Third ranked Barnwell Moves To 3-0 With 21-7 Win Over Bamberg-Ehrhardt In Week 2

Billy Baker • September 9, 2024

Barnwell's Sr. QB Cameron Austin

By Billy G. Baker

Publisher

Barnwell — The HSSR third ranked AA Barnwell Warhorses (3-0) over-came a 7-7 half-time tie with rival Bamberg-Ehrhardt, (2-1), by unleashing a potent ground game in the second half, to earn a hard-fought 21-7 win to remain undefeated on the 2024 season.


Barnwell head coach Brian Smith left immediately after the game to drive to Tennessee to visit his son, who is a college football student assistant coach at the next level. The HSSR interviewed Warhorse defensive coordinator Isaac Cooper after the game.


“At half-time Coach Smith felt like our offensive line could wear down their defensive front in the second half, so we decided to pound the football more in the second half, and that was a good strategy, because our line was able to wear them down,” said Coach Cooper. “It also helps the team that we have a quarterback (Cameron Austin) willing to run the ball off tackle, and in the hole, getting you seven to eight yards just about every time he runs the ball also.


“Our goal is also to pass the ball a little more, but it is still early in the season, and we are still working on our timing, and things like that,” said Coach Cooper. “We have a good group of receivers and the passing game will come around no doubt.”


Coach Cooper also cited the running of Wildcat quarterback Jaquan Peeples who played the majority of the second half, after Austin hurt his lower leg after a 41-yard run early third quarter that set up Barnwell’s go-ahead touchdown. “Jaquan is a great athlete who can play multiple positions and he was a very good play maker for us tonight,” said Coach Cooper.


Barnwell had a strong game on defense as well. The Warhorses have only allowed 14 points over three games this season. “We put a lot of demands on our defense,” said Coach Cooper. “Lex Thomas does a great job in the middle (after moving from OLB), making our calls and getting everyone lined up where they are supposed to be. He is flying around the football a lot better this year and he seems to have found his home in the middle.”


Coach Cooper joined the program as defensive coordinator in late May of 2023, and he feels now that the defense has had one year in his system he brought from Laurens High, that everyone knows the system better this season. “Everyone has bought in to what we are trying to do and they have worked hard during the off-season,” said Coach Cooper in reference to the marked improvement of the defense. “I have tried to make it where the defense does not have to think as much; just read, react, and go make plays.”


Coach Cooper also gave a shout-out to the offensive line for their outstanding play so far this season. The leader up-front is all-region three- year starter Tony Cherry (6-4, 285) at left tackle. The center is Lamar Buxton, and the left guard is Klayton “Peanut” Zissett (6-1, 230).  Jackson Bedingfield, Copeland Owens, and Kaleb Wilson are also key performers up-front.


“Those guys were pushing the pile all night,” said Coach Cooper. “They deserve a lot of credit for this win also.”


B-E head coach Corey Crosby was upset with numerous dropped passes from his receivers during the game. “We dropped balls tonight, and we had two touchdown passes dropped, and you can’t do that against a quality opponent like Barnwell,” said Coach Crosby. “This game was very similar to the way we played over here two years ago.


“We could never flip the field in the kicking game,” said Coach Crosby. “We gave them good field position and that was something that hurt us tonight also. They have a solid kicking game.


“Our kids fought hard and our seniors like Chanston and Demetrius Odom are good senior leaders and we are asking a lot from sophomores like Anthony Williams, but you just have to put your talented younger players on the field and hope they grow with the situation,” said Coach Crosby.  “We are a 1-A school and we have a lot of guys playing both ways and we just got worn down by the start of the fourth quarter.“


Coach Crosby said his team is healthy coming out of the game. “We are not going to change anything we are doing in getting ready to play Calhoun County next week,” said Coach Crosby. “We just need to focus better, concentrate on not dropping passes, and be more fundamentally sound of all phases of the game. This was a non-region game, and we’ll keep working hard towards our goals in Class A football.”


After a scoreless first quarter, Barnwell gained possession, after a punt, on their own 33-yard line. On first down Nehemiah Brown rushed for 9 yards, and then over consecutive plays senior quarterback Cameron Austin gained 10 yards to move the ball to the 16-yard line. Two plays later Austin broke tackles down to the one on a 13-yard burst. He scored on the next play, from the one, with 5:25 left in the half.


