Oceanside Collegiate gets past BHP to claim 3A state championship
Worthy Evans • December 14, 2024
By WORTHY EVANS
Contributing Writer
ORANGEBURG – Moving up to 3A in the South Carolina High School League’s classification system didn’t bother Oceanside Collegiate. Neither did losing the head coach who led the Sharks to the 2A state championship last year.
What mattered for Oceanside Saturday afternoon at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium was the steady guidance of interim head coach John Patterson, and sophomore quarterback Aidan Manavian connecting regularly with senior wide receivers against Belton-Honea Path.
Manavian was 21-for-26 in passing for 326 yards and four touchdowns in the Shark’s 35-17 victory over the Bears to capture the 3A state championship.
“It feels good. It beats the alternative, losing, I don’t like that,” Patterson said with a laugh. “It was a lot of adversity, but that’s what football is, that’s what life is. That’s what football teaches. You’ve got to keep showing up every day, grind, and if bad stuff happens you’ve just to to overcome it.”
Oceanside Collegiate (11-3) moved up to 3A this year when the High School League instituted a student multiplier for charter schools that had the ability to recruit athletes outside of their school zones. The Sharks had beaten Gray Collegiate 35-28 for the 2A state championship the year before, but opened the season with a 35-7 loss at Irmo in August.
After that defeat, head coach Chad Wilkes resigned for personal reasons. Patterson, an assistant with nearly 40 years of coaching experience, including head-coaching stints at Providence Day School in North Carolina and at James Island from 2007-2011, took over the Sharks.
After that loss at Irmo, which played Northwestern Saturday night for the 5A Division 2 state championship, and a loss at Dutch Fork, which won its 9th state championship with a 5A Division 1 victory over Summerville, Oceanside Collegiate caught fire. The Sharks reeled off 10 straight victories and claimed a second-straight crown with the win over BHP (13-2).
“We knew how good Dutch Fork was, one of the top 15 teams in the country,” Patterson said. “We were outmanned and didn’t have all our ammunition either. We kind of flushed it: ‘there’s the game, and it’s over, flush it.”
Patterson added that the team asked him what he was happy about, “and I told them, hey, it’s like butter, because we’re ready to go on a roll, baby. That’s how that went down.”
Oceanside stayed on that roll Saturday, moving the football up and down the field with ease,
Manavian’s chief target among his seniors was Will Virgilio, who had five catches for 134 yards. Peyton Shaw had five catches for 66 yards, and Gavin Gasper had four catches for 65 yards and two TDs. Junior Terrence Johnson had five receptions for 57 yards and a score.
“We come out every day to work as hard as we can, stay late, getting extra routes in,” Manavian said. “When you come out here and get a Dub, we’re already here, we’re on time, we’re ready to go. It feels great.”
On defense the Sharks absorbed the furious running of BHP running back and Clemson commit Marquise Henderson.
Henderson came into the game with 1,934 yards and finished the day with 188 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries. He even filled in for quarterback Noah Thomas, who went down with an injury in the first half.
“Unbelievable player. Best to ever come through BHP,” Bears head coach Russell Blackston said. “He has 104 (career) touchdowns, I believe. The kid’s an unbelievable player, a Mr. Football candidate. A good player, man.”
Oceanside built a 21-7 lead in the first half, scoring first on Manavian’s 9-yard touchdown strike to Johnson in the first quarter.
Belton-Honea Path responded in the second quarter with Henderson’s 3-yard TD run, but the Bears gave up back-to-back scores before the half.
Manavian connected with Shaw for a 25-yard touchdown art the 7:41 mark, and after BHP botched a pooch kickoff reception, the Sharks recovered and Johnson closed out the short drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone at the 5:58 mark.
“They got an extra possession after we lost it in the sun,” Bears head coach Russell Blackston said. “We’d worked on that type of stuff all week, we just lost it in the sun.”
The Bears drove to midfield on a clock-draining possession, but turned the ball over on downs. Oceanside Collegiate eventually punted to the BHP 1-yard line, where the Bears ran two plays and called it a half.
Belton-Honea Path started the second half down 21-7 to the Sharks, and without Thomas at quarterback. Henderson shifted from tailback to quarterback and kept the Bears running.
