By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – At long last, the regular season came to an end and the Class AA state playoffs are upon us. The brackets are set and the fans of the favorites are hoping to make plans in mid-December for Orangeburg and the state finals scene. Who are the favorites in AA? Is there a sleeper or two that may surprise everyone and get to the title game. Most of the time, the teams that survive the grind and reach the fifth week of the playoffs, the title game, are teams that everyone who follows the sport predicts will be there. Let’s have a little fun and handicap the AA field. My process is to list my top four teams in the Upper State bracket and top four in the Lower State, as I see it. Any team not in my top four would be considered a sleeper to make it through the bracket. But, it can be done. In the Upper State, my No. 1 team is Batesburg-Leesville . I know, shocker. The 10-0 Panthers have answered every challenge and have proven to be quite formidable. They allow seven points per game with a defense that has speed and physicality. Nearly half of the total points they have allowed in 10 games came in one game, to Abbeville, in a two-point win. Abbeville is the top-ranked team in Class A and their coach , Jamie Nickles , is a believer. “They are certainly capable of winning the state championship,” he said. Running back Amadre Wooden and quarterback Tanner Watkins are a solid one-two punch offensively. Wooden has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and Watkins has passed for more than 1200 yards. My No. 2 pick to win the Upper State is Clinton. The 7-2 Red Devils have lost only to Woodruff and Daniel. Each of those teams has just one loss this season. The tough non-region schedule makes me feel the Red Devils are battle-tested for close, big games. Quarterback Tashawan Richardson makes it all go for the offense with James Cook adding a major threat in the run game. My No. 3 pick in the Upper State is Fairfield Central . The Griffins lost their season opener to Ridge View and have won nine straight games since. The scouting report needs just one word – speed. The Griffins can run and are explosive. Running back Tydarion Grier has gained more than 1.400 yards and averages 9.3 yards per carry. And, my No. 4 is Saluda . The Tigers’ only loss came to Batesburg-Leesville and they would love another shot at their region rivals. Saluda is another of the top defensive teams in AA and defense wins championships. Tahe your pick as the favorite in the Lower State cause several teams have a shot. My No. 1 going in is Barnwell . While not flashy or dominant, the Warhorses are solid and athletic. Senior Cameron Austin is a great leader at quarterback and if they have success on the ground, game over. No. 2 is Barnwell rival Hampton County . Again, the Hurricanes run the football and have good solid play at quarterback. They made a good run a year ago and I think their confidence level is high. The last two favorite picks are difficult and I ended up with three teams for two spots. At No. 3 I am going with Cheraw . The 8-2 Braves are not great at anything but very solid at most. Running back Cam McClendon is a threat to score from anywhere and the defense gets after it pretty good. For No. 4, I am sharing the spot between Manning and Philip Simmons . Manning has just one loss, the season opener to Crestwood, but their schedule and region was not overly difficult.  Philip Simmons went undefeated in a tougher region and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Iron Horses have a veteran quarterback and they really play hard on defense. Class AA state playoff first-round pairings Upper State Pelion at Clinton Strom Thurmond at Chester Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville Andrew Jackson at Liberty Chesterfield at Fairfield-Central Ninety Six at Chesnee Landrum at Central Mid-Carolina at Saluda Lower State Academic Magnet at Barnwell Lake City at Timberland Edisto at Cheraw Andrews at East Clarendon North Central at Manning Woodland at Hampton Co. Mullins at Philip Simmons Kingstree at Whale Branch

Timberland's big man on the line, Jr. Desmond Green (6-5, 340) plays Guard and DT.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR St. Stephens – The past two years the Timberland Wolves have gotten off to slow starts so heading into the 2024 season one of head coach Greg Wright’s goal was to get off to a strong start and the Wolves have accomplished that as the sit at 4-2/1-0. “We talked about starting and finishing strong. The past couple of years we have faced a lot of adversity and did not do well in handling it. This group understands we have to play four quarters of solid football,” said coach Wright. They opened region play with a 53-6 win over Burke . They will host a 3-3/0-1 Academic Magnet which lost their region opener to Andrews 42-6. Then they will finish region play with the three teams that also have region championship aspirations at Andrews (5-1/1-0), home to Phillip Simmons (4-2,1-0) and at Woodland (4-2,0-1) While getting off to a fast start was paramount for the Wolves they also wanted to bring the Wright Bowl to St. Stephens for the first time in its three-year history. They beat rival Cross 43-14 and accomplished that goal. Defense has been the name of the game for the Wolves all season. They have held every opponent to less than 300 yards of total offense and in their wins they are allowing only 8.5 points per game. Also, in their four wins they have held their opponent to less than 150 yards of offense. The Wolves are led on defense by their linebacking corps which is fast and arrives at the ball with bad intentions. Seniors Ethan Milligan and Demarri Middleton have been the teams leading tacklers all year. Earlier against Hanahan Milligan had 13 tackles while Middleton had 11 tackles. The defensive line is also led by two senior is Kaseam Liferidge and Josh Ham . They clog the middle and make a habit of getting into the offensive backfield for either a tackle for loss or a sack on passing downs. Sophomore Carter Hawkins is making his presence felt in the secondary and does a great job in run support. Offensively, the Wolves are averaging 31.5 points per game with only Hanahan holding them under 10 points. Junior quarterback Malyk Goodman has been solid all year and the good thing for the Wolves he is getting better command of the offense each week. Senior Aiden Berrios does a little bit of everything for the Wolves but maybe the biggest thing he provides is leadership. Deontae Cleveland and Jordan Timmons have also been making plays on the offensive end of the field. They both can go the distance anytime they touch the ball.