Place kicker/punter Lane Evans, who had an outstanding game made the first of three PAT’s to put Barnwell up 7-0.


Bamberg-Ehrhardt answered to tie the game on their next possession. Following a pooch kick the Raiders started the drive from the 44-yard line. After losing two yards on first down, two plays later senior quarterback Chanston Crosby threw a 46-yard pass to a wide- open Rocky Walker with 4:26 left in the half and Charles Breland’s PAT tied the score at 7.


Following a punt, B-E took over on their own 25-yard line with 2:00 left in the first half. Demetruis Odom had a 23-yard run on second down, and a 15-yard pass interference penalty against the Warhorses, were two key events in helping move the Raiders all the way down to the 14-yard line with 1.7 seconds left. A field goal attempt from around 30 yards fell just short under the goal post, as time expired, shifting momentum to Barnwell.


Barnwell received the third quarter kick-off and it took them only six plays to pull- ahead for good on a one-yard run by Jaquan Peeples with 7:50 remaining in the third period. His touchdown run was set-up by a 41-yard scamper by Austin down to the five-yard line. At the end of Austin’s determined run he appeared to have hurt his lower leg, but he did return for limited action afterwards. Evans added the PAT.


Barnwell added an insurance score with 3:31 left in the game after B-E went for it on fourth and two from their own 28-yard line, down by seven. The Warhorses took over at the 33-yard line (6:26 left in the game) as Jaquan Peeples ran seven straight plays from the Wildcat formation to score from the six- yard line. Evan’s PAT made the final score 21-7.


For the game, Austin completed 6-of-11 passes for 41 yards. He did most of his damage to B-E with his feet leading all-rushers with 102 yards on 14 carries and one TD. Austin’s three game totals are now 12-0f-19 passing for 186 tards and two touchdowns. He leads the team in rushing with 221 yards on 40 carries and five touchdowns.


Nehemiah Brown rushed for 56 yards on 16 carries against the Raiders and after three games he has 184 yards on 47 carries and two touchdowns. Jaquan Peeples has rushed for 55 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns in three games. Peeples rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries and he had two rushing touchdowns against B-E.


Lane Evans was a key performer for Barnwell against B-E averaging 41 yards on four punts, including one punt downed at the one-yard line late in the game. On the season Evans has a 40-yard average on 8 punts. He had made 10-of-11 PAT’s and one FG from 41-yards.


Logan Sturkie caught four passes for 26 yards against B-E and he now has seven catches for 87 yards and one TD on the season. Jaquan Peeples caught one pass for 15 yards against B-E and he now has caught seven passes for 80 yards on the season. Kahzeer Wesley has two catches for 46 yards this season.


Barnwell runs an East Coast 3-4 defense Jalen Carter is at nose-guard and the boundary end was Henri Creech for this game along with field end Adrain Cochran. Thomas was at Mike LB and the Will LB is Jeremiah Eaddy and the Jack LB is Logan Sturkie and the Sam LB is Jordan Peeples. The CB’s are soph Jayden Pinkney and Jaquan Peeples and soph Jayden Peeples. The double safeties are soph Damahjai Devoe and the boundary safety is William Robinson.


Against B-E the Barnwell tackle index was led by Devoe who had 13 tackles while Eady and Robinson had 10 tackles respectively. Thomas had 8 tackles while Creech had 8 stops and two sacks to his credit. Sturkie contributed five tackles and two sacks and Jordan Peeples had four hits and one sack.


After three games the tackle leaders are: Devoe (28), Thomas (25-1 sack), Robinson (24), Eady (22), Sturkie (21-3 sacks) and Jordan Peeples (18).   


Against Barnwell, senior B-E QB, Chanston Crosby, a North Carolina Central commitment,  completed 11-of-23 passes for 175 yards, while rushing for 30 yards and one TD.


Other rushers against Barnwell included Marcus Cann who rushed 9 times for 42 yards and Demetruis Odom who rushed 9 times for 35 yards. The top two receivers for the Raiders were Walker who caught three passes for 68 yards and one TD along with Anthony Williams who had two catches for 60-yards.


