Bamberg-Ehrhardt's Chaz Breeland in action about to split the uprights again.

By: Gerald Doolittle The South Carolina Independent Schools Association enters October with teams now playing for playoff seeding. Last seasons Champions in Class 3A (Pinewood), Class 2A (Bethesda) and Class 1A (Williamsburg) all moved up a classification in the new alignment. Can Northwood repeat in 4A and can W.W. King repeat in 8-Man? The top 2026 contenders in Class 4A are Hammond (6-0), Pinewood Prep (6-0), Ben Lippen (4-1) and Laurence Manning (3-1). Defending Champion Northwood Academy (4-2) and Porter-Gaud (4-2) could sneak into the finals. The top 2026 contenders in Class 3A are Northside Christian (6-0), First Baptist (5-1), Hilton Head Christian (5-1) and Bethesda (3-1). Florence Christian (4-2) and Wilson Hall (4-2) could determine who make the finals. Class 2A will be a four- way battle between Calhoun Academy (6-1), Colleton Prep (6-1), Greenwood Christian (4-1) and Patrick Henry (4-1). Williamsburg Academy (3-1) will have say on who makes the finals. Class 1A will be a battle between Dorchester Academy (5-1) and Dillon Christian (4-2) SCISA 8-Man will have Jefferson Davis Academy (6-0), Laurens Academy (5-0), W.W. King Academy (4-1) and Newberry Academy (4-1) working hard to win the Title. Wardlaw Academy (2-3) can be a sleeper to pull off a surprise finish. The top rushing leaders leading into October are Jordan Blackmon (Dillon Chr) 935 yds, Isaiah Scott-Palacos (Greenwood Chr) 871 yds, Joseph Morse (W W King) 857 yds, Reed Almers (Dorchester) 839 yds, B J Suits (Northside Chr) 712 yds, Parker Kizer (Holly Hill) 673 yds, Derrick Porter (First Baptist) 683 yds, Michael Polite (Northwood) 583 yds, Kai Sobey (Patrick Henry) 558 yds, Caleb Hardy (Laurens Ac) 533 yds, Grant Smalls (Williamsburg) 480 yds and Ethan Porter (Augusta Chr) 447 yds. The top passing leaders going into October are Silas Brawner (Pinewood) 1898 yds, Cam Werntz (Porter-Gaud) 1387 yds, Cale Owens (Colleton Prep) 1312 yds, Kres Langhals (Hilton Head Chr) 1297 yds, Gibbs Isom (First Baptist) 1256 yds, Ethan Collins (Laurens Ac) 1110 yds, Harris Janik (Augusta Chr) 1070 yds and Kevin Johnson (Northwood) 1053 yards. The top pass receivers going into October are Amir Chisolm (Porter-Gaud) 742 yds, Tre Green (Pinewood) 687 yds, Drew Wolfe (Northwood) 640 yds, Lavoris Lucas (Pinewood) 612 yds, Thomas Corbett (Colleton Prep) 540 yds, Joshua Bradley (First Baptist) 507 yds, Jackson Richardson (Hilton Head Chr) 489 yds, Jimmele Smith (Ben Lippen) 447 yds, Wilson Yarborough (Porter-Gaud) 415 yds and Gray Easterling (Dillon Chr) 404 yards. The top tackle leaders going into October are Jacob Bussey (W W King) 73, Mac Strickland (Orangeburg Prep) 72, Allen Chisolm (Porter-Gaud) 66, Luke Sobey (Patrick Henry) 65, Stone Porter (Ben Lippen) 59, Davis Padgett (Palmetto Chr) 58, Eli Seigler (Greenwood Chr) 57, Chandler Rogers (Dillon Chr) 57, Lincoln Dial (Dillon Chr) 57, Zach Weatherford (Holly Hill) 54, Jake Harrington (Jefferson Davis) 53, Scooter Brown (Porter-Gaud) 52 and Eli Garrett (Laurens Ac) 50.

