HSSR Class A Football Ranking - (Entering Week 12 of Season, 11-14-2025) 1. Bamberg-Ehrhardt 11-0 (597-49) 2. Abbeville 9-2 (480-129) 3. Carvers Bay 10-0 (319-113) 4. Cross 9-1 (364-53) 5. HKT 9-2 (502-136) 6. Lamar 9-2 (401-277) 7. Johnsonville 8-2 (282-169) 8. Ware Shoals 10-1 (398-164) 9. Latta 8-2 (348-185) 10. Lewisville 7-4 (371-189) 11. Scott’s Branch 8-2 (316-183) 12. Blackville-Hilda 6-5 (182-209) 13. Lake View 5-4 (187-146) 14. CA Johnson 6-5 (258-331) 15. Wagener-Salley 5-6 (153-300) By Billy G. Baker Publisher Moncks Corner — There were no major upsets at the top of the Class A food chain in the first round of the playoffs on November, 7. Now that there are 16 schools left hoping to punch their tickets to the gold medal round, the winning margins are going to tighten up, and round two games should be much more competitive. The goals of the 16 teams left are all the same; be 1-0 every week and eventually punch your team’s ticket to the Class A gold medal round scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday December 5 at South Carolina State University. (Be there and bring the whole town with you!) In the first week of the playoffs the HSSR number two ranked Abbeville (9-2) defeated Great Falls 63-0, and the “A” will now host Trent Usher’s Lewisville Lions team after the Lions drilled Whitmire 62-0 in the first round. These two teams met later in the playoffs last year with the Panthers winning easily. Abbeville will be seeking their 14 th overall state title this season. The Panthers earned number 13 last December in a 58-20 win over Cross . Last year’s Panther team was comprised of 27 seniors and this year’s team came into the 2025 season much younger but still loaded with home grown athletes. After his team’s season opening 42-0 win over Southside Christian , Coach Nickles told the HSSR, “We have a chance to be a really competitive football team. We have to keep working and improving. We’ll see how it goes.” Jaden Baylor took over the QB duties for Abbeville this season and he has improved with each game. Darius Riley is the team’s work horse at RB, and he started off the season with tackle breaking touchdowns runs of 71 and 67 yards in the season opener. Cole Driggers is a leader at left tackle in the offensive front. Top ranked Bamberg-Ehrhardt (11-0) has the distinction of being the most productive scoring offense in Class A, so far this season (597 points) and they also have the best scoring defense (49) in the state entering the playoffs. The Raiders will host Latta this week as a double-digit favorite. Latta advanced with a 34-14 win over Baptist Hill . Corey Crosby is in his 5 th season as the Raiders head coach and his team has now won 16 straight region games. His career record at B-E over this five- year period is 52-11 and the Raiders came into the 2025 season with 15 returning starters. A few impact B-E players include senior all-state WR Marcus Cann (6-2, 195) who is also a topflight DB. OL is one of the strengths of the team and three returners from last season have literally road graded the competition. They are center Michael Manigault (6-0,265), LG Jaden Moody (6-0,255), and junior RT Simeon Bamberg (5-11, 195). Carvers Bay is 10-0 and by Shrine Bowl OL Zyon Guiles (6-5, 295) who is committed to South Carolina. The Bears will host region rival Lake View this week in round two. They defeated Lake View 32-7 on October 10, but most observers feel like this game will be more competitive. The Bears advanced in round one with a 59-0 win over Allendale-Fairfax last week while the Wild Gators beat Hardeeville 28-6 to advance. In upper state Class A this week, Blackville-Hilda will host CA Johnson after getting by eliminating McCormick 15-0 last week. CA Johnson advanced on a 12-0 win over Calhoun County . Number five HSSR ranked HKT (9-2) HKT would love to be the Cinderella of Class A and claim the glass slipper at SC State in December. They eliminated Lee Central 56-14 in the first round and they are now ready to host a talented number 8 ranked Ware Shoals this week in one of the most competitive round two games in Class A. Ware Shoals advanced with a dominating 38-0 win over Ridge-Spring-Monetta last week. Number six Lamar (9-2) advanced with a 49-0 win over Calhoun Falls and the Silver Foxes will host Wagener-Salley this week, an upset winner over Dixie , 14-9 in round one. Remaining games amongst Lower State Class A teams include number four Cross (9-1), led by USC bound Caden Ramsey (6-5,200), hosting Bethune-Bowman . Cross had a bye in round one while Bethune-Bowman shut-out Ridgeland 38-0. Johnsonville and Scott’s Branch are teams with state championship experience, and the Flashes of Ken Cribb will travel to the Santee Lakes area this week in a game that should go down to the wire. Johnsonville advanced with a 48-14 win over Branchville while Scott’s Branch moved on with a 32-14 win over Hannah Pamplico .