The top tacklers for B-E in the game were MLB Robert Jamison (6-0,200) with 13 tackles, LB Roger Mack-Thomas had 11 tackles and junior OLB Jalen McGraw (6-2, 200) had 11 tackles, including two TFL.


This week B-E will host Calhoun County while Barnwell will be at home to face South Aiken.  

First Baptist athletes competing well this spring

By David Shelton • April 19, 2025
By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – With the SCISA state playoffs just around the corner, now is the time for athletes and teams to hit their peak level of performance. That’s the goal for the spring sports athletes at First Baptist School as several teams look forward to a postseason opportunity. Both of the First Baptist varsity soccer teams have posted winning seasons to date. The regular season will conclude in less than two weeks. The boys team is in position to claim a region championship if they can finish strong. As of April 13, the Hurricanes were 8-2 overall with a 3-1 record in region play. That lone defeat came to rival Porter-Gaud, 2-1, and the Hurricanes get a rematch on April 22. First Baptist also has two key region contests remaining with Pinewood Prep on April 15 and April 24. Most of the 2025 roster is comprised of underclassmen. In fact, 10 of the rostered players are either sophomores or freshmen. The team has solid senior leadership, however, and those seniors are key factors. The seniors include goalkeeper Thomas Sanders , defenders Parker Thomas and Joshua McClain , and midfielders MacLain Luke and Camp Oliver . The girls soccer team won seven of their first 12 matches and appear headed for a third-place finish in the very competitive region that is controlled by Porter-Gaud and three-time defending state champion Pinewood Prep. Senior Fynn Domrese is the team’s leading goal scorer with 12 tallies, including a hat trick in a win over Northwood Academy. Sophomore Reese Tipton has seven goals and six assists while sophomore Britton Lempesis has a pair of goals. Like the boys team, the girls roster is very young with Domrese the only senior. She and junior midfielder Wells Griffin are the team captains. First Baptist recently restarted the softball program. The program was a dominant winner in the 1990’s but faded as the game changed to fast pitch. The program has a rebirth under coach Katelyn Powell , a former all-state player at Northwood Academy. There were teams dating to 2000-01 but not every season. Interest appears high as the school is fielding a b-team and a junior varsity team this spring. First Baptist has experienced some success with four victories early on. Some of the key players this season include Trissa Medlin, Addison Townsend, Bailey Millemad, Lulu Mayo and Izzie Tracy. The boys golf team is preparing for the SCISA state tournament in late April. Members of that team include sophomore Graham Edwards , junior Bates Walpole , freshmen Jack Finuca n, Slate Shope , William Askins , Elijah Crawford and Banks Cordray ; eighth-grader Tucker Mappus and sixth-grader Will Mappus . The baseball team sits in second-place in the region standings, posting a 12-6-1 overall record as of April 14. The Hurricanes have three region losses, all to Pinewood Prep, with a key three-game series with Porter-Gaud at the end of the regular season.

Laurence Manning baseball, softballt teams having trremedous seasons

By Dennis Brunison hssr.com Associate Editor • April 18, 2025
Lady 'Cats gearing up for another run at SCISA AAAA state title

