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HSSR WEEK 4 HONOR ROLL

From staff reports • September 25, 2024

Gaffney's Smith AAAAA Player of Week; Hartsville's Coe wins AAAA award

AAAAA

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jamarcus Smith Gaffney 5 catches, 119 yards, 1 TD; 7 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD; 99 TD KO return

 

ASHLEY RIDGE

Trevor Kalisz 293 passing yards, 2 TDs; 2 rushing TDs

Jayden Acosta 173 rushing yards, 1 TD

Bam Deweese 235 all-purpose yards; 2 TDs, 1 INt

Dylan Polansky 18 tackles

BLYTHEWOOD

John Henry Collins 26-37 passing, 249 yards

CATAWBA RIDGE

C.J. Couch 31-45 passing, 381 yards, 2 TDs

CHAPIN

Brady Albro 25-48 passing, 425 yards, 3 TDs

Khalen Bostic 8 catches, 194 yards, 2 TDs

DUTCH FORK

Daniel Williams 4 tackles, 3 TFLs, 1 sack

Maurice Anderson 8 carries, 44 yards, 3 TDs; 3 catches, 32 yards

Ethan Offing 13-16 passing, 226 yards, 1 TD

Jayden Westbrook 2 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD; 4 PRs, 91 yards, 1 TD

GAFFNEY

Jayvon Gilmore 13-21 passing, 282 yards, 2 TDs

Chas Smith 4 catches, 90 yards

Shane Davidson 64 TD catch

Josh Corry 4 tackles, 2 sacks

GREENWOOD

Triston Lewis 134 rushing yards, 3 TDs; 157 passing yards

IRMO

Jaiden Bryant 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FF; 1 rushing TD

AJ Brand 16-21 passing, 236 yards, 1 TD pass; 107 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Donovan Murph 10 catches, 145 yards

J.L. MANN

Ladainian Martin 16 carries, 180 yards, 3 TDs

McLeod Darnell 20-26 passing, 220 yards, 4 TDs

 Dre Huff 4 catches, 102 yards, 3 TDs

JAMES ISLAND

Jaden Brown Singleton 171 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Hendrix Beran 6 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack

NATION FORD

Josh Ameo 7 catches, 168 yards, 2 TDs

NORTHWESTERN

Finley Polk 18-20 passing, 335 yards, 3 TDs; 6 carries, 54 yard, 1 TD

RIVER BLUFF

Darius Cane 99 rushing yards, 3 TDs

Calebe Pinkney TD INT return

ROCK HILL

K.T. Gill-McDonald 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT

SPARTANBURG

Trenton Lynch 16 carries, 173 yards, 3 TDs

SUMMERVILLE

Jaden Cummings 20-26 passing, 309 yards, 3 TDs; 71 rushing yards, 1 TD

Jayven Williams 183 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Jaiden Kelly-Murray 9 catches, 167 yards, 2 TDs

Yasir Smith 5 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 sacks, 2 PBUs

SUMTER

Kam Fortune 15 carries, 271 yards, 4 TDs

Jeremiah Burson 9 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs, 1 FR, PBU, 1 FF

Chris Bentley 65 TD punt return; 34 TD catch

Alex Krivejko 5-9 KO touchbacks; 3 punts, 33.7 average; 8-8 PATs

T.L. HANNA

Brandon Cunningham 179 passing yards, 3 TDs

Walker Kelly 2 sacks; 1 TD catch

WESTWOOD

Jayce Rios 16 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF

WHITE KNOLL

Kae’veon Bennett TD fumble return

 

AAAA

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Da’Marion Coe Hartsville 3 KO returns, 165 yards, 2 TDs, 1 blocked FG; 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF, 1 PBU

 

AIRPORT

Montrelle Keys 10 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 sack, 4 TFLs, 3 QBPs

Jay Eady 1 TD run; 1 TD catch; 1 TD pass; 184 yards total offense

BEAUFORT

Elias Johnson 21 carries, 149 yards, 1 TD

BLUFFTON

Malcolm Gordon 19 tackles

Aedan McCarthy 14-20 passing, 150 yards, 1 TD; 7 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs

Nate Ulmer 4 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD

DANIEL

Grayson Clary 15-19 passing, 298 yards, 4 TDs

Trey Wimbley 4 catches, 105 yards, 1 TD

Elijah Lipsey 2 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD

GRAY COLLEGIATE

BJ Montgomery 228 all-purpose yards, 3 rushing TDs

HARTSVILLE

Hakeem Watters 17 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDs

Coleman Radcliff 12 tackles

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

Thaddeus Czarnecki 12 tackles; 120 rushing yards; 1 TD

Troy Timko 25 carries, 169 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 20 yards

LAKEWOOD

BJ Brooks 31 carries, 179 yards, 2 TDs, 1 2PT run

NORTH AUGUSTA

Mike Doe 3 rushing TDs

PICKENS

Carter McCollum 34 carries, 288 yards, 3 TDs

RICHLAND NORTHEAST

Blake Betette 11 catches, 140 yards, 1 TD

Will Wilson 240 passing yards; 157 rushing yards, 14  total TDs

SOUTH FLORENCE

Jayden Sellers 4 PRs, 120 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 73 yards, 1 TD; 4 carries, 11 yards

