State Wrestling championships provide plenty of drama

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Columbia – The state duals wrestling championships were decided on Saturday, February 11, at Dreher High School and some of the familiar names brought home the gold.
Last year’s champions in class A and class AA successfully defending their state titles as Bamberg-Ehrhardt beat Abbeville in class A and Hanahan edged Emerald in the AA finals.
A new champion was crowned in class AAA as Chapin and Belton-Honea Path gave a great show in a battle that went down to the end.
Hillcrest and Lexington finished tied after 14 matches with Hillcrest winning on criteria. What a great day of grappling for sure!

Class A – Bamberg-Ehrhardt 52, Abbeville 23
Bamberg-Ehrhardt went back-to-back in claiming its second consecutive class A duals title, easily defeating upper state champion Abbeville.
The Raiders posted seven pins, four coming in the first period, to cruise to the title in their last season as a class A school.
“Overall it went about as we expected, though we actually thought we might win a few more of the matches than we did,” said coach Cory Slaughter. “I thought our kids wrestled pretty well. We were ready for today and we have been preparing all season for this day. It was nice to see them take control.”
Bamberg-Ehrhardt indeed took control early, getting first period pins at 170 and 182 to claim a 12-0 lead. Jeremy Davis pinned with 1:04 left in the first period at 170 and Mark Moody followed with a pin with 11 seconds left in his first period of the 182 match.
Abbeville rallied briefly by posting pins at 195 and 220 to tie the match at 12. Ben Glace recorded a pin with nine seconds left in the first of the 195 bout and Dillon Holliday recorded a pin with five seconds left in his match at 220.
Bamberg’s David DeLeon got an 8-5 win at 285 and Bamberg forfeited the 106 match, giving Abbeville its only lead of the day at 18-15.
The lead was short-lived as the Raiders got pins at 112 and 120 to claim a 27-18 lead. Abbeville’s Alex Oak posted a 16-0 win for five points at 126 but that would be Abbeville’s final victory.
Bamberg-Ehrhardt picked up a 10-2 win at 132 by Landon Hiers, then followed with pins at 138 (Lane Walling), 145 (Player Long), and 152 (Casey Jones) to roll to the title.
“They (Bamberg-Ehrhardt) were the better team overall and they deserved to win,” said Abbeville coach Wayne Botts. “I thought our kids gave a great effort but we were just a bit over-matched this time around.”

Class AA – Hanahan 40, Emerald 34
Hanahan built a 16-point lead after eight matches and clinched its second consecutive AA crown with a 40-34 win at Dreher High School in Columbia.
The Hawks got five pins, including the clincher from All-American J.J. Johnson in the 120-pound match, to bring the title home.
“What a testament to a group of kids that really worked hard all year long to get another shot at this,” said Hanahan coach Ray Adkins. “We had some ups and downs this season but the goal all along was to get back here. Getting through the lower state was a big lift for us and these guys really came to wrestle today.”
Emerald opened the match with a third period pin at 138 by Chris Jackson for a 6-0 lead. Hanahan answered with a Bryce Ellis pin at 145 and Dennis Flores recorded a pin at 152 to give Hanahan a lead they would never relinquish.
“I’m so happy for Bryce,” said Adkins. “Here’s a kid that wrestled in this program for a few years and finally got his chance as a senior and today he wins a match in the state finals. That’s the type of kids we have here at Hanahan.”
Emerald tied the match with a pin at 160 with Shaq Oliver’s pin, but the Hawks reeled off four straight wins to take a 28-12 lead after Jacob Garibay’s second period pin at 215. Included in that run was an overtime win by freshman Cameron Blackmon at 195-pounds.
Also winning matches were Brett Maddux (170) and Lyndon Young (182).
Emerald picked up a first period pin at 285 from Gage Cervenka to trim the lead to 28-18 heading into the light weights.
Hanahan’s Kevin Murray dominated the match at 106, nearly recording a pin in the first and taking a 5-0 lead. He finished the match off in the second with a pin and upping his team’s lead to 34-18.
Emerald recorded a pin at 113, keeping the final score in doubt at 34-24 with three bouts remaining.
Enter Johnson, who wrapped up the team title with a pin only 32 seconds into the 120-pound match, sending the Hawks to a 40-24 advantage with two matches remaining.

Class AAA – Belton Honea Path 35, Chapin 30
Belton-Honea Path won closes matches throughout the upper state bracket to advance to the title match against last year’s AAA runner-up Chapin. The Bears would take it down to the wire once again.
Trailing, 30-21, with three matches remaining, Belton-Honea Path pulled off the improbable by winning all three matches and taking the team title, 35-30.
Chapin led, 18-15, before BHP’s Caleb Bowie pulled off an upset pin at 195 to give the Bears a 21-18 lead.
Chapin answered, however, with pins at 220 (Brandon Owens) and 285 (Adam Taylor) to take a nine-point advantage.
BHP’s Jobe Sherard earned a technical fall at 106 to pull the score to 30-26. Parker Peeples followed with a 9-2 win at 113, making the score, 30-29. The championship would be decided by the final match of the championship and Kyle Lowe recorded a pin at 120-pounds, setting off the wild celebration.

Class AAAA – Hillcrest 27, Lexington 26
The AAAA title would come down to a tie-breaker rule after both teams won seven matches during competition. Each team also recorded one pin in the highly competitive match.
The difference in the victories would be one technical fall by Hillcrest, which would award the Rams a point and the victory.
That technical fall came at 132-pounds when Devin Horgan posted a 15-0 win.
Hillcrest took a 26-17 lead after picking up wins at 170 (Landon Sayegh), 182 (Bronson Delgado) and 195 (Matt Errington).
 Needing a pin, Lexington got one from Nate Meagher at 220, trimming the lead to 26-23. Lexington’s Joey Perrotta scored a double overtime win at 285 to tie the overall team score at 26.
Lexington built an early 7-0 lead with wins by Jackson Myers at 106 and Andrew Szalwinski at 113. Hillcrest’s Grant Snyder won at 120 but Lexington took a 10-3 lead with Cody Bonham’s win at 126.

Steve Spurrier Jr. Set To Address Fall Football Banquet

By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Columbia--Humor, goal setting, and striving to be the best you can be will encompass the keynote talk that USC assistant coach Steve Spurrier, Jr. will deliver at the 26th annual HSSR football awards banquet set for 5:30 on February, 19 at Seawell's in Columbia. 
"I will be talking in general about how we value the state of South Carolina as a place to live and a place to work," said Spurrier, Jr. "I have spent 14 years coaching with my father and I have certainly learned a lot from him. I just completed my 7th year with him at South Carolina and we are proud of where the football program but we still have much more to accomplish. It's like getting to the peak of a mountain. We can see the top but we still have a ways to go."
On a humorous note Coach Spurrier, Jr. joked about being the proud father of six children. "Well I just might be the only father in America with a chance to hit for the cycle. With our first experience we had triplets, then we had another child, and our third experience resulted in twins. I am proud of all six of my kids."
Spurrier, Jr. said he has especially enjoyed his new role at USC as recruiting
co-coordinator. "It's fun to get out and travel and visit with high school coaches and potential prospects. When we got here South Carolina didn't have a winning tradition and now that we have the program turned around a lot more doors are opening for us around the country. We want to sign the best players in South Carolina. A huge part of our success has been from keeping the best players in state."
Coach Spurrier, Jr. said his talk will center around the theme of "dare to dream, aspire to achieve." 
He is a 1994 graduate of Duke. He earlier graduated from Northern Durham High where he played for Kenny Browning who went on to coach at North Carolina. 
Anyone needing information about the banquet can call 800-489-0649. A crowd of over 1,000 people is expected to attend this annual event, one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

Newberry College’s Howard Vroon to address HSSR Fall Sports Awards Banquet

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Goose Creek – Newberry College’s Director of Golf Howard Vroon will deliver the keynote speech at the 2011 High School Sports Report’s Fall Sports All-State banquet on February 19 at 1:30 p.m. at the Seawell’s Restaurant.
Coach Vroon will address all-state teams in swimming, cross country, girl’s golf, and volleyball and will speak to the state’s top athletes about the challenges that face all incoming college athletes, regardless of sport.
“One of the biggest challenges of a college coach is to take a freshman into his program and help them learn all of the things that it takes to be a college athlete,” said Vroon. “From day one, we talk to athletes about time management and setting priorities and it’s an ongoing thing that we as coaches have to address on a daily basis. We are constantly counseling the young athletes on what it takes to be a successful college student-athlete.
“It goes without saying that the differences between being a high school athlete and a college athlete are great. The sooner the young person is able to understand and set his or her priorities, the sooner they will be successful as a student and as an athlete.”
Vroon’s reputation as a teacher of the game is well-known in college golf circles, having formerly served in capacities at Charleston Southern University and College of Charleston. He is a six-time honoree as the Big South Conference Coach of the Year.
Vroon was hired on November 1, 2011 to direct the Newberry program, which has nationally-ranked Division II teams in both men’s and women’s golf.
Vroon comes to Newberry after two years as the assistant coach for the women's golf program at the College of Charleston.
Prior to his time with the Cougars, Vroon was the director of golf and head men's and women's golf coach at Charleston Southern University for 11 seasons. Vroon led the CSU programs to six Big South Conference championships (four for the women's team and two for the men's team).
"Howard's success in Division I golf clearly speaks for itself," said Newberry College athletic director Brad Edwards. "He has a tremendous reputation as a motivator, recruiter and teacher in the game of golf. I believe Howard will be a great fit for Newberry College."
The Charleston Southern women's golf program won three consecutive Big South Conference championships beginning in 1999. Under Vroon the women's team became the first women's athletics program in CSU history to advance to postseason play. The team did so by winning the 2001 Big South Conference championship and advancing to the 2001 NCAA East Regional, where they finished 14th. The program won its fourth Big South Championship in 2008. The women's program also won four team tournament titles under Vroon.
With Vroon at the helm the Charleston Southern men's golf team won its first ever Big South Conference championship in 2001, and won its second in 2003. The program earned team invitations to the 2001 and 2003 NCAA East Regional. In addition, team members earned individual invitations to the NCAA tournament in 2002 and 2006. In 2001, the men's team missed advancing to the National Championship by one shot. Under Vroon, the men's team reached a ranking as high as 54th in the country. In 11 seasons, the men's program amassed 20 team tournament titles, and in 11 Big South Conference championships, the men's team finished first or second 9 times.
Vroon's strength as a coach is player development. He is committed to helping his players improve both physically and mentally. He strives to impart a working knowledge to each player of simple swing mechanics, from putting to the long game. He drives each player to learn what his or her mental strengths are, and to put those into practice consistently.
Vroon is committed to equipping each of his players with the physical, mental and emotional tools to succeed at golf beyond collegiate play. He is currently coaching three professional players.
Vroon graduated from Calvin College in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in economics and philosophy. At Calvin, Vroon was the captain of the golf team for three years. He then attended Duke University Law School, earning a JD, and Duke's Graduate School of Philosophy, earning a master's degree.

HSSR Publisher Proud To Have Written Nomination Letter For Carolina Panthers On Behalf Of John McKissick
By Billy G. Baker
HSSR Publisher
Summerville—Nearly a year ago, Peter Vasko of the Carolina Panthers asked me if I would write a letter “not to exceed two pages” on why I felt Summerville Hall of Fame coach, John McKissick deserved an opportunity to be the Panthers nominee for the prestigious Don Shula award to be given to the NFL’s choice of National High School Coach of the Year.
 Mr. Vasko explained that one high school coach in America would win the award and that it would be presented by Coach Shula himself at a Super Bowl awards function this year. He explained that every NFL club would have at least one nominee and that a select panel of prominent judges would choose the winner.  I felt honored and humbled to receive such a request and I began to put my thoughts together on why I felt my longtime friend deserved such an honor.   
On my first draft the letter was over four pages long and it took me two more days, and several efforts, to get it condensed into two pages. I sent the letter off to the Panthers hoping that it would help a man that has meant so much to me personally since we met in August, 1969 on my first day as a member of the Pine Log staff, the student newspaper at Summervile.
My nomination letter explained that I had never ran a touchdown for the Green Wave, never caught a pass, and that I was not in any way directly involved in any game that John McKissick had coached in during his nearly 60 years on the sidelines of Green Wave football.
That being made very clear I then went into the heart of our relationship touching on deeply personal matters, matters I once was embarrassed to share with anyone. You see I came to Summerville, in 1969 at age 14, without any friends, directly from a children’s home where I had been for three years. I am grateful that an older sister took me in and I am grateful that I volunteered to work on the school newspaper my first day at my new school.
When Coach McKissick turned off the projector, watching film of his next opponent, and answered my knock on his door it changed my life forever.  You really can save the world one child at a time as he did that day for me. Instead of sending me away with the honest excuse of his practice about to begin, he sensed I was a lost soul needing to hear some kind words from someone. 
With my knees knocking I told him how much I had enjoyed going to my first Summerville game the previous Friday night and how I felt “he was a really important person.”  His response has never left my memory. “You think I am important?” he said. “You got it all wrong. You are much more important than I am. You are the first student reporter to ever knock on my door and I am the one impressed.”
He said he had been looking for a “little buddy” to be a sports information director for the team. The next day he brought in 16 years of scrap books on the football program his wife had kept on him and the team. He invited me out to football practice and he introduced me to many of the players. He assisted me in writing my first sports article nearly 42 years ago.
He would later give me financial advice in my adult life, marriage counseling, and advice on the hiring of employees at my statewide prep newspaper.  He had replaced the father I lost to cancer when I was two.  The father that left eight children behind with a 35 year old mother who had never worked a day in her life.
I was also honored to help “Coach” and his devoted wife Joan write two books about his life: Called To Coach in 1993 and Called To Coach II in 2003. Againstconsiderableodds I walked across the stage at the University of South Carolina in May, 1977 with a degree in journalism tucked proudly in my hand. I looked up just after my diploma was presented and gave thanks to God; but I also thanked Coach McKissick for my new beginning he helped create many years earlier. You see, in my mind I will always be “a little buddy” to the greatest coach of all time!      
P.S..  Tonight at 9 p.m. NBC will air the Super Bowl awards show.  During the show tonight Coach McKissick (and Joan) will be introduced as the winner of the “Don Shula” award which Coach Shula actually presented yesterday at a news conference... I am proud of this honor being bestowed on John McKissick. He is richly deserving of the award and the financial benefits that come with it.

Davis Choose North Carolina, Juniors Already Being Pursued

By Billy G. Baker
Publisher

Goose Creek—There were no major surprises on signing day within the borders of South Carolina, but Gaffney wide receiver Quinshad Davis (6-4, 180) chose  North Carolina over Wake Forest and Tennessee on signing day.

Davis is the HSSR Mr. Football for the state of South Carolina after breaking many records established by former Gaffney receiver Sidney Rice, now in the NFL. His signing certainly gave a boost to the Tar Heels who named a new head coach in December.  Rice caught over 1,500 yards in passes his senior season. Sources indicate the high academic standards at UNC and a chance to play as a true freshman as two major reasons he signed with the Tar Heels.  Davis is an honor student at Gaffney High.

Once again we at the HSSR thanks Dusty Rhodes and all the Josten’s reps in South Carolina for their sponsorship of this recruiting page.

Already the pressure is on to get the Class of 2013 on board. Four star offensive lineman D.J. Park (6-5, 320) committed to South Carolina at the end of January.  The HSSR will go on record now stating that his teammate Bryce King (6-4, 285) will follow suit and commit to the Gamecocks in the near future.

With the entire football process being rushed along more and more, the HSSR forecasts a lot of Top in-state 2013 players in South Carolina will be done with the recruiting process by Labor Day of this year. Clemson and South Carolina began working the 2013 class about this time a year ago. With the exception of two or three senior players both Clemson and South Carolina were done with the 2012 class at the start of the school year. More and more late blooming seniors could be left out of the recruiting process by major colleges, leaving some smaller colleges with great finds.

Clemson did lead the state for major college signings with ten Palmetto state players and they are all ranked within the HSSR Top 40. South Carolina signed only four players from the state making this one of their lowest amount of signees in recent memory. The Gamecocks did land the top rated prospect and the HSSR Mr. Football for 2012 Shaq Roland of Lexington. Roland was the Offensive MVP of the Shrine Bowl and caught a touchdown pass in the Under Armor all-American game. 

For the record the HSSR has selected Goose Creek wide receiver-athlete Tramel Terry (6-2, 185,4.4) as its top rated player for the 2013 in South Carolina. Terry was once a soft commitment to Georgia but he has backed off of that and is now open with all of the 25 colleges who have offered him to date.

In all 37 players signed on with major colleges including Fort Dorchester quarterback Etan Long who signed with East Carolina. Notre Dame, Auburn, Louisville, Texas Tech, Miami of Ohio, N.C. State, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina joined Clemson and South Carolina by signing  at least one player each..

200 Young Men In SC Join An Exclusive Organization Called College Football
Goose Creek—There were nearly 7,000 senior prep football players who played on nearly 250 public and independent school teams this past year in South Carolina and on national signing day, Feb. 1 around 200 of them got to sign paper work binding them to a higher level football program somewhere in the land. For the record there are nearly 900 next level college programs in the United States.
While I am happy for all 200 of these hard working young men, and I wish them all well, I can’t help feeling a little empathy about the 6,800 brave souls who didn’t get the opportunity to sit in front of the cameras and have their dreams realized too. Not all 6,800 of these hard working athletes desired to play football at the next level but I am sure a good many of them did.
For me I know several players who got involved with the recruiting process through information obtained by colleges printed in this very publication, or from information we provided to numerous colleges through our service we have been conducting for over 20 years. We work closely with high school coaches to get a lot of our information. We focus on younger players and try our best to stay nearly a year ahead of those folks from scout.com and rivals.com in South Carolina.
When you ride the roads of South Carolina to the tune of 50,000 miles a year, and visit games and players in every region, you hope that you can stay ahead of national organizations that also help promote the recruiting process. I recall placing former Summerville wide receiver A.J. Green, Daquan Bowers of Bamberg-Ehrhardt, and Robert Quinn of Fort Dorchester, on our can’t miss future NFL projection list as freshmen in high school! Well, you see where they are now. We were the first to report them in mass to the rest of the country I can promise you.    
The recruiting process is not without flaws.  However, it is the best system we have and in the final analysis we are averaging 35 or so major college prospects a year in South Carolina.  In the late 1970’s and 1980’s we were averaging between 18 to 24 major college prospects each year. I hope the HSSR being created in December, 1986 has helped in the process of evaluation.  Yes, only 35 out of the 200 will play at schools like South Carolina and Clemson.
Even though the vast majority of those who participated in prep football are not signing on to play at the next level I can assure you that your investment in the sport will make you a better teammate in the work place and it will make you a better person in general. You made so many friends playing a game that teaches you to get up after being knocked down in front of hundreds and even thousands of people on occasion.
On the afternoon of National Signing Day I got a call from a mother all excited about her son signing with a small college. “We use to get mail from South Carolina and Clemson when our son was younger but they eventually said he wasn’t fast enough for them,” she said. “This (school) said my son was their top recruit on their board. Everyone in our family is so excited to see (a certain college) take so much personal interest in our son. He is so excited about getting a chance to play as a freshman.” 
I put the phone down and thought to myself what joy it is to have someone make you feel special. To be at the very top of someone’s recruiting board when the bigger colleges passed on you. I truly hope thing work out for this young man because he has worked harder than most players I know.
The process never stops. Already folks are talking about the junior prospects and the process keeps getting pushed up. This doesn’t always allow for that late blooming senior to get a fair shake in the evaluation process. More and more football players are committing earlier.
I would like to challenge these 200 men to be great examples and good role models at the next level. Always remember that you were the chosen from a rather large talent pool!
Two Fall Banquets Coming On Feb., 19
The HSSR will once again sponsor our annual fall awards banquets on Sunday Feb. 19 at 1:30 and 5:30 respectively at Seawells in Columbia. The 1:30 banquet is for all fall sports except football. The 5:30 event is for football honorees only.
Our 5:30 keynote speaker is Steve Spurrier, Jr., assistant football coach at the University of South Carolina. Our 1:30 speaker will be a college coach within the state that coaches either volleyball, cross country, golf, tennis or swimming.  A coach that we had in mind to speak was terminated recently.
Anyone needing information about the banquet can call Rhonda Miller at 800-489-0649.

Veterans leading Great Falls atop class A rankings

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Goose Creek – A year ago, when Great Falls won the class A boys state basketball title, coach John Smith did so with a relatively young team.

Smith lost four starters from a team that played for the state title the season before, yet managed to capture the school’s ninth class A crown, tying a state record.

Well, with most of last year’s team returning in 2011-12, Great Falls is well on the way to winning a 10th state title.

The Red Devils are off to a 16-1 start, with the lone loss coming to a team from across the border. Smith, who has more thn 850 career wins and seven state championships at Great Falls, returned five players who played a key role in last year’s title run.

The Red Devils are led again by seniors Ernest Talford, Jamarcus Culp, Xavier Holmes, Brandon Criscoe and Shaquille Simpson.

It’s not likely that Great Falls will lose in region play and should be the heavy favorite to win the upper state title again this season.

The upper state, however, will have more depth overall than the lower state. The top three teams in the latest HSSR class A top 10 are from the upper state.

Ranked second is Landrum, off to a 19-3 record overall and a perfect 9-0 slate in region play. The Cardinals are led by 6-6 junior forward Daniel Bridges, who averages 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season. Junior guard Mark Wilson anchors the backcourt and scores about 11.3 points per game.
Calhoun County, the perennial state title contender and winner of eight state titles since 1996, appears headed for the region four title.

The team to beat in the lower state in class A is Burke, the defending lower state champion that lost to Great Falls in the finals. Burke coach Earl Brown, who notched his 700th career win earlier this season, has a solid veteran team that is rolling through region play. The Bulldogs are ranked fourth.

Senior forward John Ross averages a double-double inside for the Bulldogs, with junior Tyquan Scott adding solid play inside. Senior guards Solomon Dukes and Craig Williams are steady players and each averages more than five assists per game.

McCormick is 12-3 overall and undefeated in region one play. The Chiefs are led by forwards Terence and Torance Bryant. Terence is averaging 14 points per game while Torance is pulling down 9.9 rebounds per game.

Sixth-ranked Allendale-Fairfax has a pair of juniors scoring in double figures in Jamel McMillan (11.4) and Solomon McCormick (11.6).

Carver’s Bay is ranked seventh as they try to win region eight. The Bears are led by junior guard Dashawn Aiken and senior wing Teondre Bromell. Aiken averages 16.5 points while Bromell averages 15.4 points per game.

Eighth-ranked Whale Branch is making a late season push, led by guard Leroy Perry.

Christ Church is ranked ninth with Denmark-Olar rounding out the top 10. Freshman guard Kenneth Butler is averaging 14.2 points per game and senior Shaquille Odom is averaging 13.9 points per game.

HSSR Class A Boys Top 10

1. Great Falls
2. Landrum
3. Calhoun County
4. Burke
5. McCormick
6. Allendale-Fairfax
7. Carver’s Bay
8. Whale Branch
9. Christ Church
10. Denmark-Olar

Could the two best teams in AAAA girls not meet for state title?

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Goose Creek – The state finals in basketball are still a month away but it appears that the two best girls teams in class AAAA might not be able to meet in the state championship this season.

According to the recent High School Sports Report top 10 rankings, the top two teams are not only in the upper state together but also reside in the same region – region 4-AAAA.

Not to slight any of the other top teams in the state but few would argue that defending state champion Spring Valley and midlands rival Dutch Fork are not the top two teams in class AAAA this season.

The teams met once earlier this season with Spring Valley taking a 46-39 win. The rematch is set for January 31.

It’s hard to argue that Spring Valley is not the favorite in Class AAAA. Coach Anne Long’s team is talented and experienced and has two of the state’s top prospects in seniors Asia Dozier and Xylina McDaniel.

Dozier is averaging 19 points and 4.2 steals per game while McDaniel is averaging 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Dozier will play collegiately at South Carolina while McDaniel is headed to North Carolina.

Spring Valley has won 17 of its first 20 games this season while rolling to an 8-0 mark in region play.

Dutch Fork also has a pair of all-state candidates on the roster. The Silver Foxes won 17 of its first 20 games, losing to Georgia powerhouses Norcross and North Gwinnett, as well as Spring Valley.

Senior guard Donnesha Shuler, a fourth-year starter, is averaging 17.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 steals per game while junior 6-5 center Alaina Coates is averaging 19.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

Certainly there are a few upper state teams that may have a say so before all is said and done.

Third-ranked Dorman is 15-2 overall and 7-1 in a very close region two race. Dorman, Mauldin and J.L. Mann all have one loss in league play and are ranked in the top 10.

Dorman is paced by 6-3 junior post Kenya Olley, who averages 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. 6-2 senior Keke Cooper is scoring 11 points while pulling down 9.1 rebounds per game this season.

Sixth-ranked Mauldin, which beat Dorman and lost to J.L. Mann, is 17-2 overall with a roster that includes six sophomores.

Fourth-ranked J.L. Mann lost to Dorman for its only league loss and played Dorman a second time on January 27th.

Fifth-ranked Greenwood has yet to taste defeat and is in control of region one. The Lady Eagles have a formidable backcourt combination of senior Courtney Raiford and sophomore Yanna Jones, both scoring in double figures.