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Summerville – Sunday afternoon the Post and Courier held its annual football media at Cane Bay High School and despite a week that saw tropical storm Debby wreak havoc with practice schedules several of the low country’s top players and coaches showed up to talk and get their picture taken. “We were only able to get in three practices this week so like a lot of teams we are behind in what we need to do to get ready for the opener,” said Cross High School head coach Shawn Wright . The media day is held by long time Post and Courier and HSSR senior writer David Shelton . Shelton has been one of the top Prep writers in the state for over three decades and before pictures and interviews began he had a powerful message for all the young men, “Football is what you do and not who you are.” Shelton shared with the players and coaches his personal tragedy of the loss of his two sons to the fentanyl problem plaguing our country. He let the players know that if you are having issues or other problems in your life there are always other solutions that will not end your life. He has a web site “1team1cause.com” which has the sole purpose to educate and help young people. The HSSR’s top ranked junior prospect Desmond Greene of Timberland was in attendance. The 6-5, 335 five-star prospect has over 20 offers to date with no favorites at the present time. His biggest concern right now is to get ready for the season. “I just keep grinding, keep working every day to get better. I want to embrace every challenge and every criticism to get better. I have heard from a lot of people and some stand out more than others but I am still feeling things out,” said Green. The James Island Trojans are coming off the best season in school history since James Island and Fort Johnson merged, finishing the year at 12-1 and advancing into the third round had several players in attendance including HSSR Top 100 Prospects Dalton Woodall (28 th ), Gray Dangerfield (48) and Hendrix Beran (54). Woodall (6-3,295) and Beran (6-4,252) anchor the Trojan defensive line and both are being recruited by several schools with Woodall holding an offer from the University of Toledo . On the upcoming season Woodall said, “We like to push each other a lot especially in the weight room. We have a lot of confidence and we know that if we continue to work hard and follow the plan we can go farther than we did last season.” Dangerfield is the top ranked kicker in the state and recently picked up an offer from Virginia Tech to add to the four offers from Army , Navy , Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern . When asked about being the top ranked kicker in the state Dangerfield replied, “It felt good to be recognized as the top kicker. I just get some touchbacks and score some points for the team.” Fort Dorchester’s Jalen White checks in the 65 th ranked player in the HSSR’s Top 100 . The 5-9, 170 defensive back will be playing for his third head coach in three years. Despite the turnover Jalen is still getting a lot of looks from college coaches among them are Wingate University, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina . Presently Wingate is in the lead. “I am just trying to help the new players get ready for the season. We have kept the same defense so we feel good about that but we are working hard to get back to our legacy,” said White. The HSSR always talked with a couple of players from the host school Cane Bay ; defensive back Malachi Dickerson (6,170) and defensive end Joshua Frost (6, 220). Both are senior leaders for the Cobra’s and they are looking to lead the team to its first region championship in school history this year. “My role on the team is to lead by example and to help the younger kids get used to how we practice and get ready to play,” said Dickerson.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR St. Stephens – The 2023/24 saw eight Timberland high school athletic teams make the playoffs and while no team won a region championship two teams did reach the finals of their tournaments. The Wolves wrestling team reached the lower state final match in class AA dropping the close match 39-30 to Buford . The previous match saw coach Ryan Rhoades team dominate top seed North Central winning the match 51-18. Alexis Rio led her softball team in the district 5 finals for the second year in a row. The Lady Wolves caught fire at the end of the year and road that momentum into the playoffs. Athletic Director LeShonda Reed , who is entering her sixth year at Timberland, said “I have a great staff and they work hard for our athletes. The one thing about coaching as a head coach or assistant is the love of the game each person has, but more importantly they bring something positive to our athletes and program.” Her vision is not only to keep the Wolves as one of the top-Class AA programs in the state but to find the right coaches for the school and community. Reed said, “The shared vision is that we have student/athletes who compete on the field, in the classroom and help within the community. While we may disagree at times as a staff, we still need to maintain that that commitment to our kids and my staff always puts them first.” The Wolves cross country teams started the year off right as the girl’s finished 11th and boys team finished in seventh place at the class AA state meet. The boys’ team is coached by Fritz Hodges and the girls’ team is coached by Tracy Hodges . Volleyball head coach Shandell (Suzi) McKinney finished fourth in region 7AA play. They upset the number one seed from region 6AA and area rival Woodland in the first round 3-0 to advance into the second round of the playoffs. She also coaches the girls track and field team which finished 19 th . Head football coach Greg Wright led his team into the second round of the class AA playoffs. Coach Wright has a good group returning so his Wolves will be looking to have a longer stay in the playoffs. Eddie Lambert led the boys’ soccer into the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The girls’ team is coached by Jadin Sorce and while they did not make the playoffs they played their best soccer at the end of the year. Long time head boys’ basketball coach Jerome Stewart had a difficult start to the year but his team got better to finish third in region 7AA and grab a playoff spot. “Coach Stewart has been a valuable resource for all our coaches because he has been here for a while, and he understands the demands of coaching at Timberland,” coach Reed said. Allen Gether’s girls team also made the playoffs after suffering through some growing pains early in the year.. Baseball head coach Steven Davis’s nine made it into the district 6 bracket. Golf is coached by John Potter and the boys’ track and field team is coached by Marcus Haynes and they finished 19 th at the state meet.