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.

Oceanside Collegiate Landsharks survived the battle with the BHP Bears in their 35-17 win to capture the Class AAA State Title. 

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Honea Path – When Belton-Honea Path High School lost to Daniel 28-23 in the AAA football upper state championship game last season, it had its goal set for the 2024 season. The goal was obviously to win the 2024 state title, and the Bears are one victory away from achieving it. BHP will take on Oceanside Collegiate Academy for the championship on Saturday at noon in Orangeburg at South Carolina State University’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium . `We’re truly blessed to be here,” said Belton-Honea Path head coach Russell Blackston . “You never know when the opportunity is going to come along. These kids have worked hard and competed well. It means a lot to the school and to the program to be in this game.” The Bears are playing for a state title for the first time since 2004 when they beat Dillon for the AAA crown. Blackston, who is in his 15th season as the BHP head coach, was in the fifth of 10 seasons as an assistant coach when they won the crown. Belton-Honea Path brings a 13-1 record into the championship game. It advanced to the upper state title game with a 63-20 win over Southside Christian School , a 42-14 triumph over Palmetto and a 35-14 win over Powdersville . The Bears advanced to the state championship game with a tough 30-22 win over Mountain View Prep , a first-year charter school that came into the upper state title game with a 13-0 record. BHP is led by senior standout running back Marquise Henderson . The Clemson signee comes into the title game just shy of 2,000 rushing yards with 1, 934, an average of 148.8 yards a game. He has 25 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 11.4 yards per carry on 169 carries. He also has 27 receptions for 270 yards and two touchdowns. “He’s truly, truly unbelievable in football,” Blackston said of Henderson, who has rushed for over 6,500 yards and has 90 touchdowns in his career. He loves to compete, he loves his teammates. He’s just a great player.” Blackston said Henderson’s speed and quickness is what makes him so special. “If you blink, it’s over,” the head coach said. “You better have the camera on or he’ll outrun it. I’ve seen him have an 8-inch spot and he didn’t get touched. Plus, he’s a powerful runner.” Henderson has scored 31 touchdowns this season. Along with the 25 TD runs and the two TD catches, Henderson has returned an interception for a score, a fumble for a score, a punt return for a score and a kickoff return for a score. Belton-Honea Path operates out of a 2-tight-end shotgun set with seniors Jamiah Galbreath and Eli Satterfield starting. Joining them on the offensive line are senior Oliver Marett at right tackle, junior Keylan Dixon at right guard, junior Brady Spearman at center, junior Keegan Mosher at left guard and senior Brody Smith at left tackle. “They’re good, very nasty,” Blackston said of the offensive line. “They’re the thing that makes us go. If they play well, we’ll play well.” The quarterback is junior Noah Thomas . He has completed 116 of 184 passes for 1,791 yards and 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Thomas also has 387 yards and five scores on 65 carries. The starting wide receivers are senior James Moore and senior Ryan Lee . Moore has 14 catches for 232 yards and four touchdowns, while Lee has 12 catches for 222 yards and three scores. However, the leading receiver is sophomore Tajeh Watson-Martin with 41 catches for 881 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior Justin Lathon , who has rushed for 333 yards and five touchdowns, starts on the defensive line at end along with junior Ty Rainey. Sophomore Kamarion Glenn is the nose tackle and junior Kylan Dixon is a tackle. Lathon has 40 tackles and shares the team high in tackles for loss with 12 along with Dixon. He has 35 tackles. Rainey has 34 tackles and four TFLs, and Glenn has 27 tackles and two TFLs. The linebackers are senior Patrick Sloan , junior Jakyn Anderson and senior Ty Kelly , who is the leading tackler with 72 to go with 10 TFLs. Anderson has 53 tackles and nine TFLs, while Sloan has 34 tackles and six TFLs. The starting cornerbacks are Watson-Martin and senior Norikus Cowan , the strong safety is KJ Miles and senior Colby Bates is the free safety. Watson-Martin has 30 tackles and two TFLs, Cowan has 34 tackles and two TFLs, Miles has 61 tackles and two TFLs, and Bates has 32 tackles and two TFLs. Lathon is in double digits in quarterback sacks with 10, while Rainey has five and Kelly and Glenn both have four. Miles leads in interceptions with four, Kelly has three, and Bates and Anderson both have two. Senior Christian Bridwell is the placekicker. He is 69 of 75 on extra point attempts while hitting on 5 of 6 field goals. Moore is the punter, Parnell is the holder while Satterfield is the kick snapper and Kelly snaps on punts. Henderson and Watson-Martin handle the returns. Watson-Martin has returned a punt for a score. Blackston has tremendous respect for 10-3 Oceanside Collegiate, which is the defending AA state champion before moving up to AAA through reclassification. Still, Blackston said the Bears have to play their game on Saturday. “We’ve got to be BHP and do what we do,” he said. “We’ve got to establish our defense, get our downhill running game going and hold on to the football. “We’re a couple of teams who are playing really well right now.”