Race for AA state championship is wide open

SCHSL Release 2026-2028 Realignment Final Columbia, SC (12-19-25) -- The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) has finalized the classification placement of all schools beginning with the 2026-27 school year. This classification placement will be in effect for two years. The guidelines established by the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee served as the blueprint for schools’ placements. Schools were assigned based on their enrollment count, to include district additions and the 3.0 multiplier. Flexibility, as approved by the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee, was also used with consideration given to geographics and travel. “Appreciation is expressed to those who served on the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee,” said Dr. Jerome Singleton, Commissioner of the SCHSL. “Classification placement of schools is the initial phase of the process. The next step for the League staff is to place the schools into regions in their respective classifications.” The SCHSL’s Executive Committee will meet January 13-14, 2026, to hear appeals regarding the classification placements. The final reclassifications are attached.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Spartanburg – Stratford quarterback Jachin Davis threw a pair of touchdown passes and South Carolina defeated North Carolina, 17-7, in the 89 th Shrine Bowl all-star game in Spartanburg on December 20. Davis , named the offensive most valuable player for the Sandlappers, completed 10 of 15 passes for 184 yards in the game. He is headed to Liberty University as an early enrollee. “Great experience and great to get a win,” Davis said. “Playing with all of these great players was something I will never forget.” South Carolina dominated the game defensively, allowing only 136 total yards. The Tarheels completed just five of 19 passes. Stratford running back Maliq McGowan , a late addition to the roster, finished as the leading rusher for South Carolina with 42 yards on nine carries. West Ashley’s Bristol Biegenzahn played on the defensive front for the Sandlappers while Berkeley’s Zion Britt started on the offensive line. Cross safety, and South Carolina signee Caden Ramsey , Berkeley linebacker Gehad Sneed , and Timberland offensive lineman Desmond Green, who is headed to Florida, also played for the Sandlappers. “You win all-star games with defense and our defense was outstanding,” said SC head coach Paul Sutherland , who retired as the head coach at Liberty High after the season. “Glad to get the win for South Carolina. The kids were great. I am very blessed to have had this opportunity.” It took less than 10 seconds for the Sandlappers to score the game’s first touchdown as Davis combined with Dillon receiver Zay Robertson , heading to North Carolina , on an 80-yard bomb on the first play of the game for a quick 7-0 lead. Robertson finished the game with four catches for 131 yards. “He’s a great player,” said Davis of Robertson. “Getting that first touchdown was a tone setter.” South Carolina lost fumbles on their next two possessions, the second miscue leading to North Carolina’s game-tying touchdown after a 23-yard drive. Spartanburg’s Will Love , heading to Virginia Tech , kicked a 35-yard field goal late in the second quarter for a 10-7 halftime lead for the Sandlappers. South Carolina’s last play offensive snap in the game was Davis’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Jude Hall of Christ Church with :59 seconds left on the game clock. Chester linebacker Terry Rayford , who had 11 tackles, was the defensive most valuable player for the Sandlappers. Dorman's Kentavion Anderson and Ridge View's Jordan Best recorded interceptions The win gives South Carolina a 48-34 lead in the series. There have been seven ties.

Proposal has AAAAA going from 54 schools to 40 and not being split into divisions

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Bluffton – The 2025 football season was an unusual one for the Hilton Head Christian Academy football team. The Eagles, who had won three SCISA state titles in the five previous seasons, got off to a 2-5 start. On top of that, starting quarterback Reid McCollum left the school in the middle of the season. With the reshuffling, Hilton Head Christian lost its first game. However, the Eagles responded with four consecutive wins, including a 42-20 win over Trinity Collegiate in the first round of the AAA state playoffs. The season came to an end the next week with a 50-29 semifinal loss to Wilson Hall . Eagles head coach Ron Peduzzi is happy with the way his players rebounded to finish with a 6-6 record. “I was really proud of our guys, the way they rallied around the team and each other,” Peduzzi said. “They literally battled the second half of the year every play. “It was a very tough season. A lot of guys stood up and elevated their games. They had to stand up and become leaders also, so I was really happy with that.” HHCA had four players selected to the All-Region 1-AAA offensive first team in junior wide receivers Joey Houpt and Jackson Richardson , sophomore wide receiver Sam Strom and senior kick returner Tommy Gehm . Those on the first-team defense were sophomore defensive lineman Hayne Burden , junior linebacker Kres Langhals , sophomore linebacker Chase White and senior linebacker Finn Ussery . Houpt, who was named HHCA’s outstanding offensive contributor, was the leading pass catcher with 69 receptions for 1,313 yards and 13 touchdowns. Richardson had 45 catches for 645 yards and five scores, while Strum had 31 catches for 415 yards and five scores. Gehm returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and averaged 21.1 yards per return on 24 attempts. He returned six punts for 46 yards. Burden, who was named Hilton Head Christian’s outstanding defensive contributor, led the team in tackles with 105, tackles for loss with 13, quarterback sacks with four and quarterback hurries with 21. Langhals, who was the quarterback in the second half of the season, had 39 tackles, five TFLs, 2 ½ sacks, two interceptions, two caused fumbles and two fumble recoveries. White, who received HHCA’s Sledgehammer Award, had 82 tackles, five TFLs, one sack and one interception. Ussery, who received the team’s Captains Award, had 87 tackles, five TFLs, one sack and one interception.. Ussery and Gehm played in the SCISA North-South Seniors All-Star Game, while Houpt, Richardson, Strom, Burden and Langhals played in the Futures contest. Senior running back Hudson Baker , sophomore offensive linemen Caleb Altizer and Josh Koepke and sophomore cornerback Keyvon Aiken were selected second-team All-Region. Baker received the team’s Coaches Award and Burleson Award, and freshman Max Zwilsky earned the Lunchpail Award. Peduzzi believes good things await the Eagles in 2026. “We have a very large sophomore class that will be juniors next year, so I look forward for to next season,” he said. “We do need to elevate the number of players in our program playing, so that’s something we’ll be working on.”

