Johnsonville – A 3-3 start to the regular season, along with a championship in a preseason tournament, has Johnsonville High softball coach Walter Clark feeling good about his team’s chances of being a strong contender in the Class A postseason. “We’re good enough to be competitive with every team that we play,” Clark said. “We have some good players back so experience is a strength for us. Offensively I think we can hit enough to create some runs. We seem to be solid defensively and we have solid pitching.” The Flashes split two key region games with East Clarendon, leaving the teams in a tie for the region lead. It’s not likely either will lose a region game the rest of the way. “We had two really close games with them,” Clark said. “They beat us by two runs and we beat them by a run, We led the game we lost in the sixth inning so we had a chance. They are a good team and we competed with them down to the end.” After spring break, Johnsonville will test themselves against the defending Class A state champions from Hannah-Pamplico, which Clark says will be good preparation for the state playoffs. Clark entered the season having to replace four seniors and has infused some young talent with a handful of veteran performers. Two of the three starters in the outfield – leftfielder Kristin Smith and rightfielder Chloe Cribb – are seniors. Sophomore Brianna Lawrimore is the starter in center. Freshman Payton Wall is starting behind the plate and was a starter last season. Wall is hitting .476 early on this spring. Freshman Mallory Prosser is playing first base and is hitting .432 with two homeruns early on. Sophomore Allison Eaddy is starting at second and has shown potential offensively. Junior Blair Coker is a third-year starter at shortstop and a returning all-state selection. Coker is hitting .410 early on. Senior Nicole Cook hits leadoff and plays third base. Cook was the starter in centerfield last spring but has been strong defensively in her new position while hitting .438. Inside the pitching circle, sophomore Natalie Taylor is the number one performer, posting a 1.56 earned run average early on. Prosser and Wall also see time as pitchers but Taylor and Prosser are the top two. “I am excited to see how far we can go with this team,” Clark said. “Hopefully we can continue to improve and be playing our best ball when it counts. There are some good teams to contend with in the Lower State but I feel like we can compete with anyone if we play to our potential.”

Senior right-hander strikes out 12 in 2-hit shutout

Johnsonville - The Johnsonville High baseball program has a long history of success. The Flashes are routinely contenders for a region championship and often makes an impact in the state playoffs. The Flashes, defending region 5-A champions, are under new leadership this spring. Carson Carroll has moved into the role as head coach for 2024. Carroll spent several years as the head coach at Timberland before moving to his home state of Georgia for a coaching opportunity. However, Carroll married a girl from Johnsonville and it was her strong desire to return home. “I came home one day and she told me that she had filled out an online application for me to teach and coach here at Johnsonville,” Carroll laughs, “I took that as a hint that she wanted to come back home. So here we are and I am very excited to have this opportunity to lead the Johnsonville baseball program.” Carroll realizes he inherits a program with a tradition of success. He says the players at Johnsonville take the sport seriously and the community is very supportive. “Everything is here for us to be successful,” the coach said. “Sports in general are big here at Johnsonville and baseball has been pretty competitive for a long time.” The 2024 Flashes opened up in a preseason tournament. After losing to Florence Christian in their opening game, Johnsonville posted wins over Lakewood and Marion. Carroll has a mixture of veterans and new faces this spring but sees great potential overall in this team’s ability to compete on a nightly basis. “Still kind of piecing it all together right now but I definitely see us being a very competitive team,” Carroll said. “Right now two of our top three pitchers are out with injuries so hopefully we can get them back healthy. I think when healthy, our top three arms as good as anyone in Class A. We just need to make sure they are healthy when they do return and we will try to develop some other arms early on.” Two of the top arms are junior Jayce Cook and Gavin Fennell. Junior Evan Graham also is getting early opportunities on the mound while Cook and Fennell nurse injuries. Returning as one of the team leaders this spring is senior shortstop Reid Baxley, who also sees time on the mound. Baxley is a likely Class A all-state candidate. Junior catcher Landyn Cribb also returns as a starter and is in his fourth season with the varsity. Cribb will be among the top offensive threats in the batting order. Centerfielder Zaghe Davis also is a key returner but it still working his way back from an injury sustained during the football season. Braxton DeCamp also returns with outfield playing experience. Caden Jackson will see time on the mound and play at first base. Freshman Larkin Powell will see defensive action at several positions and will hit in the leadoff spot as a promising young player. Cayleb Tanner will see action at third base while Neal Martin and Luke Altman figure into the lineup as outfielders. Martin is a former player in the program who did not play baseball for the last two years. Carroll feels he can be an offensive leader once we gets his swing back. “Offensively, still a work in progress as we try to figure out what works best for us,” Carroll said. “We definitely have the potential to be a good offensive team once we work some things out. “I think defensively we should be solid. Again, just need everyone healthy. I think we have the potential to make some noise this season. The goal is to gain some experience and try to be 100 percent healthy for region play.” Johnsonville golf team excited for 2024 season Johnsonville High golf coach Brian Welch is full of optimism for his 2024 team. The Flashes look to make a solid run at the Class A state title. One big addition this spring is the opening of Johnsonville’s home course, the Wellman golf club. The course was down for several years but its return gives the Flashes a place to call home. “We finally have the long-awaited blessing of having a home course after being road warriors for 13 years and traveling to practice with all of our matches away,” Welch said. “The reopening of the Wellman is a total game changer for us. The commitment that our city council and county council have given our community through this project has been amazing.” Welch has a team that is led by three seniors – Taylor Davis, Payne Alford and Wyatt Griffith. Three juniors on the roster this spring are Jack Prosser, Bubba Tapia and Justin Hanna. Sophomores include Ethan Hartfield, Harry Gaster, and the freshmen are Carson Ingersoll and Brayden Archambault. Rounding out the roster are eighth-graders Wes Sylvester, Baxley Roberts, Lane Marlowe and Abby Lambert; along with seventh-grader Hunter Gaster. “We have a wonderful mix of athletes,” Welch said. “We certainly are led by three seniors and expect breakout seasons from all of them, but we also have a strong group of younger golfers who are growing their game and improving their skills each day.” Welch feels success will come through hard work and a commitment to the sport. He is not one to set goals in terms of wins but rather based on improvement. “We don’t set tangible goals each year,” he said. “I believe that if we focus on getting better each day and working hard while having fun, the results will take care of themselves. Golf is not life and death. We believe in learning the game while enjoying our time with each other. “Results do not define us. Doing things the right way while positively representing our community and our school is what we strive to do.”