Perennial state title contender, and AAAA runner-up last season after winning the title in 2009-10, Goose Creek is putting together another solid season and might be the favorite in the lower state again.

Senior forward N’Dea Bryant, a North Carolina signee, is averaging 12 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game for coach Tim Baldwin.
Junior forward Ashley Fields scores 11 points per game for the defensive-minded Lady Gators.

Sumter, ranked ninth, is led by senior guard Danielle McFadden, who scores about 19 points per game.

Colleton County is ranked 10th and has the lead in region eight. Deyja Brown and Tee Burns both average in double figures for first-year coach Tamara Washington, a former all-stater from Spring Valley.

St. James girls making strong statement this season

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Murrell’s Inlet – More than a few people were surprised earlier this season when the St. James High girls basketball team upset class AAA powerhouse Myrtle Beach.

It was Myrtle Beach’s first region loss since the 2005-06 season and put St. James atop the region 8-AAA standings.

But it should not come as much of a surprise that St. James is making a strong bid in the lower state this season. St. James finished 17-6 a year ago, losing a close game to Dreher in the lower state playoffs.

Second-year coach Stan Patterson had a good idea that his 2011-12 team could be very good. The coach had five returning seniors, several of which were beginning their fourth-year as varsity players.

“We definitely set high goals and had high expectations for this season,” said Patterson, who spent four years as an assistant boys coach at St. James before taking over the girls program. “Experience was our strength. We were fortunate to have a lot of girls who have played a lot here.”

All five seniors are in the starting lineup. Stephanie Roberts is a 6-1 post player and is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game this season.

Monica Smalls is a six-foot post player and averages about eight points and seven boards per game.

Point guard Keyana Rutledge averages 12 points and five rebounds while guard Briahna Dickerson is scoring about nine points per game.

The team’s defensive stopper is Charisma Rodriguez, who scores about six points per game while drawing the toughest defensive assignment in each game.

Beating Myrtle Beach was easily the biggest win in the program’s nine-year history. While pleased with the win, Patterson is keeping a level head about the rest of the season and is hoping that his team does the same.

“I hope we’re mature enough to realize that we have a lot of work to do,” said the coach. “The girls continue to work pretty hard. I don’t think it has gone to our heads.”

Dreher is the top-ranked team in class AAA girls this week. The Lady Blue Devils are 14-2 overall and have beaten Lower Richland twice.

Lower Richland is ranked number two, led by junior Jasmine Richardson and sophomore Breshay Johnson.

Wade Hampton of Greenville is one of the top title contenders in the upper state. Alexis Dilliard is averaging 13.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game for the Generals.

Defending champion Myrtle Beach is ranked fifth, a spot behind St. James. The Lady Seahawks are still the team to beat in AAA and will be even stronger when junior forward Tanisha Brown returns from an injury. Brown averages 13 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Myrtle Beach guard Khadijah Sessions continues to lead the way, averaging 27.9 points per game.

Crestwood is ranked sixth and leads region six, a game ahead of eighth-ranked Marlboro County.

Marlboro County senior post Nikkei Blackburn is averaging 14.7 points and a whopping 21.3 rebounds per game this season.

Daniel is ranked seventh, led by Janie Miles, who averages 15.2 points per game.

Rounding out the top 10 are Hilton Head and A.C. Flora.

HSSR AAA Girls Top 10

1.       Dreher

2.       Lower Richland

3.       Wade Hampton (G)

4.       St. James

5.       Myrtle Beach

6.       Crestwood

7.       Daniel

8.       Marlboro County

9.       Hilton Head

10.   A.C. Flora

Irmo heads up latest AAAA boys rankings

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Goose Creek – With some games to be played down the stretch of the regular season, the top AAAA boys basketball teams in the state are jockeying for position in their respective regions, aiming to grab a high seed in the upcoming state playoffs.

The defending state AAAA champions from Irmo High are expected to again be one of the top contenders for the title. Irmo was 27-3 on its way to the title last season and may be headed for an even better record. Irmo has won 19 of 21 games this season, with both losses coming in a holiday tournament in Bristol, Tennessee.

The Yellow Jackets have a big game remaining with Richland Northeast, also a top 10 AAAA team, in a game that will likely decide the region four title. However, win or lose, Irmo is one of the elite teams in AAAA this season.

Senior point guard Jordan Roper, a Clemson signee, leads the way for coach Tim Whipple’s club, but Roper has help from several quality underclassmen. Junior Detrek Browning is the other starting guard and has been in double figures in most games this season.

Junior 6-3 forward Justin McKie, the son of former Irmo and USC star B.J. McKie, is one of the anchors on the wing and inside, while 6-7 sophomore Javis Howard is a promising underclassman prospect in the post.

Ranked second this week is Dorman, off to a 17-3 record. The Cavaliers are led by senior guard Curtis Webb.

Gaffney is ranked third this week, having bolted to a 5-0 start in region three and needing only a second win over Lancaster to secure the region championship.

Lancaster, ranked fourth this week, is led by the state’s top junior prospect, 6-5 guard Sindarius Thornwell. Lancaster is 18-2 overall and has the one loss to Gaffney in the region.

Hillcrest checks in at number five and coach Reggie Choplin’s squad is led by a pair of junior guards – Tre’ Smith and D.J. Brooks.

Chasing Irmo in region four is Richland Northeast, ranked sixth this week. The Cavaliers have won 14 of 17 games and has one loss, to Irmo, in region play.

Lexington coach Bailey Harris lists nine seniors on his roster, led by senior guard Shaq Roland. The Wildcats are 15-5 overall and 6-0 in region five play. Two of the losses came to Irmo.

Leading region seven is Wando, ranked eighth this week. The Warriors are 17-2 overall and do not have a player averaging in double figures. Five players average between seven and nine points per game.

Ninth-ranked Easley is 15-3 on the season and has three players averaging in double figures. Senior forward Spencer Collins is scoring 26.6 points per game to go with 10.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Matt Preston is averaging 12.2 points per game and junior guard Troy McGowens is averaging 11 points and 6.7 assists per contest.

Rock Hill, at 15-3, is ranked 10^th this week.

Teams just outside the top 10 who figure to be dangerous in the playoffs include Spring Valley, Orangeburg-Wilkinson and Goose Creek.

Spring Valley has four players averaging in double figures, led by senior point guard Devante Brooks’ 13.2 points per game. Junior forward Dominique Taylor is averaging 13.1 points and senior Austin Beamus is averaging 11.4 points per game.

Freshman guard Perry Dozier, at 6-3, is averaging 10.8 points per game.

HSSR AAAA Boys Top 10

1.       Irmo

2.       Dorman

3.       Gaffney

4.       Lancaster

5.       Hillcrest

6.       Richland NE

7.       Lexington

8.       Wando

9.       Easley

10.   Rock Hill

Could Keenan and Mullins be headed for a rematch in AA boys finals?

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Goose Creek – Though the state playoffs are still a few weeks away and the state title games in basketball still a month away, it might be too early to think about how the state finals may match up.

However, if the early returns are any indication in class AA boys, it appears the finals are headed for a rematch of last year’s title game.

Entering the month of February, the top two teams in the High School Sports Report’s AA rankings are defending state champion Keenan and last year’s runner-up, Mullins.

Zach Norris’ Raiders are off a 15-3 start this season and the 2011-12 Raiders are a balanced team led by two seniors and a promising sophomore prospect. Senior 6-5 forward Quinton Johnson is averaging 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Raiders while senior guard Erick Tisdale is averaging 12.6 points per game.

Sophomore guard Quintin Stroman, however, is putting up all-state type numbers this winter, averaging 15 points, 8.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game. Stroman has posted three games in double figures assists while scoring in double figures in all but five games this season.

Stroman’s best performance came in a 68-65 win over A.C. Flora when he scored 28 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, and dished out 12 assists. He followed that game with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Eau Claire.

In a 68-67 loss to nationally-ranked Oak Hill Academy, Stroman had 23 points with seven assists.

Second-ranked Mullins has tasted defeat only once in its first 18 games this season. That loss came on January 24 to region rival Marion.

The Auctioneers also have solid senior leadership, starting with 6-3 senior Darnell Coleman, who is averaging 18.8 points per game this season.

Senior point guard Chris Harley is averaging 13.1 points per game while dishing 4.4 assists per contest.

Speaking of Marion, the Swamp Foxes are 13-6 overall but now 5-0 in region 8-AA play with the win over Mullins.

Marion is led by junior forward Marqui McKelvey, who is averaging 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game this season. Junior forward Kevin Rowell is scoring 15.7 points per game.

Newberry is ranked third in the latest list. The Bulldogs are off to a 16-2 start overall and have won their first five region games.

Ken Green’s Woodland High Wolverines are leading region 6-AA with an 8-0 start. The Wolverines are ranked fourth this week.

Fifth-ranked Eau Claire is having a solid season, led by senior guards Wayne Henderson and Ronnie Green.
Marion is ranked sixth, followed by Lee Central at number seven.

North Charleston has only one loss in region play, to Woodland, the Cougars hope to make another deep run with a solid, veteran unit this season.

Edisto, led by 6-8 forward Brice Johnson, a UNC commitment, is ranked ninth this week with Silver Bluff checking in at number 10.

HSSR Boys AA Top 10

1. Keenan
2. Mullins
3. Newberry
4. Woodland
5. Eau Claire
6. Marion
7. Lee Central
8. North Charleston
9. Edisto
10. Silver Bluff

Bishop England, Pinewood Prep Girl’s Dominate Opponents In First Annual Bojangles Classic

By Billy G. Baker
Publisher

Daniel Island—Bishop England’s girl’s advanced to 10-0 on the season with a dominating 87-33 win over Berkeley while Pinewood Prep (7-3) beat Richland Northeast 63-31 in back-to-back games played at Bishop England Wednesday in the first annual Bo jangles Holiday Tournament featuring 16 teams from numerous states playing in two different brackets.

Michelle Boykin and Amber Corbett paced the Bishops scoring with 28 and 20 points respectively followed by point guard Katelyn Grissillo’s 14 points. The team was without the services of outstanding player Ellie James who was away on a mission trip.

“Get out of here,” was the response from Bishop’s head coach Paul Runey when it was suggested that his team’s play was being inspired by the football team winning the school’s first football championship earlier this month.  Many observers feel the Bishops, with a starting lineup dominated by AAU players, can go on and win the AA girls’ basketball title. Veteran coaches like Runey down play such forecasts.

In their first ten games the Bishops have outscored teams by an average of 74-26. Their closes game has been a 65-39 win over Wando. They are certainly a team with a lot of talent.

Pinewood Prep, the defending SCISA AAA team, probably played their best game of the season against Richland Northeast (2-8). “We clicked much better on offense today, especially with our fast break,” said head coach Nancy Beatty. “We have two bigs (who run the floor better than most teams we compete against.

“We had a challenging and emotional game yesterday and I think our play carried over to today. We came out with a new focus today and we have been working hard at becoming more unified as a team.”  

  The Panthers led 19-0 after the first period and never looked back They were led in scoring by talented junior forward Maria  Corella with 14 and post players Jennifer Rhodes and Bri Boyd had 10 points each. Junior point guard Raygon Hendrix had a good floor game directing the offense and she scored 8 points. The Panthers started five juniors in the game including USC golf signee Katelyn Dambaugh who chipped in with six points.

Pinewood Prep was scheduled to play Wando at 11:45 Thursday and Bishop England was scheduled to play Friday.    
     

Northwood works overtime to knock off Pinewood Prep in girl's hoops

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Charleston - If the games that actually mean something between Northwood Academy and Pinewood Prep's girls basketball games are anything like the game that did not really matter, fans of both programs are in for a real treat.

SCISA's top two AAA basketball teams hooked up in a semi-final game of the Porter-Gaud Holiday Classic on Monday night and picked up right where they left off last season when Pinewood knocked off Northwood to win the AAA state championship.

Northwood gained a small measure of revenge in this game, gutting out a 58-56 overtime victory to advance to the finals of the event.

Sophomore guard Amber Campbell scored 45 points, including a game-winning layup with seven seconds remaining in overtime, to send the Lady Chargers to its sixth win in seven games this season.

Though not a game that counts towards anything in terms of conference play, this game had the same intensity and high level play at times of a title bout.

"I am extremely proud of the heart this team showed to get back into the game when it looked like we might be in trouble," said Northwood coach Presley Singleton. "We don't have any depth right now. We pretty much had to play them all the entire game and they got it done. Neither team has very much depth and it just worked out for us a little better.

"Frankly, this doesn't mean anything because we know we're going to play them in more important games down the road," said Singleton. "It does give us a little redemption after the way the season ended last year so it feels good in that respect. But in the big picture, it's just a win."

The two teams could meet four more times this season. Both are in the field at next week's Charleston Classic at Bishop England, plus they have two regular season conference games to play. And the two will most likely meet again in the playoffs.

Campbell scored all of her team's points in the extra period and led the Lady Chargers back from several deficits throughout the game. The 5-9 guard also scored all 11 of Northwood's points in the first quarter, bringing them back from an early 7-0 deficit.

While Campbell was doing most of the damage for Northwood, Pinewood Prep's junior forward tandem of Bri Boyd and Jenifer Rhodes dominated the action on the other side.

Boyd finished with 24 points, sending the game into overtime with a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer of regulation.

Rhodes added 13 points but failed to score in the final 13 minutes of regulation.

With 4:11 remaining in the third quarter, Pinewood Prep opened up its largest lead at 39-25 on a three-point play by Boyd.

Pinewood would not score over the final 4:11 as Northwood went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 39-33 heading into the final period.

Pinewood's Maria Corella scored to open the fourth quarter but Northwood's run continued. Campbell scored 10 of her team's next 12 points and Northwood took a 45-41 lead with 3:44 to play.

Pinewood used the free throw line to stay in the game, connecting on 21 of 29 attempts in the game.

Rhodes fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter and Boyd committed her fifth foul a minute into the overtime. Pinewood made one field goal in the overtime but took a 56-55 lead on a Corella free throw with 58 seconds remaining.

Campbell tied the game with a free throw with 41 seconds left and after Pinewood missed a shot, the Lady Chargers had one final possession with 12 seconds left, setting up Campbell's drive to the basket for the game-winner.

"We're still a team in search of our unity and our leadership so today's game was all about getting better," said Pinewood Prep coach Nancy Beatty. "We lost some really good players off last year's team but we have the potential to be a pretty good basketball team. We've got some things to work out but that's what these games in December are for. But it was a great game for the fans to watch. I thought both teams played hard."

Northwood (58) - Amber Campbell 45, Meaggan Thomas 8, Alyssa Kinsey 4, Antoinette Davis 1.

Pinewood Prep (56) - Bri Boyd 24, Jenifer Rhodes 13, Katelyn Dambaugh 6, Maria Corella 10, Raygon Hendrix 6.

North Carolina powers past South Carolina in 2011 Shrine Bowl

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Spartanburg – Using a wildcat style offense exclusively in the second half, the North Carolina Shrine Bowl team pounded out a 26-19 victory over South Carolina in the 75th annual all-star showcase between the two states.

Tarheel running back Todd Gurley proved why he is a coveted prospect, rushing for 105 of his 119 yards in the second half as North Carolina overcame a 13-6 halftime deficit.

North Carolina finished the game with 260 yards rushing, 205 in the final two quarters while the defense limited the Sandlappers to only one score in the second half.

“We felt like we could run the football and once we got rolling, they couldn’t stop us,” said North Carolina head coach Mike Barnes. “There wasn’t any reason to do or try anything else.”

“This is a great win for these 44 players. They had a great week of practice and were very unselfish. They didn’t pout or let their egos get in the way when they found out what we were going to do. It’s a great group of young men and I am proud of them.”

South Carolina head coach Chuck Jordan of Conway says he and his staff knew that stopping the run would be crucial and had no answer in the second half.

“We knew they were going to run it and they took it to us,” said Jordan. “They were big and strong and Gurley is tough. The bottom line is if you can run the football, you can win. They were able to do that and we weren’t.”

South Carolina had hoped to establish a running game as well but had very little success. The Sandlappers did have success through the air, particularly in the second half.

Armed with big-time receivers Shaq Roland (Lexington), Quinshad Davis (Gaffney) and Kwinton Smith (Dillon), the Sandlappers threw for 290 yards. Roland, the SC offensive most valuable player, had six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith had eight catches for 68 yards while Davis grabbed three for 55 yards.

South Carolina quarterbacks Caleb Rowe of Blue Ridge and Joey Copeland of Gaffney had decent outings as well. Rowe completed 16 of 25 for 128 yards while Copeland had 162 yards on eight-of-14 attempts.

Gurley was named the North Carolina offensive most valuable player for his efforts. The 6-2, 210-pounder from Tarboro High School is expected to sign with either Clemson or Georgia in February.

“The coaches decided at halftime that we were going to start running the ball and do our thing,” said Turley. “The coaches just told us to relax and be calm and to have fun. We had a lot of fun in the second half. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, just have fun playing the game and the other stuff takes care of itself.

“I felt strong throughout the game. It was a physical game but I’m a physical back. The wildcat was new to me but it’s just football. Get the ball and follow the blocks and do what I do.”

Roland and Copeland put SC on the board first, connecting on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 8:51 left in the first half. The play came right after Copeland found Davis on a 41-yard completion.

North Carolina answered, however, with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jamel Harbison. Both teams failed on the extra point and were tied at six.

Just before the half, Copeland and Roland combined on a 62-yard pass to the NC 25 and on the next play combined again on a touchdown pass with :39 remaining in the half.

“We wanted to try to run the ball at first and make a statement and maybe we should have mixed it up more,” said Roland, who missed the fourth quarter with a slight shoulder injury. “The second half they just shut the running game down and made it tough. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks.”

The second half was all Tarheels. On its second possession, the Tarheels put together a 41-yard drive on nine straight running plays with Gurley tying the game at 13 with a one-yard run.

After SC failed on a fake punt attempt, NC took the ball over at the Sandlapper’s 43 and needed four plays to score as Gurley did the honors from 16 yards out with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Sandlappers punted on its next possession and Jela Duncan scored on a 76-yard run on the next play, pushing the lead to 26-13 with 12:51 to play in the game.

Virgil Smalls (Goose Creek) scored on a one-yard plunge with 5:05 remaining to trim the margin to 26-19, but NC’s Germone Hopper, a Clemson commitment, returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the SC 35. Three first downs later, the Tarheels took a knee to run out the clock.

Earning South Carolina defensive MVP honors was Bluffton’s Michael Grant while Martin Munn was the NC defensive MVP.

Another Fantastic Football Season In The Books In South Carolina As Goose Creek Wins First State Title Ever

Goose Creek—When I transferred from Summerville to Goose Creek in the summer of 1971 I became the sports editor of the Gator Tale, the school paper,  and I wrote a column each month entitled “The Creek Is Risin’.

The truth of the matter is that Goose Creek High was only a few years old at the time and they were still building an athletic program. It was not uncommon to lose games to teams like Summerville and Berkley by 40 or more points. Still, the young school had great enthusiasm and community support. There was a lot of school spirit centered on the Black & Gold for sure.

So as the waning seconds of Goose Creek’s Class AAAA Div. II 37-21 win over Greenwood rolled off the clock at Clemson on December, 3rd the school’s first state football title ever meant a little more to me and several other folks that caught my attention as we celebrated the moment. There was former Gator quarterback Neill Kirkpatrick charging the field looking for someone to hug and someone to high five. I got a hug and a high five as Kirkpatrick jumped up and down like a kid seeing Santa Claus for the first time.

“Can you believe it,” screamed Kirkpatrick. “We finally won a championship. We did it!”

I embraced long time friend and former Gator coaching assistant Charlie Davis who is now employed as an administrator for the Berkley County School District. He and I embraced and I choked up telling him how it would be so great if my deceased mother-in-law Libby Goldman could have been here to see her beloved Gators conquer the prep football world in South Carolina.

Mrs. Goldman ran the lunch room at Goose Creek High for over 25 years and she had a habit of sneaking extra helpings on the plates of football players every Friday. “Here’s a little extra to help you play better tonight,” she often said. She once phoned me on purpose “collect” at 2 a.m. in 1981 to scream in my ear, “The Gators beat Summerville 7-0! We beat Summerville!”  She and several hundred Gator fans had just returned home from the game.

When I started the High School Sports Report in 1986 Mrs. Goldman would hound me all the time about putting the Gators on the cover of the publication. She knew that I was great friends with John McKissick at Summerville and every time the Green Wave made the cover story it would burn her up just a little. On the very day we ran our first cover story ever on the top ranked boy’s basketball team at Goose Creek High in 2006 Mrs. Goldman passed away, losing a battle with Alzheimer’s and I lost one of the great influences on my life.

The moral of the story about Goose Creek High building from the ground up is that good people like head coach Chuck Reedy are difference makers. What a blessing for the young men of this school to have an opportunity to benefit from the vast coaching experience of Coach Reedy who once coached for a national championship team at Clemson under Danny Ford before going on to become the head coach at Baylor.

It has been ten years since Coach Reedy arrived at Goose Creek where he found the program at rock bottom and I do mean rock bottom. With an emphasis on the weight room and a power ground game led by a hard charging fullback the Gators have emerged as champions.

On defense they play like a bunch of Spartan Warriors charging toward the enemy without fear, gaining confidence from their preparation in the weight room and during practice. Well coached teams make for well playing teams on Friday night. You coach them up before you play them up!

We at the HSSR salute all the state champions like Bishop England who won their first state title also under John Cantey. The Byrnes upset over Gaffney, 31-24 was a great game that went down to the wire in the Div. I AAAA contest. South Pointe looked awesome in their win over Bluffton.

With Goose Creek, Timberland and Bishop England winning three of the seven public school SCHSL state titles, the dominance of the upstate appears to be over for awhile. All three of these schools are also located in Berkeley County as well.

Another football season has come and gone but just think about all the memories made, all the friendships renewed and all those gold medals around the necks of so many hard working and deserving young men.

     The 2012 season will be here before we know it and we get to repeat the process of high school football once again. Can’t wait!      

North cruises to impressive win in SCADA North-South all-star game

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Myrtle Beach - There have been a few mismatches in the history of the SCADA North-South all-star football game but Saturday's game will go down as one of the biggest.

The North all-stars scored early and often, dominating play along the line of scrimmage, en route to a 42-3 win over the South.

The North defense allowed only 108 total yards on 60 plays, forcing seven turnovers, while the offense rolled up 303 total yards with a balanced attack.

"We had good players, no doubt about that," said North head coach David Berry, the head coach at Blackville-Hilda. "We knew after seeing them all week that they would play well today. I thought we came in relaxed and ready and we really did play well from the start. Our defense kind of got us going early and the offense made some big plays."

The largest margin of victory in the history of the game, which began in 1948, was 46 points in 1950. There had been two other games of 29-point spreads.

Named the Offensive Most Valuable Player for the North all-stars was Seneca running back Chris Robinson, who led all rushers with 75 yards on 13 carries and scored on a pair of one-yard runs.

Daniel defensive end Shaquille Lawson, a Clemson commitment, was named the Defensive MVP for the North. Lawson had five total tackles with two sacks and two tackles for loss, while also forcing a fumble.

"We (the defense) came in with the attitude that we were not going to let them score," said Lawson. "We had heard they were talking a little but during the week so we came in with a point to prove."

The North defense intercepted five passes and sacked the South quarterbacks seven times.

Linebacker Rod Kearse of Blackville-Hilda had seven tackles and a sack while Columbia High linebacker Ky Tyler had six tackles and an interception.

Chesnee linebacker Nathanael Moore had six tackles, all in the first half, but was injured late in the half and did not play in the second half.
"They were just better than we were, that was easy to see," said South head coach Jeff Cruce, the head coach at Berkeley. "They were better up front and that was the difference. We had some trouble blocking them and our quarterbacks were under the gun all day."

South quarterbacks completed only 8-of-25 passes for 87 yards with five interceptions. The South finished the game with 21 net rushing yards and took 70 yards in losses.

Brookland-Cayce placekicker Caleb Kelly was the South Offensive MVP after scoring the only points on a 39-yard field goal.

The South Defensive MVP was Myrtle Beach defensive end Tyler Knox, who had a game-high 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.

With the great defensive play, most of the North's offensive scoring drives were short and easy. The longest drive of the day was 58 yards while five other drives covered less than 20 yards.

The North's first two touchdowns were set up by the defense. After one interception, Robinson capped a 15-yard drive with a score with 11:34 remaining in the first quarter.

Later in the first, another interception gave the North possession at the South 18 and on the first play, Raleigh Yeldell (Strom Thurmond) completed an 18-yard pass to Jordan Hallums (Mauldin) for a 14-0 lead with 6:56 remaining in the first.

Seconds later, a bad snap by the South rolled into the endzone and quarterback Stephen Cagle (A.C. Flora) was tackled for a safety by Spartanburg's Jaquille Oden, upping the lead to 16-0.

Hallums caught his second touchdown pass with 12:48 left in the second quarter, this a 22-yarder from Reese Hannon (Greer), capping a 45-yard drive.

Hunter Townes (Christ Church) booted a 27-yard field goal with 5:38 left in the half for 26-0 lead before Kelly's kick made it 26-3 with 2:34 to play.

Late in the second, Hannon connected with Bryton Griffin (Blue Ridge) on a nine-yard toss with 16 ticks remaining on the first half clock. That score also was set up by an interception at the 11-yard line.

Townes added a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter, capping a 19-yard scoring drive. The North's final score was a one-yard run by Robinson with 1:15 to play in the third. That scoring drive was only 10 yards after a fumble recovery.

