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NOVEMBER 1 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • November 4, 2024

Batesburg-Leesville beats Saluda 28-7 in battle of unbeatens

Saluda – The Batesburg-Leesville High School football team went on the road to beat Saluda 28-7 on Friday in a battle of unbeatens.

 

Saluda, ranked No. 1 in the High School Sports Report AA poll, dropped to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in Region 2. Third-ranked B-L improved to 9-0 and 4-0 in region play.

 

Amadre Wooden ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries to lead the Panthers, who improved to 9-0 for the first time since 2000. Tanner Watkins completed 13 of 18 passes for 181 yards and two scores with KD Whitt catching five passes for 55 yards and the two TDs. Jamerius Clark had six catches for 86 yards. Wooden also had a 31-yard catch.

 

Drew Arant led Saluda, which fell to 8-1, by completing 9 of 16 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. The TD pass went to Victavis Gaines, who had three catches for 44 yards.

 

Tristan Daniels ran for 49 yards on 10 carries while Jah Foulks had two catches for 52 yards.

 

The Panthers can wrap up the region title when it plays at Strom Thurmond on Friday. Saluda will be taking on American Leadership Academy. A Strom Thurmond win and a Saluda victory would leave a 3-way tie for first place.

 

Hartsville 54

South Florence 35

 

Kelleytown – Hartsville won the Region 5-AAAA title with a 54-35 victory over South Florence on Friday at Kelleytown Stadium.

 

The Red Foxes, ranked seventh in AAAA, led 34-28 entering the fourth quarter before outscoring SFHS 20-7 to secure their first region title since 2018. HHS improved to 8-1-1 overall and finished 6-0 in the region. Eighth-ranked South Florence fell to 7-3 overall and finished 5-1 in the region.

 

Da’Marion Coe took a kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown after having the ball pitched to him by Hakeem Watters to lead Hartsville. Coe later returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown.

 

Zion Gilbert led the Bruins by rushing for 124 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Tre’ Leonard had 19 carries for 115 yards and a TD.

 

Lennix Valarie had six catches for 86 yards, while Jayden Sellers had two catches for 40 yards and a score.

 

Gerkiem Hall led the South Florence defense with 12 tackles. Avan Rosado and Warnell Prew both had 10 tackles.

 

Both teams next play again on November 15 in the first round of the state playoffs.

 

Dillon 56

Georgetown 0

 

Dillon -- Dillon scored 36 points in the first quarter on the way to a 56-0 victory over Georgetown on Friday at Dillon Memorial Stadium.

 

The Wildcats, ranked fourth in AAA, finished the regular season at 8-2 and a 4-1 mark in Region 5. Georgetown finished 2-7 and 0-5.

 

Rahmond Hamilton completed 5 of 6 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns while running for a touchdown. Zamaurious Robertson had two catches for 80 yards and a TD, and EJan Green had two catches for 60 yards and a score.

 

Trayvon Brown, Nigel Gillespie Bruce and Jalen McGill each ran for a touchdown.

 

Jotavious McAllister led the defense with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

 

Manning 24

Lake City 18

 

Lake City – Manning finished the regular season with a 9-1 record by beating Lake City 24-18 on Friday at the LCHS field.

 

The Monarchs, ranked eighth in AA, finished 6-0 in winning Region 7. Lake City is 4-6 and finished 3-3 in region play.

 

Jeffery Ceasar led the Monarchs with six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown and a 79-yard kickoff return for a score.

 

Jaylnn Coard scored two touchdowns while rushing for 23 yards on seven carries. Ja’Rae Mitchell completed 9 of 14 passes for 118 yards and a TD while rushing for 38 yards on eight carries.

 

Lamar Hilton had 13 tackles to lead the defense. Coard had seven tackles, two TFLs and forced a fumble, and Jordan Thompson had an interception.

 

Sumter 65

Westwood 28

 

Sumter – Sumter improved to 9-0 on the season with a 65-28 victory over Westwood on Friday at Memorial Stadium.

 

The Gamecocks, ranked third in the AAAAA Division I poll, are 5-0 in Region 5-AAAAA. They will travel to Columbia to take on Ridge View for the region title on Friday.

 

Westwood fell to 5-5 and finished region play at 3-3.