BHP moved downfield for most of the third quarter with Henderson running on most of the plays. On first and goal at the Oceanside 5-yard line he gave the ball to Justin Lathon, who barreled into the end zone at the 2:26 mark to cut the lead to 21-14.
BHP defender K.J. Miles picked off a Manavian pass on Oceanside’s next possession, which led to Bears kicker Christian Bridwell’s 42-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the third.
That was as close as Oceanside would let the Bears come. Manavian closed out the victory with fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 19 and 13 yards to Gavin Gaspar.
“We practiced for this every week. We’ve been ready for this, and we know what it’s like to be here,” Gaspar said. “I can’t say nothing bad about this team. I love everybody. No better way to go out.”
BHP was looking to win its first state championship since 2004, when the Bears beat Dillon for the 3A title. Unfortunately, the school will have to try again.
“I told them I loved them, told them that they had a good year,” Blackston said. “That a lot of teams would love to be where we’re at.”
WIth two straight state championships in hand, Oceanside is in an enviable position itself. Patterson spread the wealth of victory among the entire team.
“It means a lot, but I’m just a guy on a team, man, seriously,” he said. “I don’t think my role on the team’s any different than anybody else’s. Sometimes you play, sometimes you film, sometimes you manage the trainers, sometimes you’re the assistant coach or the head coach. And the head coach gets way too much credit, honestly. All the credit should go to the assistant coaches and certainly the kids.”
Belton-Honea Path 0 7 10 0 – 17
Oceanside Collegiate 7 14 0 14 – 35
First Quarter
O - Terrence Johnson 9 pass from Aiden Manavian (Nate Sturm kick) 4:47
Second Quarter
B - Marquise Henderson 3 run (Christian Bridwell kick) 9:15
O - Peyton Shaw 25 pass from Manavian (kick failed) 7:41
O - Johnson 1 run (Kyle Baldwin pass from Manavian) 5:58
Third Quarter
B - Justin Lathon 5 run (Bridwell kick) 2:26
B - Bridwell 42 field goal :26
Fourth Quarter
O - Gavin Gaspar 19 pass from Manavian (Sturm kick) 11:40
O - Gaspar 13 pass from Manavian (Sturm kick) 4:07
BHP OCA
First downs 17 16
Rushes-yds 59-234 14-22
Passing yds 16 326
Att-Com-Int 7-4-0 26-21-1
Fumbles-lost 2-1. 1-0
Penalties-yds 6-49 4-30
Punts-avg 2-32.0 3-36.7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
B - Marquise Henderson 42-188, Noah Thomas 5-30, M.J. Earl 5-19, Justin Lathon 4-6, Tajeh Watson-Martin 1-2, Ty Parnell 2-7.
O - Aiden Manavian 7-14, James O’Connor 4-9, Terrence Johnson 1-1, Team 2-2
PASSING
B -Noah Thomas 3-4-0, Marquise Henderson 1-1-0, Ty Parnell 0-1-0, Tajeh Watson-Martin 0-1-0.
O-Aiden Manavian 21-26-1.
RECEIVING
B -Tajeh Watson-Martin 4-16
O-Will Virgilio 5-134, Peyton Shaw 5-66, Gavin Gaspar 4-65, Terrence Johnson 5-57, James O’Connor 1-4, Kyle Baldwin 1-0.