"Certainly our defense gave us some great field position all day," said Berry. "We were very athletic and active, and we knew that this group would be tough to score on. I thought our quarterbacks did a nice job and we blocked well. It was a good performance and I'm just happy I could be a part of it."

Yeldell finished the game with 103 passing yards on four-of-10 passing while Hannon completed five-of-11 for 55 yards.

Hallums had three catches for 48 yards and Griffin had two catches for 32 yards.
Hemingway's LaMichael Pushia was the top rusher for the South, picking up 38 yards on nine carries.
Lakewood's Dalvin Bracey had two catches for 29 yards and Cane Bay's Anthony Enos had two for 13 yards.

Timberland stuns top-ranked Dillon to advance to AA title game

By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Dillon—It was supposed to be a formality this postseason that Dillon would win its third state title in the last four years.  However, Timberland did not oblige.  Alex Krall kicked a 41-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to cap a fourth-quarter comeback and push the Wolves to an 18-15 victory Friday night in the Class AA Lower state finals. 

“I was kind of scared, but I knew I had to do my thing – and I did it right,” Krall said.  “It was a great snap, a great hold and there was no way it was going to miss.”

The game-winning drive was set up by an interception by Austin McKinney, who picked off a pass from Thomas Grosetti and returned it to the Dillon 42-yard line with 38 seconds left in regulation.  On the next play, Taylor Elizondo scrambled for 18 yards.  After three incomplete passes, the Wolves faced a fourth-and-10, leaving head coach Art Craig with a decision to make.

“There was never a question about going for it.  It’s just one of those deals that’s weird how we made two field goals but missed two extra points,” Craig said.  “When you’ve got an opportunity to win it like that, you’ve got to give the kid a chance to kick it.”

The kick barely cleared the crossbar, but propelled Timberland to its first state title appearance since 2006, where they will face Upper state representative Woodruff.  It also marked the first win over Dillon in seven tries, getting the proverbial monkey off the coach’s back.

“For a week (it is).  We still have to take care of business after this,” Craig said.

Timberland (13-1) scored on its second possession of the game to take the early lead.  After forcing a turnover on downs, Elizondo hooked up with Mike Wilson for a 60-yard catch and run.  The extra point was partially blocked and the Wolves led 6-0 with 5:29 in the first quarter.

They added to the margin just before halftime.  A Wildcat punt attempt was botched, setting Timberland up inside the Wildcat red zone.  However, the Wolves couldn’t move the ball and Krall kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the Wolves a 9-0 halftime advantage.

Dillon (12-1) responded in the second half, going 56 yards in nine plays on its first possession of the third quarter.  Grosetti found Kwinton Smith in the front corner of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 9-7.  Joe Blue added a two-yard scoring run with 2:34 left in the period, the conversion was successful, and it appeared the Wildcats were on their way to their fourth straight trip to the finals.

“We knew coming in that Dillon was just an unbelievable team.  Our defensive coaches had a really good game plan and we knew that points were going to be hard to come by on offense.  We just hung in there.  I knew there was going to be a time in the second half when we would have to man up and I thought we let it slip away, but the kids just played their (tails) off,” Craig said.

Timberland evened things up with just under three minutes to play, putting together a 14-play, 51-yard drive.  On third-and-nine from the Dillon 14-yard line, Elizondo was sacked for an 18-yard loss.  Facing fourth-and-27, Elizondo’s heave to the end zone was caught by Lee Mayes, who leapt over two Wildcat defenders to haul in the pass.  The potential go-ahead PAT was blocked, leaving the score tied at 15-15.

“You can’t win a state championship unless you throw the ball some.  We’ve been practicing the heck out of that the last couple weeks.  The kids are just believing in what we’re doing and that’s great,” Craig said.

Elizondo finished the night 12-for-22 for 155 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.  Mayes had six receptions for 79 yards and

Wilson caught three passes for 63 yards.  Defensively, the Wolves allowed 173 total yards (26 pass, 147 rush) and forced four turnovers.

Running back Jabo Lee led Dillon with 105 yards on 19 carries.  The Wildcat defense gave up just 187 total yards (155 pass, 32 rush).

THS            6            3            0            9—18
DHS            0            0            15            0—15

T – Mike Wilson 60-yard pass from Taylor Elizondo (kick blocked)
T – Alex Krall 37-yard field goal
D – Kwinton Smith 21-yard pass from Thomas Grosetti (Carlos Trejo kick)
D – Joe Blue 2-yard run (Smith pass from Grosetti)
T – Lee Mayes 32-yard pass from Elizondo (kick blocked)
T – Krall 41-yard field goal

Central Pageland edges Columbia, advances to AA title game

By Ken Buck
Special Writer

Pageland –In the end, it came down to special teams.

The Central Eagles dropped visiting Columbia High 21-20 Friday night to advance to their fourth straight AA State Championship game.

Central, the defending AA champions, got out to an early lead in the first quarter when Junior Josh Kelty broke off on a 40-yard scamper at the 9:44 mark. Joseph Rollings added the PAT.

The Capitals’ defense put Columbia on the board in the second quarter when Natrone Derrick scooped up a fumble by Central Debias Tyson and returned it 22 yards to help knot the game up at 7-7.

With 1:39 left in the first half, Central put together a four-play drive that covered 65 yards, capped off by a 22-yard touchdown reception by Senior Quintin Wallace from QB Jalen Covington.

The Capitals, however, came out on the first drive of the second half and drove the field quickly and tied the game up 14-14 on a 14-yard TD pass by Casey Gladney from Ky Tyler.

Columbia then took their first lead of the game in the third quarter when Tyler connected with Diante Petruso from 17 yards out. The extra point, however, sailed wide to the left, a point that would later haunt Columbia.

Central regained the lead for good when Covington executed a perfect play action fake, and found Tyson wide open from 31 yards out. Rollings added the extra point to give Central the 21-20 lead.

On the final drive of the night for the Capitals, Columbia advanced inside the Central 35. Two pass attempts to Gladney fell incomplete in the end zone, and the Eagles sacked Tyler on third and fourth downs to seal another trip to the title game.

Central will face Bishop England in the AA-Division II State Championship game at Benedict College at 5:30 PM Friday.

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Abbeville grinds out another title; beats Hemingway, 20-0, to claim Class A Division I crown

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Columbia – For the second consecutive year, the Abbeville Panthers proved to be the cream of the Class A Division I crop, beating Hemingway, 20-0, to capture the school’s sixth state title in history.

Abbeville finishes the season with a 13-1 record while Hemingway falls to 13-1 with the loss in their first-ever appearance in the state finals.

Abbeville senior running back Ashton Heard rushed for 174 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead an Abbeville attack that pounded out 328 yards on the ground.

O’Bryan Wilson added 84 yards and one touchdown while quarterback Joshua Martin had 56 yards on the ground.

“We just did what we do, played Abbeville football,” said Heard, who rushed for more than 1,200 yards this season. “The line did a great job and we just kept pounding the ball. Our defense was great as well. It was a great team effort tonight.”

Abbeville’s defense was indeed dominant on this night. The Panthers limited a high-powered Hemingway offense to only 95 total yards on 28 plays.
Hemingway’s leading rusher, LaMichael Pushia, was limited to 16 yards on nine carries.

Abbeville ran 68 offensive plays and held a 21-minute edge in time of possession.

“Our defense has been great all year and they stepped up big tonight,” said Abbeville head coach Jamie Nickles. “I thought that was the difference in the game.
That third quarter was big for us and kind of helped us get that lead. Then it was just our offense taking over.”

Abbeville’s defense allowed only 102 points all season and saved perhaps its best performance for the biggest game.

The first half was evenly played until Abbeville’s last drive of the half. The Panthers put together a 17-play, 92-yard drive that chewed up 7:28 with Heard scoring from two yards out with 19 seconds to play in the half for a 6-0 lead.

Heard out-gained Hemingway on his own, finishing with 76 yards rushing while Hemingway managed only 65 total yards.

Abbeville dominated the action in the third period as well, eating up four minutes early before punting. Hemingway, however, fumbled on its first offensive play with Abbeville recovering at the Tigers’ 24.

Abbeville needed seven plays to score with O’Bryan Wilson scoring on a two-yard run with 4:04 to play. Martin’s conversion pass to Heard made it 14-0.

Hemingway went three and out on its next possession and finished the third quarter with four offensive snaps and one yard.

Abbeville put the game away with another time consuming drive as Heard scored on a five-yard run with 5:48 remaining in the game. The score capped a 15-play, 72-yard drive that chewed off 8:48 off the clock.

“We just couldn’t get a stop,” said Hemingway coach Ken Cribb. “We didn’t tackle very well and that was the biggest disappointment. We usually are a much better tackling team and we didn’t have a good night.

“The better team won the football game. Abbeville was better than we were tonight. This was our first trip here and hopefully it won’t be the last.”

Scoring Summary
A – Ashton Heard 2 run (kick failed)
A – O’Bryan Wilson 2 run (Joshua Coates pass to Heard)
A – Heard 5 run (kick failed)

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Christ Church completes run to Class A Division II title with 35-14 win over Lake View

By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Columbia – A second half offensive outburst pushed Christ Church over Lake View, 35-14, in the Class A-Division II state championship Friday afternoon at Benedict College.  It was the first title for the Cavaliers since 1977 and the first ever for head coach Don Frost.

“This is the first time in 32 years for me.  It’s just special right now, very special,” Frost said.

“I told them that (a region and state championship) was going to happen this year.  I believed in them all the way and they believed in themselves and started playing for each other.”

Quarterback Hunter Townes was 12-for-27 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns while adding two more scores on the ground.

Christ Church came into the contest with a vaunted aerial attack, but couldn’t get it going early on.  The Wild Gators defense held the Cavaliers scoreless through the majority of the first half while the Lake View offense used a long drive to get on the scoreboard first.

Kenneth Turner’s six-yard touchdown run capped off a 13-play, 68-yard drive that took 6:09 off the clock.  Turner led the Wild Gators with 133 yards on 26 carries.

“He’s our leader, our workhorse and a heck of a ball player.  He keeps us going.  He never got down on anybody and kept plugging along,” Lake View head coach Daryl King said.

Christ Church evened things up just before halftime, going 33 yards in three plays, highlighted by a seven-yard touchdown run by Townes.

“At the first of the game, (Lake View) did a good job of keeping the ball away from us.  We weren’t executing well on offense.  We went in and made some adjustments at halftime, came back out and did a good job,” Frost said.

The Cavaliers exploded in the second half, scoring on its first two possessions of the third quarter.  Townes found Bennett Nalley for a 36-yard TD strike and later found the end zone on a 1-yard sneak to give Christ Church a 22-8 lead after 36 minutes of play.

After failing to convert on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard run, the Cavaliers sent their defense out to preserve the lead.  They didn’t just hold, but added on. 
Lake View quarterback Chris Ford fumbled in the end zone and Jack Schofield recovered for the Christ Church touchdown.

Townes hooked up with Davis Einstein for a 42-yard score to put the game out of reach.

“Nothing surprised us that they did.  We worked on it all week, but they’re a tremendous football team.  They made the plays they had to make to win the ball game,” King said.

Brody Smith scored the other Wild Gator touchdown by returning a blocked field goal 70 yards.

The Cavaliers ended the year at 13-1.  Lake View, who won three road games to make the finals, finished the season 8-6.

“I was proud of our kids.  To be where we are is a testament to how hard they worked this year,” King said. 

Lake View   0   8   0   6—14
Christ Church   0   8   14   13—35

LV – Kenneth Turner 6-yd run (Chris Ford run)
CC – Hunter Townes 7-yd run (Townes run)
CC – Bennett Nalley 36-yd pass from Townes (kick failed)
CC – Townes 1-yd run (Rudy Johnstone pass from Townes)
CC – Jack Schofield fumble recovery in end zone (conversion failed)
CC – Davis Einstein 42-yard pass from Townes (Townes kick)
LV – Brody Smith 70-yard blocked field goal return (conversion failed)

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Colleton Prep grinds out 29-8 win in SCISA Class A title game

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Columbia - Colleton Prep used a tried and proven method to capture the SCISA Class A state title on Saturday afternoon at Benedict College.

Known for its power running game, the Warhawks pounded out nearly 250 yards on the ground and used a stifling defense to capture their third state title in the last 10 years, 29-8, over Holly Hill Academy.

Senior tailback Tanner Cope rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown while senior fullback Heath Fisk added 83 yards and two scores as the Warhawks built a 22-0 lead and never looked back.

Colleton Prep finishes the season with a 10-2 record in beating Holly Hill Academy for the second time this season.
Holly Hill Academy closes out the season with a 9-4 record.

“Just an incredible feeling for this group of seniors that were such great leaders all season long,” said  head coach Neil Minton. “It’s emotional right now because I know I won’t be coaching these kids anymore. They are so deserving of this moment and I am so proud of them.”

Cope, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards this season, was near tears while celebrating with his teammates after receiving his medal.

“It’s a great feeling to win but it’s also sad because I know I won’t be practicing and playing with these guys anymore,” said Cope, who celebrated the win with brothers Scott and Cody. “We just could not lose this game. It’s everything we worked for and we were not going to come up short. I’m so proud of my guys.”

Holly Hill was unable to take advantage of early field position, starting its first three drives near midfield but coming away with no points.

The Raiders threatened early in the second quarter, reaching the Warhawks one-yard line but ended up missing a 27-yard field goal after a holding penalty nullified a touchdown.

Colleton Prep immediately took control of the game, going 80 yards on nine plays with Fisk scoring from five yards out with 5:01 to play in the half.

Colleton Prep successfully executed an onside kick, converting in five plays on Fisk’s one-yard plunge with 2:56 to play in the half.

“That was the turning point in the game,” said Minton. “It was a great drive and then getting that onside kick was huge.”

The Warhawks added a 30-yard field goal from Jacob Craven with 29 seconds remaining for a 15-0 lead at the break.

Fisk and Cope went back to work in the third quarter, rushing for 64 yards in a 67-yard drive with Cope scoring on a 25-yard run with 4:35 to play, upping the lead to 22-0.

Holly Hill mounted its best drive of the game on the following possession, covering 61 yards on nine plays with Noah Lewis scoring on a 19-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Jonathan McWaters tossed to Elias Dupree for the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 22-8 with 11:53 to play in the game.
McWaters finished the game with 115 yards passing, completing 12 of 19 passes.

After forcing a punt, Holly Hill had seized the momentum but that quickly turned when Cal Young picked off a McWaters pass with 9:11 to play.

“Cal made plays like that all season and he’s one of the unsung heroes of this team,” said Minton.

The Warhawks proceeded on a 47-yard drive, capped by a one-yard drive by quarterback Reed Houck with 5:26 to play in the game, upping the margin to 29-8.

“It was a struggle at times but our guys up front got it done and Tanner and Heath did what they do best,” said Minton. “Hats off to Holly Hill. They were physical and their guys up front were just great. It was a real battle.”

Scoring Summary
CP – Heath Fisk 5 run (kick blocked)
CP – Fisk 1 run (run failed)
CP – Jacob Craven 30 field goal
CP – Tanner Cope 25 run (Craven kick)
HH – Noah Lewis 19 run (Jonathan McWaters pass to Elias Dupree)
CP – Reed Houck 1 run (Craven kick)

Dominant second half propels Hemingway to state title game
By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer
Bamberg—What a difference a year makes.  After losing to Bamberg-Ehrhardt in the Lower state finals in 2010, the Hemingway Tigers exacted a measure a revenge on Friday, downing the Red Raiders, 32-7, at Leon Maxwell Stadium.  The Tigers will face Abbeville next week in the Class A-Division I championship.
“I’ve been wanting this so bad.  I was hoping that (Bamberg-Ehrhardt) would have home-field advantage again because we left something on this field last year and we came back and got it,” Hemingway wide receiver Jabril Solomon said.
“We’ve been living with this for 365 days.  We thought we had the best team last year, but let it get away from us.  This year I couldn’t be more proud.  A lot of hard work by these kids and the community has gone into this and everything is paying off,” said Tigers head coach Ken Cribb.
Through the first half, it appeared as if history would repeat itself.  Bamberg-Ehrhardt (11-2) took its first drive 66 yards in 10 plays, scoring on Chip Wannamaker’s 10-yd run.  It was the only touchdown for either team in the half.  The Red Raiders dominated time of possession during the first 24 minutes, running 36 plays compared to Hemingway’s 15.
“At halftime I asked (our players) who that was out there playing because that was, by far, the worst half of football we’ve played all year.  I don’t know if we were uptight or a little anxious, but we made some adjustments and gained some momentum and the real Hemingway finally showed up,” Cribb said.
The Tigers (13-0) showed up in a big way to begin the third quarter, using a 12-play, 72-yard drive to even things up.  Quarterback Jarod Heyward found Solomon in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-five.
After forcing a three-and-out, Hemingway’s LaMichael Pushia rushed for a 42-yard TD to put his team up for good.  Solomon added another score less than two minutes later after the Tigers special teams snuffed out a fake punt attempt.
“When our quarterback went down with an injury(at the end of the third quarter), Jabril stepped right in and made some big plays for us.  Our offensive line played real well and I thought we dominated a lot bigger team up front.  I felt like our conditioning was better and we seemed to wear them down by the end of the third quarter,” Cribb said.
Pushia added another touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.  On the night, he ran for 181 yards on 23 carries.  Hemingway’s defense also stood tall in the second half, allowing just 21 total yards while forcing five turnovers.

HHS 0 0 19 13—32
BEHS 7 0 0 0—7

BE – Chip Wannamaker 10-yd run (Brent Cook kick)
H – Jabril Solomon 10-yd pass from Jarod Heyward (Luis Cardena kick)
H – LaMichael Pushia 42-yd run (kick failed)
H – Solomon 19-yd run (conversion failed)
H – Pushia 4-yd run (kick failed)
H – J.D. Williams 1-yd run (Cardena kick)

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Hilton Head Christian captures SCISA AA crown, 35-21

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Columbia – Hilton Head Christian fell behind 14-0 in the first six minutes of Saturday’s SCISA Class AA state title game with Thomas Sumter Academy.
However, the Eagles dominated the game from then on, scoring 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-21 win.
The victory avenged a loss in last year’s title game to the Generals and gave the Eagles a third title since 2006 and completed the season with a 13-0 record.
Thomas Sumter dropped to 10-4 on the season, losing both meetings with Hilton Head Christian.
“I told our guys not to panic (at the early start) and that this was a great opportunity to show everyone what we were made of,” said Hilton Head Christian head coach Tommy Lewis. “I knew we had plenty of time and we were confident that we could make a game of it. We got settled down and played very well. I knew they would not go away and that it would be a tough game but we just kept plugging away.”
Hilton Head Christian finished the game with 270 total yards. Freshman quarterback Caleb Lewis completed 12 of 25 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore Brad Meccariello had 70 yards rushing on five carries, scoring twice as he operated at running back and quarterback and started at safety on defense.
“Brad is such an unselfish player and has never complained at the way we use him on offense,” said Lewis. “He had a big impact on the game today.”
Thomas Sumter totaled only 245 total yards, managing just 88 yards in the second half. Junior quarterback Shane Bishop threw for 130 yards but completed only 11 of 27 attempts.
The teams combined for 180 yards in penalties in a game that lacked flow and rhythm throughout.
“It’s a cliché that a lot of people use but defense does win championships and our defense has been the strength of this team all season,” said Lewis. “We had a great plan today and our guys executed it well. We gave up one score early and one score late but they were pretty dominant today.”
Thomas Sumter took the early 7-0 lead on Wesley Cannonier’s 21-yard run with 8:37 to play in the first quarter. The score was set up after Christian muffed a punt that was recovered by Charles Metcalfe  at the 21.
Hilton Head Christian punted again on its next possession and Thomas Sumter’s Kristopher Payne returned the boot 55 yards for a 14-0 lead with 6:13 to play in the first quarter.
The Eagles got on the board late in the quarter on Meccariello’s first score, a two-yard run with :57 left. Meccariello set up the score with a 26-yard punt return to the Generals’ 17-yard line.
Brandon Qualls added the two-point conversion run, cutting the lead to 14-8.
On Christian’s next possession, Lewis connected with C.J. Evanofski on a 60-yard catch and run, giving the Eagles the lead for good, 15-14, with 8:44 to play in the first half.
Late in the half, Christian added a score as Lewis hit Alex Martin on an 11-yard pass with :57 left, pushing the halftime margin to 22-14.
Meccariello put the game out of reach on the first play of the fourth quarter, scoring on a 31-yard run for a 28-14 lead.
Christian added a Tyler Chisholm one-yard run with 1:32 to play, and Thomas Sumter scored on an 18-yard pass from Bishop to Paris Tindal with :39 remaining in the game.

Scoring Summary
TSA – Wesley Cannonier 21 run (Blake Haynes kick)
TSA – Kris Payne 55 punt return (Haynes kick)
HHC – Brad Meccariello 2 run (Brandon Qualls run)
HHC – Caleb Lewis 60 pass to C.J. Evanofski (Tyler Chisholm kick)
HHC – Lewis 11 pass to Alex Martin (Chisholm kick)
HHC – Meccariello 31 run (kick failed)
HHC – Chisholm 1 run (Evanofski kick)
TSA – Shane Bishop 11 pass to Paris Tindal (Haynes kick)

SCISA Class AAA Championship Preview – Wilson Hall vs. Hammond

Editor’s Note: The High School Sports Report previews each of the SCISA state title games in class AAA, AA and A, which take place at Charles Johnson Stadium on the campus of Benedict College on Saturday. Following each preview is a prediction of how we think the game will turn out. Enjoy!

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Goose Creek – It’s not often that the two best teams in a particular league meet in the final game to decide a championship but that’s exactly what we have in the SCISA Class AAA state finals on Saturday.

Undefeated Wilson Hall meets the one loss Hammond Skyhawks for the crown after both teams dominated the class AAA ranks all season.

Hammond’s lone defeat this season came to Wilson Hall, 14-13, early in the regular season.

Hammond is seeking a sixth consecutive class AAA state crown but head coach Erik Kimrey says for the first time in a long time, his team is not the favorite.

“This is the first year that we’ve been such a big underdog but Wilson Hall deserves to be favored,” said Kimrey. “They clearly have been the best team in SCISA all season. They are a senior-laden team with experience at all positions. We knew coming into the season they were the team to beat and they have proven that all season. In overall talent and experience, they are the best team in our league and it will take a great effort on our part to win the game.”

Wilson Hall head coach Jet Turner, in his first season at the school, offers a chuckle when hearing of Kimrey’s comments.

“The first time we played, we won by one point, so I’m not sure we’re that much better than anyone, especially Hammond,” said Turner, who led Clover High to a AAAA Division II state title in 2007. “Hammond has won five straight state championships. This is a tremendous challenge for us. We know they will be prepared and we will have to play at a very high level to have a chance to win.”

Both teams are explosive offensively but go about things in a vastly different manner.

Wilson Hall runs a double-wing offense, preferring to keep the ball with a punishing running game. The Barons average 37 points per game and have rushed for more than 300 yards in a game six times this season.

The duo of Daniel Drakeford (1,001 yards, 13 TD) and James Lowery (969 yards, 7 TD) are the staple, each averaging better than seven yards per carry. However, senior quarterback Gibson Klapthor is equally effective as a runner and passer. Klapthor has scored 16 rushing touchdowns while throwing 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Turner has been impressed with how quickly his team adjusted to the new offense during the spring and summer months.

“I knew we had some good football players here and I thought we had a chance to be pretty good but the key has been this team’s attitude and willingness to work hard,” said Turner. “The kids here bought in and that’s so important. They are smart kids and making some changes didn’t affect them. They worked hard to learn our system and here we are. Most of our guys are good enough athletes to fit into any system but we were able to tailor this offense to their strengths and it all matched up.”

Hammond’s offense is more balanced. In fact, the Skyhawks average 200 yards rushing and 214 yards passing per game this season.

And this without a full complement of weapons all season. Hammond’s top rusher, senior Joey DeAngelis was nearing 1,000 yards rushing when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Senior B.J. Bennett has stepped into lead running back role but he too has been hampered with injury for most of the season. Bennett has still managed 1,010 yards on 99 carries and has rushed for 22 touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Jake Nidiffer has passed for 2,408 yards and 20 touchdowns. Junior Braden Shockley and sophomore Doak Fisher have combined for 53 receptions and sophomore tight end Cannon Smith is a threat as well.

“The biggest thing is our guys believed they could win, despite the injuries and the youth and who we lost and all that stuff,” said Kimrey. “I think tradition helps in terms of motivation but once you get on the field, you have to play. This team plays very hard. We’re younger than we’ve ever been but they do play with great effort. It has been fun to watch them improve and progress but it hasn’t been easy.”

As good as both offenses are, the first game was a defensive battle and this game could go the same way. Wilson Hall allows less than 11 points per game and Hammond allows 11.6 points per game.

Wilson Hall defensive ends Chase Breeden and Andrew Clinkscales have combined for 136 tackles and 13 sacks. Junior linebacker Phillip Shuler leads the Barons with 77 tackles.

On the Hammond side, tackles Patrick Kneece (72 tackles) and Roo Daniels (67 tackles) are the anchors up front. Junior linebacker Ron Brown has 69 tackles and Shockley has six interceptions from his safety position.

