It’s Business As Usual For Green Wave

By Roger Lee

Contributing Writer

Summerville – The Summerville Football team is out to a great start this season.



The Green Wave improved to 2-0 on the season Aug. 28 with a 45-28 win at Hillcrest. Summerville, ranked fifth in the South Carolina Media Preseason 5A poll, opened its 2026 season Aug. 21 by handing eighth ranked Sumter a 28-7 loss at Memorial Stadium.

“I thought it was a great effort,” said Summerville coach Ian Rafferty. “We have to clean up some things, but I thought they played hard and executed good for the most part. Sumter has a really good team, but we moved the ball on them. We scored some points with our defense and we kind of shut them down after their score.”

Running back Jayven Williams already has three TD runs, including a 54-yarder and an 80-yarrder, and blocked a punt that led directly to a score. Junior quarterback Ethan D’Waters has TD passes to Devin Garza, Toreyion Jackson and Jaelyn Pounds. Jackson also returned a kickoff 90 yards for a TD and recovered a blocked punt and returned it for a TD.

Running back Maxwell Grant has two rushing TDs. Defensive lineman Demarcus King returned a fumble recovery into the end zone for a TD.

Looks like business as usual for the Green Wave.

“As always, expectations are high,” Rafferty said. “We have a good group of kids who work hard, enjoy football and enjoy being around each other. We did lose a lot of playmakers from last year, but we reloaded a little. We have some guys coming up from our JV team that was undefeated last season. We were also fortunate enough to have some kids move in who can help us. We feel good where we are.”

Summerville finished 2025 with an 11-3 record after falling to Dutch Fork in the 5A, Division 1 state championship game for the second consecutive season.

“We’ve been right there at the end the last four years,” Rafferty said. “You just have to keep knocking on the door, keep getting better. Sometimes you need a little luck and the last two years we haven’t had the luck in those state championship games. We don’t harp on it but did talk a little in the off season about things we need to do to be more successful. Now that the season is here we are kind of focusing on one game at a time.”

Summerville lost a quarterback who passed for more than 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns last season and its leading receiver. However, the Wave returns some of the other key players who helped it make those deep playoff runs.

Williams is one of the top running backs in the state. The 5-7, 170-pound senior rushed for more than 2,000 yards last year, marking his second consecutive season doing so. Williams finished the season with more than 2,300 all-purpose yards and 23 touchdowns.

“We are expecting another big year out of him,” Rafferty said. “Sophomores Maxwell Grant and Damon Smith give us good depth behind him.”

Juniors Teru Davis and Pounds, the team’s second and third leading receivers last season, also return.

Other receivers expected to be in the mix include seniors Raymeire Simmons and Jackson.

Sophomores Caleb Davis and Quinten Bitting are pushing D’Water for time at quarterback.

Senior Naval Academy commit Nolan Giet anchors Summerville’s offensive line, which is a little young.

Others likely to see a lot of action in the trenches include senior Seth Seprish and juniors Quinn Cook, Dakota Wade and Aden Mena.

Returning senior Ethan Woods and junior Reid Rafferty are the only tight ends listed on Summerville’s roster.

Summerville’s defense should once again be a force. The Wave looks to be particularly strong up front and on the second level.

“Defensively we have a lot of guys back and some new faces,” Rafferty said. “We are going to kind of lean on senior Eli Pressley and junior Demarcus King, who are two of our better players. We have the talent; we just have to put everyone in the right spot.”

Pressley is the leader for a talented group of linebackers that also features junior returner Jaylen Pryor and junior Ashley Ridge transfer MJ Respass.

King anchors a beefy defensive line that also features returners David Hall, Carson Vaughn and Dexter Chavous, though Chavous may be needed more on offense.

Pressley, Pryor and King were among Summerville’s leading tacklers last season.

Senior kicker Nate Beaver and senior punter Hayden O’Rear return and are both drawing a lot of college interest. Long snapper Bryce O’Rear also returns.