James Island – Armed with a young but talented group this spring, James Island head baseball coach Matt Spivey sees the potential for great things in 2024. The Trojans are considered one of the top five teams in Class AAAA this season, along with defending state champion Catawba Ridge, defending Lower State champion North Myrtle Beach, Laurens and Airport. The Trojans have yet to lose a game through 13 outings, winning 12 games and posting a 0-0 tie against Lugoff-Elgin in a preseason tournament. Spivey, now in year seven as head coach, has perhaps his best team yet. “We’re still a relatively young team but I knew we had a chance to be competitive,” Spivey said. “I’m not sure I expected us to be this good but I think this is a team full of competitors. They love to play and they have played very hard so far.” James Island counts early season wins over Summerville and Hanahan, while also notching wins over AAAA contender Eastside and AAAAA Ashley Ridge. Offensively, some of the top early performers include sophomore shortstop Taj Marchand (.448), junior catcher Stow Rogers (.343) and junior corner infielder Jake Amman (.531). Senior Grayson Bennett leads the team with 13 RBI. Amman has driven in 11 runs while Marchand has nine RBI. The Trojans are hitting right at .300 as a team but the offense is successful in several areas. “This is probably the most competitive offensive team I’ve had,” Spivey said, “We have good gap to gap power and we run well. Our speed allows is to put pressure on teams defensively. We have guys that grind out at bats. They don’t give away anything. They bunt, run, play smart.” Anchoring the pitching staff is senior Kyle Stock, with solid help from junior left-hander Collin Anderson and a bevy of other arms. Stock has a 0.35 earned run average in his first 20 innings of work. Anderson is at 1.11 in 19 innings. Each has three early wins. Marchand has yet to allow an earned run in 11 innings of mound work. James Island was ranked fourth in the most recent AAAA poll by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association. Most consider the Trojans the top team in the Lowcountry amongst all classifications. But, while appreciative of the notoriety for his program, Spivey knows polls in March and April are not important in the grand scheme. How his team plays in May will determine their ultimate ranking. “The rankings are good recognition for our kids and how hard they work but they really don’t mean anything,” Spivey said. “We all know that the playoffs are what matters and it is important that we continue to improve. To be honest, we don’t practice well. They show up ready on game day but I keep telling these guys we have to practice better.”

James Island – Though he is a first-time varsity high school head coach, James Island’s Charter High boys basketball coach Travis Smith has been around competitive, winning basketball all of his life. Smith, who was an all-state performer as a player at Porter-Gaud and played collegiately at Presbyterian College, has been coaching on the summer AAU circuit and as an assistant at Porter-Gaud for several years. He was named the head coach at James Island last May. Smith inherited a solid program that has had success over the years but has brought in his thoughts and style of play. There was an early learning curve for this year’s team but things have started to come together in region play. The Trojans entered play on Jan. 25 with a 9-9 overall record but, more importantly, a 3-0 start in region 7-AAAA. “It’s a pretty veteran team but with a new coaching staff and a new way of playing, we knew it would take some time to come together,” Smith said. “I really had to build a relationship with the players and we had to build some trust in each other. We have worked to build a strong chemistry and I can see the guys have a lot better feel for what my expectations are. They are playing pretty well right now.” Smith considers himself a defensive-minded coach and the team needed early games to understand how the new coach wanted his team to defend. Offensively, he believes in letting his players use their strengths and in playing fast. With those goals in mind, the coach says depth has been a key strength. “We have to keep guys fresh and we play a lot of guys,” the coach said. “Our practices are very competitive. It’s fun for me to sit back and watch them practice.” Team leadership is provided by a core of four seniors, guards RJ Simmons, Braxton Scott, Montreal Jenkins and Conrad Linhart. Simmons runs the point and is the team’s leading scorer but it is not uncommon for every game to have a different leading scorer. Juniors Gavin Ward and DJ Wright are two more guards that see extensive playing time. Junior Parker Renault is a 6-6 forward with the ability to play inside the paint or around the perimeter. Senior Amontrae Scott, one of the school’s top football players, has been a key defensive stopper and is the team’s scrappiest players. “We have a very competitive group of players, guys who want to compete and win every night,” Smith said. “Playing with great effort and energy are non-negotiable and I made that clear from day one. This group has responded well to those two things.”

