After going 0-10 in 2020 COVID season, Monarchs go 12-2 and play for AA lower state title

Manning, Barnwell to meet for AA lower state championship after third-round wins

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – At long last, the regular season came to an end and the Class AA state playoffs are upon us. The brackets are set and the fans of the favorites are hoping to make plans in mid-December for Orangeburg and the state finals scene. Who are the favorites in AA? Is there a sleeper or two that may surprise everyone and get to the title game. Most of the time, the teams that survive the grind and reach the fifth week of the playoffs, the title game, are teams that everyone who follows the sport predicts will be there. Let’s have a little fun and handicap the AA field. My process is to list my top four teams in the Upper State bracket and top four in the Lower State, as I see it. Any team not in my top four would be considered a sleeper to make it through the bracket. But, it can be done. In the Upper State, my No. 1 team is Batesburg-Leesville . I know, shocker. The 10-0 Panthers have answered every challenge and have proven to be quite formidable. They allow seven points per game with a defense that has speed and physicality. Nearly half of the total points they have allowed in 10 games came in one game, to Abbeville, in a two-point win. Abbeville is the top-ranked team in Class A and their coach , Jamie Nickles , is a believer. “They are certainly capable of winning the state championship,” he said. Running back Amadre Wooden and quarterback Tanner Watkins are a solid one-two punch offensively. Wooden has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and Watkins has passed for more than 1200 yards. My No. 2 pick to win the Upper State is Clinton. The 7-2 Red Devils have lost only to Woodruff and Daniel. Each of those teams has just one loss this season. The tough non-region schedule makes me feel the Red Devils are battle-tested for close, big games. Quarterback Tashawan Richardson makes it all go for the offense with James Cook adding a major threat in the run game. My No. 3 pick in the Upper State is Fairfield Central . The Griffins lost their season opener to Ridge View and have won nine straight games since. The scouting report needs just one word – speed. The Griffins can run and are explosive. Running back Tydarion Grier has gained more than 1.400 yards and averages 9.3 yards per carry. And, my No. 4 is Saluda . The Tigers’ only loss came to Batesburg-Leesville and they would love another shot at their region rivals. Saluda is another of the top defensive teams in AA and defense wins championships. Tahe your pick as the favorite in the Lower State cause several teams have a shot. My No. 1 going in is Barnwell . While not flashy or dominant, the Warhorses are solid and athletic. Senior Cameron Austin is a great leader at quarterback and if they have success on the ground, game over. No. 2 is Barnwell rival Hampton County . Again, the Hurricanes run the football and have good solid play at quarterback. They made a good run a year ago and I think their confidence level is high. The last two favorite picks are difficult and I ended up with three teams for two spots. At No. 3 I am going with Cheraw . The 8-2 Braves are not great at anything but very solid at most. Running back Cam McClendon is a threat to score from anywhere and the defense gets after it pretty good. For No. 4, I am sharing the spot between Manning and Philip Simmons . Manning has just one loss, the season opener to Crestwood, but their schedule and region was not overly difficult.  Philip Simmons went undefeated in a tougher region and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Iron Horses have a veteran quarterback and they really play hard on defense. Class AA state playoff first-round pairings Upper State Pelion at Clinton Strom Thurmond at Chester Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville Andrew Jackson at Liberty Chesterfield at Fairfield-Central Ninety Six at Chesnee Landrum at Central Mid-Carolina at Saluda Lower State Academic Magnet at Barnwell Lake City at Timberland Edisto at Cheraw Andrews at East Clarendon North Central at Manning Woodland at Hampton Co. Mullins at Philip Simmons Kingstree at Whale Branch

