Hartsville Red Foxes
By David Shelton Senior Writer Hartsville – As he embarks on his 22 nd season as the head football coach at Hartsville High, Jeff Calabrese is anxiously anticipating the upcoming 2026 season. Calabrese, with more than 200 career coaching wins, sys his team has put in good work in the offseason and appears focused on bettering last year’s 7-5 record. “We had a good spring practice, a good offseason all together really,” the coach said. “The numbers were maybe a little down but not far off. We spent a lot of time evaluating every position. If we needed to make a change we did. The focus in the spring and summer is making sure we have the right guys in the right spots. We basically are trying to get everyone on the same page.” Like all the schools in the state, the Red Foxes put in training four days a week from 8:30 to 11 am. Calabrese says this summer has been especially important as four new coaches have joined the program, including new defensive coordinator Neil Smith . “Really excited to have coach Smith. He brings a ton of energy and experience and he has really adapted well here,” Calabrese said. In terms of personnel, the Red Foxes have experience returning in several areas, starting with quarterback. Junior Ford Wallace is back as the starter and continues to develop in his role as a leader on the offense.. Returning at running back is Trace Hillian with CJ Hickmon moving from receiver to the backfield. Anchoring the offensive line is two-time all-region performer Fred Turner . Other returning linemen, who could end up on either side of the ball, include Creighton McKnight, Jake Williams, Jaquan Samuel and Pat Rhode. Rod Cranford returns in the back seven as a third-year starter. Zi’Yon Mason is moving from the secondary to linebacker, as is Jamario Scipio-Bishop. Devaris James and Deon McCall are players to watch in the secondary. “At a school our size, sometimes you have to move some kids around to make it all fit,” Calabrese said. “That’s why the summer is so important, to get those kids a lot of reps, good group to work with. We just need to build some depth.”
By David Shelton Senior Writer Hartsville – Now in his third season, Hartsville High boys basketball coach Jason Earle feels his rebuilding project is starting to see positive results. The Red Foxes won four games in Earle’s first season and improved to six wins last season. The 2025-26 season saw Hartsville win their first three games, giving Earle a reason to be optimistic about the chances of improvement. “Most of these guys have been playing for me now for three years,” reports the coach. “We have continued to get better each year. The expectation that I have for this team is to play really hard and make the playoffs.” Most of the heavy lifting this season comes from seniors and juniors who have gained experience while taking their lumps. Junior guard Kayson Dawson and junior forward Derion Gattison are setting the early pace as scoring leaders. Dawson is averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game early on while Gattison is at 13.5 points and nearly five boards per game. Dawson averaged 11 points per game a season ago while Gattison scored 5.1 points per game. Senior Zaries Huggins is a starting guard, averaging 7.5 points early on. Senior Tristian Spann also starts as a wing and senior Dorian Mason starts at forward and contributes 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the early going. Earle says the leadership this season comes primarily from Dawson, Gattison and Mason. Sophomore CJ Hickmon is first off the bench and can play guard or forward. Remaining players include junior Kelly Price , junior Zi’yon Mason , junior Karmelo Pooler , junior Jamyari Scipio-Bishop , junior Justin Hines and junior Eli Lynch . Hartsville competes in region 6-AAAA, a highly competitive basketball league. Earle sees Crestwood and Wilson as two of the top teams and is hopeful his team can join in the mix for the region title. “The region should be a real battle every night,” the coach said. The girls team opened the season at 1-1 and also looks to contend for a playoff berth this season. The top returning player this season is junior guard Nay Gibson , who is averaging 17.4 points per game early on. Senior Sha’Niyah Richardson contributes offensively as well, along with junior Ariel Leatch , each better than six points per game. The only other senior on the girls roster is Kamori Williams . Juniors are Aniyah Robinson, Zariyah Spann, Makayla Chapman, Brianna Watson and Chaniyah Thompson . Rounding out this year’s team are sophomores Zanaya Blakney and Trinity Thomas , and freshman Chassidy Johnson.