By Jeff Moeller Contributing Writer Hilton Head – Entering their 25th year of the program last year, Hilton Head Christian Academy didn’t deviate off their course. The Eagles once again were in the postseason, this time advancing to the state semifinals. They fell to Wilson Hall, 50-29 in the SCISA Class 3A Region 1 bracket. Overall, the Eagles finished the year 6-6. This season under veteran head coach Ron Peduzzi, who will begin his ninth in charge, the Eagles will be in the hunt for the postseason and also to capture their first state title since 2023. Peduzzi previously won titles in 2020 and 2021. Through the first three games, the Eagles soared to convincing victories over John Paul II (42-8), Beaufort Academy (41-0) and also avenged their defeat to Wilson Hall (38-26). Their mettle will be tested with early October meetings with defending champion Bethesda Academy as well as perennial power First Baptist School. Both of them are in the Class 3A division this year. The Eagles have 37 players on their roster, and Peduzzi knows he has to make the most of it. They have just three seniors and 16 juniors. “We wanted to give our yung guys a lot of reps early on,” said Peduzzi . “We wanted to get them acclimated to the program, and they have responded well.” Senior quarterback Kres Langhals is off to a good start, and he also is the Eagles’ leading rusher. He is joined in the backfield by senior Joseph Haupt , and juniors Chase White and Hayne Burden along with sophomore Max Zwilsky . “ Kres has been a leader,” said Peduzzi . “He has been a leader since the summer, and he has helped make it an easier transition. He is a dual threat with his ability to run the ball.” Senior Jackson Richardson returns as the primary receiving target, and others expected to be in the mix are sophomore Wes Langhals and Charlie Wilson . Up front, juniors Josh Koepke, Jacob Herrera, Caleb Altizer, Austin Marshall , and Damani Wright are back, and all of them will play both ways. Juniors Roland Settle and Jack Barrs are returnees at linebacker. In the secondary, juniors Sam Strum, Ryder Maffei , and Anthony Kruswicki all saw prominent time last season. Houpt will handle the punting duties, while sophomore Tripp House has taken on the kicking duties. One major challenge for the Eagles will be to develop their depth. With their first two games being blowouts, Peduzzi had the chance to play some of his younger talent. “Our young guys have been stepping up,” added Peduzzi . “We have a handful of seniors and many juniors who got a lot of time last year as sophomores. We’ll be looking to keep our sophomores and freshmen ready to play.” In spite of his team getting off to a fast start, Peduzzi wants to keep everything in its proper perspective. “It still comes down to blocking and tackling,” he stated. “We still want to work on and stress the basics and fundamentals. We’ll take it one game at a time, and we hope we can improve as the season goes on. We’ve always strived to peak at the end of the season.”

Wilson Hall's junior QB Nolan Gooch Head Coach Adam Jarecki.

Pee Dee softball after 5th straight title; Laurence Manning softball, Hilton Head Christian baseball after 3 in a row.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Bluffton – The 2025 football season was an unusual one for the Hilton Head Christian Academy football team. The Eagles, who had won three SCISA state titles in the five previous seasons, got off to a 2-5 start. On top of that, starting quarterback Reid McCollum left the school in the middle of the season. With the reshuffling, Hilton Head Christian lost its first game. However, the Eagles responded with four consecutive wins, including a 42-20 win over Trinity Collegiate in the first round of the AAA state playoffs. The season came to an end the next week with a 50-29 semifinal loss to Wilson Hall . Eagles head coach Ron Peduzzi is happy with the way his players rebounded to finish with a 6-6 record. “I was really proud of our guys, the way they rallied around the team and each other,” Peduzzi said. “They literally battled the second half of the year every play. “It was a very tough season. A lot of guys stood up and elevated their games. They had to stand up and become leaders also, so I was really happy with that.” HHCA had four players selected to the All-Region 1-AAA offensive first team in junior wide receivers Joey Houpt and Jackson Richardson , sophomore wide receiver Sam Strom and senior kick returner Tommy Gehm . Those on the first-team defense were sophomore defensive lineman Hayne Burden , junior linebacker Kres Langhals , sophomore linebacker Chase White and senior linebacker Finn Ussery . Houpt, who was named HHCA’s outstanding offensive contributor, was the leading pass catcher with 69 receptions for 1,313 yards and 13 touchdowns. Richardson had 45 catches for 645 yards and five scores, while Strum had 31 catches for 415 yards and five scores. Gehm returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and averaged 21.1 yards per return on 24 attempts. He returned six punts for 46 yards. Burden, who was named Hilton Head Christian’s outstanding defensive contributor, led the team in tackles with 105, tackles for loss with 13, quarterback sacks with four and quarterback hurries with 21. Langhals, who was the quarterback in the second half of the season, had 39 tackles, five TFLs, 2 ½ sacks, two interceptions, two caused fumbles and two fumble recoveries. White, who received HHCA’s Sledgehammer Award, had 82 tackles, five TFLs, one sack and one interception. Ussery, who received the team’s Captains Award, had 87 tackles, five TFLs, one sack and one interception.. Ussery and Gehm played in the SCISA North-South Seniors All-Star Game, while Houpt, Richardson, Strom, Burden and Langhals played in the Futures contest. Senior running back Hudson Baker , sophomore offensive linemen Caleb Altizer and Josh Koepke and sophomore cornerback Keyvon Aiken were selected second-team All-Region. Baker received the team’s Coaches Award and Burleson Award, and freshman Max Zwilsky earned the Lunchpail Award. Peduzzi believes good things await the Eagles in 2026. “We have a very large sophomore class that will be juniors next year, so I look forward for to next season,” he said. “We do need to elevate the number of players in our program playing, so that’s something we’ll be working on.”

Eagles claim back-to-back titles, winning the 2024 AAA championship