Johnsonville – Johnsonville High’s football program has been on a roll in the last two seasons. The Flashes won the last two Class A Lower State championships, reaching back-to-back state championship games. Great teams often have great leaders and usually those leaders are seniors. Coach Ken Cribb had eight valuable seniors leading the way during the 2023 season. “Our seniors were great. We had eight seniors and they were great leaders, great kids,” Cribb said. “They busted their tails and they made the town of Johnsonville and our school really proud.” One of those key senior leaders was four-year starting quarterback Malik Shippy. Shippy finished off his last season with 1,789 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, completing 114-of-201 passes. He also rushed for 318 yards and six more touchdowns. Shippy totaled more than 4,000 career passing yards as Johnsonville’s starting signal-caller. “Malik’s my guy,” Cribb said. “He’s been a good one. A good player, a better person. A great leader. He’s the kind of guy you want to be your quarterback and be the face of your school.” Shippy was indeed the face of the football program and the school. He proved to be a great leader even as a freshman starter with much older players. Shippy’s leadership was even evident during his middle school days. The 6-2, 180-pound Shippy moved from the football tradition-rich city of Gaffney to the small town of Johnsonville as seventh-grader. He grew up cheering for the Indians and was looking forward to one day wearing the black and gold of one of the state’s most storied high school football programs. “I was upset when we moved to Johnsonville. I always wanted to play for Gaffney High School,” said Shippy, whose mother won a state championship as a track athlete at Gaffney. “I always dreamed of running out on the field and hearing those big crowds cheering for us.” But, as fate would have it, Shippy ended up wearing the black and gold uniform of Johnsonville. As a freshman, he walked into a program that was struggling to compete in Cribb’s early years as head coach. The Flashes were just 4-17 in the two seasons prior to Shippy’s freshman year. His first two seasons were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic but the Flashes went 10-6 over those first two years. In his junior season, Shippy guided the Flashes to a 13-1 record with the only loss coming in the state championship game. Johnsonville went 11-3 in 2023, giving Shippy an impressive 34-10 record as a starter. “It has been a great experience playing for Johnsonville. I wouldn’t trade the last four years for anything,” Shippy said. “The program was down but coach Cribb told us seniors, when we were freshmen, that we would be the ones to change the culture. Everything turned out great, other than not winning a state championship.” Shippy says the Flashes were an option offense early in his career but he soon proved to Cribb that he could be an effective passer. “I really didn’t like running the ball,” he said. “I run when I have to but I always wanted to throw the ball. As time went on, coach began to trust me more to throw it and we were able to change the offense to take advantage of our top talent.” While football always has been important to Shippy. However, he never lost sight of the fact that academics were more important to being a success. He sports a 3.86 grade-point-average and was a Palmetto Boys State representative last summer. “My mom always said, no grades, no football, so it was important,” said Shippy, who does not participate in any other sports at Johnsonville. “I was lucky at Johnsonville that we were in a small school and the teachers were always willing to help us. The support for us as students has been great at Johnsonville.” Shippy says he will likely accept an opportunity to play football at Erskine College, though he is keeping his options open for a few more weeks. He says his career goals are to own a business and maybe work as an assistant football coach, preferably in Johnsonville. “I love this town and I love the school. I love how this community supports us,” he said. “I’d love to coach here someday. I would like to give back to this community for all they did for me. It’s a great town to grow up in. They love their sports and they support Johnsonville athletics.”