James Island – When asked to name one strength of her 2023-24 team, James Island girls basketball coach Emily Beyoglides-Baldwin quickly pronounced “experience.” The coach will lean on a veteran team to shoulder the heavy workload this winter, hoping to be a serious contender in the Class AAAA state playoffs. The Trojans advanced to the third-round of the AAAA playoffs last season. “We have seven seniors that have been in the program for four years,” the coach said. “Several of those seniors are third-year varsity players so we have girls who have played a lot for us. Experience is a plus, for sure, but we still have to go out and perform. We have to play to our strengths and play as a team.” Leading the charge on the court this season is returning all-state and all-lowcountry guard Andrea Duncan. Now a senior, Duncan has scored more than 1,200 career points with a career-scoring average of 16.3 points per game. Duncan has opened this season on a tear, averaging 22 points and 6.5 steals per game. “She already is having a phenomenal season,” Beyoglides-Baldwin said. “I don’t know if she just realized this was her last season or what but she is playing at another level. She’s definitely a game-changer.” The coach knows what to expect from her star player on a consistent basis. She is hopeful that the supporting cast can raise their production as well. Senior Alaina Graf is another returning starter and is adding nearly 10 points and five rebounds per game early on. Graf is a solid scorer from the perimeter. Sophomore Tiana Graf is playing some point guard and dishes out nearly four assists per game. Senior Reagan Wheatley works in the post and is a third-year varsity performer. She and sophomore Madisyn Smith are scoring about four points per game. James Island should get two key seniors back from injury in time for region play in January. In an odd twist of fate, both Nevaeh Washington and Ellie Wohlschied suffered ACL injuries in the same playoff game last February. “They will be major additions if and when we get them back,” the coach said. “Our depth is a little low but getting them back, assuming they are 100 percent go, will strengthen our depth. Much of James Island’s offense is generated off the defensive pressure they employ. Creating turnovers through pressure often leads the lay-ups on the other end. “You have to play defense if you want to play,” Beyoglides-Baldwin said. James Island will be a contender once again for the region 7-AAAA championship, along with Lucy Beckham and Bluffton. James Island has opened the season with seven wins in their first nine games. The Trojans will play in the Carolina Invitational Tournament after Christmas.

James Island - Two high-powered and productive offenses clashed in a second-round Class AAAA Lower State playoff game as 8-3 Hartsville visited 11-0 James Island. Fans of offense would not be disappointed. Touchdowns and yards were there to be had by both teams but James Island had a bit more offense in the tank. The Trojans scored on five straight first-half possessions and improved to 12-0 with a 45-21 win. James Island ventures into the third round next week and will host an undefeated Irmo High team. The two met last season in the playoffs with James Island taking the win. James Island’s defense gave up yards but had two fourth down stops, one early in the first quarter and another in the third quarter. Hartsville came into the game averaging better than 300 yards rushing per game, but it was James Island’s run game that dictated the game. The Trojans rushed for nearly 320 yards in the game, while throwing for 210 more yards. “When we see something working early, we stick with it and we were having a lot of success running the ball,” James Island head coach Jamar McKoy said. “The o-line did a great job tonight. Backs ran hard, physical. It was a really good performance overall but now it’s on to the next one.” In a wild first half that saw eight touchdowns and nearly 700 total yards between the two teams, the Trojans took a 35-21 halftime lead. The Trojans scored on five plays on their first possession with Amontrae Scott capping a 66-yard drive with a three-yard run. After stopping Hartsville on downs, the Trojans went 61 yards on five plays and Tank Scott scoring on a 14-yard run for a 14-0 lead. Hartsville answered on two plays, getting a 79-yard screen pass that Hakeem Watters took 79 yards for a score. James Island needed seven plays to score a third first quarter touchdown but needed some luck. A fumble on the Hartsville one-yard line bounced into the hands of receiver Wushi Ravenel, who broke a tackle and fell into the endzone for a touchdown. On the first play of the second quarter, Watters went 49 yards for a touchdown, cutting the James Island lead to 21-14. But the Trojans had yet another answer, using nine plays to go 70 yards with Amontrae Scott scoring on a 14-yard run. Hartsville went 80 yards on eight plays with Carmello McDaniel pushing in from the two-yard line to make it 28-21 Trojans. Just before halftime. James Island scored again. A 45-yard pass from Braxton Scott to Ravenel set up Tank Scott’s three-yard run for a 35-21 halftime lead. James Island finished the first half with 360 total yards while Hartsville totaled 311 yards. “Hartsville has a high-powered offense so it’s hard to expect to shut them down completely,” McKoy said. “We challenged the defense at halftime and they responded. No points in the second half. Proud of those guys.” James Island opened the third quarter with a fourth down stop of Hartsville near midfield. Facing a third-and-20 from its own 44, Braxton Scott, under pressure, found Jaden Singleton near the sideline. Singleton turned on the jets and beat the defense to the end zone for a 42-21 lead. The Trojans threatened to score another touchdown late in the third but settled for a Gray Dangerfield 20-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 45-21. “We’re the underdogs. A lot of people thought we would lose tonight,” McKoy said. “We just keep playing for as long as we can. We expect another challenge next week.”

