ZJ Jenkins takes a shot for Summerville Dec. 30 during the Roundball Classic showcase.

The Dutch Fork Silver Foxes claimed their 3 straight state championship with their 35-21 win over Summerville in the SCHSL Class 5A Div. 1 State Championship game in Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at SC State University. 

Dutch Fork's Junior QB Ethan Offing

By Roger Lee Contributing Writer Summerville - A lot of hard work and dedication as well as some grief and strife went into it, but Summerville has returned to the state football finals. The Green Wave has one of the strongest and most storied football traditions in South Carolina. Over the years, the revered program has claimed 12 state football championships. Legendary coach John McKissick led Summerville to 621 wins to set a national record and helped the program capture 10 of those state titles. However, sometimes even the strongest of programs are denied the deep playoff run they desire. Summerville hadn’t made the state finals since 2007, but that changed with its victory over previously undefeated Sumter Dec. 6 in the 5A, Division 1 Lower State Championship game. Summerville (13-0) will take on Dutch Fork (12-0) in this year’s state title game. “I couldn’t be more proud of you guys, but the job’s not done baby!” Summerville coach Ian Rafferty told his team after the victory. “We have to go finish the job, but hey, we are there and we have a chance to play for a state championship. We kicked the door in.” Rafferty, a former Green Wave lineman, took over as the team’s coach in 2020. In part due to Covid, the team had a couple of subpar seasons by Summerville standards. Then Rafferty, who played for North Carolina State and in the NFL before entering the coaching profession, led Summerville to the 5A semifinals the next three seasons. Last season the team suffered its only loss in the Lower State title game, falling 21-14 to White Knoll. “This means a lot,” Rafferty said. “I think people wanted me out of here after those Covid years, but we put our heads down and we went to work so it means a lot to me. I never got to play in a state championship as a player so I’m excited for our guys.” Summerville is on a roll entering the finals. It received a bye in the first round and then claimed convincing playoff wins over Fort Dorchester (36-13), Ridge View (49-20) and Sumter (35-6). “We played a pretty complete first half both against Sumter and Ridge View,” Rafferty said. “In both games we scored on multiple first-half drives while our defense didn’t give up a score. This is what we train for. We always want to be physical, play with great effort and execute and we’ve been doing that.” Summerville has out rushed its opponents this season 3,243 yards to 1,380 yards. The Wave has passed for 2,488 yards while holding its opponents to 2,133 passing yards. Summerville has rushed for 47 touchdowns and passed for 30 TDs. The Green Wave is strong up front on both sides of the ball. Leading the way for the offense are center Brayden Schlabach , guards Jahmarion Lott and Francis Roberts , tackles John Corley and Avian Kinard and tight end Brice Taylor . Keshon Washington has also been key as a tight end and h-back, but has been out with an injury the last several weeks. Senior quarterback Jaden Cummings is a strong field general. The Dartmouth College signee has completed 164 of 252 pass attempts this season for 2,290 yards and 29 TDs while only throwing one interception. He has rushed for 579 yards and 15 TDs. “We knew that the later in the year we would have to use Jaden as a runner more so we designed some things for him and in the passing game he knows when to pull it down and get out of there. He does a good job of knowing when people are double covered or when a route is not there. He is good at making things happen.” Sophomore running back Jayvyn Williams has rushed for 1,877 yards and 24 TDs on 224 carries with only three fumbles. He also has 13 receptions for 84 yards and a TD. Summerville’s leading receiver is sophomore D-1 prospect Jaiden Kelly-Murray who has 75 catches for 1,050 yards and 11 TDs as well as 30 carries for 200 rushing yards and four more TDs. Rafferty likes to use him in the Wildcat and the receiver has completed 3 of 4 pass attempts for 89 yards. Senior receiver Carson Guinn has 25 catches for 362 yards and four TDs. Junior Kemori DeWeese holds down the other starting receiver spot and has a bigger role in the absence of Washington. Senior kicker Bennett Kelley has made three field goals this season, handled most kickoffs and made 59 of 63 PAT kicks. Cummings handles most of the punting and averages 37.5 yards per punt. Nolen Giet is the long snapper and Cooper Kafin a is the holder. Kelly-Murray, Williams, DeWeese, Guinn and junior DJ Grant provide good return speed for the team. Nose guard Nick Lincoln and tackles Yasir Smith and Julian Lofay anchor the Summerville defensive front. Inside linebackers Tyree Patton and JT Williams and outside linebackers Demarcus King and Eli Pressley man the team’s second level of defense. Rhyan White and Jacqueez Walker are the starting cornerbacks and Jadin Waring and Melvin Teal are the starting safeties. Patton is the leading tackler with 123 stops including 18.5 for a loss and 3 sacks. JT Williams has 91 tackles including 15 for a loss and 8 sacks. Pressley has 83 tackles including 15.5 for a loss and 6 sacks. JT Williams and Smith both have a team-high 7 pass break ups. Walker has a team-high 3 interceptions. The defense has forced 13 fumbles this season and recovered eight. Summerville hasn’t won a state championship since 1998. Dutch Fork also has strong tradition and has largely dominated its competition since the creation of the 5A class so Rafferty knows his team faces a challenge.  “We are looking to take the next step,” Rafferty said. “I know my coaches will do a great job and we are relatively healthy so we will see what happens. Dutch Fork has been there before so they know the process. They won it at South Carolina State last year so they understand everything that goes into this game and it won’t be new to them. We’ve talked to our kids a bunch about not letting the moment be too big for them and just treating it like another Friday game.”