Emerald Baseball Focused On Strong Finish In Pursuit Of play-off Berth

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Greenwood — Emerald head baseball coach Mack Hite knew if he could ever get talented freshman Beau Hite back on the mound that his confidence would be restored and positive things would emerge. Hite has been able to bat all season, but an injury prevented him from pitching until recently. “Beau has been able to throw an inning here and there recently, and he had a big strike out against a highly regarded prospect at Laurens who is going to Georgia. Big moments like that have helped him get his confidence back,” said Coach Hite. “It has also helped him increase his hitting average at the plate also.” Hite is now batting .438 with 9 RBI’s, including five doubles and a triple. Hite also has 8 stolen bases. He is a three-sport athlete at Emerald where excels in football and basketball also. One bit of recent bad news for the team was losing the pitching services of LHP and PC commitment Tucker Meredith . “He is still able to play a position and bat, so not all is loss,” said Coach Hite. Other top hitters to date for the Vikings include freshman Ethan Metts at .375 along with sophomore Eli Swancey who is at .400 with five TBI’s including an excellent .978 fielding percentage. Finn Howard is at ,367 with four RBI’s while junior Aaron Polly is hitting .351 with 9 RBI’s. Freshman Coleman Marino is at .360 with six RBI’s. With Meredith off the rubber, Hite, Howard, Marino, and Swancey have all stepped up to share pitching duties. Howard has become the work horse and he is 2-1 with 32 K’s in 28.2 innings of work. As of April, 11 the Vikings were in 5 th place in the region. “I think as competitive as our region has been this season, with so many good teams, that we should have a good case to possibly qualify for an at-large play-off berth,” said Coach Hite. “In the mean time we just need to keep playing with grit and toughness and win as many games as we can. “We have been hitting well is spurts, but we can’t seem to get a timely hit with runners in scoring position,” said Coach Hite. “Hopefully our luck will change as we enter a crucial part of our schedule.” The team had seven games left as of April, 14 when they played at Ware Shoals . Hey have region games against Westside on April 15 and 17. They next play region games against Laurens on April 22 and 24 before hosting Abbeville on the 30 th . They close out the season at home against Ware Shoals on May, 1. Emerald Softball Very Young This Season  Tiaria Agnew is in her fourth season as the Emerald High girls’ softball coach and her team is very young and rebuilding this season. The Lady Vikings are made up of one 7 th grader, three 8 th graders, two freshmen, one sophomore, three juniors and just two seniors so a youth movement has certainly hit the program. The team was 5-3, 2-6 entering the final two weeks of the season. They recently had two confidence wins over Southside (16-1, 20-0). The young team is being led by senior LHP Bria Jones, sophomore Paydyn Stafford and freshman utility athlete Caitlyn Hackett.

Dorchester softball team having a great season

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • April 18, 2025
Raiders off to an 11-4 start as SCISA AA state playoffs draw near

Spring sports hitting the final stretch of regular season play

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
Spring sports hitting the final stretch of regular season play By David Shelton Senior Writer Lake City – Don’t look now but the 2025 spring sports season is nearly over and the athletes at Carolina Academy are prepping for the stretch drive. The spring has been a mixed bag of success to date but all of the teams are looking to finish strong. The baseball team has had a tough go, winning four of their first 15 games. Several losses were close games so the team has been competitive at times. On the mound, getting work are Walker McCutcheon, Bennett Mathews, Hampton Kirby Ryker Rhodes and Ryan Cox . McCutcheon, Rhodes and Matthews have seen time behind the plate as well. Kirby has seen time at short, along with Matthews, while Parker Miles , Carson Hanna and Holden Carsten are seeing time at the corner infield positions. Cox, Tanner Floyd and Kingston Cox are working in the outfield. The boys golf team has had some success this spring and will be playing in the SCISA state tournament on April 26 th in Conway. The Bobcats played in the region tournament on April 10.  The team has a bevy of seniors who are playing in the top group. Seniors include Thomas McDaniel, Cam Porter, Mason Huggins, Michael Wyatt, Blanding Franks, Jamison Andrews and Drake Morri s . Also playing are Landon Crosby , eighth-grader Grady Long , and seventh-graders Braeden Morris and Kohl Elmore . The Carolina Academy softball team has had better luck so far this season, winning nine of their first 12 games to put them in contention for a region title. Coach Scotty Philips felt his team had what it takes to challenge for a state championship if things continue to progress. “I see a lot of potential with this team but they have to focus and continue to work,” Phillips said. The strength of the 2025 team is inside the pitching circle. Junior Raylee Frye is a third-year performer who is as good as any hurler in SCISA when she brings her “A” game. Freshman Ella Ham will log innings at pitcher as well while also playing centerfield and first base. Lauren Sims also will pitch and share third base duties with Frye. “We have three good pitchers, dependable,” Phillips said. “I feel good giving the ball to any of them.” Handling the catching duties is returning starter Carlie Ann Smith , a junior who has been impressive behind the dish early on. Sophomore Jaylyn Davis will play most of the innings at first base while eighth-grader Natalie Braveboy will move from left to second base to replace McCutcheon. Three eighth-graders, Paisley Coker, Kayley Lyerly and Emma Amos are working in rightfield, with Ham also getting reps. Rounding out the varsity roster this season are Katherine Holiday, Lexi McCutcheon, Sarah Emma Garris, Savannah McCUtcheon, Jennifer Vargas and Hannah Grace Matthews.