Evan Holland 6-6 PATs, 2-7 KO touchbabacks

Terry Gordon 11 tackles, 1 FF

Willie Kennedy 16 tackles

Myles Johnson 10 tackles, 1 QBP, 1 FC

Amare Adams 10 tackles, 1 QPB

YORK

Triston Snodgrass 15 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 FF

 

AAA

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kadarius Hainsworth Mountain View Prep 6 catches, 153 yards, 3 TDs; 97 TD KO return

 

AYNOR

Luke McCracken TD fumble return

BELTON-HONEA PATH

Marquise Henderson 20 carries, 233 yards, 2 TDs

BROOME

Tyqwon Booker 17 carries, 153 yards, 2 TDs

Tre Suber 7 catches, 89 yards, 1 TD

DILLON

Rahmond Hamilton 16-27 passing, 243 yards, 1 TD; 9 carries, 20 yards

Zamaurious Robertson 7 catches, 140 yards, 1 TD

Daniel Capehart 11 tackles

Keryien Brown 12 tackles, 2 TFLs

Dan Graves 10 tackles

Jamarion Fling 10 tackles, 1 INT; 3 punts, 26.0 average, 1 inside 20; 14 carries, 47 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 17 yards

HANAHAN

Travis Neal 120 rushing yards, 1 TD

KEENAN

Gary Gownes 4 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs; 2 tackles, 2 PBUs

NEWBERRY

Calab Levy 3 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD; 85 TD KO return

BJ Jones 3 rushing TDs

SWANSEA

DJ Green 11 tackles, 2 sacks

WACCAMAW

Zaireon Skinner 10 carries, 118 yards, 3 TDs

Adrian Grate Jr. 13 tackles

Ben King 11 tackles

Aiden Hastings 10 tackles

Bryce Holloway 13 tackles

WOODRUFF

Aiden Bison 29 carries, 230 yards, 5 TDs

 

AA

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tavien Orellana PHILIP SIMMONS 14-19 passing, 260 yards, 3 TDs; 2 rushing TDs

 

BARNWELL

Cameron Austin 19 carries, 79 yards, 2 TDs; 15-23 passing, 165 yards

Jaquan Peeples 8 catches, 100 yards

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE

Amadre Wooden 13 carries, 198 yards, 3 TDs

KD Whitt 2 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD; 64 TD catch

Tanner Watkins 4-5 passing, 93 yards, 3 TDs

Jamerius Clarks 3 catches, 29 yards, 2 TDs

Christian Burkett TD blocked punt return

Jack Bouknight 85 TD INT return

CHESTER

Trooper Floyd 12-17 passing, 201 yards, 4 TDs; 8 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD

Hudhaifah Taylor 9 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD

Omari Pendergrass 5 catches, 76 yards, 2 TDs

Terry Radford 15 tackles, 5 TFLs, 1 sack, 3 QBPs

Zy Whitlock 12 tackles, 6 TFLs

Darriyam Baxley 17 tackles, 2 TFLs

COLUMBIA

Rondrecus Peterson 7 tackles, 5 TFLs

EDISTO

Micha Jamison 140 rushing yards, 1 TD

Saiquan Johnson 65 TD KO return; 2 catches, 33 yards, 1 TD

Ryder Bingham 10 tackles, 1 FR

FAIRFIELD CENTRAL

TyDarion Grier 31 carries, 250 yards, 2 TDs

Kaden Diggs, 3 TD passes; 2 TD runs

KINGSTREE

Tyleek Dukes 16 carries, 214 yards, 3 TDs

Chaquan Giles 14 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD

Xavier Dukes 2 catches, 48 yards, 2 TDs

BJ Washington 7 tackles, 5 TFLs, 2 sacks

LANDRUM

Ty Foster 15-23 passing, 224 yards, 5 TDs

MID-CAROLINA

Monteith Brown 7 carries, 164 yards, 2 TDs

AD Basnight 4 catches, 119 yards, 2 TDs; 1 TD run

MULLINS

Deyon Ford 2 INTs

Ayntwain Crawford 44 TD fumble return

Lebron Avant 46 TD INT return

SALUDA

Jayden Foulks 2 INTs, 1 TD INT return, 3 tackles\

JT Lott 6 tackles, 3 TFLs

TIMBERLAND

Ethan Milligan 13 tackles

Demarri Middleton 11 tackles

Carter Hawkins 10 tackles

Josh Ham 10 tackles

Kaseam Liferidge 7 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack

WOODLAND

Donovan Miles 9 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks

Jeamin Pinckney TD fumble return, 8 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack

               

CLASS A

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Karmello Jones Cross 201 rushing yards, 6 TDs

 