Patriots will play host to Spartanburg Christian on Monday in AAA playoff opener
Both teams 9-1 heading into final region series of the year
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Golden Eagles play host to St. John's Christian in AAA playoff opener on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Holly Andrews leading the way for the Warriors
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Bamberg —The Class AA HSSR third ranked Barnwell Warhorses and the Class A Bamberg - Ehrhardt Raider baseball teams have both already won region titles, and they will both host four-team district play-offs in early May, so they met in a play-off tune-up game on Tuesday night with Barnwell winning 12-1. The two teams also met on April, 9 with Barnwell prevailing 3-0 in that game. Barnwell senior ace pitcher Cameron Austin, a five time all-region and four-time all-state honoree , improved his record to 5-2 on the season working five innings against the Raiders. Austin had six K’s and allowed only four hits. On the season, Austin has worked 39.1 innings with 58 K’s with a 1.23 ERA. The top hitters for Barnwell in the win were outfielder Tommy Reid with two hits, while Austin collected three RBI’s and scored two runs. Three players, Hayden Pierce, senior catcher Kaleb McCormack, and third baseman Trey Boleman , each had one hit and one RBI respectively . Carl Hines added a hit also. Bamberg was hampered by giving up 10 walks and four errors during the game. The Raiders were led at the plate by left-fielder Weston Stokes who went 2-of- three. He also saw late action on the mound. The team’s other two hits came from second baseman Dakota Black and center fielder Brent Amaker . The starting pitcher for B-E was Cooper Sandifer who worked 4.2 innings, giving up three hits with six K’s. After the game, Barnwell head coach Cody McCollum shared some thoughts with the HSSR. “We always have a good chance of winning with Cameron on the mound, especially when he is throwing strikes, and the guys are playing good defense behind him; and we are swinging the bats well,” said Coach McCollum, who played baseball at Barnwell where he graduated in 2012. “They walked a lot of guys tonight and that helped us too. “Winning the region was something I talked about with the boys at the beginning of the season because I felt like this team was good enough to go undefeated in the region,” said Coach McCollum. “We fell a little short last year, losing a region game to Edisto, and that stuck in the back of our heads, and this year our expectation was to go 10-0 in the region. “Our other internal goal is to win at least 20 games before the playoffs start and we are 18-4 right now, with four games left,” said Coach McCollum. “We need to win at least two more. We play Batesburg - Leesville tomorrow, (April, 23), South Aiken twice next week, and Woodland one more time. We are going to try hard to get two more wins.” Coach McCollum said that Austin, batting .468 with 26 RBI’s and six home runs, has played more third base, when not pitching this season. “Before I came back to Barnwell last year, I was at Hampton, and I had to coach against him, and I glad he is now on my team. He’s a very good player.” Coach McCollum said Barnwell has relied on Austin, and three other seniors for most of the load this season. “We have a sophomore and a freshman starting in the middle, and we have two sophomore starters in the outfield, and a junior started in center field tonight,” said Coach McCollum. “We are kind of young and old at the same time. “The other seniors are Kaleb McCormack , our catcher, who has improved his hitting this season along with and Trey Boleman who started at third tonight and Hayden Pierce was at first tonight, and he hit a double off the wall. Kaleb is a very good on defense behind the plate and we feel good about him, behind the plate, regardless of who is pitching.” Case Davis is a freshman starting shortstop with a .411 batting average. Pierce is at .390 and McCormick is at .289 with 16 RBI’s and a .999 fielding percentage. Joe Huggins is the DH and he is hitting .367. Sophomore Dakota Black starts at second. Tommy Reid is a junior center fielder currently batting .333. Vincent Gibson is a sophomore in the outfield for Barnwell. Jax Mead is a sophomore starting at second base. Caiden Roland is the sophomore starting right fielder. Some additional Barnwell pitching depth has come from, Pierce (5-0, 35 K’s, ERA 2.54), along with Bradley Richardson (2-0, 9 K’s), Boleman (26-K’s) and Davis (24 K’s with a 1.07 ERA). After the game, Bamberg Ehrhardt (8-6) head coach Gene Schwarting told the HSSR, “We have three 8 graders who start for us, two 9 th graders, one sophomore, a junior and two seniors so for the most part we are a young team,” said Coach Schwarting. “Our two seniors, Weston Stokes and Brent Amaker are co-captains” Stokes is the team’s number one pitcher. Stokes started in left against Barnwell and batted lead-off. Amaker started in center and batted third. Nasi Singleton, an 8 th grader , will typically start in the outfield and Garrett Wade usually starts at third base. Chip Brewer, or Stokes, will start at short and Dakota Black is at second while 8 th grader Chase Collins holds down first. Asiel Graham is usually the starting B-E catcher, backed up by Davis Ehrhardt . Singleton is the top hitter for the Raider at .477 and 8 RBI’s. Stokes is at .410 and 12 RBI’s. Black is third on the hit index at .333 and 15 RBI’s. Other top hitters include: Amaker (.317 with 17 RBI’s & a HR), Wade (.306 & 10 RBI’s) along with Cooper Sandifer (.300 & five RBI’s). Stokes has 26 innings pitched with 48 K’s. Sandifer has worked 22.1 innings on the mound with 38 K’s, and Brewer has 14 innings pitched to date with 25 K’s. “In terms of our pitching this season, it has been pretty good, but at times it has also been like a roller- coaster,” said Coach Schwarting. “We will pitch well one game, and not so well the next game. We also need to improve on our timely hitting before we start the play-offs also. “The other night we lost to Orangeburg Prep 6-3, and we left the bases loaded in the second, third, fourth and 5 th innings,” said Coach Schwarting. “”We have to get stronger in our hitting, up and down the line-up, one through nine. “Our pitching has been outstanding, our defense has been solid, and we just need to do a much better job getting hits with runners on base,” said Coach Schwarting, a Bamberg-Ehrhardt graduate now in his 7 th season as the Raiders head coach.