Panthers enter HIT as region champs

By Roger Lee • April 18, 2025
Max Poulakis has been key to Pinewood’s success this season as a pitcher, infielder and batter.

Baseball, softball struggling this spring

By David Shelton • April 18, 2025
By David Shelton Senior Writer Bennettsville - The 2025 season has been a rough ride for the baseball and softball teams at Marlboro County High . With the top four teams in each region of Class AAA qualifying for the Lower State playoffs, both of Marlboro County’s teams are in jeopardy of not making the cut. Both need a strong finish in the remaining region 6-AAA games to earn their postseason opportunity.  The baseball team has been a regular in the postseason and was expected to be a top four team in the region this spring. As of April 7, the Bulldogs were 2-8 overall with three of those early losses by two runs or less. Coach Ryan Pierce has mixed and matched his lineup this season, searching for the right combination of players that can yield success. Senior Cam Hunt is arguably the top overall player on the roster as a shortstop and pitcher. Tristan Quick plays mostly third base and is another arm on the mound. Others who have seen time on the mound include Zach Hardee and J ameson Bradshaw . Hardee also does work defensively as a corner infielder. Patrick Stubbs mans centerfield in most games while Layton Chavis handles most of the catching duties. Jayden Chavis plays second base while Ty Kickery , Tim Sloan and Landon Sweatt are working primarily in the outfield. Justin Haithcock and Khalil Sloan have seen time as the designated hitter, and Greir Norris has spot time at first base. Rounding out the roster are RJ Hale, Coy Preston and Jake Sloan . Entering the first full week of April, the Marlboro County softball team was 0-7 in region play and 3-13 overall. In recent years the Bulldogs have been region title contenders but have not been able the get it going this spring. One player who is playing at a high level is sophomore shortstop Addison Skipper , who is hitting .618 with five homeruns and 15 runs batted in through 15 games. Sophomore Ruthie Grooms hit .344 with nine RBI in the first 15 games while junior centerfielder Amir Bridges is hitting ,316 on the season. Eighth-grader Kaylee Sweatt is hitting ,296 and senior Abby Quick is hitting .286.

KNIGHTS BASEBALL GROWING STRONGER

By Gerald Doolittle • April 18, 2025
BY: GERALD DOOLITTLE Contributing Writer Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. – The W.W. King Academy Knights coached by Brian Kneece heads into Spring break with an 5-4 overall record. The Knights still have regular season games left with Greenwood Christian, Ridge Spring-Monetta and Wardlaw Academy. After the regular season games SCISA Region 3-A will have a Region tournament at Richard Winn on 4/21 and at W.W. King on 4/22. With a win over Wardlaw Academy to close the regular season the Knights will have a 4-2 region record which will give them second place behind Richard Winn Academy. The Knights offense has been sparked by Casen Buzhardt (so), Elijah Hutto (so), Joshua Oswald (fr) and Greyson Rikard (fr). These four are followed by Colton Buzhardt (sr) and Zed Watkins (jr). Casen leads with a batting average of .393 and 8 RBIs. And 10 runs scored. Hutto has a batting average of .375, 4 RBIs and 14 runs scored. Oswald has a batting average of .375, 4 RBIs and 8 runs scored. Rikard has a batting average of .375, 8 RBIs and 5 runs scored. Rikard also has 2 home runs. Landen Anderson (so) has four hits that has resulted in 9 RBIs. One of those hits was a home run. Leading the base running stats is Hutto with 14 stolen bases followed by Colton Buzhardt with 6 stolen bases. Oswald follows with 5 and Casen with 4.  Hutto leads the pitching staff with 28 Ks followed by Colton and Casen Buzhardt with 17 each.