HSSR’s Prediction: Hammond 20, Wilson Hall 16

SCISA Class AA Championship Preview – Hilton Head Christian vs. Thomas Sumter Academy

Editor’s Note: The High School Sports Report previews each of the SCISA state title games in class AAA, AA and A, which take place at Charles Johnson Stadium on the campus of Benedict College on Saturday. Following each preview is a prediction of how we think the game will turn out. Enjoy!

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Goose Creek – The 2011 class AA state championship game features a rematch of the 2010 game.

In last year’s game, defending state champion Hilton Head Christian was upset by Thomas Sumter Academy in a close game that featured several momentum shifts.

Both teams lost several good players from their respective teams but each has continued to improve over the course of the season.

Hilton Head Christian beat Thomas Sumter in a regular season game, 21-20, but Eagles coach Tommy Lewis says the earlier meeting really has no effect on Saturday’s game.

“We have beaten Thomas Sumter the last two years in the regular season but they won the game that counted most last November, said Lewis, who has taken the Eagles to the championship game in five of the last six seasons. “We are excited to have another opportunity and all that matters is what happens on Saturday.

“I think both teams are evenly matched in every phase of the game. We’re similar in that we are both very good up front and we each have quality athletes on the perimeter. I expect it will be a very close game again. There is really not a lot of difference in the two teams.”

Thomas Sumter, which opened the season 0-2 and lost only to Hilton Head Christian since, is playing its best football of the season down the stretch. The Generals have allowed only 61 points over their last eight games.

Kessinger says Hilton Head Christian presents a challenge that his team has not faced in two months.

“To me, their strength is on defense and their defense really sticks out on film with how hard they play and how well-coached they are,” said the coach. “Their offense puts up some numbers but what makes them impressive, to me, is their defense. They don’t appear to have many weaknesses.”

Thomas Sumter’s defensive front has been very consistent all season. The unit is led by senior Josh McAda and junior Brantley Gray, along with senior Taylor Waldrop and junior Hunter Grant.

Linebackers Paris Tindal and Dalton Shipman, both seniors, have been solid.

Seniors Kristopher Payne and Wesley Cannonier anchor the secondary as veteran leaders.

One of the keys on offense for Thomas Sumter has been the improved play of first-year starting quarterback Shane Bishop, a junior. Bishop has passed for more than 1,400 yards and 20 touchdowns against only five interceptions this season.

Senior running back Charles Metcalfe has rushed for 895 yards and 11 touchdowns, galloping for 205 yards in the semi-final win over Thomas Heyward.

Tindal and Cannonier also work offensively in the backfield and each has gained more than 500 yards this season. The Generals have rushed for more than 2,800 yards and 39 scores, averaging 7.4 yards per game.

Payne is team’s top receiver with 43 receptions for 768 yards.

Hilton Head Christian has been dominant all season, taking an undefeated 12-0 record into the finals. Some may be surprised at the team’s success this fall considering the losses in personnel from last year’s team.

However, the Eagles did return good experience in the trenches and that has been a key to the success.

“The main reason I felt like we had a chance to be good was the experience along the front that we had,” said Lewis. “We have a couple of four-year starters and a lot of senior leadership. If you can win the battle up front, you have a chance and we have been good up front.”

Anchoring the unit along the front are senior tackles Kyle Weaver and Cole Malphrus. Weaver is a verbal commitment to The Citadel and Malphrus is being recruited as well.

Senior Cory Cheadle, one of the top long snappers in the country, is starting at center. Senior Nick Borghi is starting at one guard while junior Reed Shindell shares time at the other guard with senior Alec Westmark.

Freshman Caleb Lewis has been very solid as the starting quarterback in his first varsity season, throwing for more than 1,500 yards and 26 touchdowns this season.

Junior Tyler Chisholm is the team’s leading rusher while senior Alex Martin is the top receiver with more than 800 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Hilton Head Christian’s defense allows less than 12 points per game on the season. Junior linebacker Clay Oliver is an anchor of the defense and the team’s leading tackler with more than 100 total tackles. Senior Zach Reynolds also starts on the inside at linebacker and is second on the team in tackles.

Weaver and Malphrus anchor the defensive front with Weaver tallying 20 tackles for loss.

HSSR’s Pick: Hilton Head Christian 27, Thomas Sumter 20

SCISA Class A Championship Preview – Holly Hill Academy vs. Colleton Prep

Editor’s Note: The High School Sports Report previews each of the SCISA state title games in class AAA, AA and A, which take place at Charles Johnson Stadium on the campus of Benedict College on Saturday. Following each preview is a prediction of how we think the game will turn out. Enjoy!

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Goose Creek – Two of the hardest playing football teams in SCISA are meeting for the Class A state title as Holly Hill Academy and Colleton Prep meet in a rematch of a game played earlier this season.

Physical and aggressive are the way to describe each of these teams and both are playing their best football at the end of the season.

Holly Hill Academy has allowed just one touchdown in two playoff games and has overcome a three-game losing streak late in the year to reach the finals. The Raiders lost to Colleton Prep, 30-17, during that three-game skid but have stuck together, according to head coach Don Shelley.

 “I think a lot of people jumped off the bandwagon and figured we were done but these players never lost faith,” said the veteran head coach, who led the Raiders to the state title in 2007 and won seven state titles while the head coach at Orangeburg Prep. “This group learned a lot about being a team and sticking together. The three teams we lost to during that stretch were very good teams. We just had a few things go against us and we lost. I knew this team was capable of bouncing back. We have good senior leadership on this team.”

Senior leadership is prevalent all over the field for the Raiders this season. Starting along the offensive and defensive fronts, the Raiders are loaded with second and third year starting seniors.

Seniors Blake Strickland and Madison West are starting offensive tackles and also see significant time along the defensive front.

Senior Kyle Clark is a starting offensive guard and works at defensive tackle and senior David Alan Hollman is the starting center and starts at defensive end.

Senior Jonathan McWaters is a second-year starter at quarterback and senior Noah Lewis is the starting fullback. Working at tight end is senior Justin Brownlee, who also is the team’s leading tackler at linebacker.

Senior Elias Dupree is the top receiver on offense and anchors the defensive secondary at safety.

J.T. Garrick is a senior starter at linebacker alongside Brownlee.

The Raiders get plenty of help from the underclassmen as well. The team’s leading rusher is junior Travis Spence, who has rushed for 1,451 yards this season.

Junior Jay Shuler shares time with Lewis at fullback and has rushed for nearly 600 yards this season.

Junior Josh Herron is the other starting safety and freshman Charlie Carpenter is the starting flanker.

Leadership also has been a strength of the Colleton Prep Warhawks, who have battled injuries throughout the season and managed an 8-2 record.

The Warhawks are playing in their sixth title game since 2001, having won championships in 2002 and 2003.

 “Sometimes when you have so many seniors it can be hard to identify the leaders but in our case, every senior is a leader and that makes a huge difference,” said head coach Neil Minton, now in his second season as the head coach after eight years as an assistant. “This team has a great work ethic and it has been contagious. These guys push each other hard and it’s not just talk. This group had a mission, a goal, and they pushed themselves to get to this point. I’m really proud of them.”

Leadership at the quarterback position is critical and Minton says there are few better leaders under center in the state than Reed Houck. Though the Warhawks are heavy into the run game, Houck has shown the ability to beat people with his arm.

Anchoring the running game are senior running back Tanner Cope and junior fullback Heath Fisk. Cope has topped 1,000 yards for the season while battling minor injuries. Fisk missed several weeks before returning late in the year to score seven touchdowns in the last three games.

Minton calls senior tight end Cal Young “the unsung hero of this team.”

Up front are senior tackles Jacob Craven and Dalton Mescia. Senior guard Jamie Robertson and senior center Jordan Breland. Junior Coby Martin is the other starting guard.

Junior Kyle Davis and sophomore Tanner Crosby are the starting receivers.

Many of the same names appear prominently on defense as well.

Fisk and Mescia are starting tackles while Craven and Breland are the starting ends.

Cope and Young are the linebackers, along with sophomore Hayden Smith.

Seniors Scott Cope and Cody Cope are the starting corners while Crosby and Davis are the safeties. Davis has six interceptions while the defense as a whole has 22 interceptions this season.

“We’re about plus 20 in turnover margin and that is a real big key for us,” said Minton. “We like to keep the ball and grind it out on offense, which limits the other team’s opportunities. It makes it a lot easier when we are creating turnovers on defense as well.”

HSSR’s Pick: Colleton Prep 26, Holly Hill Academy 21.

2011 State Champions in Cross Country crowned

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Columbia - Chilly temperatures and breezy conditions did not slow down the state's top cross country performers at the South Carolina State Cross Country Championships, held on November 5th at the Sandhills Research Park in Columbia.

There were very few surprises in the final standings as many of the state's top performers throughout the fall showed up with championship performances on the biggest day of the season.

Following is a recap of the eight races.

Class AAAA Boys

Certainly no surprise in this race as the state's top runner for the last two years and the state's best team were easy winners.

Dutch Fork senior Roland Hakes repeated as the individual winner, covering the course in 15:10, easily the top time of the day for all classifications. Hakes finished 21 seconds ahead of Sage Kosiorek of Boiling Springs.

"There is always pressure to do well but I trained like I wanted and felt confident coming in that I had prepared well," said Hakes. "I tried to take a lead right away and dictate the race. We have a lot of good runners in the state and I knew I would get pushed. I just ran the way I had trained and it all worked out."

Lexington won a third straight state title and with plenty of youth returning, the Wildcats may be in for an extended run in AAAA.

Lexington finished with 34 points, well ahead of second-place Stratford's (74). Lexington's effort was led by sophomores Tony Morales and Zack Langston, senior Colby Coulter and junior Blake White. The foursome scored second, third, fourth and fifth.

Stratford's finish was the best in school history. Wando (141) was third, followed by Dutch Fork (153) and Mauldin (167).

Class AAAA Girls

Wando captured the team championship with 68 points, ahead of Lexington (95). Wando put two runners in the top 10 with junior Georgia Compton taking sixth and sister Rosa Marie Compton, a freshman, finishing eighth.

Depth was key for Wando as coach Marie Domin's team had five runners score in the top 22 positions. Lexington had four in the top 15 but Wando's fifth runner was 22nd and Lexington's finished 57th.

Wando won the title in 2009 but slipped to fourth a year ago. However, they became the early season favorite with strong early performances in big meets.

"We've kind of had the bull's eye on us since the start of the season when we won the Coaches Classic here, but my girls handled the pressure well all season by staying focused on winning as a team," said Domin.

Byrnes High freshman Emma Jennings began what could be a long run as state champion by winning the individual title with a time of 18:27. Jennings edged Easley senior Emily Lewis by seven seconds.

J.L. Mann's Laura Miller was third, followed by Evie Tate of Spartanburg and Emily Sanders of J.L. Mann.

Class AAA Boys

In terms of final point standings, the AAA boys race was the most competitive of the day.

Hilton Head edged out Wade Hampton and Fort Mill for the title, capturing the crown for the second straight year. Hilton Head finished with 61 points, ahead of Wade Hampton's 67 and Fort Mill's 74.

Junior Jack Manesiotis led the effort by winning the individual title after finishing second last year. Manesiotis posted a time of 15:36 to beat Ben Boerma of Wade Hampton, who finished with a time of 16:19.

"I felt really good and got off to a good start," said Manesiotis. "I started to pull away about two miles in and knew I had a good chance at that point. It's a great feeling. I knew that I had some guys here that could push me but I just wanted to run my best race."

Hilton Head put two other runners (Alex Couch and Colton Hennessey) in the top 10. Wade Hampton put two in the top 10 and Fort Mill had two place in the top 10.

"We knew it would be close but we stepped up as a team and got it done," said Manesiotis.

Logan George was Wade Hampton's second finisher in 10th place. Leading Fort Mill's effort were senior Drew Marshall in fourth and senior Jeffrey Case in seventh.

Eastside finished fourth in the team standings, followed by Socastee.

Chapin senior Heath Lorick finished third, falling behind Boerma in the final 20 feet of the face.

Class AAA Girls

Depth was key for the Eastside High girl's team as they captured the AAA state title with 52 points.

Eastside scored five runners in the first 17 positions to finish ahead of Hilton Head (98), Daniel (134), Fort Mill (150) and Wade Hampton (187).

Eastside's effort was led by senior Caroline Duer, who raced to the finish line in third place with a time of 18:34. Junior Olivia Svacha finished ninth and senior Erica Gleason was 10th.

Sophomore Sydney Hook was 13th and junior Lauren White was 17th overall.

Fort Mill's Meredith Kilburn, a senior, won the individual title with a time of 18:10. Airport junior Megan Stahlberger was second for the second straight year, six seconds behind Kilburn.

Rounding out the top five were Dreher sophomore Ashbrook Gwinn and North Myrtle Beach sophomore Benjamin Jenerette.

Class AA Boys

After coming up short in the state meet last season, a veteran Bishop England boy's squad was determined to go out on top this fall.

The Bishops placed three runners in the top 10 and four in the top 12, finishing the meet with 53 points to claim the crown.

Liberty was second in the team standings with 81 points, followed by Pendleton (133), Woodruff (159) and Palmetto (198).

"It was a real heartbreaker last year to come up short so it's good to see them get some redemption and finish out on top this year," said coach Tony Colizzi. "We had great senior leadership and we have some good younger kids coming that will step up and become our leaders. I told them that if we ran as well as we did last week (lower state qualifier) that we had a good chance. As everyone knows in cross country, it comes down to that fifth runner and someone has to step up. We did that today."

Seniors Gabe Thesing (2nd) and Nathan Leach (4th) led the charge for the Bishops. Sophomore Christian Widenhour placed eighth and junior Alex Righi was 12th.

Eau Claire junior Omar Sharif was the individual winner, beating Thesing by one second with a time of 16:21.

Class AA Girls

Pendleton placed only one runner among the top 10 individuals but coach Warren Wheeler's team used its depth to capture the team crown. Pendleton scored 69 points to beat Waccamaw (86), Pelion (108), Academic Magnet (171) and Liberty (174).

"The strength of our team this year was our depth and we had seven really solid runners all season," said Wheeler. "A couple of them had off days today but the other girls stepped up and gave us a good race. I'm real proud of them.

"We felt confident. We knew there were some other good teams but we felt like we were stronger and deeper than the other teams. It was an overall team victory for us, no doubt."

Pendleton's top finisher was junior Brywn McMahan in 10th place. Senior Emily Harper was 13th and eighth-grader Makala Satterfield was 14th.

Freshman Tara Hamilton finished in 20th and junior Madison Harrison was 23rd.

Liberty eighth-grader Hanan Balawi captured the individual state title with a strong run of 18:42. Waccamaw junior Grace Barnett was second with a time of 19:47 and Pelion junior Nevada Minard was third.

Hanahan junior Grace Murray finished fourth and Waccamaw eighth-grader Amelia Jones was fifth.

Class A Boys

The battle for the Class A boys title was an upper state affair as Christ Church edged out Landrum for the title. Christ Church finished with 59 points while Landrum scored 74 points.

Christ Church also had the top individual performer as sophomore James Quattlebaum won the title ahead of Thomas Melanson of the Governor's School.

Christ Church junior Justin Trenor was seventh to add to the cause. Junior David Moore placed 12th.

Class A Girls

St. Joseph's won the class A girls title for the second straight year, scoring 31 points to edge Landrum (64) and Christ Church (79).

Southside Christian finished fourth and Greer Middle College was fifth.

St. Joseph's had all five scoring runners place in the top 12 finishers overall. Eighth-grader Sara Catherine Masaschi was second, sophomore Carol Lewis was third, and eighth-grader Bailey Mullins was fourth.

Junior Caroline Jennings of Christ Church won individual honors for the second straight year, covering the course in 19:12.

AAAA Boys

AAAA Girls

AAA Boys

AAA Girls

AA Boys

AA Girls

A Boys

A Girls

Upper and Lower state evenly divide SCHSL girls tennis crowns*

By Jim Seay
Special Writer

Mavs take second consecutive AAAA ttle

This year's South Carolina High School League girls tennis championships moved to the center of the state, a few miles south of Columbia, an ideal dividing line between the Upper State and Lower State.

A perfect season’s mark of 19-0 was celebrated by the Mauldin Mavericks girls on Saturday Nov. 5 at the newly opened Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center in the City of Cayce.  The AAAA  crown was the second in succession on a day marked by brisk temperatures and strong, swirling winds.

Mauldin took the triumph 4-2 bringing the Wando Warriors season to its 19-2 conclusion.

Mauldin assistant Coach Bonnie Pittman served this year in place of  Head Coach Laura Gurley who took the year off on materinity leave. Gurley will return to the top spot in 2012.

The success pattern for the Mauldin program is simple says Pittman, ""We had a young group that has gotten older and worked harder every year. We're very blessed that they stuck with high school tennis. There are some pros (instructors) who don't want them to stay with high school tennsi but we have such a great bunch of girls and parents that know the importance of teamwork. They never give up."

The key players in the success of the Mavericks during the season and in their 4-2 concluding victory  were Anlsey Speaks, Haley Elliott, Sydney Patton, Lexi Stewart, Katelyn Hegarty, Hayle Bethal and Alex Patton.

 The Warriors were led by Catherine Martin, Melanie Allen, Alex Klein, Caroline Haldried, Anne Stewart Payne, Courtney Lopresti and Lagana Passailaigue\

Christ Church does it again

The other early championship session of the day was the near sweep by Christ School who took their fifth Class A title in succession while posting a record of 16-1 for the year defeating East Clarendon 5-1. That was the first time a Christ Church team has taken a quintet of consectuive tennis championships according to Head Coach Sherry Adams. who said the key to claiming the championship again was, "The camaradarie and characer of the team, and they're very good players. They worked very hard to get here."

She gave special note of team captains Alley Walls and Emily Jennnigs who have been playing for CCHS for at least five years each. "They have been solid all along and have meant so much thorugh the years."

In singles action, Olivia Lucas defeated Amanda Knowlton 6-0, 6-0, Emily Jennnings won in straight sets over Maggie Wester, Emory Cannon had scores of 6-1, 6-0 against Morgan Keefe while Walls logged the same scores against Sydney Coker and Pryce Caulder blanked Ella Pate.

The Cavaliers only loss in the finale was the No. 2 doubles taken by East Clarendon's Cindy Miller and Jordan Evans 6-1, 6-2 as they topped Anna Pieper and Lindsey Hardy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 When given the unoffical title 'The Toast of Greenville' Adams responded, "Good,we'll take that."'

Seahawks win fifth title, whip Nation Ford for AAA honors

Hilton Head Island’s Seahawks claimed their fifth consecutive SCHSL state championship completing the campaign at 14-2 as they swooped past Nation Ford 5-1  The Upper State champions from the Fort Mill area ended their season 17-3 after advancing to the finals in just their fourth year.

A native of Chicago, HHI Coach Jennifer Weitekamper bubbled with excitement as she saw her team win all but the doubles  contes. Thtt was taken  by Nation Ford's Casey Strickland and Morgan Jasper who posted a 5-7, 4-5 vicotry over HHI's Krista Ray and Emma Stantion.

The singles wins were by Sabrina Drammis 6-1, 6-0 over Jordan Bowers, Brooke Busby got by Ashley Trull 6-2. 6-3, Logan Danzell battled to a 6-2, 6-4 win over Olivia Whitener while, at No. 5, Kate Cram prevailed 6-0, 6-0 in her match with Kendall Lucas.

In one of the tightest batttles of the day, senior Megan Farrell downed Suzanna Goss 6-5, 6-3. That was notable becasue Farrell now has four state championship rings. She said the strong point of her game was "My backhand and coming strong to the net so I can finish my point there. If I go to college, it won't be on a team, it will be just for fun."

Weitekamper says she, as the coach, can't take all the credit for the season. "Huge thanks go to the families who support the girls and to the tennis professionals on the island who originally instilled the skills these players have. That makes by job of pulling together this team easier."

She added, "We'll be losing Sabrina and Megan with their athleticism and exprience but there are plenty moving up who want their spots on the varsity team. I'm looking forward to being in the finals next year."

AA gold umph to Bishop England

The final match of the day,  which included extended doubles  action  -  went to Bishop England (20-5) who scored a 7-0 win over Emerald's Vikiings, the Upper State champions from Greenwood. The year's comeback for the "Battlin' Bishops" was a relief for .B. E.'s third year head coach  Coach Kristin Fleming.

"We were disappointed in our loss to Waccamaw in last year's final," said Fleming. "Our girls vowed to do everything to make a difference in our game and they came out of the gate at the beginning of the year ready to play, they knew what they wanted and did a great job."

She noted that the catalyst was "Sophomore Liza Arrudo at number one. She stepped up to the challenge and did a good job. We worked so well this year and had a strong 5-2 win against Waccamaw and a great win today. I'm very excited for the girls, they worked really hard to get here."

At No.1  singles, Arrudo prevailed in her battle with Maggie Elliott 6-2, 6-3. Caroline Yobice had a scrap with Elizabeth Mulkey at No. 2 before winning out 6-1, 7-6,  Hannah Simpson claimed the 6-0,  6-1 win over Sarah Bates. Kelly McManus' 6-0, 6-3 dispatched Herin Warner and Charlie Gaffney took the same margins in her No. 5 match with Lauren Hubbs.

The two teams wrapped it up with the doubles matches which were played out even though they had scored all the points needed for their decisive victory. "Both teams had seniors we wanted to get into the match also," added Fleming who re-iternated, "This year was a team effort overall and, at the end of the day everyone pulled together and were ready to play."

Cane Bay lineman plays for more than himself

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Summerville - As the rock solid anchor of the Cane Bay High offensive line, senior center Josh Hale has to be on top of his game for the offense to have success.

That has not been an easy task for the fourth-year starter during the 2011 season.

When the Cobras take the field tonight for their first-round AAA lower state playoff game with Wilson High School, Hale does so with a lot more on his mind than simply winning a football game.

As he has throughout his senior season, Hale will be dedicating every snap to his 21-year old brother, Chris, who is in a battle of his own. Chris Hale was diagnosed with leukemia last spring.

Cane Bay head coach Russell Zehr is more than impressed at how well his three-time all-region performer plays, given the circumstances.

"I am amazed at his ability to focus on football as much as he does considering all he is going through," said Zehr. "High school kids wake up and wonder who they are taking on a date and Josh wakes up wondering about something so much more important. I can't imagine what he is going through and the fact that he gives us as much as he does is a testament to his strength and character."

Hale has missed practice on occasion while he visits his brother in the hospital during one of the several surgeries that Chris has undergone this fall. Learning to manage football and school while still being there for his brother has been hard but Hale is not complaining.

“The coaches and my teammates have been very supportive and understanding,” said Hale. “My brother sometimes gets mad that I missed football for him. He says I should be at practice. But I’m going to be there for him first.”

Hale recalls one of the worst days of his young life last May when he had two bombshells dropped on him within hours of each other.

The first came when his head coach, Jeff Cruce, told the team that he was leaving the program to become the head coach at Berkeley. Cruce had been the school’s only coach since the program started in 2008 and Hale, like many of the rising seniors, were shocked and hurt.

A few hours later, on his ride home from school, Hale received a call from his mother that his brother was taken to the hospital.

“I remember thinking, ‘what else can happen’,” said Hale from practice on Wednesday. “It was a tough day for sure. Chris was just working in the yard and felt light-headed and sick. He ended up going to the hospital and they started running tests and it all happened so quickly.”

There is hope for Chris, according to Josh. His brother got lucky and found a match and has already received a bone marrow transplant. There are still complications but Chris has improved somewhat since last summer.

“It’s too early to tell but I just know inside that he is going to be better,” said Hale. “He has ups and downs but he’s hanging in there.”

Josh is looking forward to playing as many games as he can in this postseason. He likely won’t play in college so he’s trying to enjoy his final days as a football player.

“My mind is focused on what we have to do to win,” said Hale. “I have a lot of hope that my brother will completely heal and I also have high hopes for our team. Every game I play could be my last so I want to give it all I’ve got – for Chris and my team.”

HSSR Announces SCISA Cross Country Honors for 2011

Staff Report

Goose Creek - Porter Gaud's Brent Demarest and Spartanburg Christian's Logan Morris have been named as the High School Sports Report Male and Female Runner of the Year for the 2011 Cross Country season.
Demarest was the class AAA medalist in the state meet, running the top time in the state private school ranks this season with a 15:45.93 in the state finals.
Morris led Spartanburg Christian to the AA/A team title for the seventh consecutive year by winning the championship herself for the third straight year.
The publication also announced the 2011 HSSR All-State team. All of the honorees will be invited to the HSSR Fall Sports Awards Banquet in February in Columbia.

2011 HSSR SCISA Boys All-State Cross Country

Layne Mather - Porter Gaud

Cameron Kane - Porter Gaud

Jay Jenkins - St. Andrews

Bradley McClelland - Porter Gaud

Keegan Duesterhaus - Spartanburg Day

Stephen Ridley - Heathwood Hall

Boone Aiken - Trinity Collegiate

Adam Rollins - Oakbrook Prep

Peter Ruby - Pinewood Prep

Parker Godfrey - The Byrnes School

2011 HSSR SCISA Girls All-State Cross Country

Brooke Grice - Heathwood Hall

Meagan Wright - Florence Christian

Sydney Ellen - Heathwood Hall

Sarah Garratt - Hilton Head Prep

Morgan Lee - Ashley Hall

Maryah Nasir - Pinewood Prep

Madison Seay - Spartanburg Christian

Catherine Herring - Hammond

Lydia Nolan - The King's Academy

Katie Black - Pinewood Prep

SCISA crowns state champions in Cross Country

Staff Report

Columbia - There was very little drama or surprise at the 2011 SCISA State Cross Country championships, held on October 29th in Columbia.

