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Quality Teams Compete In Jamboree of Champions Hosted By Dillon High

Billy Baker • August 18, 2024

Dillon FB players at the HSSR Media Day 2024

By Billy G. Baker

Publisher

Dillon — The Jamboree of Champions Jamboree, hosted by Dillon High School on August, 16, was comprised of five competitive games between West Florence and Richmond County, Chesterfield versus Lake View, Darlington versus Latta, Hartsville versus Scotland County, and the night cap game was between Dillon and Cheraw.


The HSSR interviewed each coach involved with a team in the high-profile Jamboree with a brief recap of each game. Each game involved a two-quarter scrimmage.


Richmond County Beat West Florence 14-7:

Richmond County scored first on an 83-yard scoring reception from QB Evan Hodges to Jade Hamilton. West Florence came back in the second period to tie the score the score at 7 on a pass from QB Avery Weaver to Jaden Perkins. Richmond County won the game 14-7 on a pick-six late in the second quarter.  


Coming off to rare back-to-back 5-6 seasons Richmond County head coach Brad Denson shared a few thoughts with the HSSR afterwards: “This is my first year as head coach at my alma mater and I was born and raised here and coached here for 14 years before coming the head coach this season,” said Coach Denson. “The kids have bought in to what we are wanting to do. We have high hopes after two back-to-back 5-6 records in Richmond County and that is not like us at all.


“Right now, we have zero college offers on our team and that is a shame and colleges need to get here and check out our players,” said Coach Denson. “Joe parsons is our leader on defense and Tehran Smith is another leader on defense.


“On offense we are really young with only one starting senior,” said Coach Denson. “We also have only two offensive starters back in the offensive line.”


Comments from Jody Jenerette of West Florence: “I love this football team so much and it is one of my favorite teams I’ve ever had,” said Coach Jenerette after the scrimmage. “They care about each other and they care about West Florence football and they do what they have to improve and get better. “We will be a very good football team before it is over.”


Some team leaders coming into the season include Keyshawn Johnson and Lavern Evans, they are two players who stand-out for us without a doubt,” said Coach Jenerette. “Our goals and expectations are same as everybody’s and we hope to win it all. We hope to find a way to win a game, or two, we were not supposed to win, make the play-offs, and keep on playing.


“We play South Florence to start the season and with this bad rain we’ve had we have not really had much of a chance to work on our special teams,” said Coach Jenerette. “We have a lot of catching up to do over the next week before we play our first game.”


Lake View Beat Chesterfield 14-7:   

Lake View all-state candidate Tyrell Foxworth got the Wild Gators on the board first with a 30-yard touchdown run in the first period to give LV a 7-0 lead. Chesterfield tied the score on a 70-yard TD pass from QB Bryce Adams to Jaquavious Clark (6-2, 192). The Wild Gators scored mid-way through the second period on a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Kason Herlong to Ashton Locklair to give his team the win.


Comments from Lake View Head Coach Daryl King: “Some of our key leaders are quarterback Kason Herlong who is starting for his third season along with running back Tyrell Foxworth,” said Coach King. “We  also feel good about our first year starting center Chase Brice who took his first snap at center tonight.”


Coach King said that other returning starters include offensive linemen Chris McGill, Lance Floyd, and Tyree Ford. The defense will be led by the return of linebackers Landon King, Seth Desee, and Dawson Hunt.


“Our expectation every year is to play for a state championship and we never set our expectations any lower,” said Coach King. “We didn’t get in any of the scrimmages because of the weather. This scrimmage was what I thought it would be. We needed to work on timing issues and getting plays in on time.


“We start the season on Thursday night with Marion and they will be a lot bigger, stronger and faster than we are,” said Coach King. “We will have our hands full with them fort sure.”


Comments From First Year Head Coach Matt Quinn At Chesterfield: “For our first time out, I am pleased,” said Coach Quinn. “We had some things to clean up but you do not scout for a jamboree. We put our defense in some tough situations against Lake View’s offense. I thought the defense played well for the most part.


“Some of our leadership players are Quay Clark who is a big-time receiver and quarterback Bryce Adams is a good leader,” said Coach Quinn.  “We had a lot of newcomers play well tonight led by first year player, junior outside linebacker Derrick Lockhart in his first year of football after being a basketball player most of the time.  


“Our offensive line played well tonight and they are led by Page up-front,  Xavier Rivers, Porter, and Deaver,” said Coach Quinn.

Marion will start the 2024 season against Johnsonville.  


Darlington Defeats Latta 14-0:

Running back Trey Hailey scored twice for Darlington on two short runs to lead his team to a 14-0 win over Latta in game three of the jamboree. 


Lata had several good drives during the game and junior QB Jayden Alford had several nice runs. The Vikings missed a field goal from the 15-yard line with 1:24 left in the scrimmage.


Comments From Second year Darlington Head Coach Jamie Johnson: “Our defense is pretty good, and they get after it, so if we can continue to play good defense and not turn it over on offense, I think we have a shot at a very good season,” said Coach Johnson. “Our whole back field is back and running back Troy Hailey  is back and he is as tough as nails and I would take that kid over anybody.


“Our defensive line  is really good led by Treyshawn James, Nydrez Walls, Shadreck Holmes and Dedrion Durant,” said Coach  Johnson.  “On defense we have seven starters back and on offense we have seven starters back.”


QB Jaylen Augustus (6-5, 180) is a junior expected to have a good season for the Falcons. NyQuan Williams is a top DB also back.


“We have never hosted a playoff game in our new stadium and that is certainly one of our goals this season,” said Coach Johnson. “Hopefully, we can host one this year and give our fans something special.” Darlington will begin the 2024 season against Lamar.