With Spring Break Over Gaffney Softball Focused On AS Winning Streak

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
By Billy G. baker Publisher Gaffney —The Gaffney Lady Indians softball team went into Spring break at 10-7, and in sixth place in a very competitive AAAAA region, and head coach Maddie Pruitt is very focused on the team having a strong finish to the 2025 season over the next two weeks. “We are coming off Spring break well rested and we are ready to go to work and we are looking forward to finishing the regular season on a high note so we can ride into the playoffs the first week of May with a lot of momentum,” said Coach Pruitt. “We play all the region teams we faced in the first half of the season over the next two weeks. It will be a busy time and our focus is to work hard and have success.” One setback to the team was an injury to talented 8 th grade infielder Maysen Byars who was hitting .514 at the time of her injury. Maysen played second and third base for me and she is a solid infielder and we will miss her so much,” said Coach Pruitt. Over the Spring break Brooklyn Jennings committed to play softball at USC Union . Senior Dacy Phillips has signed with North Greenville and Korbyn Lydia is headed to USC Upstate. Both Phillips and Lydia have been a key part of the Gaffney softball program for five seasons including junior varsity. The team’s ace pitcher this season has been sophomore Ashley Caraway who has a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 2.70. caraway has worked 46 innings in the circle with 41 strike-outs. The leading hitters for Gaffney have been junior Kourtney Caraway who is batting .442. Sophomore Ashley Caraway is batting .405. Lydia is batting .378 and Jennings is at .333. Dacy Phillips is batting .250 and playing solid defense “Dacy has been barreling balls up and good during her at bats, but it’s been right at the defense,” said Coach Pruitt. “Hopefully, she will have a strong finish to the season.” Gaffney has played a very competitive schedule this season and they have defeated some talented teams among their 10 victories. They have wins over: ALA (15-5), Legion Collegiate (7-3), Seneca (4-3), Oceanside Collegiate (6-1), Greenville (14-1 & 5-2), Riverside (7-3), and Wade Hampton (9-2).  Gaffney will play at Spartanburg on April,15 then travel to Eastside the next day before hosting Byrnes on April, 18. The Indians host Boiling Springs on April, 21 and Riverside on April 22. Gaffney is at Dorman on April, 25 before hosting Wade Hampton on April, 29. Chapman comes to Gaffney on April, 30 and then the Indians close out the regular season at home against Eastside on May, 2.

James Island spring sports racking up the wins in 2025

By David Shelton • April 18, 2025
James Island spring sports racking up the wins in 2025 By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – There has been winning aplenty for the James Island Charter spring sports teams through the first two weeks of April. The move from Class AAAA to AAAAA has not been as difficult as some predicted as several James Island teams are contending for region 8-AAAAA championships. The girls and boys soccer teams are in the thick of the race as the regular season winds down. The girls soccer team won their first six region contests and won 11 of their first 13 matches overall. The boys soccer team is off to a 5-1 start in region play, winning 10 of their first 14 contests overall. Lacrosse continues to grow and gather strength as a relatively new sport at the school. The boys team sits at 9-6 as of April 12 with just a few games remaining. The girls team went 5-10 in their first six weeks of the season. Leading the effort on the girls team is senior Mary Katherine Williams , who has scored 48 goals with six assists. Senior Emma McFall has tallied 20 goals while sophomore Lane Hobey has added 11 goals. Senior Reece Bertschy has nine assists to go with her 10 goals. The softball team is in a little rebuild this spring but has still competed well overall. The Trojans split their first six region games, losing to the top three teams in the region – Summerville, Fort Dorchester and West Ashley. Senior first baseman/pitcher Mary Davis Hancock leads the team in hitting with a .405 batting average. She has eight runs batted in as well while logging 54 innings inside the circle. Senior outfielder Rachel Manchester is hitting .350 and sophomore Caroline Jaruzel is hitting .300 while also working 32 innings as a pitcher. The team’s top returning hurler, sophomore Gracie Sue Billings , has not pitched this season after winning nine games last season.  The baseball team is one of the state’s top five teams in AAAAA and will enter the playoffs seeking a second consecutive state championship. They won the AAAA state title in 2024. The Trojans are 9-0 in region play and 14-3 overall entering spring break (April 13). A devastating and productive top of the lineup has been as advertised. Senior catcher Stow Rogers , junior shortstop Taj Marchand , senior third baseman Jake Amman and sophomore second baseman Trip Ostergard have blistered opponents with each hitting near or better than .400. First baseman Finn Pratt , a first-year starter, also is off to a solid start offensively as is junior outfielder Connor Dantzler . Marchand and Ostergard also have been key performers on the mound, along with senior Collin Anderson and sophomores Dawson Belder and Cooper Jones.
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