 

SHS led 37-14 at halftime and 58-14 after three quarters. Sumter rolled up 552 yards of total offense.

 

John Peeples rushed for 120 yards and two TDs on 12 carries, while Kam Fortune had seven carries for 111 yards and three TDs. Franklin Richardson had four carries for 66 yards and a touchdown while completing all five of his pass attempts for 55 yards and two scores.

 

Chris Bentley had two catches for 56 yards and a score, and Cory Bailey had a 20-yard TD catch.

 

Jeremiah Burson led the defense with 17 tackles and two TFLs. Tymaries Durant had 12 tackles, one TFL and a fumble recovery, while Anthony Addison had 11 tackles, 2 ½ sacks and 2 ½ TFLs.

 

Northside Christian 48

Camden Military 14

 

Lexington – Northside Christian Academy concluded the regular season with a 9-1 record after beating Camden Military 48-14 on Friday at the NCA field.

 

Sam Burks led the Crusaders, ranked third in the SCISA AAA poll,  by rushing for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. JR Kinard had 104 yards on eight carries. Jared Jeffrey had two catches for 27 yards and a TD.

 

Logan Taylor forced a fumble and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. He also had seven tackles. Hudson Shick had eight tackles, three sacks and three TFLs, while Mani Lee had five tackles, two sacks and two TFLs. Kinard, Burks, Trevor Hoffman, Jack Knight, Kai Finkheimer and Zachary Gebhard all had two TFLs.

 

Northside Christian will play host to First Baptist in the first round of the state playoffs on Friday.

 

Bethesda Academy 40

St. John’s Christian 15

 

Savannah, Ga. – Bethesda Academy finished the regular season with a 7-3 record by beating St. John’s Christian Academy 40-15 on Friday at the BA field.


          Jordan Turner completed 5 of 8 passes for 109 yards and ran for 46 yards and a TD to lead the Blazers. Assir Best had seven carries for 92 yards and three touchdowns.

 

Jordan Cheever had eight carries for 47 yards and a TD. Raleigh Wesley had three catches for 76 yards and two carries for 40 yards.

 

Jeffrey Armstrong had six tackles to lead the defense, while Isaiah Reynolds had two TFLs.

 

Kingstree 44

Atlantic Collegiate 0

 

Myrtle Beach -- Tyleek Dukes ran for over 200 yards and scored 22 points to lead Kingstree to a 44-0 victory over Atlantic Collegiate Academy on Friday at the ACA field.

 

Dukes had 204 yards and scored three touchdowns on 16 carries. He also ran for a pair of 2-point conversions. He also had a 21-yard reception,

 

Javian McCrea had 1 carries for 86 yards, quarterback Makhi Shaw had 11 carries for 73 yards and a score, and Chiquan Giles had eight carries for 63 yards.

 

Xavier Dukes led the defense, returning an interception 53 yards for a touchdown. He also had four tackles. McCrea returned an interception 65 yards for a score, and Maleek Dukes had seven tackles.

 

The Blazers will play at Whale Branch in the first round of the state playoffs.

 

Williamsburg 45

Dorchester 22

 

Kingstree -- Williamsburg Academy won the SCISA Region 1-Class A title with a 45-22 victory over Dorchester on Friday at the WA field.

 

         The Stallions, ranked first in the Class A poll, improved to 8-1 overall and finished 3-0 in region play. Fourth-ranked DA fell to 7-2 overall and finished 2-1 in the region.

 

Grant Small scored five touchdowns for the Stallions. Small had 13 carries for 79 yards and three touchdowns while catching two passes for 93 yards and two scores.

 

Micah Balder completed 10 of 14 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 39 yards on 10 carries.

 

John Whetsell ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. John Quattlebaum completed 17 of 26 passes for 216 yards and two scores. Abe Shuler had six catches for 123 yards and two scores, while Wynn Kuskey had six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.

 

Chantz Judy had nine tackles to lead the defense. Warren Judy had seven and Reed Almers six.

 

Williamsburg will play host to defending Class A state champion Patrick Henry on Friday in the first round of the state playoffs. Dorchester will be at home against Colleton Prep.

 

East Clarendon 42

Marion 22

 

Turbeville – East Clarendon secured the No. 2 seed from Region 7 in the AA state playoffs with a 42-22 victory over Marion on Friday at Shad Hall Field.

