Belton-Honea Path Bears
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By Billy G. Baker Publisher Moncks Corner - When Oceanside Collegiate used a highly rated junior quarterback. ( Aiden “Laser” Manavian ) to defeat AAAAA power Dutch Fork back in September, the media boys were about ready to phone in to the engraver at the South Carolina High School League to get the Class AAA trophy ready early for the Land Sharks. This reporter was on hand for that mild upset win at Charleston Southern back in September but there is too much football left to be played in Class AAA just to go ahead and give the trophy to the most talented team in AAA in South Carolina. The AAA SCHSL state finals will take place at high noon on Friday December 5 th at South Carolina State University so you AAA fans go ahead and phone in to your boss about having the flu because this is not a Saturday game. Oceanside Collegiate, coached by Brent LaPrad , advanced this week to host Marlboro County by defeating Georgetown 49-15 last week. The Bulldogs, who have an 180- mile ride to Charleston in front of them this week, advanced with a 49-13 win over Swansea. Do not be surprised if the Bulldogs hang around for three quarters against Oceanside but in the final quarter the Sharks should win with their depth numbers. BHP did survive the graduation of all-world running back Maurquise Henderson , and the number one ranked 11-0 Bears advanced with a 56-7 win over Palmetto in round one. Russell Blackstone’s team has been the most offensive productive team at all levels of prep football in SC with a state leading 558 points! (Wow!) Coach Blackston told the HSSR recently, “It sure is good when you can graduate 8,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in Marquise Henderson, that you can still be very good. There are people who thought we were not going to be anything and that’s okay. I knew we had 23 seniors back and six starters back on both sides. We’re where I thought we would be. We had a tremendous Spring and a tremendous summer.” BHP will host Southside Christian this week. The Sabres defeated Chapman 55-18 to advance. Senior BHP QB Noah Thomas is among the best dual threat athletes in the state. By season’s end Thomas should pass for well over 2,200 yards and he will be close to 1,000 yards rushing. His favorite target is junior stud Tajeh Watson Martin . Third ranked Loris (11-0) beat Dillon for the second year in a row and that got the folks around town pretty whipped up for sure. The Lions whipped Battery Creek 49-14 last week to advance. They will host upstart Orangeburg-Wilkinson this week after the 9-1 Bruins beat Keenan 25-12 last week. This game should be a one possession lead for either team well into the fourth quarter. Dillon has won a state title before with three losses, and the Wildcats have a rising star in 9 th grade QB Khayel Fong Talia (6-2, 200) who recently visited Clemson for the Florida State game. This Under Armour Next Level All-American has helped make talented North Carolina WR commitment and Shrine Bowler Zay Robertson the top WR in South Carolina. Robertson has drawn comparisons to former New England NFL receiver Troy Brown who played high school football at Blackville-Hilda . Dillon is also led by Shrine Bowl LB Daniel Capehart and North-South LB Keryien Brown . Dillon advanced in round one with a 49-8 win over Fox Creek and the Wildcats will host Silver Bluff this week, a 34-13 winner over North Charleston . It seems strange that Newberry (11-0) is competing in the playoffs as a lower state team this season but that is the case. Newberry is led by SC tight end commitment Jamel Howze (6-3,215) and they have dominated teams 470-142 this season. Newberry advanced with a 54-14 win over Aynor last week and they will host Hanahan this week. The Hawks advanced with a 38-21 win over Waccamaw last week. In the upper state , Powdersville advanced with a 66-0 win over Carolina , and they will host Pendleton this week. Pendleton advanced with a 24-21 win over Broome last week. Mountain View Prep (MVP) can be a sleeper but an early season loss to Woodruff exposed some of their weaknesses. MVP had a close 28-21 win over St. Joseph’s in round one to advance and they host Crescent this week. The Tigers advanced with a 52-14 win over Union County . Christ Church won Class A titles under head coach Quin Hatfield (a Manning native) in recent years but moved up to AAA with realignment two years ago. The Cav’s advanced with a 42-7 win over Walhalla last week and they will be at Woodruff this week. The 10-1 Wolverines are ranked 5 th by the HSSR this week and they advanced with a 49-7 win over West-Oak . Woodruff is led by a talented 1-2 punch junior pair on offense. QB Connor Davis (6-2, 210) has completed 147-of-242 passes for 1,904 yards and 23 TD’s coming into the game with Christ Church. Junior RB Amari Gibson has gained 1,284 yards on 159 carries and 19 TD’s. This makes Woodruff a very balanced team on offense between passing and running. While Class AAA might look like a BHP vs OC rematch anything can happen, and most teams are just one unfortunate injury away from a course correction so staying healthy is so important.