Look for Defending Champ South Florence to Face South Pointe for AAAA Title By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – As is normally the case, the first round of the South Carolina High School League AAAA football state playoffs, the overwhelming majority of the 16 games were blowouts. Half of them were decided by by 20 points or more with six of the eight having victory margins of at least 30 points. Four more of them came by at least 14 points. Only four games were decided by less than 10 points. Only three games were won by the lower seeded teams. One was the 8-9 game in the upper state bracket with No. 9 Emerald topping No. 8 Foutain Inn 44-36. The other two came in the lower state. No. 10 seed Wilson beat No. 7 May River 36-28. The other was a fairly significant upset. No. 12 seed Gilbert knocked off No. 5 seed Bluffton 38-21. A huge upset came oh so close to occurring. Perennial power, once-beaten and No. 2 seed Daniel had to score a fourth-quarter touchdown to beat No. 15 seed Dreher 14-10. The Blue Devils ended the year with a 3-8 record. With all of the preliminaries out of the way, it’s now time to get down to business. Let’s work our way down each of the brackets and see who will be in Orangeburg on December 6 at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium for a noon kickoff with the state championship on the line. We’ll start with the upper state bracket: Second Round (9) Emerald at (1) South Pointe (5) A.C. Flora at (4) Seneca (6) Wren at (3) Westside (7) Camden at (2) Daniel Easily the most intriguing of these four games is 8-3 Camden visiting 10-1 Daniel. The teams have a long playoff history together, meeting for the AAA state title in 2020, 2021 and 2023. The Lions won all three times with the last one coming by a 45-44 count in overtime. Camden, the seventh seed, beat No. 10 seed Greer 38-20 to win a first-round playoff game for the eighth straight season. Bulldogs head coach Brian Rimpf said his team is excited for the opportunity to face Daniel again. “Playing Daniel this year has a little added motivation for us,” Rimpf said. “We have a recent history with them and are excited to be able to play a familiar team. Like all Daniel teams, they are well-coached, play with great effort and will be a tough opponent.” Daniel is in its first season under head coach Chris Stone . The Lions are led by sophomore quarterback Jace Grass . He has completed 170 of 275 passes or 2,641 yards and 29 touchdowns against just one interception. This should be a fun game but look for the Lions to be victorious. South Pointe is 10-1 and the No. 1 seed. The Stallions are led by South Carolina commitment Z’zavien Currence . He is a standout strong safety and is also the starting quarterback. They should come away with a comfortable victory over 6-4 Emerald. In the matchup between No. 4 Seneca and No. 5 A.C. Flora, you have two 10-1 teams. Flora’s only loss was to Camden while the Bobcats only loss was at the hands of Daniel. The Falcons have an explosive offense led by quarterback Roper Wentzky and will return to Columbia with a win. The other game pits 2023 state champion and defending upper state champion Westside playing host to Wren. The Rams lost their first four games of the season by a combined score of 199-67. Since then, they’ve reeled off seven straight wins, including a 49-21 win over Pickens last week. Wren and Westside are Region 1 foes. The sixth-seeded Hurricanes lost to Westside 21-7 on October 30. Wren beat Blue Ridge 42-28. Westside should win again. The quarterfinal matchups will be: (5) A.C. Flora at (1) South Pointe (3) Westside at (2) Daniel South Pointe beat A.C. Flora in the regular season, so there’s no reason to think it won’t win again. Look for Westside’s upper state reign to come to an end against Daniel. The upper state title game will be: (2) Daniel at (1) South Pointe. So it will be No. 2 Daniel traveling to Rock Hill to face the Stallions for the upper state title. South Pointe is on a mission and should advance to the state championship game, Here are the lower state second-round games. ( 8) Bishop England at (1) South Florence (12) Gilbert at (5) North Augusta (6) Hartsville at (3) Gray Collegiate (10) Wilson at (2) Hilton Head Island South Florence is the team to beat, regardless of the success of some of the other teams still remaining. When you’re the defending state champion, the 3-time defending lower state champion and the winner of two of the last three state titles and are 10-1 after a 47-7 win over Darlington , that’s how it has to be. The Bruins shouldn’t have much trouble against Bishop