James Island – After an 11-2 season in 2022, expectations are high for the James Island football program. Head coach Jamar McKoy has effectively changed the culture and mindset within the program and enters his fourth season hoping for bigger and better things. McKoy returns a bevy of veterans from last year’s team and feels the Trojans are primed to take another step in their goal of being a state AAAA champion. But, as he says, the road does not get easier. The higher the climb, the harder. “We are excited about where we are as a program but we’re not satisfied,” McKoy said. “We don’t want to be a one year thing. We want to be a winning program, year after year. To do that, we have to work harder and become more focused. What we did last year was a great start but it only gets tougher. We won’t sneak up on anyone this season.” The Trojans opened the 2023 campaign with a 25-7 win over Stratford in a game they had control from the outset but were far from perfect. While there were no turnovers, there were a pile of penalties. “For a first game we did a lot of good but those penalties are disappointing,” McKoy said. “We have to be better, be more disciplined. We can’t be giving away 15 yards with mental mistakes and a lack of maturity. Those are the kind of things that keep you from winning big games. We will get it fixed. I think this team has a chance to be really good.” Leading the offense is senior quarterback Braxton Scott, who threw for 214 yards in the week zero win. Scott was the starter last season but an early injury forced him out of the lineup. He gives McKoy a proven leader with dual threat capabilities. Scott’s favored target is returning all-stater Wushi Ravenel, a senior college prospect. Amontrae Scott and Montreal Jenkins also factor into the air attack. The running game is anchored by returners Junior Maxwell and Amor Scott, along with transfer speedster Jalen Brown-Singleton, who also excels at cornerback and in the kick return game. Brown-Singleton had a 64-yard kick return for a touchdown in the win over Stratford. Returning all-region tackle Magnum Chestnut leads the group up front. Other starters include Michael Crouse, Maverick Chestnut, Jon Garrett and Drew Thomas. The strength defensively is along the front four, which includes Hendrix Beran, Dalton Woodall, Malachi Jefferson and Jacob Nettles. Senior Chris Glover is the lone returning starter at linebacker and is joined by Luke Thomas and Coleman Jones. Senior corner Jayden Whaley is a returning all-stater and Amontrae Scott will see time as well. Demarcus Green also starts in the back and Brown-Singleton will see extensive time as well. The Trojans boast one of the top special teams units in the state. Senior punter Coleman Franzone is a returning all-stater with a five-star grade as a national prospect. He averaged 44.3 yards per punt last season. Junior Gray Dangerfield is a five-star rated prospect as a placekicker. He made nine-of-11 field goal attempts last season and his kickoffs routinely clear the back line of the endzone.

Quarterback Braxton Scott passes for 214 yards and two TDs in return from injury