Abbeville, Lewisville, & Cross 1,2-3 In HSSR Pre-Season Class A Football Ranking
Cross Coach Shaun Wright optimistic about this upcoming season.
HSSR Class A Football Ranking
1. Abbeville
2.Lewisville
3. Cross
4. Bamberg-Ehrhardt
5. Latta
6.Lake View
7. Johnsonville
8. HKT
9. Lamar
10. Blackville-Hilda
11. Branchville
12. Baptist Hill
13.Hannah-Pamplico
14. Dixie
15. Carvers Bay
Abbeville, Lewisville, & Cross 1,2-3 In HSSR Pre-Season Class A Football Ranking
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Moncks Corner—Would you believe in the Class A HSSR pre-season football ranking, coming into the SCACA Clinic in 2024, the HSSR had Abbeville and Cross 1-2 in our first statewide ranking, and five months later these two teams played for a state title with Abbeville winning the game 58-20.
This pre-season the HSSR ranks Abbeville number one in Class A, followed by second ranked Lewisville, third ranked Cross, fourth ranked Bamberg-Ehrhardt, and Latta rounds out the top five.
Lake View is number six, while Johnsonville is ranked 7th. HKT is ranked 8th the 9-10 slots claimed by Lamar and Blackville-Hilda. Branchville is number 11 followed by Baptist Hill at number 12. The remaining three slots in the Class A Top 15 ranking are held down by Hannah-Pamplico, Dixie, and Carvers Bay respectively.
“We certainly didn’t come into the season last year feeling like we would play Abbeville for the state championship,” said Cross head coach Shaun Wright who just happens to be a neighbor of this writer in Moncks Corner. “We would able to avoid injuries, and we kept improving every week.
“Our success was based on our over-all consistency,” said Coach Wright. “Our players bought into what we were trying to accomplish and they grew into an understanding of what it takes to be a Trojan.
Cross has 7 starters back on both sides of the football coming into the 2025 season. They are led by senior major college prospect Caden Ramsey (6-5,212) who was recently offered as a tight end by South Carolina. Ramsey also has offers from Syracuse, Virginia Tech, East Carolina and Coastal Carolina.
“Caden’s athleticism and long length are very visible on a football field when he is playing,” said Coach Wright. “He led the state of South Carolina in interceptions last season with 14, just two off the state record. On offense we play him as a wide receiver and he caught 44 passes for 749 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.”
Other key starters back on offense include junior quarterback Tyler Harris along with junior running back Mah’Ky Green who rushed for 759 yards and scored 15 touchdowns last season.
Three offensive linemen return for the Trojans. They are senior RG Michael Bennett (6-,234), junior LG Dakari President (6-3, 350), and RT Jailyn Broughton.
On defense several key returners include senior DE Kerji Polite (6-1, 205) along with Bennett who flips to nose guard from offense. Broughton flips from offense to the other DE in the Trojan’s three- man front. Senior OLB William Grant is back along with junior LB Khalil Levine (5-10,205). Ramsey and Green flip from offense to anchor the Cross secondary.
While Abbeville and Lewisville are expected to battle it out in the upper state Cross figures to be the team to beat in lower state Class A for the second year in a row.
In Abbeville, the Panthers rarely rebuild; they reload, and keep pounding you. Last year they defeated teams 703-216 in compiling 13 wins. On offense the “A” bone produced 4,915 yards of rushing offense and 79 touchdowns.
Abbeville was a senior laden team a year ago. They were led by South Carolina signee Demarcus Leach in the championship game against Cross when he rushed for 118 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Leach also returned an interception 81 yards on a pick six during the game.
The key to Abbeville’s success this season will be finding a replacement for Leach at quarterback. Despite heavy graduation losses a core group of experienced seniors are back to provide leadership for the Panthers.
Senior RB Darius Riley is back after rushing for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago. The brother senior duo of Jaden Baylor at WR and Jaylen Baylor at FS/WR return and these are two impact players. Kamyon Jones (6-3,275) also returns to provide leadership in the offensive line. Kendall Cole will be counted on to step up as a senor OLB/DE along with Xzavier Walton (6-0,290) at NG/DT.
Lewisville went 12-2 and won a region title under first year head coach Trent Usher who stepped up to the head job after serving as the Lion’s defensive coordinator the year before.
The Lions only play three regular season home games in 2025 but once the play-offs start the bracket favors them plying at home if they can keep winning.
Coach Usher and his staff need to find replacements for graduated play makers like receiver De’Adrian Robinson and QB/DB Zach Rogers along with OL Ethan Shipman.
The team will find help with the return of talented RB Mikel Hutchinson who missed most of last season with an injury. Jordan Strong stepped up and carried a lot of the running load last season and he and Hutchinson should make a strong 1-2 punch.
Matt Cousar is stepping up to play QB and his top target will be senior prospect Jacorreun Howze (5-10,170) who has good speed and great hands.
Look for Lewisville to win their region and make a deep run in the play-offs once again.
After a 9-3 season in 2023, Latta slipped to 5-6 in 2024 and had a disappointing 16-0 season ending play-off loss against Baptist Hill that surely got head coach Brandon Iseman focused on improvement in 2025.
Latta’s defense will be led by the return on senior LB Xy’mari Bethea this season and he finished last season with around 80 tackles and 11 TFL. Quarterback Jayden Alford is back for his senior season to manage the offense and he rushed for over 375 yards a year ago.