These players are some of the best talent South Carolina has on the softball diamond. Since the switch to fast pitch ball, student athletes playing softball are stepping up to the next level play. We salute these ladies and wish them all the best in the future. (Coaches please Nominate your Players at hsreport@aol.com ) HSSR 2025 SC Senor Softball Prospects 1. Ainsley Bennett-Summerville-P- SC (2 Time Gatorade POY) 2. Maddie Johnson-Aynor-RHP-67 MPH-CLEMSON 3. Sarah Rocheleau-Catawba Ridge-OF-(All-State) CLEMSON 4. Mandy Wells-Clarendon Hall-SS (35 Career HR/.531 career) 5. Melanie Edwards-Summerville-1B- (All-State) UNC-C 6. Ellanie Yarrell-Byrnes-P-C-(’24 R-POY) SC State 7. Abby Driscoll-Summerville-C-(All-State) C of C 8. Jaidyn Devore-Barnwell-P-(538 Career K’s)-HOWARD 9. Maddie Wiant-Byrnes-P-(Mid 60’s)-Winthrop 10. Addison Miller-Oceanside Collegiate-3B—(.468, 30-RBI) TOWSON 11. Maddie Berry-Latta-P-(All-State-65 MPH) Wofford 12. Cierra Grice-Dillon -3B/C-(3X All-State)-PC 13. Kaylee Hannon-Byrnes-P-1B-(5 Yr. Starter) Winthrop 14. Sydney Rollins-Lewisville-CF 15. Larosia Sanders-Colleton County-P/SS-SC State 16. Maddox Long-Gray Collegiate-P/3rd- 17. Peyton Perry-South Florence-P-COKER 18. Laila Landrum-Woodmont-CF/P-USC Upstate 19. Cassidy Neves-Woodmont-OF-(L-L)-USC Aiken 20. Lauren Childress-Woodmont-1B-SMC 21. Kara Davis-Byrnes-CF (L-L) (2X All-Region) Anderson 22. Brooklyn Amble-Byrnes-LF-(All-Region) North Greenville 23. Madison Thieke-Riverside-OF-(.442)-Wofford 24, Ella Sheorn-Lugoff-Elgin-1B-OF- 25. Calli Yount-Clarendon Hall-P 26. Ariana Evans-Sumter-CF- 27. Grace Terry-Oceanside Collegiate-UTIL-(.382/35RBI)COKER 28 Allie Simpson-Dixie-1B-(22 RBI) 29. Grace Terry-Oceanside Collegiate-C-(.382/35 RBI) COKER 30. Carter Shumate-Hartsville-1B-(Academics-SC) .584/24 RBI 31. Laila Landrum-Woodmont-RHP-OF- 32. Jenna Cecere-Mauldin-OF 33. Jaysha McCullough-Hartsville-OF-(current/.622) 34. Jaylin McGee-Easley-RHP 35. Hannah Andrews-Fox Creek-CF (.459,25 RBI) Columbia 36. Blair Elliott-GSF-C- 37. Maggie Harrington-Clarendon Hall-CF 38. Jasmine Grant-Fox Creek-1B-(.351) Lander 39. Hannah Andrews-Fox Creek-CF- (.459/25RBI) 40. 