By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – After a dominant run of about a decade in eight-man football, Holly Hill Academy is making the move to the more traditional 11-man game in 2026. Leading the transition is second-year head coach Stuart Hydrick . The Raiders won their season opener, beating St. John’s Christian, before taking a loss to Carolina Academy in their second outing. Hydrick feels his team is making the adjustment well. “I think it’s exciting for the kids to be playing the type of football they watch on television,” Hydrick said. ‘It is a bit different, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. IN eight-man we pretty much play man coverage but we’ve had to learn the zone concepts. It is taking some time to make the adjustment but the kids worked hard all summer. We did some 7-on-7 stuff and that helped us. I think we’re progressing well. Just have to keep working at it.” Injuries have been an early issue as two of the top returning players are out of action early. The hope is that Tyler Green , a linebacker and the leading tackler, and Jake Kirven , a running back and linebacker, can return to action by midseason. One key returner that is healthy is leading rusher Parker Kizer , who was a terror to tackle on the eight-man level. Kizer topped 3,000 rushing yards and accounted for 52 touchdowns last season. “He is a major weapon offensively but we have four new starters on the offensive line,” Hydrick said. The starter at quarterback this fall is freshman Nathan Green . The primary receivers are sophomores William Thompson and Christian Stevens , along with junior Jackson Jones . The lone returner along the front is senior Aarev Patel . Other starters as the season began included Chase Holder , Caleb Bell , Jordan Wren and J.P. McGriff. McGriff is a returner on the defensive line. Kizer, Wren and Zack Weatherford at working at linebacker while Green recovers. Bell and sophomore Jaden Krier are working up front as well. Stevens, Jones, Thompson and Nathan Green are starters in the secondary.  “This group has a great attitude and they give great effort,” Hydrick said. “We have a lot of underclassmen on the field so the more they play and the more they learn, it’s going to benefit us in the future. It’s still blocking and tackle, no matter what level of football you play. We work hard on the fundamentals and I can see the improvement every day. Just gotta keep it going.”

Former head softball coach Henry Lockey will assume duties within the basketball program this season.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – With state championships in softball and baseball, and a near miss in football, the 2025-26 school year was a productive one for Holly Hill Academy athletics. The school recently honored the top performers from the past athletic season and here are the athletes that earned special awards for their success/ In cheerleading, Madison McIntyre earned the Raider award and Sissy Miles was most improved. Lucy Oliver received the spirit award and Audrey Murray was tabbed as most valuable. In football, Parker Kizer was the team’s most valuable player and was honored as the region player of the year. Tyler Green was the defensive MVP and Ryan Brown received the Raider award. For volleyball, Lucy Oliver was most improved and Kaley Bell was the top offensive player. Tinsley Kern earned top defensive player honors. For track, the fastest runner award went to Jeremiah McCune and Olier received the Leadership award. Annie Oliver received the Positive Attitude award. In boys basketball, Tyler Green and Jordan Wren received Captain’s awards, and Chase Holder was most improved. Aarav Patel received the Raider award. The MVP in girls basketball was Milly Kate Prescott , who also was recognized as the region player of the year. Taylor Wright was most improved and Peyton Strickland received the Raider award. Jaxon Jones was the MVP for the still developing wrestling program. Jayson Krier received the Raider award. Steven Murray and Shade Snyder represent the school on the bass fishing team and is one of the top duos in the state. They won the SC high school challenge and earned the right to compete in the national tournament in late July. For softball, Kaylee Cuttino was the most valuable player. Prescott was the offensive MVP and Abbygail Burleson was the defensive MVP. Tinsley Kern was most improved and Taylor Wrigh t earned the Coaches award. In baseball, Tyler Green was named MVP and Murray received the Raider award. Mason Gree n was most improved and Jase Tirado received the Coaches award.