Ruby Cecchini from AC Flora in match play. She would go on to win the #4 Singles Champion.
Dillon's Zay Robertson.
Dillon Coach Kelvin Roller.
Honea Path – Belton-Honea Path High School’s Emma Jo Evans has been named the AAA Softball Player of the Year. Evans had a monstrous season for the Bears, who finished with a 29-5 record and as state runners-up. She had a .567 batting average to go with an on-base percentage of 675. She had 17 home runs, 13 doubles, two triples, 54 runs batted in, 68 runs scored and 36 stolen bases. “Emma Jo had an unbelievable year and career here at BHP,” said head coach Jarad Jennings , who led the Bears to the 2024 state title. “If she ain’t the best to play here, she will definitely go down as one of the top three. Hitting in the leadoff spot caused a lot of problems. Teams started pitching around her or even intentionally walking her. Then she’d steal two bases and still score. “She definitely made our offense go. The best part about her though is that she is a great person and a competitor. She will definitely be missed, but I'm excited to follow her in the next chapter of her life.” Meg Griffin joined Evans on the AAA All-State team. Griffin had a .357 batting average with a .477 OBP, five doubles, one triple, 20 RBI and 22 runs. Evans was the Region 1 Player of the Year and was joined on the All-Region team by Griffin, Rhiley Bannister , Carson Foster , Kinsley Martin and Addi Vaughn . BOYD MAYNARD BASEBALL-STATE BHP’s Boyd Maynard was selected to the AAA All-State baseball team and was chosen as the Region 1 Pitcher of the Year. Maynard, who was also selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game, was joined on the All-Region team by Aiden Jenkins , Tye Kelly and Preston Dixon . BHP BOYS 10 TH , GIRLS 13 TH IN AAA STATE MEET The Belton-Honea Path boys track and field team finished 10 th with 26.5 points while the girls finished 13 th with 24 in the AAA state meet on May 17 at Richland Northeast in Columbia . Leading the way for the BHP boys was Ryan Lee , who won the pole vault. He had a vault of 4.65 meters. Teammate Landon Cawthon was third at 4.25. The 4x100-meter relay team finished third, Brelin Dennis was sixth in the high jump and the 4x400 relay team finished seventh to close out the scoring. On the girls ledger, the Bears’ top finisher was the second place 4x1 relay team. Lauren Darby finished fifth in the discus and seventh in the javelin, while Brielle Martin was sixth in the 100-meter dash. Glory Dixon was seventh in the shot put, and Brooklyn Williamson was eighth in the 3,200-meter run.
SCHSL Championship Series got started on Saturday with 12 teams in each category striving to earn a state title. It's looking to be a wet week for most of the state, we'll see how the forecast holds up for these games to be completed. Softball 5/26 - Class 5A Div 1. - Byrnes @ Summerville 5/26 - Class 5A Div. 2 - Catawba Ridge @ St. James 6p 5/27 - Class AAAA - York @ Gray Collegiate 6:30p 5/27 - Class AAA - BHP @ Aynor 6p5/27 - 5/27 - Class AA - Saluda @ East Clarendon 7p 5/27 - Class A - Latta @ Lewisville 6p 5/28 - Class 5A Div 1. - Summerville @ Byrnes 5/28 - Class 5A Div. 2 - St. James @ Catawba Ridge 6p 5/28 - Class AAAA - Gray Collegiate @ York 5/29 - Class AAA - Aynor @ BHP 6p 5/29 - Class AA - Lewisville @ Latta 5/29 - Class A - East Clarendon @ Saluda 7p Game 3s (if needed) on 5/30 Baseball - Games Started Saturday, May 24 th with games 5/27, 5/29, and 5/31 5/24 - Class AAA - Southside Christian 14 , Oceanside 1 5/24 - Class AA - Philip Simons 5 , Batesburg-Leesville 3 5/24 - Class A - McBee 5 , LakeView 3 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 1 - Lexington @ James Island 6:30p 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Catawba Ridge @ Berkeley 5/27 - Class AAAA - Airport @ Seneca 5/27 - Class AAA - Oceanside @ Southside Christian 5/27 - Class AA - Philip Simons @ Batesburg-Leesville 5/27 - Class A - McBee @ Lake View 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 1 -Lexington@ James Island 6:30p 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Berkeley @ Catawba Ridge 5/29 - Class AAAA - Seneca @ Airport Game 3s (if needed) on 5/31
Bears 11-9 on the season and 5-4 in Region 1-AAA
