Westside goes for second consecutive AAAA state championship

By Dennis Brunson

hssr.com Associate Editor

Anderson – With its 34-32 victory over South Florence High School for the AAAA state title last season, Westside won its first state championship in football since 1969.

The Rams are hoping the wait for another title won’t be nearly as long. In fact, they’ll be trying to extend the championship streak to two on Friday when they face South Florence once again at South Carolina State University’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg beginning at 7:36 p.m.

WHS head coach Brian Lane said there is no lack of excitement among the fan base with a second straight title within its grasp.

“The community is excited about this, and it’s great for the program,” said Lane, who has led the Rams to a 13-0 record in his second season as head coach. “These kids have worked hard, and it’s been a real blessing for us.”

WHS has been dominant throughout the season, outscoring the opposition 634 points to 205. That has definitely carried into the postseason with a 55-0 victory over Lakewood, a 49-9 triumph over A.C. Flora, a 49-7 win over Camden and a 35-14 victory over South Pointe.

Westside’s prolific offense returned five starters from last season, and fortunately for it one of those was senior quarterback Cutter Woods. The University of South Carolina signee has completed 155 of 230 passes for 3,048 yars and 37 touchdowns against just three interceptions.

Lane knows what a special talent he’s had lining up behind center.

“He’s a once-every-20-years quarterback,” Lane said. “He’s one of those guys who is not only a great leader on the field, but is a great kid as well. He was renting a van on Sunday to pick up his teammates and take them to church. He’s just a phenomenal young man, and South Carolina is getting a tremendous player.

He's 6-(foot-)3(-inches), 215 pounds, so he’s got a big frame. He’s a big-time quarterback, he can make all of the throws. And he helps me keep on point. If he sees something and asks me about it, I better know it. He’s a gym rat when it comes to looking at and studying video. He loves looking at video, and he loves competing.”

Senior Chamarryus Bomar is far and away Woods’ favorite target with 45 catches for 1,080 yards and 15 touchdowns when the Rams are in their 4-wide receiver sets. Another senior, Armoni Weaver, has 21 catches for 420 yards and six touchdowns. Senior De’Masya Dawson has 16 catches for 277 yards and four touchdowns, and Dreson Evans has 14 catches for 394 yards and six touchdowns.

Another senior, MJ Lee, has 12 catches for 148 yards and one touchdown.

The starter in the 1-back offense is senior Sharode Richardson. He has rushed for 1,111 yards and 18 touchdowns on 135 carries. He also has 13 receptions for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

WHS returned three starters on the offensive line. Starting on the left side are Xy Moore at tackle and senior Zion Pompey at guard. The center is senior AJ Suttle with senior Avonte Armstrong at right guard and junior AJ Calhoun at right tackle.

Senior Cason Shaw is the tight end. He has three catches for 20 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense has allowed just 30 points in the last five games in its 4-man front. Starting in the trenches are senior Ross Brown, senior Ja’nyzae Allen, senior Lorenzo Hunter and senior Manny Arreola.

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Arreola has 26 tackles, Hunter has 25 with six tackles for loss, Allen has 31 tackles, and Brown has 51 tackles and five TFLs.

The starting linebackers are senior RJ Livingston, junior Jaxx Wilson and sophomore Malachi Peterson. Livingston has 59 tackles and a team high seven TFLs, Wilson has 72 tackles and two TFLs, and Peterson has 63 tackles and four TFLs.

Bomar and Weaver are the starting cornerbacks in the secondary. Bomar has 27 tackles and four TFLs, while Weaver has 25 tackles and two TFLs. The safeties are senior Jamison Wilson and sophomore Zyon Paul. Wilson has a team high 75 tackles, while Paul has 28 tackles and two TFLs.

As for special teams, seniors Bola Gil and Brayden Barnette have handled the placekicking chores. Gil is 21-for-21 on his extra point attempts while Barnette has connected on all 16 of his attempts.

Jaxson Barbee is the punter while Jaxx Wilson is the long snapper. Bomar and Weaver handle the return duties.

Whie the same foe as last season, South Florence is something o a different team like Westside due to the attrition of graduation. Lane is still very impressed with the 11-3 Bruins.

“They’re very athletic, and while they’re a little younger, getting to the state championship game (for a third straight year), that means they are a very good football team. Their coach (Drew Marlowe) does a good job preparing them. They’ve played a tough schedule as well, losing to (AAAAA Division I finalist) Summerville and (AAAAA Division II finalist) Northwestern and to Hartsville the first time (before beating it in the third round of the state playoffs). He’s had those guys really improving over the year.”

Lane said the Rams are going to have to play disciplined football to come out victorious.

“We’ve got to play complimentary football,” he said. “Their (South Florence’s) offense, they like to stay out their on the field and control the clock, so we’ve got to be sure we make the stops. We’ve got to be good offense and hopefully some plays on special teams will be the topper.

“The way I coach, the way I approach the year, we worry about ourselves. We have an elevator mentality, whoever comes out that doore is who we’re playing. We’re going to do what we’ve got to do to win on Friday. At the end of the day, we’re in the state championship and we’re going to do what we have to do to take care of that business.”