Perennial power and heavy favorite Porter Gaud captured the AAA boys title, scoring 19 points to finish well ahead of second-place Pinewood Prep (74) and third-place Wilson Hall (105).

Brent Demarest captured top honors by completing the course in 15:45.93 and led a contingent of Cyclones across the finish line.

Teammates Layne Mather, Cameron Layne and Bradley McClelland placed second, third and fourth, respectively.

Brandon Ward was ninth and Landon Sanford was tenth in the race.

Pinewood Prep's effort was led by Peter Ruby, who finished in sixth-place. Jim Kim placed 12th and Mason Hazel was 14th overall.

Pinewood Prep did come away with a title, however, as the girl's team captured the AAA team title, scoring 50 points.

Heathwood Hall was second with 70 and Ashley Hall was third with 74.

Heathwood Hall's Brooke Grice edged Meagan Wright of Florence Christian for the individual honors. Grice completed the course in 19:00.12, just ahead of Wright's 19:05.50.

Pinewood Prep placed five runners from positions five to 14, led by Maryah Nasir and Katie Black, who scored fifth and seventh, respectively.

The boy's AA/A finals was a competitive race with Trinity Collegiate edging Spartanburg Day, 44-47.

All ten of the team's participating runners placed in the top 15 but Trinity placed three in the top 10.

Trinity's leaders were third-place finisher Boone Aiken, seventh-place finisher Mark Buyck and Daniel Young in eighth.

Spartanburg Christian easily won it's seventh consecutive title in the AA/A girl's ranks while Logan Morris won her third individual title with a race time of 18:20.00.

Spartanburg Christian took five of the first six places to score 18 points, well ahead of Trinity Collegiate's 76 points.

Madison Seay (2nd), Shelby Wright (4th), Madison Burgess (5th) and Taylor Morris (6th) provided the depth for Spartanburg Christian.

Cane Bay beats Berkeley, former coach, 19-15

By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Summerville – When Jeff Cruce left his position as head football coach at Cane Bay last spring to become the head coach at Berkeley High, he left behind a large rising senior class that he had formed a strong bond with since starting the program in 2008.
So it’s understandable that Thursday night’s regular season finale between Cane Bay and Berkeley was full of emotion and intensity.
But, whatever feelings, good or bad, that existed between the former coach and the Cane Bay players were secondary to what rode on the outcome of the game.
Both teams entered with one loss in region 7-AAA and the winner of the game would clinch second-place in the standings and earn a home game in next week’s AAA lower state playoffs.
Two of those Cane Bay seniors, running back Anthony Enos and quarterback Brandon Hall, led the Cobras to a 19-15 victory. Cane Bay improves to 7-3 on the season while a young Berkeley team falls to 4-6, the school’s first losing season since 1992.
Enos rushed for 147 yards on 37 carries and scored two touchdowns while Hall threw a key touchdown pass just before halftime to lead the Cobras to the win.
Trailing, 15-12, late in the third quarter, Enos put the game on his shoulders and literally carried the Cobras to the win. Enos touched the ball on 17 plays of a 19-play drive that started in the third quarter and ended with 4:18 to play in the game when the 5-8, 175-pounder scored on a one-yard run to give the Cobras the lead for good.
The drive consumed more than nine minutes and Enos had 16 carries and caught a pass on the 72-yard drive.
“I know my coaches and my teammates have a lot of trust in me and I want the ball in that situation,” said Enos, who has fumbled only three times in 534 career rushing attempts. “The line was great and they opened some holes. The more I get it, the better I am. I’ll carry it on every play if I have to as long as we win.”
Cane Bay converted three fourth downs on the drive and Zehr said punting was never an option. Berkeley blocked a punt earlier in the third quarter.
“If we had to give it back we were going to do it on our terms,” said Zehr. “If we had a chance to keep it to the very end we were going to do it. We had trouble with them all night. They’re a good football team with great athletes.”
Enos gave Cane Bay a 6-0 lead with a nine-yard run in the first quarter but Berkeley answered on a 10-yard run by quarterback Matthew Harkness with 7:08 left in the second quarter.
Cane Bay scored with :01 left in the first half on a six-yard pass from Hall to David Welch to take a 12-7 halftime lead.
Harkness combined with Harrison Matthews on a 63-yard scoring pass with 8:25 to play in the third to take a 15-12 lead. Harkness completed 12 of 17 passes for 174 yards in the game.
Zehr says he tried to get his team to focus on the game and not on who was coaching the other team but admits his players had their own motivation.
“I didn’t mention his name the whole week and we tried to downplay it as much as we could but everyone knows what it is,” said Zehr. “I think some of the reason we played so sloppy was the emotion of it. Nothing against coach Cruce but when he left here it hurt some of these kids’ feelings. I felt like they wanted some redemption. I told them it’s not about beating coach Cruce but about getting a home playoff game and getting to seven wins. Our kids definitely played hard.”
Hall has been the starting quarterback since his freshman year and admits he was hurt when Cruce announced he was leaving. He says there was added motivation to not lose his last regular season game at home to Berkeley.
“He was the first coach I ever played for in high school and he taught me everything I know, from day one,” said Hall. “When he left us I was hurt but that was a decision he had to make. It was hard to block out, for me, but I knew we had to win this game. It was a hard fought game. I give it up to Berkeley. They were strong and physical and they played as hard as we did, but it definitely feels very sweet to win this game.”
As for Cruce and the Stags, they turn their focus to the playoffs.
“We played better than we did last week but we made way too many mental mistakes to win a close game like this,” said Cruce, who starts eight sophomores on offense. “It was a tough, physical game. Enos did a great job. He’s a great player and we knew that coming in. We just have to get over this and get ready for next week.”
Cane Bay won its first playoff game in school history in last year’s state playoffs, beating Marlboro County. Zehr says the program is still not as respected as other programs in the county and hopes that beating Berkeley for a second straight year will turn some heads.
“This group of kids hasn’t gotten a whole lot of respect from anybody,” the coach said. “They’re 7-3 and nobody talks about Cane Bay. To me this was an opportunity to beat a well-coached team, a team with a great reputation, and maybe get a little bit of respect.”

Porter Gaud saves best for last; captures AAA SCISA volleyball title

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Charleston – It took 41 matches but the Porter Gaud volleyball team finally played as well as coach Ashley Heidtke thought they could.

Porter Gaud displayed strength in all phases of the game and captured a second consecutive SCISA Class AAA state title with a resounding and impressive 3-1 victory over Ashley Hall.

Except for sleep walking through game three, Porter Gaud was clearly the dominant team, taking the first two games, 25-19 and 25-9. Ashley Hall captured game three, 25-17, before the Lady Cyclones closed out the match with a convincing 25-8 win in game four.

“We were sharp tonight,” said Heidtke, who also led Porter Gaud to a state title in 2006. “We’ve been talking all year about putting it all together. Tonight was the first night where we’ve really been on the same page. We had that little letdown in the third game but we really showed how good we could be in that fourth game.”

Junior outside hitter Julia McAvoy led an impressive attack with 21 kills, while senior Halle Brown and junior Lexie Meyer added 13 kills each.

Junior setter Ali Waters dished out 47 assists for the Lady Cylcones, who improved to 36-5 on the season.

“We’ve been waiting to play like this all season and we knew we had it in us,” said Brown, the team’s lone senior. “We talked about repeating all through the summer workouts and all season long,. We put it all together tonight.”

McAvoy tallied six kills in game one and the game was tied at 16 before Porter Gaud went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-16 lead. Ashley Hall could get no closer than three at 21-18.

Porter Gaud never trailed in game two and scored the final 12 points of the game to win easily.

Ashley Hall used an early 5-1 run to take a 9-8 lead and never trailed again in game three, leading by as many as seven points en route to the win.

Porter Gaud erased all doubt in game four, clicking on all cylinders on its way to a commanding 11-1 lead. The lead would grow to 21-4 and Porter Gaud cruised to the win.

Ashley Hall closed out the season with a 39-9 record and veteran coach Franny Slay commended the champions are a strong performance.

“We were good too but we just weren’t consistent,” said Slay. “They were the better team tonight. I can’t take anything away from them. They played very well. We just couldn’t match their power. It’s a difficult matchup. They have so many power hitters and we couldn’t really match that. We really did a good job defensively but we couldn’t consistently match their hitting. That was the difference between the two teams.”

Ashley Hall senior Litsa Darby, headed to South Carolina next fall, closed out her career with a 25-assist night. Senior Jessica Graham and junior Christine Quinn had eight kills while senior Lauren Hall recorded 21 digs.

With only one senior, Porter Gaud will be heavily favored to three-peat in 2012. Ashley Hall had won three straight before losing in the finals last year.

“We should be good and hopefully we stay hungry,” said Heidtke.

Brown's return sparks Hanahan to huge win over Stall

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Hanahan - It has been a while since Hanahan senior receiver Chris Brown has been able to impact a game this season.

Injured in week two of the season, Brown has patiently healed and waited for his chance to return to the gridiron. The 6-2, 180-pounder got his chance on Thursday night.

Brown caught five passes for 130 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Hawks drilled Stall, 57-6, in a region 6-AA battle. With it fifth consecutive win, the Hawks improve to 5-4 and take on Woodland next week for the region championship.

"We executed very well at the start of the game and it's good to have number two back," said Hanahan head coach Charlie Patterson. "He looked good tonight. We have several good receivers and they did a great job while Chris was hurt but obviously having Chris makes us a better team. He's a special player."

Brown was surprised at his impact in his first game back.

"I kind of thought I was out there to work on my blocking and get back into it but I guess I got open some and was able to contribute," said Brown, who earlier this season verbally committed to Notre Dame. "It's great to be back out here with my teammates. We want to make a run now and I'm happy that I can help out in some way."

Junior quarterback Anthony Smalls certainly enjoyed having another weapon at his disposal and had perhaps his best game of the season.

Smalls completed 13 of 16 passes for 249 yards and six touchdowns while adding 119 yards rushing and another score. Hanahan rolled up more than 450 yards in total offense. Each of Hanahan's scoring drives lasted less than three minutes except for the final drive of the night.

Smalls wasted little time getting Brown involved, connecting on a 43-yard touchdown pass on Hanahan's first offensive snap with 9:17 left in the first quarter. After a one-yard run pushed the lead to 14-0 in the first quarter, Smalls and Brown combined on touchdowns on three consecutive possessions from two, 24 and 41 yards out.

Just before halftime, Smalls and Patrick Alston combined on a 36-yard touchdown pass for a 43-0 lead at the break. Smalls finished his night in the third quarter with a five-yard pass to Devonte Grant.

Hanahan's backups added a fourth quarter score as Dante Denmark scored on a two-yard run with 8:22 to play in the game.

Stall, which dropped to 6-3 overall, topped the 100-yard mark in total offense on its last drive, culminating in Latreal Torrence's two-yard run with 1:21 to play.

"Our defense has three freshmen and six or seven sophomores but they have really become a more consistent unit over the last few weeks," said Patterson. "We'll need our defense to step up next week and hope our offense continues to gel. We're excited about playing for a region championship."

SCORING SUMMARY

H - Chris Brown 43 pass from Anthony Smalls (Kyle Spigner kick)

H - Smalls 1 run (Spigner kick)

H - Safety, punt snap out of endzone

H - Brown 2 pass from Smalls (kick failed)

H - Brown 24 pass from Smalls (Spigner kick)

H - Brown 41 pass from Smalls (Spigner kick)

H - Patrick Alston 36 pass from Smalls (Spigner kick)

H - Devonte Grant 5 pass from Smalls (Spigner kick)

H - Dante Denmark 2 run (Spigner kick)

S - Latreal Torrence 2 run (kick failed)

Loris ready for challenge of state’s top AA team

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Loris – Off to its best start since 1988, the Loris High football program tackles its biggest challenge of the 2011 regular season when they challenge the state’s top-ranked AA team, Dillon, this Friday night.

Loris, at 8-0 and ranked fifth in class AA by the High School Sports Report, will seek to derail the express that has been Dillon football this fall. Dillon is 8-0, has scored at least 42 points in seven games, and has allowed only nine points in eight games.

“I don’t care who you are playing, at any level, when you can go eight games and allow just nine points, that’s about as impressive as you can get,” said Loris head coach Jamie Snider, who is in his first season as the head coach at Loris. “They are as good a football team as any team in this state. They have size, speed, athleticism and they are extremely well-coached. I don’t think people understand how good they are until they see a film or see them in person.”

Snider realizes his team will be heavy underdogs against Dillon but the coach says his team will be ready for the challenge. After all, hardly anyone felt the Lions would be much better than a .500 team in 2011 after heavy graduation losses from last year’s eight-win team.

“I honestly think the seniors we have on this team got tired of hearing about what we lost and they took a lot of pride in making sure their own senior year would be a good one,” the coach said. “This team has a lot of confidence and they will be ready to play. We’re excited about the game. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and I want our kids to enjoy being a part of such a big game.”

Loris has been impressive during its eight-game winning streak this season. The Lions have allowed only 53 points in eight games and only 13 points in the last four games.

The defense is led by senior linebacker D.L. Griffin, senior tackle Dominic Bellamy, senior defensive back Alquez Gore and sophomore safety Ryan Bellamy.

The team’s defensive coordinator is former Coastal Carolina star Adrian Grady, who is in his first season as the coordinator.

“Adrian has done a great job of getting them ready to play and making them believe and have a lot of pride in their jobs,” said Snider. “We have been getting better and better each week. We struggled a little early but we’ve been very good of late.”

There are tricks or secrets as to what Loris does offensively. Senior quarterback Kentrez Hilton and senior running back Fred Bryant are the primary weapons. Each has rushed for 736 yards through eight games. Bryant has gained his yardage in only six games.

The top linemen are senior center Issac Weber and senior right tackle Jacoby Cox.

“We lost four of the five starting linemen from last year so we had to rebuild that unit,” said Snider. “They have come along very well and having two guys like Kentrez and Fred make it a lot easier.”

Snider looks forward to the upcoming state playoffs and says the results of the Dillon game, win or lose, will not change his outlook on the chances his team has for an extended post-season run.

“We have done a great job of focusing on a week to week basis, never looking past the game of the week,” the coach said. “This team has been great with focus and hard work. I think we’ll be ready to play Friday night and regardless of the outcome, we’ll be ready next week as well. I tell the guys every week that the game that week is the most important game because it’s the next game. We won’t change that thinking.”

Aiken edges Hillcrest for Wando Invitational crown

Staff report

Mt. Pleasant – A pair of AAAA powers met in the championship of the Gold bracket of the 2011 Wando Invitational volleyball tournament and defending AAAA state champion Aiken edged upper state favorite Hillcrest, 2-1, to claim the crown.

Aiken rallied to win after losing the first game, 15-25, and won the next two games with relative ease, 25-15 and 15-10. Aiken also won the title last year on their way to the AAAA title.

Leading Aiken’s winning effort was tournament MVP Natasha Dicks and first-team all-tournament selection Monica Cardona.

Also selected to the first-team were Sam Del Toro (Hillcrest), Julia McAvoy (Porter Gaud), Tinsley Hallman (Wando), Litsa Darby (Ashley Hall) and Eve Davis (Charlotte Latin).

Hillcrest advanced to the finals with a 2-1 win over Porter Gaud while Aiken defeated host Wando, 2-0, to reach the finals.

Charlotte Latin defeated Ashley Hall, 2-0, in the championship match of the Silver Bracket, winning 25-16, 25-18.

Ashley Hall defeated Bishop England, 2-1, in one semi-final match of the bracket while Charlotte Latin beat Lexington, 2-0, in the other.

Bluffton defeated Eastside, 2-1, to claim the Bronze bracket while Summerville defeated West Ashley, 2-0, in the consolation finals.

Selected second-team all-tournament were Emma Price (Charlotte Latin), Anna Toro (Aiken), Kylie Haun (Hillcrest), Lexie Meyer (Porter Gaud), Katy Weaver (Wando) and Jessica Graham (Ashley Hall).

On the third team all-tournament list were Kaitlyn Cobb (Lexington), Ellie James (Bishop England), Katie Henderson (Eastside), Hazel Kelly (Goose Creek), Mackenzie Cooler (Bluffton) and Natali Jensen (Rock Hill).

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Goose Creek - The 2011 high school swim season recently ended with the state championship meet, held last weekend in Columbia.

Wando High won the class AAAA boys team title while J.L. Mann won the AAAA girl's team title.

In the class AAA/AA/A finals, Hilton Head was the girl's state champion for the third consecutive year. Fort Mill also three-peated, winning the AAA/AA/A boy's team championship.

The High School Sports Report has released its list of all-state performers, as well as the Swimmer of the Year in the two classifications.

Selected as the AAAA Male Swimmer of the Year is Wando High's Zach Lierley, while the AAAA Female Swimmer of the Year is Lauryl Williams of Dorman High School.

In class AAA/AA/A, the Male Swimmer of the Year is Andy Campbell of A.C. Flora High School, while the Female Swimmer of the Year is Kendall Crawford of Christ Church.

Following is a list of the 2011 All-State Swim Team as selected by the High School Sports Report. All honorees will be honored at the Fall Sports Awards Banquet, held in February in Columbia. The above honorees are assumed all-state and are not listed.

2011 HSSR Boys All-State Swim Team

Brandon Sweezer -Nation Ford

Justin Mehl - St. Joseph's

Zach Piedt - Fort Mill

Matthew Adams - Bishop England

Walker Harwell - Socastee

Jory Pettit - Lancaster

Steven Kekacs - Aiken

Robert Borowicz - J.L. Mann

Alex Wood - Byrnes

Mason Thornley - Spring Valley

2011 HSSR Girls All-State Swim Team

Haley Lips - Riverside

Annie Gillig - J.L. Mann

Tori Angermeier - Dorman

Nicole Fuller - North Augusta

Megan Kingsley - Wando

Katrina Kokopka - St. Joseph's

Josephine Cuda - Hilton Head

Catherine Felix - Hilton Head

Izzi Woodard - South Pointe

Kate Kelly - St. Joseph's

more images

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Charleston – Hammond School head football coach Erik Kimrey turned to a reliable senior leader to spark his team to a 28-21 win over Porter Gaud in SCISA class AAA action on Thursday night.

Running back B.J. Bennett returned to the lineup after a three week absence and rushed for 184 yards on 25 carries while scoring two touchdowns. Bennett’s return was most timely since Hammond’s leading rusher, Joey DeAngelis, tore an ACL last week and will miss the rest of the season.

“B.J. is a special player and he will certainly be very important to our success the rest of the way,” said Kimrey. “He’s still a little rusty but he did a good job for us tonight.”

Quarterback Jake Nidiffer shook off a slow start and finished with 200 yards passing, completing 13 of 24 attempts. Nidiffer started the game by completing just two of his first 10 attempts.

Sophomore tight end Cannon Smith (6-4, 215) led the Skyhawks with five receptions for 83 yards.

Hammond improves to 7-1 on the season while Porter Gaud drops to 5-3.

Hammond had to hold off a late charge from Porter Gaud in the fourth quarter after building a 28-7 lead.

The Skyhawks held a 14-7 lead at the half and took advantage of great field position in the third quarter, scoring on drives of 35 and 41 yards, to open up a 28-7 lead after three quarters.

"They made more plays than we did and we made more mistakes," said Porter Gaud head coach Rick Reetz. "We battled back and made some plays to get back into it but we dug ourselves a hole with turnovers and penalties. You cannot beat a team like Hammond with those mistakes."

Porter Gaud senior quarterback Hudson Worthy completed 24 of 33 passes for 287 yards but sat out the final six minutes of the game after taking a hit to the head while completing a pass. Worthy appeared anxious to re-enter the game on Porter Gaud's next possession but was held out as a precaution.

"It's high school football and he took a shot to the head," said Reetz. "Can't take any chances. Hopefully he will be okay for next week."

Worthy's 31-yard touchdown pass to Cole Shannon with 7:38 left in the game pulled the Cyclones to within two scores at 28-14.

Porter Gaud successfully pulled off an onside kick and Worthy was injured on the third play of that drive. The Cyclones ended up fumbling the ball on Hammond's two-yard line but Hammond fumbled the snap and Porter Gaud recovered on the one. Thomas Rogers scored on a one-yard run with 4:06 to play, cutting the lead to seven.

Porter Gaud forced a Hammond punt with two minutes to play and Hammond punter Logan Smith rolled a punt dead at the one-yard line.

The Cyclones reached midfield before turning the ball over on downs with :09 to play in the game.

Bennett gave Hammond a 7-0 lead with a 35-yard run with 11:09 left in the second quarter but the Cyclones tied the game on Worthy's 13-yard pass to Rogers with 2:18 to play.

Hammond answered with a 65 yard drive in 1:46 to take a 14-7 halftime lead on an 11-yard pass from Nidiffer to Smith.

"That last drive before the half really hurt," said Reetz. "Then we go out and turn the ball over on the first drive of the third quarter and just got too far behind."

Rogers finished the game with eight catches for 111 yards for the Cyclones. Patrick Williams had five catches for 85 yards.

For Kimrey, getting a win on the road is all that matters with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

“We made some mistakes and were our own worst enemy in the fourth quarter but we hung in there and got a win,” said the coach. “We’re happy to win but we know we have plenty of work to do.”

SCORING SUMMARY

H - B.J. Bennett 35 run (McIver Prickett kick)

PG - Hudson Worthy 13 pass to Thomas Rogers (Reynolds Ball kick)

H - Jake Nidiffer 11 pass to Cannon Smith (Prickett kick)

H - Bennett 1 run (Prickett kick)

H - Quayshon Myers 7 run (Prickett kick)

PG - Worthy 31 pass to Cole Shannon (Ball kick)

PG - Rogers 1 run (Ball kick)

Bluffton ready for first major test of 2011

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

Bluffton - After cruising through the first six weeks of the season, the Bluffton High football Bobcats are prepared for its first real test of the season this Friday when they host the 4-2 Cane Bay Cobras in a pivotal region 7-AAA showdown.

Bluffton, 6-0 and ranked second in class AAA this week by the High School Sports Report, has averaged 61.6 points per game in beating teams that have a combined 13-23 record this season.

Head coach Ken Cribb does not worry about the naysayers and says his team will either prove or disprove their ranking as the season wears along.

""We play the schedule and we take every game seriously so our goals are the same," said Cribb, who guided the Bobcats to a 12-2 record last season, his first as head coach. "We want to execute in every phase of the game, regardless of the opponent. The way I see it, we have stayed healthy and have built our confidence. We know things will get tougher from here on out but we are ready for that challenge. This group understands what lies ahead but we're not running from it."

Bluffton, which opened in 2004, had not recorded more than five wins in a season before last year's remarkable run to the lower state final where they lost to Myrtle Beach. The Bobcats as better this year, despite having eight new starters on defense. The defense has allowed only 551 total yards and 21 points in six games.

"We knew we would have to have some new guys step up and they have," said Cribb. "The defense has worked really hard  and they've been very coachable. They love being out there and they've done a great job so far."

Leading the defense is senior linebacker Michael Grant, who made the move from the middle to the outside this fall and has been a major force.

Senior defensive tackle Ladarious Hughes has 10 tackles for loss and six sacks. Rogan Ferguson is third on the team in tackles and first-year player Jeremy Scott has been very good at corner.

Bluffton's offense is balanced and talented in every area. Junior quarterback C.J. Frazier has thrown for more than 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns in six games. Running backs Jerry Scott, Zachary Scott and Eric Boyles share the ground game duties almost equally.

Hilton Head Prep transfer Dimitri Lowry has made an immediate impact at receiver with 18 receptions and 10 touchdowns in six games.

Senior center Michael Sulka anchors the offensive line and is rated as the nation's third-best long snapper.

"I think balance and being able to utilize the entire field is what makes us successful offensively," says Cribb. "We're not heavy one way or the other. We go left, right, middle and we run and throw pretty much equally."

Cribb says Cane Bay will present challenges that his team has yet to see this season.

"They're real big and strong up front and the quarterback does a nice job getting the ball to the receivers," said Cribb. "They're very solid everywhere. They run the football and they pound on you for four quarters. We have to force punts to have a chance."

Cane Bay enters the game having won four straight games and has enough talent and experience to mount a serious threat. Cobras first-year head coach Russell Zehr realizes his team will have to play near perfect.

"We have to avoid the penalties and turnovers, no doubt about it," said the coach. "We have a chance to compete if we can execute and limit our mistakes. If we can run the football and control the clock, we have a chance."

Zehr's club is led offensively by senior quarterback Brandon Hall, a fourth-year varsity starter, and senior tailback Anthony Enos, who has gained more than 600 yards this season. Receivers Montez Powell and Shaquille Husser give the Cobras threats downfield through the air.

The offensive line is a veteran unit stocked with two and three-year starters, led by all-conference center Josh Hale and tackle David Bryant. Blake Paez is a three-year starter at guard, as is Kyle Meree.

The defense is led by three seniors - linebacker Randall Drew, end Chris David and strong safety Keenan Reid.

Zehr hears the talk about Bluffton's easy early schedule but says the Bobcats are for real.