A championship season deserves championship recognition when your school makes it to the biggest game of the season. This past Friday, the Upper State Champions and Lower State Champions were decided. Now, these teams go to SC State University’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium for “the cherry-on-top” of an already successful season and compete for the title of State Champion . Every school playing this week is a Champion. Now is the time for schools and parents to celebrate making it to the State Championship Game. After all, your team made it further than any other team in your region and classification. Every team and every player earned their spot in State Championship game. The Championship Game Programs capture those life-long memories made during this season, culminating in getting to the state title game. Let’s celebrate the achievement of your student athletes. The SCHSL has the HSSR produce the official, full color, championship game program. This is a valuable keepsake for parents and students to mark the conclusion of a great football season. For each game, the HSSR produces two unique programs that are tailored to the Upper State Champion and Lower State Champion with ad from their supporters and the opposing team’s roster included to know who is on the field. In previous years and in addition to the parents, businesses, and alumni supporting the school, other sports have used half or full-page ads to show their support and highlight their own accomplishments along with a team photo. We have ads from baseball, softball, basketball, and cheer to mention a few that congratulate the football and show their support. The official game program ads earn double credit so your ad supporting your school, your team, and your student athlete also supports continuing sports coverage for your school and all other student athletes for another school year. The High School Sports Report monthly edition goes to over 250 colleges and universities athletic departments.

Summerville hands Sumter its only loss of the season in the Lower State Championship game.