BAPTIST HILL

Taynon Mann-Geddis 14 tackles, 2 sacks

BLACKVILLE-HILDA

Jaquel Holman 125 rushing yards, 3 TDs

BRANCHVILLE

Ashton Preast 212 rushing yards, 1 TD

Caleb Smith 111 rushing yards, 1 TD

CROSS

Caden Ramsey 2 INTs; 78 receiving yards

DENMARK-OLAR

Robert Bovain 141 rushing yards, 2 TDs

HANNAH-PAMPLICO

Jamarcus Williams 3 rushing TDs

Chris Eldridge TD fumble return

LAKE VIEW

Kason Herlong 105 passing yard, 2 TDs; 35 yards, 2 TDs

Tyrell Foxworth 118 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Ashton Locklear 2 TD catches

LAMAR

Zori Pierce 9-13 passing, 172 yards, 3 TDs

4 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD

Kamon Miller 3 catches, 53 yards, 2 TDs

Vernon Ervin 10 tackles, 1 TFL

Grayson Booth 6-6 PATs, 2-6 KO touchbacks

Zoom Jackson 61 TD punt return; 3 catches, 53 yards, 1 TD

LATTA

Amir Rogers 165 rushing yards, 4 TDs

Makinley Wallace 185 rushing yards, 2 TDs

LEE CENTRAL

Ju-Ju Davis 7 carries, 186 yards, 3 TDs; 4-8 passing, 61 yards, 1 TD

         

SCISA

11-MAN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: John Whetsell Dorchester 274 rushing yards, 2 TDs

 

BEAUFORT ACADEMY

Nych Underwood 21 carries, 136 yards, 1 TD

CALHOUN ACADEMY

Colt Layton 176 rushing yards, 3 TDs; 1 TD pass; 2 INTs, 1 FR

COLLETON PREP

Cale Owens 12-16 passing, 92 yards, 3 TDs; carries, 76 yards

FLORENCE CHRISTIAN

Andrew Miller 105 rushing yards

HAMMOND

Jaiden Haltiwanger 2 INTs

Andrew Turner 13-17 passing, 295 yards, 4 TDs

HEATHWOOD HALL

Onis Konanbanny 6 catches, 135 yards, 2 TDs; 6 tackles

NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN

BJ Suits, 11 carries, 100 yards, 2 TDs; 6-7 passing, 75 yards, 1 TD; 2 punts, 33.0 average

Jake Jeffrey 4 catches, 139 yards, 2 TDs

Trevor Hoffman 21 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 QBP

Jefferson McCallum 3-4 passing, 147 yards, 2 TDs

NORTHWOOD

Austyn Grady 226 passing yards, 2 TDs

PEE DEE

Colby Richardson 18-27 passing, 243 yards, 3 TDs; 9 carries, 15 yards, 1 TD; 5 tackles, 1 PBU

Miles Trussell 5 catches, 129 yards, 1 TD; 4-5 PATs, 1 FG

Tristan Heckman 10 carries, 66 yards; 1 catch, 8 yards, 1 TD; 7 tackles,; 1 blocked punt; 50 KO return

Ryan Small 35 TD INT return, 5 tackles; 1 carry, 10 yards, 1 catch, 14 yards

PORTER-GAUD

Tony Brown 133 rushing yards, 1 TD

TRINITY COLLEGIATE

Davidson Lynch 3 TD passes

 

8-MAN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Garrett Murphy Laurens Academy 24 carries, 258 yards, 4 TDs; 3 catches, 24 yards 7 tackles, 1 TFL


CROSS SCHOOLS

Jose Gabriel Garcia 4 TDs; 3 TFLs; onside kick recovery

Luke Fulda 2 TD catches, 1 rushing TD

Will Bender 1 blocked punt; 1 FR

HOLLY HILL

Tyler Green 14 tackles, 2 TFLS

Parker Kizer 13 tackles, 1 TFL

Ax Wolpert 12 tackles, 2 TFLs; 41 rushing yards, 1 TD

Jason Her 10 tackles, 3 TFLs

JEFFERSON DAVIS

Colson Loadholt 12 carries, 198 yards, 4 TDs; 2-3 passing, 13 yards; 8 tackles, 3 TFLs; 2 KO returns, 56 yards

Nasir Void 9 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks; 12 carries, 82 yards; 1 catch, 10 yards

Reece Still 2 INTs

LAURENS ACADEMY

Caleb Hardy 10 carries, 133 yards, 2 TDs; 5 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD; 8 tackles, 2 TFLs

Hack Hardy 12 tackles, 3 TFLs

Garrison Vaughan 10 tackles, 5 TFLs; 1 blocked punt

THE KING’S ACADEMY

Jackson Alexander 9-24 passing, 177 yards, 3 TDs

Tyler Merrits 134 rushing yards, 2 TDs

WARDLAW

Colt Bailey 34 carries, 200 yards, 1 TD; 3-9 passing, 31 yards, 1 TD

Jackson Smoak 14 tackles

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
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
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
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
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.
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor March 10, 2025
Stags become first AAAAA Division II champion with first ever 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.
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.
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.
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor March 8, 2025
Volunteers blow game open in 2nd quarter on way to 89-36 triumph over Eau Claire
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