Bryce King (photo) and Chase Price are the top two pitchers this season and both have been dominant early.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Abbeville – Entering spring break, the spring sports teams at Abbeville High have set their sights on a strong finish. Abbeville will have a good presence in the Class A state playoffs when the postseason begins at the end of April. One team hoping for a good run in the baseball team, coached by Daniel Little . Though Little has a relatively young team after losing nine seniors off a 24-win team of 2025. The Panthers carried an 8-3 record into spring break.  “Much younger group with a lot of new faces, but it’s a fun team to coach,” Little said. “They are a scrappy bunch. They play hard and they practice well. We have a lot who have been in the program for a few years waiting on their chance. They know the exprctations of the program and they understand what it takes to compete. “This is my fifth year here so these kids have been with me since I took over and we have grown together. We have good team chemistry and it is a tight group.” The two most experienced players on the roster are shortstop Easton Townsend and pitcher Trey Deason . Deason is hitting .391 through 11 games while Townsend is hitting .333. Sophomore second baseman Thomas Nickles is hitting.381 and sophomore Logan Overholt is hitting .333. Sophomore Brayden Randall l eads the team with 15 innings pitched through March. “We don’t have the big power guys so we have to work hard to get guys on base, play small ball and use our speed to create scoring opportunities,” says Little. The softball team hit the break ar 8-6 overall and 5-2 in region 1-A. Senior Carli Smith has been the leader offensively with a .436 batting average and 12 RBI. Senior Jocelyn Foster is hitting .342 with 11 RBI and senior Miranda Smith is hitting .333. Freshman Rylee Tiller is hittimg .316 with 10 RBI. Freshman Maddie Beiler also has driven in 10 runs. The boys soccer team sits at 7-5 overall and 4-2 in region play. Senior Parker Henderson is among the top players with 16 goals and eight assists. Sophomore Carter Oberholzer has scored 15 goals with eight assists while freshman Juren Dominguez has `10 goals and eight assists. Sophomore Juan Velazquez has scored four goals and juior Brice Williams has scored three goals.

Abbeville's leading scorer is senior Jaden Baylor , who averaged 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds last season. He is averaging 20 points and seven boards this season.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Abbeville – Abbeville High’s boys basketball team enters the 2025-26 season as one of the favorites to win the Class A state title.  The Panthers, coached by Doug Belcher , reached the state championship game last season but lost the final game to Denmark-Olar. Abbeville posted a 23-3 record. Several key players from last year’s team are back this season. Abbeville opened the season with an 88-29 win over Ware Shoals on Dec. 12. Back as the leading scorer is senior Jaden Baylor, who averaged 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds last season. He scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the season opener. Senior Jaylen Baylor was the leading rebounder last season, pulling down 9.3 boards per game. He averaged 7.3 points as well. Baylor scored eight points and had 10 rebounds in the opener. Sophomore Jamerion Williams scored 23 points in the opener and junior Corde Hadden had eight points, Sophomore Jamiere Killingsworth had seven points in the opening game. Rounding out this season’s roster are seniors Quatavius Silus and Darius Riley , junior Cory Calhoun , sophomore Jamiyus McManus , and sophomore Jaiden Moss. Riley averaged 12.2 points per game last season. Volleyball wins state title; football ends season with playoff loss On Nov. 8, Abbeville defeated Latta , 3-1, to win their first-ever state championship in the Class A finals at Dreher High School. Abbeville’s championship was the perfect ending to a 23-3 season. “I thought at the start of the season that we had a team capable of winning a championship but you just never know,” said second-year head coach Sara Wojtkowski . “We knew we had a great group that would work hard. My goal was to get past the third round and once we got to the finals, we had a chance to win.” The Panthers had just two starting seniors, Ella Atkins and Lucy Kollman , but their leadership was a key factor. “Ella was our energy player and Lucy was like our team mom,” the coach said. “Both were so important because we had a lot of younger girls. We will miss them greatly but I’m so happy they could win a championship.” Other members of the team included middle hitter Lauryn Murray , freshman setter Maddy Beiler , senior defensive specialist Kaylee Bundrick , sophomore setter Bella Evans , freshman OPP Sarah Gulley , sophomore defensive specialist Reese Jones , senior OPP Tielle Killingsworth , freshman Libero Rylee Tiller, and junior hitter Laylan Yates . Abbeville’s trek to the title game was a familiar path. They had to get past Lewisville, the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, and ended up playing region rival Dixie four times. They beat Dixie in three of the four meetings, including the Upper State championship game. “Beating Lewisville was huge for our confidence,” Wojtkowski said. “Once we got past them, I think our girls started to believe.” No longer the hunter but now the hunted, Abbeville should be a title contender again next season. But, allow the Panthers to enjoy their title for a little while before talking 2026. “We are definitely excited about the future,” Wojtkowski said. “Hopefully we will have the same desire as we had this year.” Abbeville’s football team suffered a heart-breaking loss to Lewisville in the second round of the Class A state playoffs. The Panthers could not hold on to a late lead and Lewisville posted a 29-28 win after converting a game-winning two-point conversion. Abbeville finished with a 9-3 record.