34. Addyson Snellings-Fox Creek-RHP 41. Sydney Rhodes-Sumter-RF- .451 42. Jordyn Miller-Lewisville-C-(.425/4 HR) 43, Alainia Brown-Aynor-SS-LANDERR 44. Ruby Powell-Ridge-Spring-Monetta-C-(.431/18 RBI) 45. Dacey Phillips-Gaffney-1B/3B-North Greenville 46. Claire Eskridge-Pee Dee Academy—OF- 47. Hollie Scott-Lake View-1B-(.403-All-Region) 48. Jaden Jones-Hannah-Pamplico-SS- 49. Riley Rabon-Aynor-C-ERSKINE 50. Hannah Lewis-Aynor-C-ERSKINE Best Of The Rest In 2025 SC Softball Class (No Particular Order) Caroline Gaskins-Aynor-OF-BELMONT ABBEY Savannah Gerald-Aynor-1B-Columbia Inter. Allie Bailey-Hartsville-P-(12-4/2.51/ERA) Brooklyn Moon-Berkeley-C-Chatt St. Reese Watson-Berkeley P— Madison House-Spartanburg-Utiity Lillian Fowler-Dorman-SS Holly Carnes-Branchville-P Janiyah Squire-Ninety-Six-P Emma Timmons-Buford-SS/2B Caroline Plyer-Buford-/B/P (8th grade) Maya Van Zyl-Blythewood-C Emma Timmons-Buford-SS/2B Maya Van Zyl-Blythewood-C HSSR SC Class of 2026 Softball Prospects (Jr.) 1. Caroline Davis-Union County-3B (467 9 HR) 2. Katie Guilliam-Summerville-SS- (.463, 5 HR) MISSOURI 3. Olivia Miller-Indian Land-P-SC (12-4,88-K’s) 4. Myah Harvey-Hartsville-SS-(.583/5/HR) WOFFORD 5. Prestan Schurlknight-Orangeburg-Prep-SS (.756/9HR) Lander 6. Alivia Hess-Aynor-P-(10-1/.48 ERA) Tenn Martin 7. Daphne Frady-Summerville-2B/3B-(.442/14 RBI) 8 Memory Melton-Byrnes-RF-(L-R) Strong Arm 9 Sarah Owens-Lewisville-P-(195 K’s, 1.64 ERA) 10. Korbyn Lydia-Gaffney-SS- (All-State)-USC Upstate 11. Kadence Poston-Hannah-Pamplico-P-WESTERN Car. 12.. Maddie Coward-Pee Dee Academy-P- Wofford 13. Maddie Hutto-Bamberg-Ehrhardt-P-(62-plus) 14. Logan Thomas-Indian Land-C-USC Aiken (.378/4HR) 15. Maliyah Campbell-Woodmont-P/DP-SC State 16. Frances Laughlin-Heathwood Hall-IF/OF-WOFFORD 17. Hailey Carguile-Woodmont-C-USC Union 18. Brooklyn Holmes-Colleton County-IF/CF (.651) 19. Natalie Regan-Riverside-OF-Western Carolina 20. Allie Royer-White Knoll-CF-North Greenville 21. Levi Warran-Lexington-OF- (.500-plus) 22. Emily Geddes-North Augusta-2B-SS-(.357/4HR) 23. Emerson Riddle-Dixie-C-(.630/27RBI) 24. Ariana Evans-Sumter-CF-2024-All-State 25. Addison Price-Dixie-SS-(.448/24 RBI) 26. Hannah Lambrecht-Orangeburg Prep – C 27. Garner Lanford-AC Flora-P/OF-(.463) 28. Hanah Lambrecht-Orangeburg Prep-INF-(.619/14RBI) 29. MaKenzie McElrath-Dixie-P –(All-State) 30. Maliyah Campbell-Woodmont-RHP (10-4) 31. Kylie Wilson-TL Hanna-Catcher 32. Dallas LaChance-Woodland-SS- 33. Saddie Parris-C-Boiling Springs HSSR 2026 Junior Class Best Of The Rest (No Certain Order) Maria Sialmas-Hillcrest-Catcher Kylee Hooker-Wagner-Salley-Pitcher Jadin Dandy-Travelers Rest-CF-All-State Elle Lockhard-Dreher-C (.469) Elena Mathys-Colleton Prep-P-(All-State) Hope