Batesburg-Leesville No. 1 in High School Sports Report AA preseason poll
Defending champion Clinton No. 2, Fairfield Central third, Manning fourth, Philip Simmons fifth
HSSR AA Football Ranking
(As of 7-21-2025)
1. Batesburg-Leesville
2. Clinton
3. Fairfield Central
4. Manning
5. Philip Simmons
6. Central
7. Saluda
8. Cheraw
9.Hampton County
10. Timberland
11. Woodland
12. Strom Thurmond
13. Chester
14, Chesnee
15. East Clarendon
Sumter – The 2024 campaign was something the Batesburg-Leesville High School football team had been building toward since Greg Lawson became head coach for the 2022 season. Upon his arrival at the school and assessing the talent up and down the roster, Lawson thought Season No. 3 could be a very good one.
It turns out he was right. The Panthers won the Region 2-AA title, going undefeated in the regular season. They won their first two state playoff games before running into eventual state champion Clinton in the quarterfinals, falling by a 31-14 score.
However, Batesburg-Leesville has a load of talent and experience returning. There is just one hole that has to be filled, and it is an important one.
“We’ve got 23 seniors on this team, and we’ve got a lot of players back at key positions,” Lawson said. “We’ve got to find a quarterback though. We lost Tanner Watkins, and he was a 3-year starter. It’s hard to replace that experience and all he brought to the table.”
Despite the importance of getting the right person in that spot, High School Sports Report has selected Batesburg-Leesville as the No. 1 team in its AA preseason poll.
The Panthers have two South Carolina Football Coaches Association All-State selections returning in senior running back Amadre Wooden and senior athlete KD Whitt. Wooden scored 162 points while Whitt scored 110.
Wooden was selected as the Region Offensive Player of the Year last season after rushing for 2,138 yards and 26 touchdowns on 248 carries. He also caught four passes for 88 yards.
Whitt was a threat whenever the ball was in his hands. He had 27 catches for 475 yards and 10 touchdowns, carried the ball 12 times for 138 yards and four TDs, returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and one punt for a touchdown. He was also a defensive standout, coming up with six interceptions playing in the secondary.
Along with Wooden and Whitt, the Panthers have returning All-Region performers in senior offensive lineman Moises Gonzales, senior defensive tackle Travis Gates and senior defensive tackle Ja’Quan Corley.
The Panthers open their season on August 22 with a home game against Woodland, which is ranked 11th in the preseason poll. Woodland is led by Jaemin Pinckney, who is committed to South Florida.
Clinton is ranked second, and like Batesburg-Leesville, it is having to replace a quarterback, but has a standout running back returning to the stable.
The Red Devils lost quarterback Tushawan Richardson to graduation, but senior running back Javen Cook is back. He rushed for 1,824 yards and 21 touchdowns on 222 carries.
Better yet for Cook, he has senior Tre Aiken back on the offensive line. The 6-foot-4-inch, 295-pounder committed to North Carolina State earlier this month. He chose to go across the border from 16 offers. The other four finalists were South Carolina, Florida, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
Clinton opens its season on August 22 on the road against Woodruff, which handed it one of its two losses last year during a 12-2 campaign.
Fairfield Central is ranked third in the poll. The Griffins were 12-2 last season, reaching the upper state championship game where they lost to Clinton 32-21.
Leading the way for Fairfield Central is senior Jayden Boyd, who has made a commitment to Duke. Listed as a wide receiver/cornerback, Boyd had 27 catches for 364 yards and two touchdons while carrying the football 11 times or 213 yards and three touchdowns.
Another key returnee for the Griffins is senior strong safety Dre Walker. He had 103 tackles and four interceptions.
Fairfield Central opens its season on the road against AAAAA Division I Ridge View on August 22.
Manning is ranked fourth in the poll after having one of its better seasons in recent history. The Monarchs went 11-2, reeling off 11 cconseuctive wins before losing to Barnwell in the lower state championship contest.
While Manning will have to be breaking in some new players at the offensive skill position, it returns four of its offensive linemen. Both of the tackles are back with Isaiah Hamilton returning on the left side and Jeremiah Dingle on the right. Hamilton is a 6-foot-4-inch, 275-pound rising junior while Dingle is a 6-2, 275-pound senior.
Ethan Canty returns as the left guard while Semja Bush-Rankins will again be the center.
Manning will play at Crestwood on August 22 to open its season.
Philip Simmons rounds out the poll’s Top 5. While the Iron Horses have to fill some spots on offense from last year’s team that went 10-3, won a region title and reached the quarterfinals, they have some outstanding players returning on defense.
Linebacker Brody Tonon led the team with 126 tackles and had 12 tackles for loss. Junior defensie end Alex Tchoryk had 49 tackles, seven tackles for loss and eight quarterback sacks.
The Iron Horses open their season at home against Hanahan on August 22.
The AA classification has several players ranked in the HSSR Class of 2026 Top 100. That includes the No. 1 recruit in 6-6, 330-pound offensive lineman Desmond Green of Timberland, which is ranked 10th. Green has committed to Florida.
Kaleb Simpkins of 12th-ranked Strom Thurmond is rated 43rd. The defensive back has an offer from Wake Forest. Defensive end Terry Radford of No. 13 Chester is rated No. 52, running back Nehemiah Brown of Barnwell is rated 72nd, running back Brayden Williams of No. 7 Saluda is No. 79, running back Damais Seegars of Andrew Jackson High is No. 86, and running back Tyleek Dukes of Kingstree is No. 92.