England. North Augusta has only one loss, that coming to Gray Collegiate, and beat 6-5 Gilbert 56-14 in a Region 4 contest, so it should win. Hartsville is a perennial power and has the ability to put up points. However, it has struggled defensively this year, and that’s not a good thing against GCA. After losing two of their first three games, the War Eagles have won eight straight. They should make it nine in a row. Wilson has had a bounce-back season under first-year head coach Brian Wilson . They are 7-4 after traveling down Interstate 95 to beat May River 36-28. They’ll be making a return trip to the Lowcountr y to meet 10-1 Hilton Head Island. The Seahawks will be too much. So for the quarterfinals, you will have: (5) North Augusta at (1) South Florence (3) Gray Collegiate at (2) Hilton Head Island South Florence traveled to North Augusta last year to win the lower state championship. The Yellow Jackets will return the visit this year, but the Bruins will be victorious. Although Hilton Head has had a tremendous season, Gray will be too much to handle. So the lower state title game will be: (3) Gray Collegiate at (1) South Florence This should be an offensive explosion by both teams, but until someone takes the Bruins down, you’ve got to go with them. The state championship game will be: South Pointe vs. South Florence This is the matchup that everyone has been looking toward this season. This will be an interesting game. Both teams are outstanding offensively but have their moments defensively as well. The Bruins will be trying to win back-to-back state titles like in 2023, and again they will come up short. Pointe will be behind South on the state championship trophy this year.
Gray Collegiate's Michael Boulware.
Dillon's WR Zay Robertson in action in 2024.
Hartsville's rising senior Mayah Harvey hit .522 with 39 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Florence ---The AAAA Lower State softball playoff game between region foes South Florence and Hartsville was likely a “Good News Versus Bad News” situation for the winner, and that honor goes to the host Bruins, who rallied for a 6-2 win after trailing early in the game. The Good News is the win itself, and the Bad News is that South Florence has to travel to Gray Collegiate later this week, needing to defeat the War Eagles twice in order to advance to the gold medal round that starts next week. The Bruns lost to Gray Collegiate on Monday 8-2 in the double elimination play-off. After the game, South Florence head coach Bobby Jones, drew his comparison of his team versus Gray Collegiate , the top ranked AAAA softball team in the state with these comments. “First of all, Gray has college prospects sitting on their bench who don’t even start,” said Coach Jones. “As a charter school they draw their players from all over Columbia, and our players all come from South Florence. “They have four Division I college prospects starting on their team, and in all my years coaching softball, I have never had a Division I signee,” said Coach Jones. “Gray is strong one through 15, all the way down the line. “We played a tough schedule against teams like Summerville and Catawba Ridge to get ready for them,” said Coach Jones. “We knew at the start of the season they were the team to beat in AAAA. Our goal is be very competitive and paly our best game of the season when we fact them again.” In reflecting on the Bruins win over Hartsville, Coach Jones said. “Our pitcher ( Payton Perry ) had a good night and our batters came through with key hits when we needed them the most,” said Coach Jones. “Our little 8 th grader ( Rylee Rowsey ) got a triple in the bottom of the 6 th that scored two runs when the game had been tied at two. It was a solid team win tonight.” Coach Jones, in his 29 th year of coaching, said the Bruins will miss all three senior starters from this year’s 24-8 team. Perry is headed to Coker College after a solid career . The other two starting seniors are outfielders Alaina Floyd and Riley Owens and they have been hard workers on the team.” Hartsville (23-6) is head coached by Amber Harvey, concluding her 6th season as the head coach at her alma mater . “ Unfortunately, we have averaged one bad inning on defense, in several of our games this season, and that is what happened again in this game, that cost us the game,” said Coach Harvey. “We have a total of four seniors on the team, and three of them start. Carter Shumate starts at first while Allie Bailey is our main pitcher, and Jaysha McCullough is our starting center fielder. Our other senior is Jenna Storm . Shumate came in to the