Fowler-Greenville-Utility Kinley West-C-Byrnes Mackenzie Bradley-White Knoll-C- Kenzie McCoy-Loris-OF Mia Roseburg-Oceanside- P/SS Annie Storm-AC Flora-CF-(.372) Eryn Wright-Spring Valley-OF/SS-(2027) HSSR Class of 2027 Softball Prospects (Sophomores) 1. Aspen Boulware-Gray Collegiate-INF-(.651 / 40 RBI) 2. Kensley Vicars-Powdersville-INF- (.444 / 27 RBI) 3. Ayla Holmes-North Augusta-C-3B-1B-(.486 / 19 RBI) 4. Addy Waters-Byrnes-2B/SS-2 Yr. Starter 5. Emma Williams-TL Hanna- P-OF 6. Lillie Ivey-Sumter-P-(8-3,1,79ERA) 7. Maddie Loftis-TL Hanna-OF 8. Bailey Ardis-Sumter-C/OF- 9. Key-Lee Jennings-Union County-CF-(.382 / 15 RBI) 10. Summer Knight-Summerville-OF- 11. Taylor Wright-Holly Hill Academy- P (.531 / 20 RBI) 12. Madalyn Tigert-North Augusta 13. Laney Grubbs-Barnwell-P- 14. Mackenzie Melton-North Central-P 15. Kenleigh Epps-Whitmire-P 16. Riley Murphy-Indian Land-OF 17. Brynley Gaa-Legion Collegiate-P-1B 18. Brylie Harpe-Chesterfield-2B- 19. Addison Skipper-Marlboro County-SS-3B top 3 20. Azeleigh Arnette-Pee Dee Academy-2B- HSSR Class of 2028 Softball Prospects (Freshmen) includes Classes of 2029 -2030 (Note: If grade not noted they are 9 th ) 1. Addison Sharp-TL Hanna-RHP-246 K’s, 1.92 ERA 2. Maeven Morino-Summerville-2B-(.447/16RBI) 3. Kinsley Terrapin-Barnwell-SS/P-(.577) 7 th Grade 4. Maeven Moreno-Summerville-Utility- 5. Anna Grace Lee-Union County-RHP-17-3, 220 K’s 6. Tori Smith-Andrew-SS/P (.524) 7. Hanna Davis-TL Hanna-1B- 8. Addison Woodward-Fox Creek-Catcher 9. Garrison Aiken-Byrnes-SS/C/2B - 7th Grade 10. Wren Gaines-Byrnes-C- 8th Grade 11. Shalayah Badger-Barnwell-SS/P/C-(.500) 7th Grade 12. Mindy Veler-White Knoll-OF - 8 th Grade 13. Hanna Coburn-Lake View-2B-(.338/9 RBI) 14. Peyton Summers-Dixie-2B-(.486) 15. Stella Eichhorn-Ware Shoals-P-SS-(.619/16RBI) 16. McKenzi Pearson-Sumter-C-(arm) 17. Pressli Reynolds-AC Flora-P/SS-(.404,6-1) 18. Reece Yelton-Williston-Elko-OF 19. Addison Hasty-Pee Dee Academy-SS- 8th Grade 20. Cayden Crawford-May River-P-(51-K,5-1) 21. Bre Gerad-Colleton County-P/3B- 8th Grade 22. Gracyn Waiksnis-Indian Land-2B-(.395/9SB) 23. Kylie Powell-Powdersville-P-(R-R) 24. Calee Hartzog - Orangeburg Prep - 8th Grade (IF) 25. Josie Mitchum-Woodland-Util.-(.500)
Joshua Smith, Fra'Jon Bennett, Jernee Ford have had strong performances
Lady Saints going after fourth straight state title
Lady Generals have had to do battle with Calhoun, Clarendon Hall and Orangeburg Prep