Lake View's Jalen Clark.

Dillon's WR Zay Robertson in action in 2024.

Cross Coach Shaun Wright optimistic about this upcoming season.

Katelyn Johnson joins Berry on All-State team; Chayse Walters, Paisley Jackson also All-Region

By Joel Beachum Special Writer LATTA - As with any good championship softball game, there are two key components - clutch pitching and timely hitting. That is exactly what Latta (20-5) got on Wednesday night in a 5-2 victory over Lewisville to capture the Class A state title at home. Maddie Berry , the Wofford commit, started the game in the circle for Latta, but got injured in the fourth inning. She was replaced by Paisley Jackson , who normally plays right field. Jackson provided the energy to shut down the Lewisville (21-11) bats. Berry finished with nine strikeouts. Jackson added five strikeouts. Latta head softball coach Anna Rogers commented on how elated she was of the team's performance. "I'm so proud of these girls,” she said. “We've definitely played some tough competition, even in our region. That prepared us for this moment and we knew Lewisville was a good team. Their pitcher ( Sarah Owens ) is really strong." Junior catcher Samantha Townsend was the catalyst for the Lady Vikings, going 2-for-3 in the win with two singles, an RBI and one run scored. She also added a stolen base and was hit by a pitch in the contest. "Samantha always brings energy,” said Coach Rogers. “She's so aggressive. "We are just thankful for her getting things started and pushing us to get all that we could." This came after Latta lost a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Both Owens and Aubree Smith added a hit. Kyleigh Fletcher of Lewisville added the needed RBI to give Lewisville an early 1-0 lead. Latta got things going in the bottom half of the fourth after Sarah Bryant drew a walk and then stole second. That was followed by Madison Kersey making it to first on a passed ball, and then she added a steal. Rylan Hunt then came through with a key sacrifice bunt. Townsend then went to work with a single up the middle for Latta. "It didn't start off how we wanted it to, but in the end, we came through,” said Townsend after the game. “We weren't trying to drive it hard, but just get good solid contact out of the infield," That put the Lady Vikings ahead 3-2 going into the top of the fifth inning. With two more runs in the sixth to increase their lead to 5-2, that was all the offense needed. Jackson, who had come into the game, quieted the Lewisville bats for the win. "It feels great to win the game. When I came into the game, I was ready because I knew my defense was there behind me," Jackson said. "My team was backing me up all the way." Berry allowed one hit and two runs in three and a third innings. Jackson pitched three and two thirds’ innings allowing no runs. Owens allowed four hits and five runs in the loss. Berry commented on the win and how amazing it felt to win the state title. "First of all, I want to give all of the glory to God,” she said. “We have prayed so hard for this very moment from day one. We have worked so hard, day in and day out. There's no other team that I would want to win this with; We came so close when I was a freshman - just to have this full circle moment as a senior just means everything." She also praised Jackson for her performance coming into the game in relief. "I've always known Paisley was going to be something special," Berry added. "When I went out, I had so much confidence in her and I knew she was going to be great." For Latta at the plate, Hunt had two walks in the contest for the Lady Vikings. Latta had five walks for the game. The team finished the contest with five stolen bases. Townsend also praised Jackson, and her team, while expressing her elation in the victory. "I cannot express to you in words what it means to me (to win state),” she said. “ It was our whole team and a total team effort, "Paisley really came through for us (coming in after Maddie went out)." Lewisville finished the game with two hits, two runs, one RBI and one walk. Lewisville coach Jerry Thomas spoke after the game. "We started out the year great, but then we lost a couple of players,” said Coach Thomas. “We got back one, and then we finally got another back before the end of the season. It has been an up and down season with injuries that we've had. This was their (Latta) year. My hats off to them. I'm proud of our girls making it to the state finals. That's a tradition that we started."