HSSR Class A Football Ranking - (Entering Week 12 of Season, 11-14-2025) 1. Bamberg-Ehrhardt 11-0 (597-49) 2. Abbeville 9-2 (480-129) 3. Carvers Bay 10-0 (319-113) 4. Cross 9-1 (364-53) 5. HKT 9-2 (502-136) 6. Lamar 9-2 (401-277) 7. Johnsonville 8-2 (282-169) 8. Ware Shoals 10-1 (398-164) 9. Latta 8-2 (348-185) 10. Lewisville 7-4 (371-189) 11. Scott’s Branch 8-2 (316-183) 12. Blackville-Hilda 6-5 (182-209) 13. Lake View 5-4 (187-146) 14. CA Johnson 6-5 (258-331) 15. Wagener-Salley 5-6 (153-300) By Billy G. Baker Publisher Moncks Corner — There were no major upsets at the top of the Class A food chain in the first round of the playoffs on November, 7. Now that there are 16 schools left hoping to punch their tickets to the gold medal round, the winning margins are going to tighten up, and round two games should be much more competitive. The goals of the 16 teams left are all the same; be 1-0 every week and eventually punch your team’s ticket to the Class A gold medal round scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday December 5 at South Carolina State University. (Be there and bring the whole town with you!) In the first week of the playoffs the HSSR number two ranked Abbeville (9-2) defeated Great Falls 63-0, and the “A” will now host Trent Usher’s Lewisville Lions team after the Lions drilled Whitmire 62-0 in the first round. These two teams met later in the playoffs last year with the Panthers winning easily. Abbeville will be seeking their 14 th overall state title this season. The Panthers earned number 13 last December in a 58-20 win over Cross . Last year’s Panther team was comprised of 27 seniors and this year’s team came into the 2025 season much younger but still loaded with home grown athletes. After his team’s season opening 42-0 win over Southside Christian , Coach Nickles told the HSSR, “We have a chance to be a really competitive football team. We have to keep working and improving. We’ll see how it goes.” Jaden Baylor took over the QB duties for Abbeville this season and he has improved with each game. Darius Riley is the team’s work horse at RB, and he started off the season with tackle breaking touchdowns runs of 71 and 67 yards in the season opener. Cole Driggers is a leader at left tackle in the offensive front. Top ranked Bamberg-Ehrhardt (11-0) has the distinction of being the most productive scoring offense in Class A, so far this season (597 points) and they also have the best scoring defense (49) in the state entering the playoffs. The Raiders will host Latta this week as a double-digit favorite. Latta advanced with a 34-14 win over Baptist Hill . Corey Crosby is in his 5 th season as the Raiders head coach and his team has now won 16 straight region games. His career record at B-E over this five- year period is 52-11 and the Raiders came into the 2025 season with 15 returning starters. A few impact B-E players include senior all-state WR Marcus Cann (6-2, 195) who is also a topflight DB. OL is one of the strengths of the team and three returners from last season have literally road graded the competition. They are center Michael Manigault (6-0,265), LG Jaden Moody (6-0,255), and junior RT Simeon Bamberg (5-11, 195). Carvers Bay is 10-0 and by Shrine Bowl OL Zyon Guiles (6-5, 295) who is committed to South Carolina. The Bears will host region rival Lake View this week in round two. They defeated Lake View 32-7 on October 10, but most observers feel like this game will be more competitive. The Bears advanced in round one with a 59-0 win over Allendale-Fairfax last week while the Wild Gators beat Hardeeville 28-6 to advance. In upper state Class A this week, Blackville-Hilda will host CA Johnson after getting by eliminating McCormick 15-0 last week. CA Johnson advanced on a 12-0 win over Calhoun County . Number five HSSR ranked HKT (9-2) HKT would love to be the Cinderella of Class A and claim the glass slipper at SC State in December. They eliminated Lee Central 56-14 in the first round and they are now ready to host a talented number 8 ranked Ware Shoals this week in one of the most competitive round two games in Class A. Ware Shoals advanced with a dominating 38-0 win over Ridge-Spring-Monetta last week. Number six Lamar (9-2) advanced with a 49-0 win over Calhoun Falls and the Silver Foxes will host Wagener-Salley this week, an upset winner over Dixie , 14-9 in round one. Remaining games amongst Lower State Class A teams include number four Cross (9-1), led by USC bound Caden Ramsey (6-5,200), hosting Bethune-Bowman . Cross had a bye in round one while Bethune-Bowman shut-out Ridgeland 38-0. Johnsonville and Scott’s Branch are teams with state championship experience, and the Flashes of Ken Cribb will travel to the Santee Lakes area this week in a game that should go down to the wire. Johnsonville advanced with a 48-14 win over Branchville while Scott’s Branch moved on with a 32-14 win over Hannah Pamplico .