Wolverines grab big early lead, fend off JHS' fourth-quarter rally

Johnsonville – For the second consecutive season, the Johnsonville High football team proved to be the best Class A team in the Lower State. Johnsonville won a second straight Lower State title with a 20-10 win over favored Bamberg-Ehrhardt before losing in the state championship game to Christ Church, 67-21. Unfortunately, it the second straight championship game loss, also to Christ Church. However, few in and around Johnsonville thought the 2023 Flashes could be a state title contender, especially after heavy losses in personnel. Coach Ken Cribb and his staff had to replace eight starters on offense. After four games of the regular season, the Flashes were 2-2. They proceeded to win nine straight games before losing in the finals, finishing with an 11-3 record. Impressive playoff victories included wins over St. John’s (57-0), Lake View (35-14) and Lamar 14-12). “Proud of our kids,” Cribb said. “When we were 2-2 nobody had us penciled in here. We played hard. We had a good season. We’ll get back to work and see if we can get back next year. “I said at the beginning of the year that it was going to be a growing process and hopefully we would be a better football team by the end of the year. We kept improving and getting a little better every week. No teacher like experience. You’ve got to fail before you can succeed. We made some mistakes but we learned from them.” In the championship game, the Flashes lost a fumble on their first offensive play of the game. Christ Church quickly scored a touchdown. The deficit was 20-0 five minutes into the game and the Flashes never fully recovered.] “We got off to a bad start. They out-played us. They have a good football team but we definitely didn’t play our best,” said Cribb after the game. While the disappointment of coming up short will linger a bit, the Flashes will soon get back to work in preparation for the 2024 season. As always, there will be holes to fill by graduating senior players but Johnsonville had only eight seniors this season. “Our seniors were great. We had eight seniors and they were great leaders, great kids,” Cribb said. “They busted their tails and they made the town of Johnsonville and our school really proud.” One of those seniors was four-year starting quarterback Malik Shippy. Shippy finished off his last season with 1,789 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, completing 114-of-201 passes. He also rushed for 318 yards and six more touchdowns. “Malik’s my guy,” Cribb said. “He’s been a good one. A good player, a better person. A great leader. He’s the kind of guy you want to be your quarterback and be the face of your school.” Cribb spoke of how the inexperienced offense worked hard and made steady improvement. “We had to replace a lot on that side of the ball where we brought back three starters. They hung in there and kept getting a little better every time.” Another big loss will be linebacker/running back Neal Martin. All Martin did this fall was rush for 1,418 yards and 18 touchdowns while totaling 102 tackles and 18 tackles for loss. The Flashes also must replace Travis Wilson, who was the team’s leading receiver with 37 receptions for 772 yards and 14 touchdowns. At defensive end, Wilson had 89 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and four sacks. The lone senior starter along the offensive line this season was center Taylor Davis. Senior Payne Alford was a key performer along the defensive line, finishing with 84 tackles and five sacks. Zavier Grant was a senior that saw time at receiver and defensive back. Luke Altman started at the other defensive end spot and totaled 83 tackles and 18 tackles for loss. Senior placekicker Reid Baxley also will graduate. Baxley averaged better than 33 yards per punt and converted 43-of-46 extra-point kicks. Plenty of underclassmen contributed this season and will form the nucleus of next year’s team. On offense, four starting offensive linemen included junior Michael Tapia, sophomores Brayden Baxley and Jason Brigham, and freshman Daniel Ortiz. The starting tight end was sophomore Dylan Smith The second-leading rusher on the team, behind Martin, was freshman Zaghe Davis, who gained 685 yards and scored four touchdowns. Larkin Powell, a freshman in 2023, looks to be next in line at quarterback. The defense will return several key players. Junior linebacker Landyn Cribb finished this season with 118 tackles, including 19 tackles for loss. Junior strong safety Taysawn Brown tallied 110 tackles with 29 tackles for loss. He led the defensive effort in the championship game with seven tackles. Sophomore linebacker Bricen Howell posted 88 tackles (10 for loss) this fall, while sophomore free safety Clovell Woodbury had 82 total tackles. Junior corner CJ Woodbury had 39 tackles and junior corner Quantrell Woodbury had 40 tackles and 11 pass breakups. Junior defensive tackle Jaiden McFadden finished the season with 34 tackles and seven tackles for loss.

Cavaliers never threatened after jumping out to a 20-0 lead in game's first 5 minutes

Larry Gamble Photo Editor, HSSR Photos from the Christ Church vs Johnsonville SCHSL Class A State Title game on 12-1. Christ Church defeated Johnsonville 67-21 on a cloudy day under the lights at SC State's Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg. High resolution prints and digital downloads from this event are available at www.LarryGamble.com by clicking this link to the photos .

Flashes will clash with defending state champion Christ Church again on Friday at 2 p.m.