"They have very good players, they are well-coached, and they are playing with unbelievable confidence right now," said Zehr. "They are solid in every area. They have very good skill people and they make you defend all of them. This is a tremendous challenge for us but hopefully we will be ready to play."

HSSR announces Players of the Week for week six

Goose Creek – The High School Sports Report has released it’s Players of the Week in football for week six of the 2011 season.

In class AAAA, the Co-Players of the Week are Lexington sophomore quarterback Will Hunter and North Augusta senior running back Vinnie Miller.

Hunter guided Lexington to a 56-49 win over Dutch Fork, accounting for five touchdowns (two passing, three rushing) and 318 offensive yards.

Miller rushed for 352 yards and seven touchdowns in his tea,’s win over Lakeside High of Evans, Georgia.

The Class AAA Player of the Week is Chapman running back Traves Smith, who rushed for 241 yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries to guide the Panthers to a 50-21 win over Chesnee.

The AA Player of the Week is Woodruff High senior running back Shun Tribble, who rushed for 312 yards and six touchdowns in the Wolverines win over Union County.

In class A, the Player of the Week is Christ Church senior quarterback Hunter Townes, who set a state record with 549 yards passing in a 43-27 win over Carolina. Townes completed 40 of 61 attempts and threw five touchdown passes. Oh, by the way, he also kicked a field goal.

In SCISA, the Player of the Week is Patrick Henry running back Grant Youmans. In a 40-14 win over Laurens Academy, Youmans rushed for 317 yards and had 62 yards receiving while scoring four touchdowns.

Timberland and Andrews bring undefeated records into region opener

By David Shelton
Senior Writer

St. Stephen - When Steve Blanchard left his job as defensive coordinator at Timberland High three years to take over as the head man at Andrews, Timberland head coach Art Craig knew it would only be a matter of time before his friend would make Andrews a contender.

That time has come.

Seventh-ranked Andrews brings a 5-0 record into Friday night's region 7-AA opener against the undefeated and third-ranked Wolves. The match up, though early, might well decide the region championship.

"It should be a great, physical high school football game and I know both teams will really get after each other," said Craig, who has led Timberland to a 42-3 overall record since moving to class AA for the 2008 season.

""We're really kind of mirror images of one another. We do a lot of the same things on offense and defense. Steve has built that program up and they're a good, solid football team. They won't be intimidated by anything we do. They don't care who we are and they will be ready to play. It's a big challenge for us. They are the best team we have played this year, hands down."

Says Blanchard of the showdown.

"We're going to treat this game like a playoff game," the coach said.

Both teams excel defensively with speed and players who enjoy contact. Timberland's defense has pitched three consecutive shutouts and has allowed only 20 points this season.

Andrews' defense has allowed 47 points in five games.

"I've never had a team that like contact like this group does," says Craig. "This group will strike you. Andrews is the same way. On film you can really see those guys getting after it hard."

Leading Timberland's defense is senior safety Lee Mayes, who Craig calls  "the smartest football player I've ever coached."

Linebackers Mike Wilson, Diquon Richardson and Daquan Lucas are fast and physical while tackle Bobby McNeil and end James Middleton anchor the front.

The Wolves are led offensively by senior quarterback Taylor Elizondo, who has passed for 501 yards and eight touchdowns in five games. Not bad considering Timberland is a run first offense.

"He's a definite threat in the passing game and with him back there, teams can't load eight or nine in the box to stop the run," said Craig. "He's such a competitor and a really hard worker for us."

Mayes and Berlin Kinlaw and Wilson are the leading receiving threats.

The always potent running game is handled by several players. Classe Thompson leads the team with 389 yards rushing but Lucas has gained 361. Adam June has 214 yards.

"In the past we've had one main guy but this year we're spreading it out and keeping a fresh guy back there," said Craig. "We're still getting the yards we've always gotten but it's several guys getting the yards."

Working up front are center Dylan Craig, guards Brian Moore and McNeil, and tackles Dixon Ballentine and Rodney Allen.

For Andrews, the running game is also the preferred method. Larry Brown has gained 408 yards and scored five touchdowns early on while quarterback Ervin Heard has 386 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fullback Jamie Singleton is a threat as well and Jaleel Fillmore has 314 yards rushing and is the top receiver.

Senior defensive lineman Neal Pope is the leading tackler this fall with 54 stops, including 10 sacks. Linebacker Mitch Moore has 37 tackles and free safety Monte McCrae has 34 hits.

Blanchard says the key to his team's early season success is confidence and belief in the system.

"I thought we had a chance to be pretty good but we had some kids develop a little faster than we expected," the coach said. "They did a real good job of working hard over the summer and they're playing really well as a team. After three years, they're finally understanding that everyone has to do what they're supposed to be doing in order to win football games."

Timberland has won all five of the previous meetings between the two schools.

Former Warhorse takes over reins at Barnwell in 2010

By David Shelton

Staff Writer

Barnwell – Eddie Moore has been around enough winning football programs to know what it takes to win. He hopes to take advantage of his knowledge in his first head coaching stint in 2010.

Moore takes over as the head football coach at Barnwell High School this fall. He knows all about the rich tradition of the program, having been a part of it as a player in the mid 90’s. It has been a long time since the football program has been a major part of the class AA football championship race but Moore is hoping to restore some of the past glory.

“This program is not in shambles by any means,” said Moore, who came to Barnwell after four years as the defensive coordinator at Berkeley High. “There is a lot of good going on within the program and we have a great tradition here. I’m coming in with the hope that I can do some things to help get us back to where Barnwell football should be. I’m excited to be back home and I certainly have a love for the program.

“There was a time here when we expected to win every game and our winning attitude helped us win a lot of games. That’s what I hope to bring back. I want people to respect us and to fear us. I want to raise our own levels of expectations.”

Moore has bounced around the coaching profession for the last 15 years, serving on the staff of several highly successful programs. He spent three years in the Army in addition to coaching stints at Auburn High School and Opelika High in Alabama and at Greenwood High for three years.

He has worked for two of the state’s more successful head coaches – Shell Dula at Greenwood and Jerry Brown at Berkeley. In four years at Berkeley, the Stags played for the lower state title three times and won the Division II-AAAA state title last December.

“I feel like I have prepared myself to be a head coach and I’m excited about the opportunity,” said Moore. “It had to be the right situation for me to take a head job. I was very happy where I was. The Barnwell job was certainly one at the top of my list if it ever came open. It’s good to be home again.”

Moore spent the better part of the spring putting his coaching staff together. The staff has several returning coaches from past staffs and a few new faces as well.

Mike Highsmith is the veteran of the staff, having served at Barnwell for a number of years. He will coach the offensive backs. Ski Hooper and Austin Osment will team up to coach the offensive linemen.

Brandon Wheeling is the defensive line coach and Thomas Davis will coach linebackers. David Smith will coach the strong safeties and Travis Washington will coach the secondary. Davis and Smith have been with the program for a few years.

“We have a couple of loose ends to tie up over the summer but we are already working very hard to get ready for the season,” said Moore. “We’re all on the same page, with the same goal. We want this program to be the best it can be.”

Depth and experience take Lewisville to first title since 1992

By David Shelton

Lewisville – It was a long time coming but the 2010 Lewisville High baseball team made sure that fans of the Lions could celebrate this time around.

Lewisville won the Class A state baseball championship by beating two-time defending state champion Bamberg-Ehrhardt, two games to one, in a best-of-three title series. The title was Lewisville’s first since 1992.

The Lions finished with a 29-5 record and maintained the number one ranking in Class A for the last two-thirds of the season. Lewisville returned seven starters from a team that finished 24-8 and lost in the upper state championship game last season.

“I knew we had a lot of talent returning, certainly enough to make a run, but a lot of things have to happen to go this far and win your last game,” said head coach Billy Keels, who has a 230-134 career record. “With the talent and experience, you still have to play the games. You can’t win on paper. Our guys came to play just about every night and maintained the type of focus it takes to win a championship.”

Riding high on confidence with a region title already in hand, the Lions met with some adversity just before the start of the state playoffs. A 3-2 loss to Great Falls, a team they had beaten 21-4 earlier in the season, brought the team back down to earth. A much needed wake up call, according to Keels.

“It was a shock to our system and it showed our players what could happen if we didn’t come to play,” said Keels, the High School Sports Report’s Class A Coach of the Year. “It helped us focus.

“I think every team needs a little adversity. It’s too hard to go undefeated in this game. As long as you learn from every loss, losses are not always a bad thing.”

Championship teams have leaders and Lewisville had their share. Senior left-handed pitcher Logan Pemberton, the Region 3-AA Player of the Year, did his part on the mound and at the plate.

Pemberton was 10-3 on the mound with a 1.83 earned run average, striking out 90 batters in 73 innings. At the plate, the Spartanburg Methodist signee batted .389 with nine doubles, striking out five times in 115 at bats. He has been named the Class A Player of the Year and is a finalist for the High School Sports Report’s Mr. Baseball award.

Senior second baseman Trevor Hudson led the team in hitting with a smoking .476 average. Hudson belted 14 doubles and scored 42 runs from his leadoff position.

Junior right-hander Will Robbins joined Hudson and Pemberton on the South Carolina Coaches Association all-state team. Robbins was 11-0 on the mound this spring with a 107 strikeouts in 75 innings.

Junior catcher Kody Kirkland batted .370 with three homers while handling the Lewisville pitching staff like a coach, according to Keels.  Hudson, Robbins and Kirkland have been named the High School Sports Report’s all-state team.

Junior shortstop Chris Skidmore bated .373 with four homeruns and senior outfielder Dylan Bogue hit .317 and was 5-0 on the mound.

Junior third baseman Joby Moss hit .382 with 24 RBI and junior Ken Green was a key in the championship series, going six-for-10 at the plate in the three games. Junior centerfielder Corey Thomas hit .308 and led the team with 20 stolen bases while playing a stellar defensive centerfield.

“Our starters hit .289 or higher and that was a real key for us,” said Keels. “We had nine kids who could put the ball in play and when you have two dominant pitchers like we had, people had problems if we got going offensively.”

Home runs boost Mauldin to 6-3 win over Summerville in AAAA softball championship

By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Summerville—As has been the case all season, the Mauldin softball team used the long ball to capture their first state championship since 1994 with a 6-3 win over Summerville.  The Lady Mavericks swept the best-of-three series 2-0, getting a solo home run from Dana Lander and a grand slam from Jordan Stovall in the deciding game.

“It’s indescribable right now.  We have a group of seniors that has faced a lot of adversity for a whole lot of reasons and it just means so much to me to give them a state championship,” Mauldin head coach Joseph Terry said.

Mauldin notched 11 hits, including three from Lander and two each from Kenzi Corn, Brianna Davis and Kaitlyn Wagers.  Ashley Muckelvaney was 3-for-4 and Katelyn Clark went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in for Summerville.

The Lady Mavericks (28-3) jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the first.  After two groundouts to the pitcher, Lander drove a pitch over the left field wall to give Mauldin the 1-0 advantage.

Stovall virtually put the game away in the top of the third.  Corn and Davis led off with consecutive singles before Lander reached on an error.  On a 3-1 offering from pitcher Malori Myers, Stovall blasted a shot deep to left center to put her squad up by five runs.

“We’ve been doing that all year and that’s something we’re accustomed to.  We’ve hit the ball real well all season, I think we’ve hit 41 home runs including tonight, and that’s a pretty good number for a high school team,” Terry said.

Summerville (29-7) got on the board in the bottom of the third, with Casey Fowler starting the rally with a leadoff walk.  Tricia Sizemore moved her to second on a sacrifice bunt before Fowler went to third on a wild pitch.  After a walk to Muckelvaney, Clark singled to center to pull her team within four.

The Lady Green Wave struck again in the bottom of the fifth.  A dropped fly ball put Sizemore on second base, and Muckelvaney moved her up one base with a bunt single.  Clark’s groundout plated Sizemore to bring Summerville back to a 5-2 deficit.

Mauldin added a run in the top of the sixth to pad their lead, but Summerville had one last rally in the bottom of the seventh to make the game interesting.  Muckelvaney and Clark led off the frame with back-to-back doubles, but Mauldin pitcher Ashley Bagwell induced a pop up and two strikeouts to end the inning and secure the title.

“I can’t say enough about Ashley tonight on the mound.  When it did seem like they were climbing back into it she shut the door.  She did not let them get back into the game,” Terry said.

Mauldin   104   001 0—6

Summerville   001   010   1—3

WP – Bagwell   LP – Myers

Lewisville forces third game with 12-1 win over Bamberg-Ehrhardt

By David Shelton

Bamberg – With their backs against the wall, and facing the two-time defending state champions on the road, the Lewisville Lions fought back.

Lewisville used two big innings offensively and a big-time performance from their ace pitcher to beat Bamberg-Ehrhardt, 12-1, in game two of the Class A state championship series.

The win by Lewisville forces a third and deciding game to be played Saturday night at Brookland-Cayce High School.

Lewisville scored six runs in the second inning and put the game away with a five-run sixth and senior lefty Logan Pemberton scattered four hits to pace the attack. Every starter had at least one hit and Lewisville finished the night with 15 hits.

Leftfielder Ken Green, hitting .250 when the series started, had four hits on Thursday, driving in three runs while hitting from the nine hole. Green has six hits in the first two games of the series.

“Two things, the pitcher they had on the mound and we weren’t caught up in the moment like we were Tuesday night,” said Lewisville coach Billy Keels when asked the difference between a game one loss and a game two win. “That wasn’t the case tonight and they didn’t have a dominant pitcher on the mound. You would think it would be the opposite but sometimes they are more nervous at home. Saturday night should be a heckuva ball game.”

Lewisville did major damage from the six through nine spots in the batting order. That group tallied nine hits, reached base 11 times, and scored seven runs.

Third baseman Joby Moss, centerfielder Corey Thomas and rightfielder Dylan Bogue had two hits each, just ahead of Green’s four hits.

Shortstop Chris Skidmore belted a second inning three-run homerun and had two hits as well.

Staked to a 6-0 lead, Pemberton retired seven in a row. He did not walk a batter in the game.

“With a lead, I was just trying to throw strikes and let the guys play defense,” said the Spartanburg Methodist signee. “We got the bats going early and that helped me relax. It’s easy to pitch when you know your team is hitting like we were tonight.”

Bamberg-Ehrhardt head coach David Horton, the state’s winningest coach with more than 800 victories, says the Raiders picked a bad time to play their worst game of the season.

“We had some errors and some mistakes that are not typical of the way we play,” said Horton. “This was not a good performance by our team. It’s probably one of our worst games of the year. We certainly didn’t play well enough tonight to win a state championship, but we have another game. We won the first one and they won this one. It all comes down to Saturday night. We’re still in it. We just have to play better.”

Both coaches hinted that they will start game one starters in Saturday’s title game. The Raiders will go with junior right-hander Randon Sandifer while Keels is hoping that Will Robbins will be able to go.

“If he’s not up to it physically, we’ll find somebody,” said Keels. “We might use them all, who knows?”

Lugoff-Elgin evens up series

By Bill Mitchell
Special Writer

LUGOFF – Nick Mincey pitched an efficient five hitter and the Lugoff-Elgin bats boomed in the first three innings as the Demons spanked South Aiken 8-1 to even their Class AAA baseball championship series Wednesday night.

The victory forces a decisive third game that will be played Friday at Irmo High School at 7 p.m.

South Aiken touched Mincey for two hits and its run in the first, but the Demons roared back with two of their own in the bottom of the first to gain the momentum.

“I was nervous,” Mincey, a USC-Sumter commitment, said. “It helped a lot when we came right back and got those two runs in the bottom of the first and our offense made it’s a lot easier.”

L-E pounded out nine hits and followed the two-run first with three runs in the second and third innings to give Mincey more than enough margin.

It was almost a perfect performance for the L-E, 26-5.

“Everything was working well tonight, the slider and just every pitch,” Mincey said. “We put it all together tonight.”

Mincey frinished 10 strikeouts and walked only one as he checked the Thoroughbreds on three hits the rest of the way. He faced the minimum three batters in the second, third and fourth and gave South Aiken no chance to rebound.

“Mincey pitched extremely well,” said L-E coach Randy Stokes. “He challenged the hitters and I can’t say enough about the way our kids played tonight.”

  It will be a battle of aces, both working on three days rest, Friday. The Demons will send Forrest Koumas to the mound and the Thoroughbreds will cunter with Andrew Faulkner.

“This is a senior team with a lot of experience,” said Stokes. “Our team wasn’t down and we had a great practice yesterday (Thursday) and our kids felt good coming into this game..

“We knew that it was going to be important for us to get off to a good start,” he said. “South Aiken is a very good team and they had the momentum. We felt we had to take that away early.”

The Demons’ performance was a great improvement on their opening game when errors proved too much to overcome in a 3-1 loss.

“I would be really worried if we had played well and still lost,” said Stokes. “But we didn’t. We beat ourselves. We didn’t play good defense, we didn’t hit and we didn’t pitch well.  We just played much better tonight.”   

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By Billy G. Baker
Publisher

  Hanahan—Senior lefty Brandon Henderson (13-0) gave up two infield hits and struck-out 8 Hanahan batters, and with his teammates getting 13 hits behind him, Chesnee dominated the Hawks, 11-0 in five innings Monday in game one of the best of three AA baseball championship.

Pitching on two days’ rest Henderson was clocked by one scout at start of the game at 88, and the lanky senior pitched a complete game shut-out; still looking fresh at game’s end. Henderson will have pro try-outs with two different clubs this weekend and it is looking doubtful that he will ever pitch at Gardner Webb, where he signed in the fall. “If I have my change-up working it sets up all my pitches and I had it going early tonight,” said the soft spoken Henderson. “On the way down here it rained a lot and we were really concerned about getting this game in. If I don’t have to pitch on Friday I’ll be trying out for two different teams this weekend and I would welcome the opportunity to get drafted.”

The Eagles went up 4-0 in the second as Painter led off with a single, moved to second on a sac bunt by David Jones, and then Ryan Mitchell walked to put two runners on. Powell scored on a single by Taylor Waldrop on a blooper behind the third base bag and then lead off batter Taylor Wade ripped a triple scoring Mitchell and Waldron. An infield hit by shortstop Steven Candrell brought in Wade for the Eagles fourth run.

In the third the Eagles got back-to-back singles from Jordan Garrett and Painter and another sac bunt by Jones moved the runners up to second and third. Both runners scored on a wild pitch to make  it 6-0. In the fourth the Eagles made it 10-0 by pushing four more runs across led by a two run homer by Ryan Mitchell. In the 5^th the Eagles got an insurance run when Waldrup hit a bomb out over the left center field fence.

Head Coach Dean Jones of Chesnee (728-282) announced his plans to retire before the season started and the veteran coach is nearing the end of 47 seasons as the Eagles baseball coach. “Brandon Henderson is just a remarkable person and a remarkable pitcher,” said Coach  Jones. “If we can get a state title it would be great but if we don’t win another game I am very proud of this team and what they have already accomplished this year. I am very proud of them right now. I thought we were a good hitting team tonight also.”

The Eagles will send junior righty Colby Painter (only loss to Mid-Carolina) against Hawk ace and Citadel signee Bryce Hines Wednesday.

Hanahan head coach Brian Mitchell said the reason he wanted to get the game, despite the four inches of rain that fell during the day, was he was hoping that Henderson would be too tired form pitching seven innings this past Friday. “He is as good a pitcher as we’ve faced all year and we were surprised to see how effective he was having just pitched on Friday,” said Coach Mitchell. “You spot him a five run lead and he is going to be extremely tough and he was. What we have to do is go up there and take care of business on Wednesday. We will Bryce on the mound and we are confident that he will give us a good performance. We are just hoping to get to the third game.”

Hanahan was coming off two of the biggest wins in the program’s history when they swept two games from Bishop England on the road Friday with Bryce and Brent Hines both pitching well. “We had to go to their field and win to get to this point and we played very well,” said Coach Mitchell. “We pitched well, played good defense, and had some timely hitting against Bishop England. This is what we need up at Chesnee Wednesday.”

Summerville shuts out Wando, advances to Class AAAA softball finals

By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Summerville—There’s a first time for everything, and for the Summerville softball team, that time is now.  The Green Wave advanced to the first state championship series in school history after shutting out Wando 6-0 in the Class AAAA Lower state championship game Friday.  Summerville will face Upper state representative Mauldin in the finals.

“It’s awesome.  It’s never been done here at Summerville so just to win Lower state is an accomplishment,” Green Wave coach Heather Tucker said.  “We still want to take the next step.  Lower state’s great, but (a) state (championship) is even better.”

After leaving runners stranded on the bases in each of the first three innings, Summerville finally broke through with some clutch hits.  They scored a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings and added four more in the sixth after sending nine batters to the plate.  The Green Wave totaled 15 hits, all singles, with six of them never leaving the infield.

“The last game we played (against Wando) we were able to bunt a lot and it was effective.  They had their corners playing back and we were able to utilize our speed by putting the bunt down.  We still tried it and it still worked,” Tucker said.

Ashley Muckelvaney was 4-for-4 with three bunt singles and two runs scored.  She also had an RBI and a stolen base. 

“She’s a quick runner and that kind of triple threat from the left side, and she did a great job of reading the defense and putting those bunts down,” Tucker said.

Sarah Montei went 3-for-4 and Rochelle Lyda also had a pair of singles.  Eight of the nine starters recorded base hits.

Summerville got on the board in the bottom of the fourth.  Montei led off with a bunt single and stole second before scoring on Lyda’s single up the middle. 

It was almost déjà vu in the fifth.  Muckelvaney bunted her way on and stole second, then moved to third on a groundout to first.  Malori Myers’ base hit to right center drove her in to give the Green Wave a 2-0 lead.

Summerville put the game away in the sixth.  Alexa Ritchie, Tricia Sizemore and Muckelvaney had consecutive one-out singles and Nicole Seavey, Myers and Montei all came though with two-out hits.

Myers also made a difference inside the circle.  The junior pitcher gave up three hits over seven innings while striking out five and walking none.  She never allowed a runner past first base.

“She was really on.  We talked to her before the game and she usually throws well in the AIT (tournament), and we wanted the AIT Malori to come out tonight.  She did a great job and a lot of her pitches were working real well,” Tucker said.

Summerville improved to 29-5 while Wando’s season ended at 23-12.

Wando                        000   000   0—0   3   3

Summerville            000   114   x—6  15  0

WP – Malori Myers.   LP – Katie Denning.

Notes: W – Abbie Herns was 2-for-3

Wando advances to Lower state final with 3-2 win over Stratford

By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Mount Pleasant—The third time was the charm.  After being shut out twice by Stratford during the regular season, the Wando High softball team continued their improbable playoff run Wednesday night by knocking off the Lady Knights, 3-2, in an elimination game of the Class AAAA state tournament.  Wando will travel to Summerville Friday for the Lower state finals.  The Lady Warriors must win twice to advance to the state championship series.

Wando only managed three hits on the night, all by Ruthie McTighe, but took advantage of four Stratford errors.  All three runs were unearned. 

“It was huge for us to get some people on base,” Wando head coach Steve Legette said.  “We have some pretty decent speed and we just wanted to get our runners in motion.”

The Lady Warriors (23-11) scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to take their first lead.  Abbie Herns was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and Lindsay Newman followed with a pop up to third on a sacrifice bunt attempt.  With Sally Harrison next at the plate, Stratford catcher Erin Schattle tried to pick off Herns at first, but her errant throw allowed Herns to move up to third base.  Harrison struck out for the second out of the inning before Tori Gross hit a routine ground ball to short that was misplayed, allowing Herns to score.  McTighe then doubled to the gap in right center to plate Gross.

Wando got the eventual game winner in the top of the fifth.  Harrison drew a one-out walk and Gross hit a hot shot to third.  Stratford third baseman Katelyn Rush looked for the force out at second, but her throw sailed into right field, allowing Harrison to score from first.

After losing two region contests to Stratford earlier in the season (5-0 and 3-0, respectively), Legette came in with a new defensive game plan.  He brought up freshman pitcher Danica Newton, who the Lady Knights had never faced.  At first it looked like a questionable move as Stratford scored a run in the top of the first inning on Julie Hudson’s RBI double, but Newton quickly settled down and worked through the lineup.

“We talked about doing that yesterday since they hadn’t seen her in the two previous games.  We figured we would try something new and didn’t have a lot to lose.  We wanted her to get through the lineup twice and then we would put Katie (Denning) in,” Leggette said.

Denning came in just in time.  After Newton had retired the first two hitters in the top of the fourth, Kristin James doubled and moved to third when Whitney Jordan reached on an error.  Denning took over inside the circle and walked pinch-hitter Megan Johnson to load the bases.  However, Denning induced a groundout to the shortstop to end the threat.

Stratford (28-4) pulled back within a run in the top of the sixth.  With one out, James was hit in the forearm by a pitch and later scored on a double by Jordan.  A groundout moved Jordan to third with two outs, but Melanie Ramsey hit a comebacker to Denning for the final out.

Friday Wando will find itself in familiar territory.  After making it into the playoffs as a number four seed, the Lady Warriors had to come out of the loser’s bracket to even advance to this stage of the playoffs.  In the process, they defeated Hartsville twice on the road in the district championship game.  They will have to do the same against Summerville.

“We’ve had to play from behind often.  It hurts having to do it but the girls are used to it.  We don’t like to be in this situation, but it’s less of a deal now than it would have been if we hadn’t been in it before.  They know they can come back and I expect the game to be close,” Legette said.