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Honea Path – Belton-Honea Path High School won its first ever softball state title last season, claiming the AAA crown with a 31-4 record. The Bears lost five starters from that team, all of whom are playing in college this season. Two were All-State and North-South All-Star Game selections and three of the five were All-Region selections. You know what though? That’s OK with head coach Jarad Jennings. “I feel that we still have some talented players,” said Jennings, whose team won its first five games this season. “We’ve got some younger kids that will be stepping up into different roles. Where they may have been courtesy runners, third pitchers or pinch hitters, they now have to learn how to step up and be everyday players and figure out what it takes to win.” BHP will have the Region Player of they Year from a season ago anchoring the middle of the infield in senior shortstop Emma Jo Evans . Along with being an All-State selection from a year ago, Evans is committed to play with James Madison . Senior Meg Griffin , who is committed to USC Beaufort , will split time between the outfield and infield upon her return to the lineup in April. Junior Carli Smith , an All-Region pick last year, will be sharing pitching duties and first base with sophomore Addi Vaughn . The rest of the defensive alignment will have sophomore Kinsley Martin at second base, sophomore Carsen Foster returning at third, freshman Madi Boggs back in center field and sophomore Ally Vaughn in right field. Junior Rhiley Bannister and sophomore Miranda Smith will be either behind the plate or in left field. The batting order will have Evans batting leadoff with Boggs in the 2 hole and Foster batting third. Smith will be the cleanup hitter followed by Bannister, Martin, Smith, Ally Vaughn and Addi Vaughn . Smith and Addi Vaughn will be sharing time in the circle to determine who is the No. 1 pitcher. Smith was the No. 2 pitcher last year to All-State performer Kinsley Kay , now pitching at Erskine . “Carli throws harder, while Vaughn is more up and down,” Jennings said. “We’re seeing who wins it or it might be a case or who is the best matchup that night.” Jennings hopes his team is ready for what’s coming its way. “Whether they like it or not, every game we’re going to have a target on our back,” he said. “It’s great that we won a state championship, but that’s last year’s groceries. It don’t mean anything from here on out. We’ve got to work and compete, play our best each game and push each other.”
Bears win AAA Upper State title before falling to Oceanside Collegiate for state championship
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer ORANGEBURG – Moving up to 3A in the South Carolina High School League’s classification system didn’t bother Oceanside Collegiate . Neither did losing the head coach who led the Sharks to the 2A state championship last year. What mattered for Oceanside Saturday afternoon at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium was the steady guidance of interim head coach John Patterson , and sophomore quarterback Aidan Manavian connecting regularly with senior wide receivers against Belton-Honea Path . Manavian was 21-for-26 in passing for 326 yards and four touchdowns in the Shark’s 35-17 victory over the Bears to capture the 3A state championship. “It feels good. It beats the alternative, losing, I don’t like that,” Patterson said with a laugh. “It was a lot of adversity, but that’s what football is, that’s what life is. That’s what football teaches. You’ve got to keep showing up every day, grind, and if bad stuff happens you’ve just to to overcome it.” Oceanside Collegiate (11-3) moved up to 3A this year when the High School League instituted a student multiplier for charter schools that had the ability to recruit athletes outside of their school zones. The Sharks had beaten Gray Collegiate 35-28 for the 2A state championship the year before, but opened the season with a 35-7 loss at Irmo in August. After that defeat, head coach Chad Wilkes resigned for personal reasons. Patterson, an assistant with nearly 40 years of coaching experience, including head-coaching stints at Providence Day School in North Carolina and at James Island from 2007-2011, took over the Sharks. After that loss at Irmo, which played Northwestern Saturday night for the 5A Division 2 state championship, and a loss at Dutch Fork , which won its 9th state championship with a 5A Division 1 victory over Summerville , Oceanside Collegiate caught fire. The Sharks reeled off 10 straight victories and claimed a second-straight crown with the win over BHP (13-2). “We knew how good Dutch Fork was, one of the top 15 teams in the country,” Patterson said. “We were outmanned and didn’t have all our ammunition either. We kind of flushed it: ‘there’s the game, and it’s over, flush it.” Patterson added that the team asked him what he was happy about, “and I told them, hey, it’s like butter, because we’re ready to go on a roll, baby. That’s how that went down.” Oceanside stayed on that roll Saturday, moving the football up and down the field with ease, Manavian’s chief target among his seniors was Will Virgilio , who had five catches for 134 yards. Peyton Shaw had five catches for 66 yards, and Gavin Gasper had four catches for 65 yards and two TDs. Junior Terrence Johnson had five receptions for 57 