By Joel Beachum Special to the HSSR LATTA - As with any good championship softball game, there are two key components - clutch pitching and timely hitting. That is exactly what Latta (20-5, ranked No. 14 in SC) got on Wednesday night in a 5-2 victory over Lewisville to capture the Class A state title at home. Maddie Berry , the Wofford commit, started the game in the circle for Latta, but got injured in the fourth inning. She was replaced by Paisley Jackson , who normally plays right field. Jackson provided the energy to shut down the Lewisville (21-11) bats. Berry finished with nine strikeouts. Jackson added five strikeouts. Latta head softball coach Anna Rogers commented on how elated she was of the team's performance. "I'm so proud of these girls. We've definitely played some tough competition, even in our region," said Rogers. "That prepared us for this moment and we knew Lewisville was a good team. Their pitcher ( Sarah Owens ) is really strong." Junior catcher Samantha Townsend was the catalyst for the Lady Vikings, going 2-for-3 in the win with two singles, a Run Batted In and a run scored. She also added a stolen base and was hit by a pitch in the contest. "Samantha always brings energy. She's so aggressive," Baker said of Townsend. "We are just thankful for her getting things started and pushing us to get all that we could." This came after Latta lost a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Both Owens and Aubree Smith added a hit. Kyleigh Fletcher of Lewisville added the needed RBI. Latta got things going in the bottom half of the fourth after Sarah Bryant drew a walk and then stole second. That was followed by Madison Kersey making it first on a passed ball and then she added a steal. Rylan Hunt then came through with a key sacrifice bunt. Townsend then went to work with a single up the middle for Latta. "It didn't start off how we wanted it to, but in the end we came through. We weren't trying to drive it hard, but just get good solid contact out of the infield," Townsend said after the win. That put the Lady Vikings ahead 3-2 going into the top of the fifth inning. With two more runs in the sixth to increase their lead to 5-2, that was all the offense needed. Jackson, who had come into the game, quieted the Lewisville bats for the win. "It feels great to win the game. When I came into the game, I was ready because I knew my defense was there behind me," Jackson said. "My team was backing me up all the way." Berry allowed one hit and two runs in three and a third innings. Jackson pitched three and two thirds innings allowing no runs. Owens allowed four hits and five runs in the loss. Berry commented on the win and how amazing it felt to win the state title. "First of all I want to give all of the glory to God. We have prayed so hard for this very moment from day one. We have worked so hard, day in and day out. There's no other team that I would want to win this with," Berry said about the accomplishment. "We came so close when I was a freshman - just to have this full circle moment as a senior just means everything." She also praised Jackson for her performance coming into the game in relief. "I've always known Paisley was going to be something special," Berry added. "When I went out, I had so much confidence in her and I knew she was going to be great." For Latta at the plate, Hunt had two walks in the contest for the Lady Vikings. Latta had five walks for the game. The team finished the contest with five stolen bases. Townsend also praised Jackson and her team while expressing her elation in the victory. "I can not express to you in words what it means to me (to win states). It was our whole team and a total team effort," Townsend added. "Paisley really came through for us (coming in after Maddie went out)." Lewisville finished the game with two hits, two runs, one RBI and one walk. Lewisville coach Jerry Thomas spoke after the game. "We started out the year great, but then we lost a couple of players. We got back one and then we finally got another back before the end of the season. It has been an up and down season with injuries that we've had," Thomas said. This was their (Latta) year. My hats off to them. I'm proud of our girls making it to the state finals. That's a tradition that we started."

SCHSL Championship Series got started on Saturday with 12 teams in each category striving to earn a state title. It's looking to be a wet week for most of the state, we'll see how the forecast holds up for these games to be completed. Softball 5/26 - Class 5A Div 1. - Byrnes @ Summerville 5/26 - Class 5A Div. 2 - Catawba Ridge @ St. James 6p 5/27 - Class AAAA - York @ Gray Collegiate 6:30p 5/27 - Class AAA - BHP @ Aynor 6p5/27 - 5/27 - Class AA - Saluda @ East Clarendon 7p 5/27 - Class A - Latta @ Lewisville 6p 5/28 - Class 5A Div 1. - Summerville @ Byrnes 5/28 - Class 5A Div. 2 - St. James @ Catawba Ridge 6p 5/28 - Class AAAA - Gray Collegiate @ York 5/29 - Class AAA - Aynor @ BHP 6p 5/29 - Class AA - Lewisville @ Latta 5/29 - Class A - East Clarendon @ Saluda 7p Game 3s (if needed) on 5/30 Baseball - Games Started Saturday, May 24 th with games 5/27, 5/29, and 5/31 5/24 - Class AAA - Southside Christian 14 , Oceanside 1 5/24 - Class AA - Philip Simons 5 , Batesburg-Leesville 3 5/24 - Class A - McBee 5 , LakeView 3 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 1 - Lexington @ James Island 6:30p 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Catawba Ridge @ Berkeley 5/27 - Class AAAA - Airport @ Seneca 5/27 - Class AAA - Oceanside @ Southside Christian 5/27 - Class AA - Philip Simons @ Batesburg-Leesville 5/27 - Class A - McBee @ Lake View 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 1 -Lexington@ James Island 6:30p 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Berkeley @ Catawba Ridge 5/29 - Class AAAA - Seneca @ Airport Game 3s (if needed) on 5/31

Kaliyah Herman selected as Region 6 Offensive Player of the Year