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By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Winnsboro – It wasn’t an easy path, but Holly Hill Academy is the 2-time defending SCISA Class A softball state champion. The Raiders tied the game in the top of the sixth inning and then scored four runs in the seventh to defeat Richard Winn Academy 12-8 on Tuesday at the RWA field to sweep the best-of-3 series. “I’m worn out,” said a happy HHA head coach Kally Knigh t. “We had two crazy games (winning the opener on Monday 11-8), and it was wild on Saturday (in the state tournament. I’m just proud of this team and the way it battled and fought back, really all season long.” Holly Hill tied the game at 8-8 in the sixth. Senior Shelby Hinson came on in relief of starting pitcher Taylor Wright in the bottom of the inning and held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way. Senior Kinlee Steigler had the go-ahead double in the 4-run seventh. Wright was 2-for-3 with three rusn batted in. In the circle, she worked into the sixth before being relieved by Hinson, who got the victory. Senior Kayley Bell was 2-for-3 with a triple. On Monday, Hinson got the victory as well. She started and worked the first four innings, allowing two hits and one earned run. Wright worked the final three innings, giving up three hits and three runs while earning the save. Milly Kate Prescott led the offense, going 4-for-4 with three RBI. Senior Abbigail Burleson had a hit and three RBI. Freshman Kaila McLean and sophomore Megan Guzzi led Richard Winn, both going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman Hayley Ann Prevatt was intentionally walked five times.

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

Orangeburg Prep girls came out strong in game one of the SCISA tournament games.

Holly Hill – With the SCISA state tournament just around the corner, the Holly Hill Academy volleyball team is concluding a strong regular season with hopes of contending for the Class A state championship. Coach Danielle Kern is quick to point out the leadership of team co-captains Peyton Strickland and Kaley Bell , along with other seniors Abbygail Burleson, McKenzie Ferguson and Shelby Hinson . Strickland, Bell and Burleson have been with the team for several years and their experience has been key to the team’s 12-7 record through Oct. 9. “No doubt having great leadership is a big key,” Kern said. “We also have good talent and our younger players are contributing a lot, but nothing replaces leadership.” Kern says Strickland and Bell lead in different ways but compliment each other well within the framework of the team. “Peyton is the motivator, keeps everyone loose while Kaley is a more serious type,” Kern said. “This group follows their lead and plays well as a team.” At the school’s recent homecoming, Bell was named homecoming queen and Strickland was the first runner-up. Holly Hill Academy will close out the regular season next week, hopefully playing their best volleyball in the playoffs. Kern feels her team can be a contender. “We don’t see teams like Laurens Academy and Cambridge but I know they have good programs,” she said, “I think we can challenge. We need to end the (regular) season playing well and hope that carries over. We’re excited for state.” Rounding out this year’s team are juniors Essie Wolpert , Kloie Mizell , and Kaylee Cuttino ; sophomore Lucy Oliver ; freshman Caitlyn Crisp, eighth-grader Molly Kate Prescott and seventh-grader Tinsley Korn.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – It was a sour taste that lingered for a year in the mouths of every player on the Holly Hill Academy softball team. Winning is better than mouthwash. The 2025 Raiders completed a 16-4 season by winning the SCISA Class A state championship, defeating W.W. King in two games (6-4, 15-4) in a best-of-three championship series. Holly Hill won their last seven games of the season. The victory makes Holly Hill state champion for the second time in three years but it was not winning the championship in 2024 that fueled the fire this spring. Though heavily favored last season, the Raiders were upset in the state tournament, eliminated by Jefferson Davis Academy. “We didn’t get it done last year but we still felt we were the best team in the state,” coach Kally Knight said. “Losing last year was all the motivation this team needed. They had a great focus all through the offseason and it carried over into the season. We weren’t perfect by any means but the four losses came to good teams and it helped us stay focused.” In the game one win, Holly Hill banged out nine hits. Kaylee Brabham collected three hits and Kloie Mizell had three runs batted in to lead the offense. Pitcher Taylor Wright had two hits and threw a complete game while allowing four runs. The bats stayed hot in game two as the Raiders totaled 12 hits and took advantage of six King errors. King took a 3-1 lead after the first inning but Holly Hill posted eight runs in the second inning and had a five-run fourth inning to close the deal in five innings. Wright had five RBI on three hits, including two doubles. She again tossed a complete game inside the circle. Kaley Bell had two hits and three RBI while Peyton Strickland and Chloe Wren each added a pair of hits and each had an RBI. “We were a good hitting team really all season and a lot of girls contributed from game to game,” Knight said. “We knew if we cut down walks and played good defense, we were going to be tough to beat. “This team deserves this. They worked hard and they built a strong chemistry. It’s great to see them celebrate being champions again.” Rounding out the roster were Milly Kate Prescott, Ariel Stanley, Abby Burleson, Shelby Hanson, Bethany Martin and Kaylee Cuttino. Brabham and Wren are the only seniors on this year’s team so expect the Raiders to be a contender once again.