game batting .513. “Allie Bailey really had a good year for us pitching and she sort of waited her turn and it was her time to shine and we are really proud of her contributions this season,” said Coach Harvey. “Carter has helped us on both defense and at the plate and she had a great throw to the plate from first base to get an out, and we practice that throw from first to home a lot in practice and she executed it very well,” said Coach Harvey. “We are proud of our season this year and with six starters returning for next year we are looking forward to further success.” The Red Foxes were led at the plate by junior shortstop prospect Myah Harvey who batted .522 with 8 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and 39 RBI’s. Shumate was second at .513 and 28 RBI’s followed by McCullough at .488 with 18 RBI’s. Hartsville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Sophomore Emma Kate Hudson led off with an infield single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by 9 th grader Claire Smith . A ground-out by freshman Aliyah Smith moved Hudson to third. Junior catcher Mary Ellyn Hickey then singled in Hudson to give the Red Foxes an early lead. Hartsville extended the lead to 2-0 after batting in the 4 th inning. Shumate led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Hudson. Two batters later Shumate scored on an RBI ground-out by Smith. South Florence tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the 5 th . Riley Rowsey reached on a one-out single. She advanced to second on a walk to Riley Owens . A single by Page White scored Rowsey to cut the deficit to 2-1. Two batters later Ryleigh Hux doubled in White to tie the game. SF was hoping to make it a 3-2 lead but Hux was gunned down at the plate on a perfect throw by Shumate. In the bottom of the 6 th inning, the Bruins sent 8 batters to the plate when they broke the game open with four runs. Blakely Blue drew a one-out walk. Ava Black then reached on an error to put runners on first and second. Ryle Rowsey delivered the big hit of the game, a triple into the deep corner of left field that scored Blue and Black to give SF a 4-2 lead. Riley Owens then singled in Rowsey to make it 5-2. Owens scored the Bruins final run on a throwing error to give SF the final margin of 6-2. South Florence has players batting .354 or better. They are Hux (.395 & 24 RBI’s), Perry (.391 & 28 RBI’s) White (.388 & 24 RTBI’s), R Rowsey (.364 & 21 RBI’s) while Black and Owens are hitting .354.
Senior catcher Meredith Stone and senior pitcher Kadence Poston lead Lady Raiders to championship.
Bryce King (photo) and Chase Price are the top two pitchers this season and both have been dominant early.
Lake View's Jalen Clark.
By David Shelton Senior Writer Pamplico - The Hannah-Pamplico boys golf team had a strong season but saved their best for the last event of the 2025 season. The Raiders came up a stroke short in the bid to win the region championship but turned in a strong performance at the Class A state tournament in Chester, South Carolina. Hannah-Pamplico shot 346 in the 18-hole event, good enough for second-place in the team standings. Dixie High won the state championship. “It was a good showing for our boys,” coach Jay Watson said. “This was a competitive group. We basically had six players for most of the season until right at the end we added one, Two of our top five players never played golf until last summer. They got hooked and then started putting in the work to get better.” Two members of the team finished among the top 10 individually, good enough to earn all-state honors. Senior Gage Foxworth shot 83 for his round, good for ninth-place. Eighth-grader Austin Taylor shot 86 to finish 10 th overall. “Happy for those two. Getting all-state is a big deal,” Watson said. Junior Tyler Bowen finished 13 th overall and freshman Zachary Turner finished 18 th . Mason Hanna, a first-year player who also played football and basketball, was 32 nd overall. Turner also played junior varsity baseball this spring and joined the golf team after that season was completed. Johnsonville, the team that edged Hannah-Pamplico for the region championship, ended up in fifth-place in the state tournament. “We share the same home course so the boys are friends and play a lot together,” Watson said. “It’s good competition between the two teams. We were disappointed to lose in the region but finishing second at state makes up for that.” Watson has a long affiliation with Hannah-Pamplico athletics. His father, Tim, was a coach at the school for more than 40 years. Watson is the school’s resource officer.