yards and a score. “We come out every day to work as hard as we can, stay late, getting extra routes in,” Manavian said. “When you come out here and get a Dub, we’re already here, we’re on time, we’re ready to go. It feels great.” On defense the Sharks absorbed the furious running of BHP running back and Clemson commit Marquise Henderson . Henderson came into the game with 1,934 yards and finished the day with 188 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries. He even filled in for quarterback Noah Thomas , who went down with an injury in the first half. “Unbelievable player. Best to ever come through BHP,” Bears head coach Russell Blackston said. “He has 104 (career) touchdowns, I believe. The kid’s an unbelievable player, a Mr. Football candidate. A good player, man.” Oceanside built a 21-7 lead in the first half, scoring first on Manavian’s 9-yard touchdown strike to Johnson in the first quarter. Belton-Honea Path responded in the second quarter with Henderson’s 3-yard TD run, but the Bears gave up back-to-back scores before the half. Manavian connected with Shaw for a 25-yard touchdown art the 7:41 mark, and after BHP botched a pooch kickoff reception, the Sharks recovered and Johnson closed out the short drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone at the 5:58 mark. “They got an extra possession after we lost it in the sun,” Bears head coach Russell Blackston said. “We’d worked on that type of stuff all week, we just lost it in the sun.” The Bears drove to midfield on a clock-draining possession, but turned the ball over on downs. Oceanside Collegiate eventually punted to the BHP 1-yard line, where the Bears ran two plays and called it a half. Belton-Honea Path started the second half down 21-7 to the Sharks, and without Thomas at quarterback. Henderson shifted from tailback to quarterback and kept the Bears running. BHP moved downfield for most of the third quarter with Henderson running on most of the plays. On first and goal at the Oceanside 5-yard line he gave the ball to Justin Lathon , who barreled into the end zone at the 2:26 mark to cut the lead to 21-14. BHP defender K.J. Miles picked off a Manavian pass on Oceanside’s next possession, which led to Bears kicker Christian Bridwell’s 42-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the third. That was as close as Oceanside would let the Bears come. Manavian closed out the victory with fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 19 and 13 yards to Gavin Gaspar . “We practiced for this every week. We’ve been ready for this, and we know what it’s like to be here,” Gaspar said. “I can’t say nothing bad about this team. I love everybody. No better way to go out.” BHP was looking to win its first state championship since 2004, when the Bears beat Dillon for the 3A title. Unfortunately, the school will have to try again. “I told them I loved them, told them that they had a good year,” Blackston said. “That a lot of teams would love to be where we’re at.” WIth two straight state championships in hand, Oceanside is in an enviable position itself. Patterson spread the wealth of victory among the entire team. “It means a lot, but I’m just a guy on a team, man, seriously,” he said. “I don’t think my role on the team’s any different than anybody else’s. Sometimes you play, sometimes you film, sometimes you manage the trainers, sometimes you’re the assistant coach or the head coach. And the head coach gets way too much credit, honestly. All the credit should go to the assistant coaches and certainly the kids.” Belton-Honea Path 0 7 10 0 – 17 Oceanside Collegiate 7 14 0 14 – 35 First Quarter O - Terrence Johnson 9 pass from Aiden Manavian (Nate Sturm kick) 4:47 Second Quarter B - Marquise Henderson 3 run (Christian Bridwell kick) 9:15 O - Peyton Shaw 25 pass from Manavian (kick failed) 7:41 O - Johnson 1 run (Kyle Baldwin pass from Manavian) 5:58 Third Quarter B - Justin Lathon 5 run (Bridwell kick) 2:26 B - Bridwell 42 field goal :26 Fourth Quarter O - Gavin Gaspar 19 pass from Manavian (Sturm kick) 11:40 O - Gaspar 13 pass from Manavian (Sturm kick) 4:07 BHP OCA First downs 17 16 Rushes-yds 59-234 14-22 Passing yds 16 326 Att-Com-Int 7-4-0 26-21-1 Fumbles-lost 2-1. 1-0 Penalties-yds 6-49 4-30 Punts-avg 2-32.0 3-36.7 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING B - Marquise Henderson 42-188, Noah Thomas 5-30, M.J. Earl 5-19, Justin Lathon 4-6, Tajeh Watson-Martin 1-2, Ty Parnell 2-7. O - Aiden Manavian 7-14, James O’Connor 4-9, Terrence Johnson 1-1, Team 2-2 PASSING B -Noah Thomas 3-4-0, Marquise Henderson 1-1-0, Ty Parnell 0-1-0, Tajeh Watson-Martin 0-1-0. O -Aiden Manavian 21-26-1. RECEIVING B -Tajeh Watson-Martin 4-16 O -Will Virgilio 5-134, Peyton Shaw 5-66, Gavin Gaspar 4-65, Terrence Johnson 5-57, James O’Connor 1-4, Kyle Baldwin 1-0.