threw three touchdown passes, two on fourth down. Hi finished with 150 yards passing on five completions. Hammond used 12 plays on the winning drive and Turner’s pass came on fourth down and six yards to go for a first down. “Just so proud of this group, their resilience, their fight,” Hammond head coach Jon Wheeler said. “We’ve been down at halftime in three of our last four state championship games. This team is battle-tested and they rise to the occasion.” Hammond’s winning drive came after the Skyhawks defense came up with a huge defensive stop. Porter-Gaud recovered a bad snap on Hammond’s 17-yard line earlier in the quarter but was unable to score. The Cyclones had a touchdown pass negated by a holding penalty on third down from the 15 and ended up punting from the 38-yard line after two penalties and two plays for negative yardage. “Obviously that was huge for us,” Wheeler said. “To keep them from scoring and keep it tied, it gave us a chance,” Porter-Gaud running back JJ Fludd finished the game with 129 yards rushing and the Cyclones topped 200 yards on the ground for the game. Hammond looked every bit the part of a seven-time defending state champion on the opening drive of the game. The Skyhawks went 66 yards on 10 plays, scoring on Immanuel Johnson’s eight-yard touchdown run with 7:02 remaining in the first quarter. Johnson rushed for 63 yards in the game. Kinson Holland added 98 yards on the ground. Porter-Gaud did what they do best on their first possession, running the football. On their third offensive snap, Fludd went 83 yards on an option pitch to tie the game at 7-7/ After forcing a punt, the Cyclones’ offense went back to work with the ground game. Fludd and Tony Brown shouldered the load on a 14-play, 81-yard drive that ended with Fludd’s three-yard run with 8:04 left in the second quarter. The Skyhawks answered with an 11-play drive on their next possession. Facing a fourth-and-10 from the Porter-Gaud 23-yard line, Turner hit Jack Croft across the middle in the end zone for a game-tying touchdown with 2:56 left in the half. Hammond finished the first half with 175 total yards while Porter-Gaud totaled 169 yards, all on the ground. Fludd rushed for 108 yards in the first two quarters. Hammond grabbed the lead on their first possession of the third quarter. On third-and-nine from their own 31, Turner hit Johnson on a screen pass that Johnson turned into a 69-yard touchdown for a 21-14 lead. Porter-Gaud again had an answer, using 15 run plays on a 51-yard drive with Brown scoring on a one-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Brown had nine carries on the drive. The Cyclones had another answer, however, using up eight minutes of the clock to drive 51 yards on 15 plays with Brown doing the honors on a one-yard scoring run. Brown had nine carries on the drive. Porter-Gaud was playing in their first title game since 2015. “I said it last week, until someone beats them they are the team,” Porter-Gaud head coach Brad Bowles said. “They are a good football team. We had a good football team. I am so proud of the kids. They gave it all they hard and they deserved to be here. But we didn’t come here to play a good game. We came to win so we’re obviously disappointed.”

Hammond's Michael Tyler lays out for the game winning TD catch!

Hammond's Michael Tyler in action during the 2023 SCISA Class AAAA win.

It's a big weekend for high school football. SCISA holds their Championship Weekend starting tonight with two games in different parts of the state. And, the SCHSL playoff round gets one step closer the final playoff round before their big Championship Weekend. SCISA's state title games for Friday night: At W.W. King Academy with kickoff at 7:30pm , the 8-man title game pits Laurens Academy vs. Richard Winn At Charleston Southern with kickoff at 7pm , the Class AAAA title game pits Hammond vs Porter Gaud SCISA's state title games for Saturday : all games at Charleston Southern University Kicking off at 12-Noon , Class A featuring Thomas Heyward vs. Williamsburg Academy Kicking off at 3:30pm , Class AA featuring Pee Dee vs. Bethesda Academy Kicking off at 7:30pm , Class AAA featuring Wilson Hall vs. Pinewood Prep The SCHSL will hold their Championship Weekend Dec 14th and 15th at South Carolina State's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, SC. If there is a time for upsets, it's this weekend. See how your team stacks up this week in our exclusive prognostication feature, Doodles Doodles . This season the predictions are right 78.6% of the time with a record of 1089-313-2 .

Hammond's senior RB Immanuel Johnson (5-10, 190) looking for more yards.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - Well into SCISA Region 4A competition, Hammond football is hitting all of its marks. The Skyhawks’ dominance was in full view Friday at homecoming, when the perpetual SCISA 4A state champions handled 2023 state runner-up Laurence Manning 65-14 at Edens Stadium. Quarterback Andrew Turner led the Skyhawks (6-0, 3-0) with 200 yards passing, two touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground. He needed just 10 completed passes to give Hammond a decided edge. Five Skyhawk rushers had 181 yards and six touchdowns. Aspen Brooks hit a field goal and defender Preston Springs pounced on a loose ball in the end zone after a high snap on a punt. “It was exciting to see the execution offensively and defensively,” Skyhawks head coach Jon Wheeler said. “You’ve got to hand it to their offensive coordinator Patrick Anderson , he did a heck of a job with shifts and motions, different formations and they made some good plays, but I feel like our defense handled it well for the most part. I’m very proud of our guys.” The Skyhawks essentially knocked out an opponent early in the game, but Wheeler said that the final score concealed the need for the team to grow and gel for the postseason. “There were a couple of drives where we hurt ourselves defensively, there’s some execution stuff that we can clean up defensively,” Wheeler said. “Offensively, we’ve got to punch it in early, instead of a field goal. But you know, not too many complaints about that. After that, it was boom-boom-boom. I’m very proud of them.” Hammond outscored opponents 300-92 this season, with four games to go. The Skyhawks face Augusta Christian Friday, travel to Northwood Academy Oct. 18, Ben Lippen Oct. 25, and are at Cardinal Newman Nov. 1. In cross country , the Hammond girls are running strong behind sophomore Megan Joye and junior Emme Crosland . Joye and Crosland led the girls team to a fifth-place finish in the Skyhawk Invitational Aug. 17, with Crosland finishing in fourth place with a time of 19 minutes, 31.0 seconds and Joye finishing sixth with a time of 19:34.06. The boys finished the event in 10 th place with sophomore Charlie Webb as top finisher with a 28 th -place time of 18:27.72. At the Lake Murray Invitational Sept. 21, the girls took 19 th place and the boys finished 22nd. Joye was the top finisher at 18 th with a time of 19:28.19. Webb finished a team-high 66 th with a time of 17:54.29. The Pelion Invitational Sept. 25 th was a pleasant surprise for both teams. The girls finished third and the boys finished ninth. Joye took second place with a time of 20:07.47, followed by junior Crosland at sixth with a 20:33.36 time. Webb led the boys with a 10 th -place finish at 18:02.05 . “Last night was a really good night for the girls, and Charlie had a great finish in a really big race,” head coach Noelle Schuch said.” The girls team finished fifth and the boys finished 11 th in the Highlander Invitational at Heathwood Hall Saturday, a precursor to the SCISA 4A state meet that will be held at the school Oct. 26. Before then the Skyhawks will run in a region meet Oct. 15.

Hammond Head Coach Jon Wheeler holding a pep talk with his team