AAAA FEATURE: Lugoff-Elgin trying to make a run at a special season

Sumter – Taking a look at the High School Sports Report AAAA football poll, most of the high schools in it either have a long, rich tradition of winning or have recently enjoyed a lot of crazy success.

Then you look there sitting at No. 7 – Lugoff-Elgin.

The Demons are 5-1 on the season after opening their Region 4 schedule with a 30-20 win over Westwood on October 1. One more victory will assure L-E of its first winning season since 2017. Of course, head coach Jarvis Littlejohn and his players are looking for something far greater than a winning season.

           Littlejohn is in his first season as THE head coach. He was in charge of the team last year, but on an interim basis. He guided Lugoff-Elgin to a 6-6 record and the second round of the AAAAA Division II state playoffs.

           Littlejohn isn’t surprised the Demons are where they are right now.

“It’s just been their preparation over the summer and into the season,” said Littlejohn, who was the defensive coordinator in 2024. “They are committed to the process. We were really close to winning eight games last year. You can see the way they’ve worked to better themselves.”

The Demons opened the season with a 41-25 victory over AAAAA Chapin. Up next was Kershaw County rival Camden. The Bulldogs have been one of the most consistent programs in the state at making deep playoff runs during head coach Brian Rimpf’s tenure.

With Lugoff and Camden literally separated by the Wateree River with the city limits starting once you get off on either side of the U.S. Highway 1 bridge, L-E made the short trip to Zemp Stadium on August 28. The Demons returned home with a 28-25 triumph, their first win over Camden in at least a decade.

“That was a huge win, not just for the program, but for the community,” Littlejohn said of L-E's first win over Camden since 2017. “We were wanting to win against them, and it gave us more confidence than we’d had. We knew we had beat one of the best teams in South Carolina.”

           Oh yeah, there’s another reason for the success.

           “We’ve got a bunch of kids who are really, really good,” Littlejohn said.

           Leading the way for the L-E offense is senior running back Tiyon Fanning, who has been seledted to play in the Shrine Bowl along with wide receiver teammate EJ Richardson. A transfer from White Knoll, Fanning, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 220 pounds, was averaging 172.0 rushing yards a game through the first five games. He had 860 yards and 11 touchdowns on 93 carries.

           Littlejohn said it is Fanning’s demeanor that allows him to have such success.

           “He’s a very mature young man,” Littlejohn said. “When it comes to football, he loves it, he eats it, he breathes it. He takes care of his body, he works hard.

           “And he has great speed. He doesn’t get caught from behind much. He has that extra gear.”

           Junior Zach Williams is the quarterback. He had 59 completions in 98 attempts for 694 yards and four touchdowns. He spreads the wealth with five different players in double figures in receptions.

           Junior Taymarion Silva leads in catches with 13, going for 91 yards. Richardson, junior Keenen Cunningham and sophomore Tyree Lindsey have 11 grabs apiece. Richardson is the big play receiver with 211 yards and three scores. Cunningham has 87 yards and one TD, and Lindsey has 102 yards.

           Fanning has 10 receptions for 149 yards.

           While Lugoff-Elgin has only allowed under 20 points in one of its six games, Littlejohn believes the unit is the heart of the team.

           “The scores don’t indicate how hard we’re really playing,” he said. “When you look at some of the touchdowns we’ve allowed, the defense is only giving up 12-13 points a game.”

           The defense is led by junior outside linebacker Jace Coleman, who has Power 4 conference offers from Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Florida State. He has 34 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, two quarterback sacks and four quarterback hurries.

           Senior cornerback Corey Murphy has four interceptions, giving him 14 for his career. Senior outside linebacker Logan Hinton has 24 tackles, seven of them for a loss, junior defensive end Tavian Nelson leads in sacks with four, junior linebacker Cash Majar has a team high 60 tackles, and senior middle linebacker Tristan Young has 40 stops.

           Littlejohn believes if the Demons can avoid a rash of injuries they can make a deep run in the playoffs.

           “Health is wealth,” Littlejohn said. “They have to pay attention to details, their preparation, be on point. They have worked to better themselves as football players, as people. They’re a great group of young men.”

       There is plenty of talent in AAAA. Along with Fanning and Richardson, 11 other players from AAAA schools were selected to the Shrine Bowl roster. They are wide receivers Kyson M cLeod from South Aiken and Tajah Watson-Martin from Westside, offensive linemen Ty Johnson from Lucy Beckham, CJ Brooks from Gaffney and Hayden Crokett from Hilton Head Island, Irmo defensive linemen Jaiden Bryant and Tyrone Jennings, North Augusta defensive lineman Simeon Jones, linebackers Kendaris Bailey of Gaffney and Andrew Massey of Hilton Head Island and South Pointe defensive back Amari Dogan.

           The rest of the AAAA poll had Gaffney at No. 1, Irmo second, North Myrtle Beach third, Hilton Head Island fourth, North Augusta fifth, South Aiken sixth, defending AAAA state champion South Pointe eighth, T.L. Hanna ninth and South Florence 10^th.

           Gaffney, Irmo, North Myrtle Beach and T.L. Hanna all dropped down from AAAAA, where they were standouts, to AAAA due to reclassification. Gaffney was 4-1, Irmo 3-2, NMB 6-0 and Hanna 4-1 prior to the October 2 games.

           The Indians have been perennial powers in AAAAA since its inception and AAAA before that. They are one of the favorites to make a run to a state championship. 

They have a rock-solid defense that allowed just 84 points against a brutal non-region schedule. They are led by senior Carsen Good with 36 tackles. Bailey leads in TFLs with 5 ½ and sacks with three. Senior defensive back Ayden Montgomery leads in interceptions with two.

           Irmo finished second in AAAAA Division II the past two seasons. They are led by Alabama running back commitment Tai Phillps, South Carolina offensive lineman commitment Nate Carson and Miami Bryant.

     The Chiefs have shown an ability to win low-scoring games as well as shootouts. In a 58-42 win over Loris in a battle of unbeatens, wide receiver Jaden Chestnut caught six passes for 117 yards and three scores. Running back Jayden Wilson ran for 159 yards and two more TDs.

Hanna is averaging 258 rushing yards a game but spreads the wealth. The top two rushers are senior Brock Cole with 441 yards and four TDs and junior Esaias Carroll with 373 yards and seven touchdowns.