Stratford                   100   001   0—2   7   4

Wando   002   010  x—3   3   1

WP – Denning   LP – Haynes

Notes:  S – Schattle 3-for-4, 3 stolen bases.  W – McTighe 3-for-3, RBI.

Northwood evens series with Hilton Christian; final game on Thursday

By David Shelton

Hilton Head – Senior left-hander David Barnette has become the stopper in the 2010 state playoffs, leading Northwood Academy to a 6-4 win over Hilton Head Christian to even the best-of-three state championship series at a game each.

Barnette was called upon last week to beat Pinewood Prep after Northwood lost the opening game of the series and responded with a 3-1 complete game effort.

On Tuesday, the 6-3 southpaw limited an inspired Eagles team to only three hits and battled through periodic control issues. Barnette walked six in the game, but none over the final three innings.

“He got through a rough spot and got better towards the end,” said Northwood head coach Jerry Stoots. “His last three or four starts, he’s walked four, five or six a game, that’s a given. He’s going to walk people. It’s just a matter of when he walks them and how effective he is pitching around those walks. He gave us what we needed today. We’re about out of pitching and he gave us what we needed today.”

The majority of the action in the game came in the third and fourth innings. Northwood’s big inning was the third as the Chargers scored five runs to overcome an early 1-0 deficit.

Ty Powell and Chris Cook led off the inning with singles before Nick Burn grounded into a fielder’s choice at third base. Barnette followed with a ground ball to second. Wesley Cooler relayed the ball to shortstop Weston Butler for an apparent force out but Butler was ruled to be off the bag when he caught the throw, leaving the bases loaded.

Seth Graham walked to force in a run and Tyler Gross added an RBI single to center for a 2-1 lead. After a run scored on a wild pitch, making it 3-1, Ryan Shipley delivered a two-run single to center for a 5-1 lead.

“It’s unfortunate that you have to look back on a game and look at one call being the deciding factor,” said Hilton Head Christian coach Trevor Creeden.

Northwood added a run in the fourth on a double steal and appeared to be in total control. Barnette, however, walked two batters in the fourth and Alex Westmark singled to load the bases with one out.

J.D. Reichel belted a ground rule double to left center to score two runs, cutting the margin to 6-3. James Berl followed with an RBI groundout, making it 6-4. Barnette got Zac Lens on a groundout to third to end the threat.

Barnette did not allow a hit over the final three innings.

Cook finished the game with four hits for Northwood while Powell added two. Northwood managed eight hits in the game, committing three errors.

The final game of the series will be on Thursday at a neutral site that will be decided on Wednesday. Northwood (20-9) is expected to go with senior Will Walls on the mound. Walls beat Hilton Head Christian (21-10)  twice during the regular season.

For Creeden, the decision on who will pitch will be up in the air until Thursday. The coach says he will evaluate who is available and will likely use a combination of pitchers in the final game.

Bishop England bats erupt in 10-5 victory over Hanahan

By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Hanahan—Jimmy Lindberg threw a complete game and hit a backbreaking three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to push Bishop England past Hanahan, 10-5, in the Class AA Lower state baseball tournament.  The victory puts the Bishops in the Lower state championship game Friday.  Hanahan will host Cheraw Wednesday in an elimination game with the winner advancing to the finals at Bishop England.

“We’ve been playing well here lately, especially hitting the ball.  It’s all coming together and hopefully we can keep it going,” Bishops head coach Bill Collier said.

Citadel commit Bryce Hines was feast or famine on the mound for the Hawks, giving up seven runs and six hits in five and two-thirds innings.  He had 13 strikeouts, but walked six batters, four of which ended up scoring.

“Sometimes if you can get ahead of him (in counts) he’ll start to overthrow.  We got some walks off him and maybe he got a little rattled.  We just had to go up there and be patient,” Collier said.

Hanahan got off to a quick start in the game, taking a 2-0 lead after one inning.  Ryan Manore hit a home run to left center and Hines followed up with an opposite field shot two batters later. 

Bishop England cut the lead in half in the top of the second as Andrew Kinard scored on a passed ball.

The Hawks added another pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.  Derek Coblentz led off with a single and moved to second on Kyle Dyson’s sacrifice bunt.  Coblentz advanced to third on a passed ball before Tyler Allen drew a walk to put runners on the corners.  John Piggott’s ground out allowed Coblentz to score and Bret Hines’ double down the right field line plated Allen for a 4-1 lead.

The Bishops took their first lead in the top of the third, taking advantage of control problems by Hines.  With one out, Ryan Maksim, Alex Abrams and Lindberg drew consecutive walks and Kinard drove in two with a single to left.  After Michael Brown struck out, Austin Tortorici and Patrick Mikell hit back-to-back singles to put Bishop England ahead 5-4. 

Hanahan answered in the bottom half of the inning when Hunter Bessinger hit a solo home run to tie things at 5-5.  After the blast, Lindberg retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced.

“He gave up some home runs, but they may not have been home runs in other parks,” Collier said of the small dimensions of the field.  “He just battled through it instead of getting down on himself.  He pitched really well those last four innings.”

Bishop England put the game away with a five-run outburst in the sixth.  Mikell and Mills started the inning off with singles and Maksim walked with one out to load the bases.  Hines struck out Abrams next, but a passed ball to Lindberg allowed the go-ahead run to score.  One pitch later, Lindberg drove a fastball over the fence in right to give the Bishops a 9-5 lead and knock Hines out of the game. 

“He came up with a clutch hit.  He has been struggling a little bit with the bat and to see him hit that home run was real exciting,” Collier said.

BEHS      014   005   0—10   9   0

HHS        221   000   0—5   7   2

Hilton Head Christian holds off Northwood for series lead

By David Shelton

North Charleston – Back in November, Hilton Head Christian beat Northwood Academy for the class AAA SCISA state championship.

On Tuesday night, the Eagles will be trying to claim another state title at the expense of Northwood Academy.

Hilton Head Christian knocked off Northwood, 5-4, in eight innings on Monday night to take a 1-0 series lead in the AAA state championship baseball series. The Eagles can win the title with a win at home on Tuesday night.

“We talked about winning this at home, in our field, and now we’re in position to do it,” said Hilton Head Christian head coach Trevor Creeden. “It’s a great situation to be in. We know we have our work cut out for us because Northwood will come to play but we like the fact that we are at home up a game instead of down a game.”

            J.D. Reichel’s bloop single over a drawn in infield scored Andy Proctor with the decisive run. Procter led off the eighth inning with a double just inside the third base bag.

            Hilton Head Christian senior left-hander James Berl scattered seven hits and delivered two key strikeouts with Northwood threatening to take the lead. The Eagles never trailed in the game, a key factor according to Creeden.

“I felt it was very important that we get a lead early and try to stay ahead, especially against a good team on the road,” said Creeden. “We never were behind in the game and that’s key. We were able to remain confident and keep the game under control.

“James did a great job. He doesn’t strike a lot of guys out but he throws a lot of strikes. They hit some balls hard but we were in position to make some plays. He’s a senior and he really battled for us tonight.”

Berl only struck out three hitters and allowed some hard hit balls, but the Eagles defense was up to the task, playing errorless baseball.

“I just tried to make them put the ball in play and the guys behind me were great tonight,” said Berl. “I don’t try to strike a lot of people out. If I get a strikeout, it’s great, but I don’t go looking for strikeouts too often.”

            Hilton Head Christian (21-9) struck for two runs in the top of the first off Northwood starter Brendan Holmes. Devin McGuinness’ two-out RBI triple scored the first run and Wesley Cooler added an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

            Northwood answered in the second. David Barnette singled and Seth Graham doubled to deep center. Each scored on groundouts by Chris Cook and Ryan Shipley to tie the score.

            Cooler’s infield single gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead in the third, and a double steal of second and home made the score 4-2.

            Northwood threatened in the bottom of the third after Ty Powell’s double put runners on second and third with no outs. Berl, however, pitched out of the jam as the Chargers failed to score with the middle of their lineup at the plate.

            Graham homered to lead off the fourth to cut the lead to 4-3. Kalen Davis tied the game in the sixth with a two-out single down the right field line.

            Lost in the defeat was a fine relief performance by Graham, who finished the first inning and went into the eighth, his longest pitching stint of the season.

            “Seth gave us a chance to win and really pitched well,” said Northwood coach Jerry Stoots. “We had our chances to score some runs and didn’t get the big hit. That third inning really hurt us. You just can’t win if you leave runners in scoring position, especially when you have them there with no outs.”

            Northwood (19-9) will start senior left-hander David Barnette (4-2) on Tuesday while Hilton Head Christian will counter with their ace, McGuinness. Facing elimination last Thursday, Barnette delivered a complete game winning effort against Pinewood Prep.

Pinewood Prep takes soccer title

By David Shelton

Columbia – For a good while, it appeared that the SCISA Class AAA state championship boys match would last forever.

Six-time defending state champion Pinewood Prep and Cardinal Newman battled tooth and nail in a final match that saw 41 combined fouls. When the sun had finally set on the affair, Pinewood Prep beat Cardinal Newman, 3-2, in penalty kicks for a 2-1 championship victory. The match covered two 10-minute overtime periods and two five-minute sudden death periods.

“Cardinal Newman provided the greatest test in our seven years as champions,” said Pinewood Prep coach Jason Birchwood. “It’s unfortunate that it had to come to penalty kicks but both teams played hard. I am very proud of our players. It was a great game for all of the spectators and everybody involved.”

The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half as Pinewood Prep had four shots and Cardinal Newman had three. The teams combined for 16 fouls with Pinewood committing nine in the first half.

Cardinal Newman scored first in the second half on an own goal with 27:30 left in the second half as Pinewood Prep keeper Robert Beebe went high to grab a high ball and fell into the goal as he was bumped by a host of players. Beebe protested vehemently but the call stood.

“I think it was an infringement on the keeper but the linesman had a better angle than I did,” said Birchwood.

Pinewood tied the match with 19:33 remaining on a goal by eighth-grader Max Jaskwhich, who rifled a shot from the left side to the back right corner of the goal. It was Jaskwhich’s first goal of the season.

Regulation ended in a 1-1 tie and the teams went to overtime.

With 2:44 left in the first extra period, Cardinal Newman appeared to score on a corner kick as Nick O’Rourke scored on an assist from Jonathan Cleary. As Cardinal Newman was celebrating, the officials nullified the score and the teams played on into the second overtime.

Each team had one serious threat in the second overtime but failed to score and the game moved into a five-minute sudden victory overtime session. After no goals scored, the second five-minute sudden death period saw a goal scored by Pinewood that was nullified for an offsides call.

In the penalty kick phase, Cardinal Newman struck first on a goal by O’Rourke and Brandon Phinney answered for Pinewood Prep.

Beebe recorded a save on the second shot and Cardinal Newman keeper Timmy Cunningham answered with a save of Beebe’s attempt.

Beebe stopped Andrew Fuller’s shot and Pinewood’s Justin White scored for a 2-1 advantage. Cardinal Newman’s Kyle Maitland answered to tie the shootout at two and each keeper stopped shots on the next two attempts.

Finally, senior Blaise Rashtchian ended the marathon with a successful shot past a diving Cunningham. The winning shot came on Rashtchian’s 18^th birthday.

“I’m so happy for Blaise, a senior, that he can go out with another title and scoring the winning goal on his birthday will be something he remembers forever,” said Birchwood.

Cardinal Newman coach Will Eudy called the match a classic but was disappointed with the final outcome.

“You had good players on both teams and both teams played hard but when you win seven times in a row, you have to have some luck,” said Eudy. “It just seems they always get the breaks. It’s tough. That’s the way it goes.

“They’re a very good team. We played our game plan to perfection. We did what we wanted to do, maybe could’ve finished a little better. It was an even match. Give them credit. They know how to win.”

Cardinal Newman beat Pinewood Prep, 3-2, on penalty kicks in a match played earlier this season.

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By Billy G. Baker
Publisher

Summerville—Wando took a leap forward in their quest to win a Class AAAA baseball championship when number three pitcher Jordan Eyson turned in five innings of effective pitching and closer Drew Cisco came in the sixth and seventh to shut down Summerville’s tendency to rally late as the Warriors won 5-3  in the AAAA baseball playoffs.

“Eyson has been a solid number three for us all year,” said Warrior head coach Jeff Blankenship afterwards. “We are not thinking ahead at all. We have eight goals and we are now working on our 7th goal which to win the Lower State. It’s too early to start thinking about the finals. We never talk about a state championship.

“Monday night we will feel good with either Reed (Langdale) or Drew (Cisco) on the mound. We’ll ask Drew how this bull pen work tonight affected his arm and we’ll go from there.”

Summerville head coach Burt Bazzle was proud of the way his team played defense but he was disappointed his team left nine base runners stranded during the game. “We were facing their number three and we had hoped to hit a little better tonight,” said Coach Bazzle. “We have had a history of late inning rallies of late but when they brought in Cisco we couldn’t get any hits and that was the game. We had our opportunities throughout the game. We’ll have to bounce back with Tyler Fletcher on the mound for us Monday night.”

Wando is set to host the winner of the White Knoll –Lexington game and the Green Wave will host the loser of that game. Both games are slated for 7 p.m.

Center fielder Robbie Dodds opened the game with a home run to dead center off Summerville starter Wesley Bouronich to give the Warriors an early 1-0 lead. Wando added their second run in the third as Dodd’s led off with a bunt and he made it to third on a sac bunt by Eyson. Cisco’s sacrifice fly scored Dodds. 

Summerville battled back to tie the game at 2 each in the fourth as third baseman Matt Chapman led off with a single and advanced on a sac bunt by Hoot Gibson. Center fielder matt White then singled in Chapman and Jesse Mikesell advanced Chapman to a scoring position with a sac bunt. Bouronich then singled home White who scored form second to tie the score.

Wando went ahead for good in their top half of the 5th when Mackey Filosa led off with a single and Dodd’s walked. Eyson delivered his second sac bunt of the game to advance warriors runners to second and third. Filosa scored the Warriors go ahead run on a wild pitch.

In the top of the 6th the Warrirors added two insurance runs off of new Green Wave pitcher Kyle Downs. Reed Langdale and freshman catcher Nick Ciuffo led off with consecutive singles. Three batters later new Warrior relief pitcher Tyler Karolczyic drew a walk to load the bases. Langdale then scored on a ground out and Ciuffo came in on a single by Connor Bright.

Cisco retired all six Green Wave batters he faced over the final two innings.

Eyson is now 6-0 on the year while Bouronich is 4-2.    

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By C.R. Cumbee
Staff Writer

Summerville—For the first three innings, it looked like the Stratford Knights would cruise to a victory in the first game of the Class AAAA Lower State Final Four.  But Summerville’s bats finally came alive in the fourth as the Green Wave captured a 6-4 come from behind win on Saturday.

“At first I wasn’t really happy with the way the game started off,” Summerville head coach Heather Tucker said.  “I felt like we were just kicking the dog out there and I didn’t know what was going on.  We had a little talk and they got focused.  Once we started hitting the ball we relaxed and played good defense.”

Summerville (27-5) will host Wando Monday night in the winner’s bracket while Stratford (27-3) will host White Knoll in an elimination game.

Sarah Montei went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in and Nicole Seavey added a double and a triple with two runs scored for Summerville.  Whitney Jordan and Jordan Powell each had two hits for Stratford.

Stratford wasted little time taking the game’s momentum.  Leadoff hitter Melanie Ramsey reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Katelyn Rush.  After advancing to third on a groundout, Ramsey raced home on a wild pitch to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Stratford added to its margin in the top of the third.  With two outs Powell tripled to center to drive in Erin Schattle, who singled earlier in the frame.  Jessica Palmer followed with a base hit and the Knights looked in full control.

Summerville evened things up in the fourth inning.  After struggling to reach base against Stratford pitcher Kelsey Haynes the first time through the order, the Green Wave finally started to break through.  Seavey led off with a double and moved to third on Malori Myers’ sacrifice bunt.  Montei then singled her in.  Rochelle Lyda later scored on an error and Casey Fowler came home on a Tricia Sizemore base hit.

“We just told them to be patient and keep their weight back,” Tucker said.  “A lot of them were getting out on their front foot and driving balls into the ground.  We wanted them to be patient and look for their pitch to hit.  They adjusted the more we got to see (Haynes) as the game went along.”

In the fifth inning it was Seavey who again started a Summerville rally.  She tripled to center to start the frame and scored when Myers reached on an error.  Montei followed with a home run that squeaked inside the left field foul pole and barely cleared the 195 foot sign on the fence. 

“It was just good enough, 196 (feet) got it out of here,” Tucker said.

Stratford made one last comeback effort in the sixth, scoring a run and loading the bases with one out.  However, Schattle grounded into a fielder’s choice that cut off a run at home plate and Julie Hudson struck out to end the inning.

Stratford                        102   001   0—4  

Summerville            000   330   x—6

WP – Myers

Wardlaw takes another softball title

By Bill Mitchell
Special Writer

LEXINGTON – There really ought to be a law against what Wardlaw Academy of Johnston does to the South Carolina Independent Schools Association Class A softball teams.

The Lady Patriots rolled through the double-elimination tournament without playing a full game, battering all comers by more than 10 runs in less than a regulation game. The last of those sacrifices was Jeff Davis of Blackville that went down 11-0 in four and half innings at the Pine Grove Softball Complex Saturday.

It was the sixth straight title for the Lady Patriots and seventh in last 10 years for Coach Ron Conley’s charges.

“We have allowed only one run in the last four state tournaments,” Conley said. “And we have not played a single regulation seven inning game. I guess we would have to be considered dominating.”

Quite an understatement.

Freshman pitcher Skyler Eargle allowed only two hits in posting the easy victory as Wardlaw moved to 6-0 lead in two innings, leaving only a matter of time before the Patriots closed out the game. Two runs in the bottom of the fourth filled out the required margin.

Wardlaw had been a frontrunner in the Class AA ranks before dropping to Class A and has made the state title a forgone conclusion ever since.

 “We had some issues coming into the tournament,” Conley said. “But our bench stepped up and played extremely well. We had three starters out for this tournament.”

Jessica Allen, Amanda Burkhalter and Jessica Tiller were the reserves who took advantage of their opportunity.

With all of the success, Conley still doesn’t have any problems getting his girls ready to play.

“If they begin to lose focus, I jerk them back right then,” he said.” We aren’t going to have any letdowns.”  

Conley keeps his team in fighting trim by playing a demanding schedule of larger schools, public and private.

“We do that to keep us sharp,” he said. “Even with that, this team had a 21-5 record. It was a great season for this team, one of my best.  

 Only three seniors, Katelyn Rutland, Kristina Graves and Gina Easler, will be missing next year, but Conley won’t be back.  His teams have posted a 227-49 record over his tenure of 10 seasons.

 It took something special to get him off the softball field

“I have two grandsons who will be playing baseball next year,” Conley said. “I’m committed to coaching them. Family comes first.”

 He thought about it a second and added.

“This is family too, I have really enjoyed these last 10 years.”

Northwood beats Pinewood Prep, 11-10; faces Hilton Head Christian in SCISA AAA finals

By David Shelton

North Charleston – Dreams of a repeat as SCISA AAA state champions ended for Pinewood Prep on Friday night as Northwood Academy scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take an 11-10 win in the third and final game of the state semi-final series.

Zach Clements blooped a single to right to score Chris Cook from third to cap an amazing rally for the Chargers, who trailed the game until the final hit. The big inning was aided by a walk, an error and two hit batsmen. Cook also delivered an RBI single during the rally.

The win ended a highly competitive and emotionally charged series between the two lowcountry rivals. Pinewood won game on Wednesday, 7-5, and Northwood won game two on Thursday, 3-1.

Both teams were weary armed in the pitching department and combined to use eight pitchers. Northwood starter Will Walls even pitched twice in the game, returning in the seventh after being removed from the game in the fourth.

“It’s hard to explain how we lost on Wednesday and it’s hard to explain how we won tonight but that’s the way baseball is sometimes,” said Northwood head coach Jerry Stoots. “There were so many things that happened tonight. It was a really weird game. Both teams made mistakes and both teams made some big plays. This game beats all I’ve ever experienced. Thank goodness we found a way.”

The teams combined for 22 hits and six errors but Pinewood Prep was clearly the more aggressive of the two teams, taking chances on the bases and keeping pressure on the Northwood defense.

Pitching, however, proved an issue for the Panthers. Pinewood walked five batters and hit five others in the game.

Pinewood led 4-0 after three innings with Logan Stumpf delivering an RBI double in the second and senior Spencer Clower delivering a key two-run single in the third

Northwood cut the lead to 4-2 in the fourth but Pinewood stretched it back to 6-2 in the fifth as two runs scored on a ground ball that traveled 60 feet on the infield.

Northwood senior rightfielder Ryan Shipley closed the gap to 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth with a bases loaded triple to the wall in right center, but Pinewood again used aggressive play on the bases to score two runs on a steal of home that resulted in a wild pitch to the backstop, allowing the runner from second to also score.

Trailing, 8-5, Northwood bounced back again in the bottom of the sixth with Seth Graham delivering a two-run single with two outs, cutting the margin to 8-7.

In the seventh, Reid Coyle’s bloop single over a drawn in infield and Trevor Reeves’ single to right plated two more runs and the Panthers led 10-7 entering the bottom of the seventh.

Pinewood closer Jairus Schumann, however, struggled with control from the outset, walking Shipley and hitting Darryl  Klinar and Ty Powell to load the bases. Cook singled in a run to cut the lead to 10-8.

Nick Burn hit a high chopper to short but the throw for the force out at second went to right field, allowing two runs to score to tie the game. Clement then blooped a pop up to short right to score Cook for the game-winner.

Clement ended up as the winning pitcher, getting one out in the seventh.

“We had a lot of stuff happen in this game, a lot of attitude problems and issues in the dugout, which is very unusual for this group,” said Stoots. “I’m glad to see they hung in there together and kept fighting. It basically came down to their guy struggling to throw strikes at the end and we got some clutch hits.”

Northwood advances to play Hilton Head Christian in game one of the state championship series on Monday. This will be Northwood’s third consecutive appearance in the finals, having finished runner-up the last two years.

Northwood defeated Hilton Head Christian twice during the regular season.

“We probably played two of our better games against them this season but none of that really matters now,” said Stoots. “They’re a quality team and they won our conference. They have been very good in the playoffs so they’re peaking at the right time. What happened during the regular season really doesn’t matter much now. The team that wins two next week will be the state champion.”

Northwood Academy defeats Pinewood Prep 3-1 To Force Third game At Collins Park Friday Night

By Billy G. Baker
Publisher

Summerville—Senior lefty David Barnette “bent but never broke” on the mound for Northwood Academy Thursday, scattering six hits and helping lead his team to a 3-1 win over Pinewood Prep to force a third game in the SCISA AAA baseball playoffs to be played at 7 p.m. at Collins Park Friday night.

The winner will play in the championship series against Hilton Head Christian who defeated Hammond,  6-2 Thursday.

Northwood pushed across two runs in the second inning when Barnette and Nick Burn reached on back-to singles and Ryan Shipley and Joey Bisognani drove them in on consecutive RBI ground-outs. The Chargers added an insurance run in the third when Ty Powell walked advanced on a single by Tyler Gross and then Seth Graham singled to load the bases. Powell scored on a RBI ground-out by Barnette.

The Panthers scored their lone run in the first after Reed Coyle reached on a single advanced to third on a Jarius Schuman single and then scored on a ground out.

Barnette is now 4-2 on the season.

Northwood Academy will throw veteran senior Will Walls. “He has been as consistent as any pitcher we’ve had all year long,” said head coach Jerry Stoots. “He’s the pitcher that beat Hilton Head Christian twice. Of course he is also the pitcher that Pinewood beat 19-3 at the start of the season. He’s has an opportunity to show that he has improved since that game earlier in the year.

“We are thankful to be where we are with a chance. Pinewood Prep has beat us three times coming into this game so we are thankful to still be playing and competing. We just hope to play well Friday.”

Pinewood Prep head coach Billy Sylvester said that he will send junior Grande Fender to the hill against the Chargers. “We had our chances today. You have 21 outs in a game and we had 21 pop up outs on the infield today. What can you do? As this level everyone catches pop-ups.

Stratford ends season in district final

By Gary Dillon
Staff Writer

 Going into Wednesday night’s rematch, the Stratford Knights (19-8) were facing a very tall task. They would have to travel to Summerville and then beat the Green Wave in back-to-back games to win the District 8 championship.
In the first game at Summerville (20-7), Stratford senior left-hander Chris Hanna continued to rack up strikeouts, recording 15 more, in leading his Knights to an impressive 2-1 victory over Summerville to keep their season alive.
“I just go up there and throw strikes and my defense is right there behind me,” Hanna has said all season long.
Hanna, headed for Spartanburg Methodist College or the pro draft, started the game by allowing back-to-back singles before settling down and fanning the side. In the second inning, he recorded another strikeout and in the third, two more. He finished the night with a 122 pitch-count.
Stratford scored the game’s first run in the top of the fourth. The Knights opened the inning with a pair of singles, then a walk and when Stratford second baseman Michael Gonzalas singled, Hanna came in to score. However, Summerville would induce an inning-ending double-play to retire the side.
In their half of the sixth inning, Summerville’s Gabe Craven would blast a solo home run to tie the game 1-1.
But, Hanna continued to roll as Summerville wouldn’t score again.
In the ninth, Stratford first baseman Chase Tidwell opened the inning with a walk, move to second on a sacrifice bunt and then come home on a long single to centerfield by infielder Billy Motroni to give the Knights the 2-1 lead.
Hanna would come back out for the seventh to get the complete-game victory. Summerville’s Matt White would open the bottom of the ninth with a double but the Stratford defense behind Hanna stiffened and retired the side to give Hanna the win.
In the second game, Stratford took another early 1-0 lead, scoring in the fourth inning a second straight time. Hanna doubled and then scored from second when Stratford sophomore Daniel Huskey reached on a fielding error.
Stratford would hold Summerville at bay, until the seventh, when Wes Bouronich walked to start the bottom of the seventh and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kendric Johnson. Stratford coach John Chalus brought Hanna back in to pitch. Hanna struck out the next batter but then gave-up a run-scoring single to Summerville catcher Stephen Windham ,which brought pinch-runner Jacob Williams in to tie the game.
That brought Craven to the plate and he sent a pitch over the left-field fence to give Summerville the 3-1 win.