Green Wave sophomore Jayvyn Williams rushed for four touchdowns Nov. 29 during Summerville’s third-round playoff victory over Ridge View.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Moncks Corner —The region winners in the AAAAA SCHSL football classification all received byes for the first round of the play-offs that started on November, 15 th so if any upsets are brewing involving the top seeded teams in the two divisions we will have to wait until Nov., 22 nd for that to possibly happen. In the Upper State AAAAA D-1 a bye went to number one rated Dutch Fork (9-0) and they will play the winner of the Boiling Springs (6-3) versus Dorman (6-3) in a week two in Irmo. Rock Hill (5-5) received a bye and they will play the winner of the Mauldin (2-8) versus River Bluff (8-2) game in week two. JL Mann (8-2) got a bye and they await the winner of the Blythewood versus Clover (7-3) game on Nov., 15. Number four- rated Spartanburg , fresh off a close game loss with rival Gaffney awaits the winner of Lexington versus Byrnes in week one. In Lower State Div. I Summerville (10-0) has a bye and they await the winner between Fort Dorchester and Stratford. Cane Bay , a winner over Berkeley last week, received a bye and they await the winner between Spring Valley and Ridge View. Carolina Forest has a round one bye and they await the winner between Wando and James Island . Highly regarded Sumter (9-0) has a first- round bye and they will host the winner between West Ashley and Ashley Ridge on Nov. 15. Now, we move on to Div. II AAAAA: In the Upper state number one rated Northwestern (10-0) will host the winner between Eastside and Indian Land on Nov., 15. Greenwood received a first- round bye and they will host the winner of the nation Ford versus Hillcrest first round game on Nov., 15. T.L Hanna earned a bye and they await the winner of the Woodmont versus Catawba Ridge winner in round two. Gaffney , fresh off of a come from behind win over Spartanburg that clinched the region title, awaits the winner of the Greenville versus Riverside game. In the Lower state Div. II AAAAA: Irmo (9-1), fresh off of a loss to Dutch Fork , awaits the winner between Goose Creek and Chapin in week one. West Florence has a week one bye and they will host the winner between Lucy Beckham and North Myrtle Beach in round two. Berkeley has earned a bye and they await the winner between Socastee and Westwood in round one. Finally, Myrtle Beach earned a first- round bye and they await the winner between Lugoff - Elgin and White Knoll from first round action. The HSSR predicts that Dutch Fork and Summerville will emerge as respective bracket winners in Div. I AAAAA and will meet in the gold medal round at South Carolian State University on Friday Dec., 13 at 2 p.m. Tom Knotts , the head coach at Dutch Fork, told the HSSR after his 24-14 big win over Irmo last week, ““I pay attention to Dutch Fork, but now that I’ve played Irmo, these are the two best teams in the state,” said Coach Knotts after the Irmo win. “They’re going to be in the smaller (school size) 5A and we’re in the larger 5A, so thank goodness we don’t have to play them again and they’re probably saying thank goodness they don’t have to play us again. “We like to get to this time of year, the kids behave better, they focus better, they lift better, they meet better,” Knotts said. “This is our time of year. We’re used to it.” Summerville head coach Ian Rafferty shared these thoughts about the play-offs, ““Unfortunately we will have to play some teams we’ve already seen in the playoffs but it is what it is,” said Coach Rafferty. “Against Fort Dorchester we did some uncharacteristic things on special teams and turned the ball over near the goal line, but moving forward the key is the way our guy’s work. We have kind of built a good mentality throughout the season and just work and show up to play on game night. Basically, we just need to be the Green Wave.” The Summerville offense spreads the ball around and the team suffered some key injuries on both sides of the ball this season so a lot of players have seen action and contributed to the second consecutive undefeated regular season. In Div. II AAAA, the HSSR predicts a Northwestern versus Gaffney final in the gold medal round scheduled for 06 p.m. on December, 14 at South Carolina State University. Gaffney head coach Dan Jones told the HSSR after his win over Spartanburg last week, “Coach Jones said that during the bye week Gaffney would stay focused on getting ready to compete in the second round of the play-offs on November, 22. “We will study film and lift weights on Monday but we will have three full practices on Tuesday through Thursday,” said Coach Jones. “We will be hard-at-work getting ready to play wither Greenville or Riverside.” For the regular season, the Gaffney offense produced 1,423 yards rushing and 1,849 yards passing and that defines a balanced attack on offense. Gaffney out-scored teams 275-139. Northwestern , led by veteran QB Finley Polk has dominated teams 514-158 this year. Head coach Paige Wofford has done a great job coaching the Trojans for the past several years and his team is expected to plow through the competition in the play-offs on the way to the finals.

Summerville sophomore running back Keshon Washington