Manning's senior QB Jarae Mitchell moving the team down the field.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Manning – When Sonia Daniels became the volleyball head coach for Manning High School in 2020, it was just the program’s second year back after not being in existence for over a decade. It hasn’t been easy, and the Monarchs aren’t anywhere close to where Daniels would like them to be, but they are in position to take a big step forward. MHS owned a 7-5 overall record, but more importantly a 3-5 mark in Region 7-AA. As of now, that would be good enough to place Manning in the top five in the region. A berth in the state playoffs comes with that, which would be the Monarchs’ first since restarting volleyball. “We did not make the playoffs last year, and I’m unsure about this season,” Daniels said. “However ,we have improved so much that I will not count us out.” Manning owns two victories over Kingstree and one over Mullins in region play. Both of those teams trail the Monarchs in the chase for the fifth spot. A win over Mullins on Tuesday, October 8, would have likely sewed up the playoff berth. ` The Monarchs return a number of players from last year’s team which won just one match. Manning’s most recent starting lineup had two seniors in Sakiya Makell and Kimora Felder , two juniors in Brooklyn Wilder and Breanna Barnes and two sophomores in Briana Gamble and Danielle Palmer . Newcomers to the team are junior Mallorie Street , who came from Ridge View , senior Jahirah Wellington and junior Tamiya Watson . Other members of the team are senior Kimora Henry , juniors Tania White and Aniya Green , sophomore Jada Lee , freshman Makayla Fordham and eighth-grader Ameerah Conyers. “I’m excited about my younger ladies,” Daniels said. “Makayla Fordham and Ameerah Conyers are awesome servers and outside hitters. They will be a front line that will eventually dominate.” As for now though, Daniels is pleased with the work her team is putting in to improve. “We have had our share of losses however, I commend and stand behind the young ladies that have stuck with me and this team no matter what,” she said. “The ladies all have improved in their specific positions.” CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS IMPROVING Sometimes you measure success in unusual ways, and for cross country head coach Kimberly Ferrari this season the measure is in sheer numbers. “This is the first time in several years that we've had enough boys to score as a team, and the first time in possibly a decade that our girls team has had enough to score as well,” Ferrari said. The only returning runner for either team is freshman Jamari Harris . This is his third year with the boys program. Harris’ best time this season is 21 minutes, 43 seconds, with a personal best of 21:18. Sophomore Jorden Hilton-Kelly has the next best time for the Monarchs at 23: 41. Other male runners are senior Isaiah Wilson , sophomore Jesse Robinson and Desmond Mellette , freshmen Joshua White , Bryce Kinard, Khang Tran , Kobe Weeks and Kegan Smith . On the girls team, the top runner is the youngest member of the team in eighth-grader Emma Munoz-Leon . Her season best is 37:17. The other members of the team are sophomores Crisslyn Dingle and Dakota Lambert and freshmen Savannah Halstead , Nyla Cain and Semaj Burgess . “We have a very young team, so we're not very competitive right now,” Ferrari said of the girls squad. “But I'm looking forward to seeing how we grow over the next few years.” Ferrari said both squads have exceeded what she thought was possible. “Both teams have performed above my expectations,” she said. “With the exception of Jamari, every other member of the team is running for the first time, so they are constantly improving, and as a coach that's all I can hope for. “Our times aren't fantastic, but most of the team had never run more than a mile prior to this season, so we definitely have some work to do, but we're going to get there.” FOOTBALL STARTS 2-0 IN REGION Manning got to play two football games in a 4-day period, its first ones as a member of Region 7. And the Monarchs are now in the driver’s seat in the 7-team region after a pair of exhilarating victories. On Monday, September 30, Manning beat East Clarendon 15-12 as Jeffery Ceasar returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown with 5:55 left in the game to give it the lead. Then on Friday, October 4, the Monarchs rallied from 22-0 deficit to beat Kingstree 28-22. “I don't think it had an affect on us just because of how we practiced,” Reggie Kennedy said of the 2-game week. “We’ve been working hard so we were ready for the adversity.” The Monarchs scored just before halftime to cut the lead to 22-8 and added 12 points in the third quarter to pull within 22-20. They won it with a fourth-quarter score. Quarterback JaRae Mitchell tossed two touchdown passes in the second half. He was 6 of 13 for 98 yards. Jontavious Canty caught a 5-yard touchdown pass and Ceasar had a 20-yard TD catch. Lovell Stevenson had a 45-yard reception and CJ Robinson had a 21-yard catch. Mitchell led in rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries. Jalynn Coard had 39 yards and a TD, and Canty also ran for a score. “I told them at the beginning of the week that we needed to go 2-0,” Kennedy said. “We need to get out front (in the region) and make everyone catch us. That gives us a little wiggle room in case of a slip-up. Hopefully there will be no slip-up.”

Crestwood PK Jorge Hernandez

Dr. Shawn Johnson back as boys coach; Justin Johnson in charge of girls

Door is Wide Open for Class AA Football State Championship in 2024!