Lake View's Jalen Clark.

Abbeville Head Coach Jamie Nickles led the Panthers to a state football title last fall, his ninth as the school’s head coach.

Cross Coach Shaun Wright optimistic about this upcoming season.

 By David Shelton Senior Writer Abbeville – Another successful year in sports at Abbeville High was celebrated by the athletic department at the recent all-sports banquet. Abbeville spent the 2024-25 school year in Class A, dropping down from Class AA. The Panthers won a state championship in football and was the state runner-up in boys basketball. Abbeville was competitive in most of the other sports, contending for several region championships. Here is a rundown of the top athletic performers from the last school year. The male athlete of the year was Karson Norman and the female athlete of the year was Brittany Gordon . Gage Evans received the “All About the A” award and Ziya Watt received the Panther Pride award. Boys basketball coach Doug Belcher was the coach of the year and Bobby Patterson was sponsor of the year. Brooke McCall was named volunteer of the year. Gordon was the most valuable player in girls tennis. Micayla Rodgers earned the team award while Lillie Stone was the rookie of the year. Demarcus Leach was the MVP in football and Brody Graham received the team award. Kadon Harrison received the comeback player of the year for football. The MVP in varsity volleyball was Jaylin Vickery and Kaylee Bundrick received the team award. Ella Atkins received the All-In award. Colton Busbee was the MVP in boys cross country and Kylee Jo Price was the MVP in girls cross country. Bruce Davenport earned the team award for the boys team while Megan Wachs earned the team award for the girls team. Nykeis Brown received the 110 percent award for the boys team and Ansley Smirz received the award for the girls team. Jayden Baylor was the MVP in boys basketball and Jamarion Williams received the team award. Darius Riley was most improved and Jaylen Baylor was top defensive player. Andleyah Sanders was the MVP of the girls team and Anacia Dawson received the team award. The MVP in wrestling was Carter Eby and Collins Brown received the team award. Breakout athlete was Brice Williams. Kylie Jo Price was the MVP in girls wrestling and Brittany Gordon earned the team award. Cecelia Cramer received the comeback award. In softball, Audrey Graham was the MVP and Bella Evans earned the team award. Jocelyn Foster was the offensive player of the year and Maddie Beiler was the defensive player of the year. Norman was the MVP in boys track and Josh Hill received the team award. Nykeis Brown received the 110 percent award. Tielle Killingsworth was the MVP in girls track and Summer Brooks-Smith received the team award. She’Miah Cobb received the coach’s award and Zyteria Hudson received the 110 percent award. Gage Evans was the MVP in boys golf and Carter Beiler earned the team award. Most improved player was Dylan James . Cameron Allen was the MVP in boys soccer and Bryce Williams received the team award. The Excellence award went to Parker Henderson . Megan Wachs was the MVP in girls soccer and Miranda Stoll received the team award. Maddie Wachs was the rookie of the year and Ruthie New was most improved. Adam Beiler was the MVP in varsity baseball. Dayne Botts received the team award and Lohen Nickles received the Silver Slugger award. Ben Overholt was the defensive MVP.