Comments From Latta Head Coach Brandon Iseman: “This was a test we needed tonight,” said Coach Iseman. “Darlington was a very athletic team and a powerful team and we needed that test to see who we really are right now.


“We are not short on ability, we just have to work on the little things and find a little more focus,” said Coach Iseman. “Some of our leaders back are Amir Rogers at linebacker along with receiver MaKinley Wallace. Our starting quarterback (Jaylen Alford) has been moved from receiver and tonight was his first snaps at quarterback in a game tonight.”


Latta will start the season at East Columbia High, NC on August, 23.


Hartsville versus Scotland County Plays To 14-14 Tie

Hartsville pulled most of their starters early in the second quarter with a 14-7 lead that helped allow Scotland County, NC to tie the game late in the second period. The Red Foxes are led by veteran RB Hykeem Waters and he scored on a 40-yard run in the first quarter. The other Red Fox TD came on a 20-yard run by junior RB Kylif Miller and Xavier Robinson made both of his PAT’s. 


Scotland County QB Ji’San McPhatter tossed touchdown passes of 20 yards to WR Nasiah McLean and a 31- yard scroing strike to Quantavious Everette to account for both of their scores.


Comments from Hartsville Head Coach Jeff Calabrese After The Game:  

“We are very blessed to have a player like Waters and he is a pleasure to coach,” said Coach Calabrese. “We had 10 new starters out there on offense tonight. I was very pleased with their progress and how hard they have worked.


“Our new quarterback, EJ Smith, had been playing receiver and running back for us but he stepped up when we graduated a three-year starter,” said Coach Calabrese. “Our three defensive ends Chris Price, Jordan Davis and Jackson Chavis all played well along with our two nose guards.


“We always sub in a lot of players in the second quarter because all our guys battle hard and we like to get as many of them in the game as possible,” said Coach Calabrese. “I was proud of the effort tonight but we have a few things to clean up.”


Hartsville will host Carolina Forest this week to start the season.


Comments From Scotland Couty Head Coach Richard Bailey:

“To be fair, Hartsville subbed in a lot of players after the first couple series and they had a very strong first group,” said Coach Bailey who is also the head Shrine Bowl coach for North Carolina this year. “We played much better on defense tonight then we did a scrimmage the other day. 


“On offense we had three sophomores at one time tonight,” said Coach Bailey. “We are young in a lot of places but we do have several experienced players back also. Our all-region quarterback Ji’San McPhatter is back and Quantavious Edwards, and DaQuan Gibson are our best skill guys.


“Our best offensive lineman is Isaiah Locklear (6-3., 300) and he is probably going to a Shrine bowl lineman,” said Coach Bailey. “Morrison, at defensive end is another one of our senior leaders who has a chance to be a better good player.”


Scotland County will start the 2024 season at Dillon on August, 23.   


Dillon defeats Cheraw 21-3:

 Running back Jamarion Fling broke tackles, the entire game and scored the Wildcat’s first touchdown on an 8-yard run early in the first quarter. Dillon next made it 14-0 as QB Rahmad Hamilton tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to highly regarded junior receiver Zay Robertson. Robertson caught a 49-yard scoring pass from Hamilton late in the second quarter to make it 21-0. Steven Rojas made all three PAT’s.


Cheraw avoided the shut-out when Charlie Phiilips made a 26-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the scrimmage. 


Comments from Dillon head coach Kelvin Roller:

“Fling and all our running backs ran the ball well tonight, and the offensive line blocked well also,” said Coach Roller. “We finally got Kyheim Lester (6-4, 265) to come out and play football from the basketball team and he is developing well at left tackle for us. Kiele Pompey (6-1, 230) will be at left guard and he is one of the strongest, if not the strongest player on our team.


“Nicholas Byrd (5-10,230) has done a good job at center so far and Mishad Gilchrist is at right guard and Ke’Shawn Ray is starting at right tackle so with football being a developmental game it will take time for the offensive line to develop but Coach Parker is doing a great job with them,” said Coach Roller.


Coach Roller is very high on WR/DB Zay Robertson. “He is a tremendous receiver with great hands and speed and he is going to be a special player. I honestly think he is one of the best receivers in the state.”


Rahmad Hamilton has ben moved from WR to QB. “I thought Rahmad did a really good job tonight,” said Coach Roller. “At the quarterback position you need to get reps and he has only been at the position for a few weeks but he is getting better every day.”


Some of the Nasty Cats of defense cited include DL Azavion Deberry (6-0,270) along with linebackers Keriyon Brown (5-10, 185), Daniel Capehart (5-11, 195) and Kelvien Manning (6-2, 170). Dan Graves, Robertson, and Fling provide depth in the secondary.


“This was just a jamboree tonight and our real season starts next week with Scotland County,” said Coach Roller. ”Our guys played fast and physical tonight and that is what we coach them to do.”


Comments From Cheraw Head Coach Andy Poole:

“This is our first time out going against the number one team in 3-A and Dillon is a quality ball club and I thought our kids responded pretty well,” said head coach Andy Poole. “Some of them got big-eyed their first time in action.”


Coach Poole complimented the play of Nick Gordan who came in and moved the offense as a Wild Cat quarterback late in the second period. “He came in and gave us a god spark,” said Coach Poole.


Coach Poole cited the offensive line as the leadership focus coming into the season. ”Guys like Ed Meeks, Caleb Terry, John Campbell and Bernard Joyner give us four seniors up-front and they do a good job pushing people around.”


Cheraw will start the season on August, 23 against McBee.

 

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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