 Contact Gary Dillon at gdcanfield@yahoo.com

Schumann’s blast propels Pinewood Prep to 7-5 win over Northwood

By David Shelton

North Charleston – Defending SCISA state AAA champion Pinewood Prep came from three runs down to defeat Northwood Academy, 7-5, in game one of the best of three state semi-final series on Wednesday night.

Senior catcher Jairus Schumann belted a game-tying three-run homer in the sixth and the Panthers scored two runs without a hit in the seventh to defeat the Chargers for the fourth consecutive time and third time this season.

Schumann’s blast to deep left center helped the Panthers overcome a 5-2 deficit. He then pitched a scoreless seventh for the save.

“It’s big to win the first game of a series, especially on the road,” said Schumann. “This team just never quits fighting. We always think we have a chance to win, regardless of the score.”

Pinewood Prep, which lost to Wilson Hall on Friday night, 13-0, only to win the next two games to advance to the semi-finals, continues to find ways to win. First-year coach Billy Sylvester admits to being impressed with his team’s attitude and fight during the playoffs.

“I think that series with Wilson Hall gave us a lot of confidence because we were down in every game,” said Sylvester. “We’re a young baseball team. We only have four seniors out there and they are really stepping up for us. I think having made that run last year in the playoffs is helping us this year.

“Jairus has been on a tear in the playoffs and his homerun certainly changed the momentum of the game.”

Northwood took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single from junior third baseman Seth Graham. Sophomore first baseman Tyler Gross made it 2-0 in the second with an RBI single to left.

The Panthers tied the score in the third as Chris Morgan delivered an RBI single and Reid Coyle scored a run with an RBI groundout.

Northwood answered with a run in the third on Joey Bisognani’s RBI single, and added two more runs in the fifth, aided by a pair of Pinewood Prep errors.

In the decisive seventh, two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases for Pinewood in the seventh. Coyle hit a slow roller to short, scoring a run, and all runners were safe when the throw to second was late.

With the bases loaded, Schumann was hit by a pitch, forcing in the seventh run.

Schumann walked one and hit two to load the bases in the bottom of the inning before getting Gross on a groundout to end the game.

Freshman Hayden Heflin earned the win for Pinewood, pitching the fifth and sixth innings. Freshman ace left-hander J.D. Waite started the game for the Panthers and left in the fifth, trailing, 5-2.

Graham took the loss in relief of starter Brendan Holmes.

Game two of the series is set for Thursday at Pinewood Prep. If needed, a game three would be played on Friday at a neutral site.

Lewisville making strong statement in class A baseball

By David Shelton

Lewisville – As the head baseball coach at Lewisville High School, Billy Keels knows all too well how it feels to come up just a bit short.

Keels guided the Lions to the upper state championship series last season but his club lost to Chesterfield. The coach has led five teams to the upper state finals only to come up short each time.

However, his ninth season at Lewisville may indeed be year his club finally gets over the hump. The 2010 Lions are clearly one of the top class A teams in the state, off to a 17-2 start and leading the way in region 3-A with an 8-0 record.

Keels makes no bones about it – this team is pretty good.

“We lost two starters from a team that nearly made the state finals so I fully expected us to be very competitive,” said Keels. “We have some pitching and we’ve been good defensively. We didn’t hit that well early on but we seem to picking it up offensively over the last five or six games. We’re doing a lot of things well.”

Lewisville’s two losses came in a preseason tournament to Fort Mill and York in early March. Since then, the Lions have been rolling. They have already beaten region three contender Buford twice and have defeated defending upper state champion Chesterfield in their only meeting.

Lewisville spent spring break in the Lowcountry, participating in the Cane Bay Classic, winning all four of their games in impressive fashion.

The strong pitching staff is led by senior left-hander Logan Pemberton, off to a 6-0 start on the mound. Pemberton allowed one earned run in his first 37 innings this season. He will be headed to Spartanburg Methodist next season.

“He’s not going to light up a radar gun but the kid can really pitch,” says Keels. “He is such a competitor, a real bulldog. He wants the ball and he’s going to give a great effort every time he steps on the mound.”

Senior Dylan Bogue has won four games early while junior Will Robbins and junior Joby Moss add depth to the pitching staff.

The offensive lineup is stacked with hitters who find gaps and hit doubles on a regular basis. After a slow start, the Lions have been hitting double figures in runs in nearly every game, averaging about 12 runs per game over their last seven.

Junior shortstop Chris Skidmore has been a consistent leader. Robbins has hit three homers and junior outfielder Ken Green had a huge week during the spring break tournament, hitting five consecutive doubles during a two-game stretch.

Senior second baseman Trevor Hudson, a Limestone signee, recently recorded hits in 16 of 27 at bats. Other key contributors include junior catcher Kody Kirkland, an all-conference pick as a freshman, and junior centerfielder Corey Thomas.

With the good start and with people taking notice of their early success, keeping a level head will be a key as the state playoffs near. Keels says every good team must walk the fine line of over-confidence.

“We want the kids to have a swagger and feel confident without becoming arrogant,” said the coach. “The key is keeping them hungry and keeping them motivated. I don’t think this team will lose their focus. A lot of these kids were so close last year and they know they have another great opportunity. We have good leadership and we have plenty of motivation. It’s impossible to predict what will happen from here on out but if we can stay healthy and stay focused, we have a chance to have a special season.”

Sumter wins Hartman Memorial Tournament in Pageland

By David Shelton

Pageland – Sumter High served early notice that they will be a contender for the AAAA state golf title with a strong performance in the 19^th annual Bob and Elease Memorial Golf tournament, held at the White Plains Country Club in Pageland.

The Gamecocks edged defending tournament champion Blythewood by three strokes, posting a two-day total of 595. Leading the way was Brian Amick, who earned medalist honors with a score of 143.

“Sumter was very good in a field of really good teams,” says Central golf coach Chuck Hartman. “It was a very good tournament with some excellent golfers. We certainly enjoy bringing some of the best talent to our course and I think they enjoy playing here. It’s the second longest running tournament in South Carolina so we are obviously very proud.”

Following Sumter and Blythewood were two more AAAA contenders – Fort Dorchester and Spring Valley. Fort Dorchester posted a final score of 601 while Spring Valley shot 605.

Pinewood Prep shot 607 to round out the top five.

Pinewood Prep’s Austin Cody shot 144 to finish second individually. Rounding out the all-tournament team were Taylor Zoller of Fort Dorchester, Ben Fogler of Spring Valley and Shane Rogan of Blythewood. All three players posted scores of 145.

Host Central finished seventh in the team standings with a score of 635. Clover finished one stroke ahead of Central at 634 for sixth place.

York finished eighth at 644, followed by Lugoff-Elgin (649) and Camden (652).

Rounding out the field were Brookland-Cayce (692), Cheraw (693), Chesterfield (704) and Buford (750).

Blythewood won the Junior Varsity division with a score of 649. Fort Dorchester was second at 714 and Spring Valley was third at 724.

White Plains Country Club will serve as host for two more big events. The course will host the region 4-AA tournament on May 3-4, and then will host the Class AA state championship tournament on May 10-11.

The next big event for golf this spring will be the Southern Cross, held in Aiken. The Southern Cross is the longest running tournament in the state and includes many of the state’s top teams and individuals on an annual basis. The tournament will run on April 30-May 1^st.

The Southern Cross is held at the historic Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken. This year will be the 36^th annual event. Three former winners of the Southern Cross are now playing on the PGA tour.

South Aiken leading the way in AAA baseball

By David Shelton
Consulting Managing Editor

Aiken – Before the 2010 season ever started, the South Aiken High baseball team was among the very teams that most people predicted would challenge for the AAA state title.

South Aiken won a region title and won 17 games last season. Most of that team returned this spring and coach Bob Polewski has several players that have already signed or made verbal commitments to play college baseball.

The Thoroughbreds have answered the call and have held up the expectations as the season hits spring break. South Aiken has won 13 of their first 14 games, with the lone loss coming to Airport early in the region season. Losses, says Polewski, are going to happen. He never envisioned this team going undefeated.

“We’re a good baseball team, not a great baseball team,” said the coach, now in his fourth season at South Aiken. “I continually push for us to get better. There are a lot of things we need to do better and we are always hoping for more consistency.

“We have talented kids physically. We have kids that can throw and run and hit, all the tools. Where we lapse at times is mentally, which I suppose is typical with high school kids. As talented as we are, we are still a fairly young team overall. The core of this team is juniors.”

South Aiken returned seven starters defensively and lost only one pitcher who logged significant innings so they entered the season with a nice blend of experience and youth.

The pitching staff is solid, led by junior Andrew Faulkner, a recent verbal commitment to South Carolina. Senior Steven Leopard is the number two starter and has signed with Spartanburg Methodist.

Senior Ben Donath, junior Tanner Hawley and sophomore John Leopard round out the main pitching staff. Donath is a recent commitment to Middle Georgia College and is the team’s starting shortstop.

Behind the plate is sophomore prospect Regan Newell, who started behind the plate as a freshman. Senior Chris Brooks is a power bat and starts at first base while junior Coastal Carolina commitment Nate Kuhns starts at second. Junior Grayson Smith anchors the outfield as a returning starter.

Offensively, Polewski feels his club can present problems for opposing pitchers.

“We have a pretty solid lineup and the first four or five guys are tough outs,” said the coach. “We’ve been getting good production at the bottom of the order as well. I like our versatility as an offensive team.”

Polewski says many around town predicted good things for the current group of players as they were coming through the rec department. He says the expectations get a little heavier each year but feels his team can handle it.

“They know this could be a special year but we have to continue to work hard and stay focused,” says the coach. “We have high expectations but the players themselves have set high goals as well. It’s important we don’ look past today. We have to stay in the now and not look ahead.

“We’re a sound high school baseball team but to be the best team when the season is over takes a lot of luck and a lot of hard work. We can look like the Yankees one day and the bad news bears the next. Class AAA is very competitive, which makes it fun. These guys are fun to coach because they take it seriously, but not too seriously. It’s a long season and you have to pace yourself.”

South Aiken sits atop the most recent AAA rankings but a once-beaten St. James team continues to threaten and play well in the lower state.

Defending state champion Belton-Honea Path can be expected to contend again. A.C. Flora and Brookland-Cayce, along with Lugoff-Elgin, continue to post solid efforts in the midlands.

White Knoll sets sights on state AAAA crown

By David Shelton
Consulting Managing Editor

Lexington – White Knoll’s softball team has been close to winning a AAAA state championship on a few occasions but their best chance to lay claim to a crown may be 2010.

White Knoll was one of the final six teams in last year’s AAAA playoffs and coach Joey Lawson returned a solid cast this spring. The only key losses to graduation were in the pitching department but Lawson has found capable replacements this spring.

White Knoll entered spring break on a roll and ranked number one in the state among class AAAA teams. Winning 18 of their first 19 games, including their first 10 region games, White Knoll is serving notice as the regular season hits the final stage.

“This is a very motivated team,” says Lawson, who has been the only coach in the program’s 10-year history and has won six region titles. “This group is determined to correct the ending that we had last year. I knew coming in that we had a chance to be good and honestly we have a pretty good team overall. I like this team’s attitude and their commitment. A lot of things go into winning a state championship and we’ve got work to do but we’re playing well right now.

“As a coach, I’m never completely satisfied. I always want our team to play better. We’re stressing everyday that we need to improve. If we do what we’re supposed to do and play with discipline, the winning will take care of itself in the end.”

 Lawson has the benefit of having five seniors on this year’s team. One senior is a sixth-year member of the varsity program and two others are four-year starters.

The leader of the group is shortstop Codee Yeske, who has signed to play next year at Presbyterian College. Yeske played on the varsity as a seventh-grade designated hitter and has been hitting ever since. She is batting close to .500 this year with four homeruns. She already holds the school record for career homeruns and bats from the leadoff position.

“She has power and speed and her experience is really important in the tough, close games,” said Lawson, who earned his 200^th career victory earlier this season.

Anchoring the outfield is a four-year starter in center, Brittany Williamson. In addition to being a great defensive player, the Spartanburg Methodist signee is hitting over .450 from the two hole.

Charleston Southern signee Nicole Stancil, is working as the designated hitter and has a career batting average of better than .300.

With a void in the circle, Lawson looked to freshman Savannah Terrapin and sophomore Kaylin White to step up this season and the pair has responded. White has been a varsity player since her seventh-grade year and came into the season with a 15-2 career record. Terrapin has won her first 11 starts this season.

“Our pitching is solid and we feel good about the potential we have there over the next several years,” said Lawson. “We play pretty good defense behind them and we’re scoring some runs. Our pitchers stay away from walks and throw strikes and when that happens, we’re pretty good.”

Senior Maddie Sharpe has been a huge addition this season, transferring from Swansea High. Sharpe is playing first base and catching and is hitting over .400 for the season.

Senior Kelsey Holloman starts in the outfield and has signed with USC Sumter. Sophomores Hannah Holbrook (second base) and Sabrina McCray (outfield) have provided excellent defensive prowess.

Rounding out the team are junior outfielders Kali Bishop and Nikki Merck, sophomore third baseman Hanna Smoak, sophomore catcher Meagan Helms, and freshman infielder Lydia Trexler.

Lawson says the inevitable bad performance is bound to happen at some point this season. He stresses to his team to play through mistakes and battle to the end.

“Find a way,” he said, “that’s what we go by. No matter the score, keep playing. We’re going to have bad nights but we have to find a way to win every night. I don’t know if we’re the favorite but we have a chance. It all comes down to playing harder and playing better than the opponent in crunch time.”

Katie Seabrook

Hawkettes on fire after only Region 7-AA loss
By Rob Gantt
Special to the HSSR
Hanahan – Heading into the home stretch of the regular season, there’s no doubt the Region 7-AA softball race is going to come down to Hanahan and Waccamaw.
The Hawkettes entered the Azalea Invitational softball tournament in Summerville with a 7-2 record and 4-1 region mark. That one region loss was to Waccamaw and power pitcher Ashley Czechner, a Maryland signee.
In the first meeting in mid-March, Czechner struck out 15 batters and blanked the Hawkettes 1-0.
“They are a force,” Hanahan coach Chris Pope said. “We like to get up for the challenge but honestly we are focused on getting better each game and beating everyone else in the region before our rematch.”
They play again at Waccamaw April 13.  Hanahan needs to win to force a tie for the region championship.
Since losing to the Lady Warriors, the Hawkettes have been on fire. They outscored four region opponents 45-7 and are ranked No. 8 in the Class AA coaches poll.
Senior pitcher Brittany Peters struck out 12 batters in a 9-1 victory over Timberland March 31. Emma Scharett and Kayla Dyson have also picked up wins inside the circle this season.
Seemingly different players are stepping up at the plate every night, Pope said.
In a win over Kingstree, catcher Brittany Hines had four hits and four RBIs. In a win over Manning, shortstop Lauren Eastwood also pounded out four hits and drove in four runs.
Third baseman Caitlyn Zakis led the Hawkettes in the first win over Timberland with three RBIs and outfielder Courtney Murdaugh drove in three runs in the second win over the Lady Wolves.
First baseman Nicole Cooper has led the team in hitting at one point this season to.K
Centerfielder Katie Seabrook, a Presbyterian signee, has also been a steady force at the plate. She leads the team in hitting on the season.

J.L. Mann’s Nelson shines at Coaches Classic Track meet

By David Shelton
Consulting Managing Editor

 Charleston – After winning three gold medals at the Coaches Classic track meet, held on March 27 at West Ashley School, J.L. Mann sprinter Brianna Nelson says she is still not in peak performance mode.

That could spell trouble for the rest of the class AAA sprinters come May when the state meet rolls around.

Nelson, who has already signed to run at Texas next year, easily captured top honors in the 100, 200 and 400 meter sprints. Yet, she says there is still work to do.

“This was really the first big meet of the spring for me so I was just out here hoping for the best and trying to get into shape,” said Nelson. “I wasn’t happy really with my times. I’m sort off to a rough start but hopefully this meet and some meets coming up will get me where I need to be.”

Nelson says the “rough start” is due in part to having to deal with recruiting trips during the fall, which put her training behind.

“I usually train pretty hard in the fall but having to make the college trips and all sort of put that on the back burner,” said Nelson. “I’m doing okay. It’s just a matter of working, keeping focused and training hard. I know I can be where I need to be come May. Today was a good start.”

Nelson was one of several stars in the Coaches Classic meet, which included athletes from more than 25 schools in an event that lasted nearly 12 hours.

Chesterfield’s Cameron Griggs was the top performer in the field events, winning gold medals in the shot put and discus. Griggs is the defending class A state champion in both events and also won the discus title as a sophomore when he was a student at Myrtle Beach High School.

The 5-10, 200-pounder was easily the smallest participant in the events on Saturday but proved to be the best.

“I get a lot of looks when I walk out there because most of these guys are really big guys,” says Griggs. “It doesn’t bother me. I focus on technique and doing everything right and that’s why I’m able to compete and win.”

Summerville’s Brianna Blanton easily won the 800 meter title as she prepares to challenge the state record in May.

“I have some work to do but fortunately I have some time and I know what I need to do,” says Blanton.

Spring Valley’s relays were impressive on the day, winning the boy’s gold in the 4x400 and 4x800 events.

2010 Coaches Classic Final Results

Team Names: Cane Bay (CB); Summerville (SUM); Greenville (G); Wando (W); Fort Dorchester (FD); Beaufort (B); Riverside (R); Beaufort (B); Colleton County (CC); Woodland (WO); J.L Mann (JLM); Richland Northeast (RNE); Eau-Claire (EC); Daniel (D); Dreher (DRE); Hilton Head (HH); South Aiken (SA); Irmo (I)

Girls Results: High Jump: 1. Eady (CB) 5-04; 2. Wilson (I) 5-02; 3. Glover (SUM) 5-02. Pole Vault: 1. Morris (G) 12-08; 2. Roberts (W) 10-06; 3. Wright (W) 9-06. Long Jump: 1. Emanuel (FD) 17-04.50; 2. Jones (SUM) 17-00.25; 3. Taylor (B) 16-07.00. Triple Jump: 1. Jones (SUM) 37-00.75; 2. Gourdin (R) 37-00; 3. Glover (SUM) 35-09.50. Discus Throw: 1. Britt (WO) 132-03; 2. Green (CC) 121-10; 3. Sullivan (FD) 119-11. Shot Put: 1. Sullivan (FD) 40-07.50; 2. Britt (WO) 37-09; 3. Jackson (B) 35-03.50. 100: 1. Nelson (JLM) 12.45; 2. Allen (Sumter) 12.83; 3. Pinckney (BERK) 12.90. 200: Nelson (JLM) 25.05; 2. Allen (Sumter) 25.84; 3. Frazier (CC) 26.65. 400: 1. Nelson (JLM) 55.67; 2. Green (DRE) 1:00.80; 3. Butler (RNE) 1:01.24. 400H: 1. Morrison (BERK) 1:03.28; 2. Paige (EC) 1:06.47; 3. Pagie (EC) 1:09.18. 800: 1. Blanton (SUM) 2:19.34; 2. Crick (HH) 2:25.24; 3. McDavid (W) 26.54. 1600: 1. Stroud (BE) 5:22.49; 2. Polite (ST) 5:23.76; 3. Nicosia (SA) 5:24.87. 3200: 1. Haughey (D) 11:16.26; 2. Stroud (BE) 11:44.11; 3. DiNicola (W) 11:45.60. 4x100: 1. West Ashley A 50.17; 2. Summerville A 50.23; 3. Cane Bay A 50.43. 4x400: 1. Eau Claire A 4:05.61; 2. Berkeley A 4:07.01; 3. Richland Northeast A 4:13.23.4x800: 1. Wando A 10:02.18; 2. Stratford A 10:04.65; 3. J.L. Mann 10:05.80.

Boys

Teams: Summerville (SUM), Wilson Hall (WH), Wando (W), South Aiken (SA), North Myrtle (NM), Beaufort (B), Lower Richland (LR), Hanahan (H), Greenville (G), Chesterfield (C), Spring Valley (SV), Irmo (I), Fort Dorchester (FD), Berkeley (BERK), Spartanburg (S), Riverside (R), Dreher (DRE), Hilton Head (HH), White Knoll (WK), Battery Creek (BC), Woodmont (WM), Stratford (ST), Lexington (L), Boiling Springs (BS);

High Jump: 1. Wilkinson (SUM) 6-0; 2. Sharp (WH) 6-0; 3. Jefferson (W) 6-0. Pole Vault: 1. Buxton 14-06; 2. Linta (NM) 13-06; 3. Melton (W) 13-06. Long Jump: 1. Aiken (B) 21-01.50; 2. Henderson (SUMM) 20-07; 3. White (LR) 20-05.25. Triple Jump: 1. Brown (H) 47-04.25; 2. Carpenter (G) 45-09.25; 3. Wilkinson (SUM) 44-02.00. Discus: 1. Griggs (C) 168-07; 2. Venning (W) 155-06; 3. Marshall (SV) 147-01. Shot Put: 1 Griggs (C) 51-11.50; 2. Counts (I) 50-04.00; 3. Klein (W) 49-10.00. 100: 1. Quinn (FD) 11.09; 2. Johnson (BERK) 11.14; 3. Gilliard (FD) 11.14. 110H: 1. Baxter (I) 14.66; 2. Browning (S) 15.21; 3. Pinson (R) 15.42. 200: 1. Sanders (DRE) 22.65; 2. Quinn (FD) 22.74; 3. Jefferson (W) 22.90. 400: 1. Morrow (HH) 49.81; 2. Nkanta (SUM) 50.58; 3. Mingo (WK) 50.68. 400H: 1. Chavous (SA) 56.42; 2. Sievert (FD) 58.68; 3. Shine (BC) 58.92. 800: 1. Johnson (SV) 1:56.48; 2. Johnson (SV) 1:57.51; 3. Gordon (S) 2:00.61. 1600: 1. Ramirez (WM) 4:26.05; 2. Rivard (ST) 4:26.60; 3. Harris (L) 4:26.85. 3200: 1. Felix (HH) 9:49.16; 2. Kosiorek (BS) 9:53.17; 3. O'Brien (ST) 9:55.44. 4x100: 1. Summerville A 42.10; 2. Fort Dorchester A 42.11; 3. Battery Creek A 43.02. 4x400: 1. Spring Valley A 3:25.76; 2. Summerville A 3:28.80; 3. Berkeley A 3:28.90. 4x800: 1. Spring Valley A 8:04.90; 2. Fort Dorchester A 8:21.47; 3. Wando A 8:21.85.

Laurence Manning defeats Pinewood Prep 1-0 In Game Of Tensions 

By Billy G. Baker
Publisher

Summerville—Despite out-hitting Laurence Manning, 10-4, Pinewood Prep lost 1-0 to the visiting Swampcats behind the pitching of senior ace Matt Mays who is headed to USC-.Sumter.

In the top of the first LMA’s Bill Wheeler led off with a double and was advanced to third on a swinging bunt single by Joey Brunson. Heath Smith’s SAC fly brought in Wheeler, accounting for the only run of the game.

The Panthers loaded the bases in the fourth with one out but Mays was able to strike-out Logan Stumph and Jarius Schuman to end the scoring threat.  

All total, Prep stranded 13 base runners and made several errors they do not normally make.

Trevor Reeves took the loss for Pinewood Prep and he had four strike-outs for the game.

In their bottom of the fourth Pinewood fans began to openly disagree with numerous “high balls” that they felt were out of the strike zone. In the sixth, head Prep coach Billy Sylvester came up the third base line and extorted the plate umpire for his inconsistency in the calling of balls and strikes. In the 7^th when another Panther assistant yelled at the umpire from the dugout, Sylvester was tossed.

Laurence Manning (6-5) is head coached by veteran Steve Belangia. “Matt threw well and we were a little concerned that he was putting on the lead-off man about every inning,” said Coach Belangia. “We played some real good defense behind him and that helped us a lot in this game. We got a good double play to end one inning and in another inning he had back-to-back strike-outs to end another scoring threat. I thought it was a good team effort today.”

Coach Sylvester commented, “We make an error in the first inning and the guy gets on and he later scores so if that doesn’t happen we might still be playing. It’s been this way all year. When we make the plays we win and when we don’t we lose.”

Coach Sylvester stated, “We missed two bunts behind two hits and we left two runs out there because we couldn’t get the bunts down.”

Pinewood Prep will host Northwood Academy Monday at 4:30.