Ashley Ridge finished season strong



By Roger Lee

Contributing Writer 

Summerville – Considering all the uncertainty preseason, things turned out fairly well for the Ashley Ridge Football team.

The school district suspended coach Jeff Tate for this school year after allegations of illegal recruiting arouse. Had the district not done so, this year’s team may have been prohibited by the High School League from participating in the playoffs.

Adding to that was the fact Ashley Ridge had several football players transfer in during the offseason. Coaches not only had to figure out how to split the duties Tate normally performs but also had to figure out exactly how the transfers would fit into their program. Still, the Swamp Foxes finished their 2025 season above .500 with a 6-5 record.

While that may not seem impressive, consider all the teams Ashley Ridge lost to advanced to at least the third round of the playoffs. Those losses came to Berkeley, Oceanside Collegiate, Carolina Forest, James Island and Summerville, which defeated the Swamp Foxes in the second round to eliminate them.

Key wins for AR include a regular-season 42-19 win over Summerville, a 37-23 win over Cane Bay (which some consider the Foxes’ arch nemesis) and a 44-14 win over cross-town rival Fort Dorchester.

Ashley Ridge claimed 5A, Region 8’s top playoff seed to earn a bye in the playoffs. Had it not been for a 28-21 loss at James Island Oct. 24, the Swamp Foxes would have captured the region title outright, but they have as much bragging rights as the other two teams that tied for first place in the region.

“We are very proud of these guys,” said Ashley Ridge coach Ashley Haskins. “Over the last two-and-a-half years we established a process that led to some success. Coach Tate will be back next year and he will continue that process. I hope the school and fans are proud of everything we are doing and all they accomplished this year. Now we have some big-time goals to pursue. The bar has been raised so we will see if we can jump over it.”

Senior quarterback Trevor Kalisz threw for approximately 1,900 yards and nine touchdowns this season while rushing for more than 500 yards and a TD. His favorite target was junior Jagger Spivey, who had approximately 50 receptions for 500 yards and two TDs. Josiah Mitchell and Jaylin Grant both had more than 300 receiving yards.

Senior running back Ryan Campbell topped the 1,600-yard rushing mark for the season and had more than 200 receiving yards. With 20 TDs he was the team’s leading scorer. Senior Camren Garner topped the 500-yard rushing mark for the season and scored three TDs.

“When we were able to run the things we wanted, get the ball moving and put plays together we did well,” Haskins said. “When we ran into a good defense like at James Island and with Summerville it created some confusion. We are real good when we are in a rhythm, but if you can take us out of that rhythm sometimes we struggle to find a new one. Our defense was strong all season.”

Ashley Ridge will lose approximately half of its varsity lettermen, but that means it stands to return the other half. Some of its key players who will graduate including Kalisz, Grant, Campbell, Gardner, lineman Cody Peterson and defenders Malquan Pimentel, Malachi Mitchell, Jaykwon Simmons, Stephen Jefferson and JT King.

Some experienced offensive weapons expected to return include Josiah Mitchell, Caleb Sharo, Jagger Spivey, Brett Boberg and Monte Brown.