Oceanside senior WR, Terence Johnson, a Shrine Bowl all-star game selection, had 57 catches for 1,153 yards and 17 touchdowns plus 9 rushing touchdowns this season.

Running back Grayson Salego is one of several starters who should return to the Panthers’ football team next season. Photo by Roger Lee. 

Timberland's Zion Prioleau, named on of Class AA's top seniors by the SC Basketball Coaches Association, averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.8 steals per game in 2024-20225.

 By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – The Wilson Hall football team played in its third straight SCISA AAA state championship game in November. And for the third straight year, the Barons came out on the short end of the stick. WH lost to Pinewood Prep for the second consecutive year, falling by a score of 55-13. That being said, Wilson Hall head coach Adam Jarecki could only praise his team, especially the 17-man senior class. “This group of seniors graduates with three trips to the state championship and not many people can say that,” Jarecki said of the Class of 2026, which went 32-7 over that 3-year stretch. “I’m extremely proud of them. They’re our leaders at the school. They’re the influential people at our school. We’d love to see them go out with success in the end, but what they accomplished is pretty special, and they’ve got to take pride in that. “They had a great year (finishing with an 11-2 record for the second straight year) and they’ve had a great career. It’s tough not to come out on top, but they know what it takes to get here and they bought into it.” Six of those seniors were among the eight Barons named to the All-Region 2-AAA team. Leading the way was quarterback Ford Wilder , who was selected as the Region Offensive Player of the Year. Wilder completed 41 of 79 passes for 565 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 483 yards and 12 TDs on 87 carries. Senior running backs Ben McLaurin and Milling Galloway were selected. McLaurin rushed for 1,234 yars and 16 scores on 121 carries. Galloway rushed for 585 yards and 11 touchdowns 62 carries despite missing three games and the majority of a fourth due to injury. The other senior All-Region picks were free safety Harris Naylor and defensive linemen Walker Wilson and Andrew Howle . Naylor had 35 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions and three pass deflections. Wilson had 39 tackles, seven TFLs, two quarterback sacks and one PD. Howle had 28 tackles, a team high nine TFLs and two sacks. The other two All-Region selections were junior defensive lineman Reese Wilson and junior linebacker Peyton Gilley . Reese Wilson shared the team lead in sacks with four to go with 21 tackles, eight TFLs, one PD and one fumble recovery. Gilley had a team high 61 tackles and shared the team lead in interceptions with three, returning one for a touchdown, to go with three sacks and six TFLs. Along with being All-Region picks, each of the eight were All-State selections and were chosen to play in the SCISA North-South All-Star Games.

By Dennis Brunson Hssr.com Associate Editor Bishopville – Both the boys and girls basketball teams for Lee Academy got off to 1-3 starts, but neither of the head coaches are close to making a determination on what the season holds for their squads. “I am really excited about the team we have for this season,” said boys head coach Kemp DeWitt , who is in his second season at Lee. “We return four players that gave us crucial minutes last season. Brayden Davis , Cain June , Gavin Makela and Paxton Greene give me a solid base surrounded by the new faces we have this season. “We look to find our identity as a team before we head into Christmas break, so we can come out strong when region play starts.” Davis, a sophomore point guard, and June, a senior small forward, are the two returning starters. Davis was averaging 9.3 points per game, while June was scoring at a 9.0 clip. Makela is a junior center while Greene is a senior shooting guard. The other starter is junior power forward Aiden Fitzgerald . Greene was averaging 6.3 points, Fitzgerald 3.5 and Makela 1.6. Other members of the boys team are senior Collins Drayton , junior Cannon Hopkins , who was averaging 5.0, junior Tucker Rodgers , junior James Watson , junior Matthew Inabinet and junior Keegan Gainey . Girls head coach Kim Langston , a decades-long veteran of the SCISA wars, said she hadn’t seen enough of her team to form an opinion. The Lady Cavaliers are young with just one senior starter in Mazie Tomlinson . The other starters are junior Mallori Frye , sophomore Karagan Melton , freshman Kaisley Melton and eighth-grader Beth Whiteside . Karagan Melton was the leading scorer with a 9.5 average to go with 3.8 rebounds. Tomlinson was averaging 6.3 points, 3.3 steals, 4.3 assists and 9.5 boards, Whiteside was at 5.0 points, 1.0 blocked shots and 6.8 rebounds, Frye was averaging 2.0 points and 3.3 rebounds, and Kaisley Melton was averaging 2.3 steals, 2.3 points and 2.5 rebounds. The rest of the roster includes sophomore Emma Beasley , senior Sara Bell , senior Zana Brazell , senior Raylee Catoe and junior Addie Grace Wilkes . 4 CAVALIERS FOOTBALL ALL REGION The Lee football team had four players selected to the All-Region 1-Class A team. The selections were wide receiver/linebacker Cain June, senior quarterback/defensive back Andrew Bowers , senior offensive lineman/defensive lineman Hampton Layton and senior linebacker/running back Tucker Boyce .