 

The Wolverines improved to 7-3 overall and finished 4-2 in region play. MHS finished 1-9 and 0-6.

 

Colby McKenzie led the defense with 10 tackles, two of them for a loss, while Hunter Mixon had nine tackles and two TFLs. Mike Woods had four TFLs while Jaylon Barron, Xavier Smith, Jesse Floyd and Jordan Wright all had two TFLs.

 

Whit Nesbitt, Dawson Beard and Picasso Brown all had an interception.

 

Mixon led the offense, carrying the ball 11 times fo 122 yards and a touchdown. Syrus Brown ran for 89 yards and two TDs on 15 carries.

 

Quarterback Takoda Cornelius came off the bench to complete 5 of 9 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 56 yards and two TDs on eight carries.

 

Beard had five catches for 61 yards, while Nesbitt had three catches for 69 yards and a score.

 

East Clarendon will play host to Andrews in the first round of the state playoffs on November 15.

 

Wilson Hall 45

First Baptist 7

 

Sumter -- Wilson Hall closed out its regular season with a 9-1 record by beating First Baptist 45-7 on Friday at Spencer Field.

 

Cameron Wilsey ran for 99 yards on eight carries for the Barons, ranked second in SCISA AAA. Ben McLaurin had 11 carries for 69 yards and two scores.

 

Jackson Bonser booted a 48-yard field goal, was 6-for-6 on extra points and had seven touchbacks.

 

Wilson Hall will play host to John Paul II in the first round of the AAA state playoffs on Friday. First Baptist will play at Northside Christian Academy.

   

Camden 44

A.C. Flora 21

 

Camden – Camden secured the No. 2 seed from Region 3-AAAA with a 44-21 win over A.C. Flora on Friday at Zemp Stadium.

 

The 14th-ranked Bulldogs improved to 7-3 while the 11th-ranked Falcons dropped to 7-3. Both finished 4-2 in region play.

 

Wyatt Thompson led the Bulldogs by rushing for 84 yards and a touchdown and completing 4 of 5 passes for 86 yards and two TDs. Treyvon Wright ran for 77 yards and two scores

 

Logan Freeman had six tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown. Lavonte Williams had seven tackles.

 

Dutch Fork 41

River Bluff 14

 

Lexington – Ethan Offing threw for over 400 yards with four touchdown passes to lead Dutch Fork to a 41-14 victory over River Bluff on Friday at The Swamp.

 

The Silver Foxes, ranked first in the AAAAA Division I poll, improved to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in Region 3-AAAAA. Fifth-ranked River Bluff fell to 7-2 and 2-2.

 

Offing connected on 20 of 27 passes for 417 yards. Boykin Bickley had seven catches for 187 yards and a score, Maurice Anderson had six catches for 108 yards and a TD, and KJ Smith had four catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

 

Anderson also ran for 71 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

 

Julian Walker led the defense with 11 tackles, two TFLs and one sack. Josh Smith had eight tackles, a sack and two TFLs, and Ethan Moze had two TFLs.

 

Blaine Fender had 12 tackles and two TFLs to lead the Gators. Griffin Lindler had six tackles and two TFLs.

 

Hayden Myers ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

 

Dutch Fork will play host to AAAAA Division II No. 1 and undefeated Irmo for the region title on Friday. River Bluff will play at Lexington.

 

Northwestern 45

Indian Land 0

 

Lancaster – Northwestern finished the regular season undefeated with a 45-0 victory over Indian Land on Friday at Indian Land Stadium.

 

The Trojans, ranked second in AAAAA Division II, improved to 10-0 and won the Region 3 title with a 6-0 record. Indian Land fell to 5-5 and 2-4.

 

Zyier Gordon Miles ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Quarterback Finley Polk completed 14 of 18 passes for 196 yards and two TDs and ran for a score.

 

Jayden Nichols had five catches for 64 yards and a TD, and TaDarrian Knox had four catches for 38 yards and a TD.

 

Dmitri Putnam had five tackles and 2 ½ tackles for loss to lead the defense.

 

Both teams now await to find out their playoff destinations with the first round set to begin on November 15.

Lady Cavaliers soccer team looking for more of the same

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special Contributor • March 17, 2025
Christ Church looks for continued success in move to AAA

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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