By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Lake City – After a season in which it posted a 17-8 record, won the Region 7-AA title and reached the lower state championship game of the state playoffs, the 2025-26 campaign hasn’t had the same magic for the Lake City High School girls basketball team. The Panthers opened with a 10-8 overall record and were 3-3 in region play. Second-year head coach Shaquetta Cooper said her team has been plagued by inconsistency. “There have been times when our team has performed well,” Cooper said. “We’ve faced numerous setbacks. We have to get healthy.” Leading the way for Lake City is freshman Hannah Riles . She leads the team in scoring with an 11.9 points-per-game average and in assists at 3.1 She is also averaging 2.9 steals and 3.8 rebounds. Senior Jada Robinson leads the team in rebounding with a 9.1 average and in steals at 3.9. She is averaging 8.3 points. Senior Trayana Burgess is just missing averaging double figures in scoring with a 9.9 average to go with 2.9 steals. Sophomore Ja’Kyla Boyle is averaging 5.8 rebounds to go with 2.6 points, freshman Shaziyah Epps is averaging 4.8 points, and senior Kailey Graham is averaging 3.3 points and 3.9 rebounds. Other players who are seeing regular time in the playing rotation are eighth-grader Ke’Osha Smith , senior Kierstyn Hanna and junior Brianna Shaw . LAKE CITY BOYS OPEN 5-10 The Lake City boys won just five of their first 15 games and opened 1-5 in region play. Panthers head coach Seneca Barron is not surprised with the issues. “The team is going through a rebuilding phase and is still developing chemistry,” Barron said. “Inconsistency on both ends of the floor has made it difficult to close out games. They’ve shown flashes of potential, but execution has been a challenge. “Despite the losses, the team continues to compete and gain valuable experience. This season is about growth, learning and laying the foundation for future success. The effort is there; results will follow with time and adjustments.” Senior Amari Hanna is the team’s leading scorer at 13.7 points. He is also averaging 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals. Senior Da’jon McClary leads in rebounds at 6.9 while scoring at a 5.5 clip. Senior Jeffery Burgess is the second leading scorer at 8.8 and is tied with Hanna for the steals lead. XyKenan Hickson is leading in assists with a 3.6 average while scoring 6.2 points a game. Senior Shayon Shavers is grabbing five boards a game while averaging 2.8 points and senior Ka’jon McClary is averaging 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.8 points. Others who are seeing regular time in the rotation are junior Anthony White , junior Jordan Dobson , freshman Zyrie McFadden , junior Jaylen Tooney , junior Alexander Rendo and junior David Singletary . .

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Varnville – The Hampton County Hurricanes had just dropped their third game in a row to Christ Church 40-35 and while they played a solid game against a quality opponent head coach Rob Hanna was frustrated with his team because of their lack of discipline and attention to detail. The Canes got the message as they ran over their region opponents by a combined score of 211 -12 to secure the top spot in region 5 AA and earn the right to host the first two rounds of the playoffs. “I feel like after our loss to Christ Church , the focus and preparation of the players has been much better,” said coach Hanna. “We had some new starters that hadn't had a lot of game experience but I feel they are caught up now.” Coach continued, “Anytime you get to host two playoff games, bring excitement for the postseason and we hope we can stay healthy, continue to improve and obviously get a little luck go our way and maybe make a long run to after Thanksgiving and into early December.” The Canes finished the regular season at 7-3 with the three losses coming against teams that will host first round playoff games and a combined record of 24-6. Coach Hanna feels those teams are the type of teams you face the further you go in the playoffs and he wanted his squad to be prepared for the challenge. One of the main reason for the Cane’s success has been the play of the offensive and defensive lines. They have controlled the line of scrimmage each with the offensive line paving the way for over 2900 yards on the ground. That road grading group of junior left tackle Charles “CJ” Williams , and sophomore left guard Cleavon Maxwell where the only two retuning starters. They were joined by first year starters senior center Hunter Lawson , junior right tackle Ty'Quavian Jones and sophomore right guard Jayden Frazier. Senior Jazmir Goines along with Williams and Maxwell have been very good at holding the line of scrimmage. Seniors, linebacker Malik Terry, and safety Tyler Davis have been solid in run support as they are two of the team’s top tacklers with 76 and 58, respectively. “They are a group that takes pride of being the most physical group on the field on Fridays. Also, with only 1 senior, a 10-game season goes a long way to the development of a unit when they are young, “ said coach Hanna. Senior Jaylen Singletary has been the major beneficiaries of the play of the offensive line as he has rushed for 1555 yards and 24 touchdowns. He is a very patent runner, who can reach max speed in two steps. He has been all state the past two years, once on defense and once on offense. Quarterback Tarell Grant has been a dual threat all year. He has thrown for 676 yards and 10 while rushing for 496 yards and another five scores. He had two runs of over 50 yards against Christ Church. On defense, he, and Singletary form one of the best cornerback combos in the state. Seniors Karinton Sabb and Desmond Mathis have been Grants top targets, each with 14 receptions for over 250 yards and four touchdowns. Mathis has also rushed for 205 yards and another four scores. The Hurricanes opened the playoff s with a 56-22 win over Lake City. Singletary led the way with 279 yards rushing and five touchdowns. The Cane’s will host Cheraw a 17-7 winner over Andrews.