South Florence looks to defend AAAA state crown, win third title in four years

HSSR Basketball Rankings HSSR Div. I AAAAA Boys (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Ridge View 2. Dorman 3. Dutch Fork 4. Cane Bay 5. Byrnes 6. Ashley Ridge 7. West Ashley 8. Carolina Forest 9. Sumter 10.Fort Dorchester HSSR Div. II AAAAA Boys (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Goose Creek 2. Westwood 3. Greenville 4. Riverside 5. Fort Mill 6. TL Hanna 7. Irmo 8. St. James 9. Nation Ford 10. Eastside HSSR Class AAAA Boys (As of 1-15-2026) 1. North Augusta 2. Gray Collegiate 3. Crestwood 4. Brookland-Cayce 5. Wilson 6. Darlington 7. Bluffton 8. Chapman 9. Camden 10. Hartsville HSSR Class AAA Boys (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Christ Church 2. St Joseph’s Catholic 3. Loris 4. Fox Creek 5. Keenan 6. Orangeburg-Wilkinson 7. Georgetown 8. Waccamaw 9. Mountain View Prep 10. Dillon HSSR Class AA Boys (As of 1-16-2026) 1. High Point Academy 2. Andrew Jackson 3. Hampton County 4. Liberty 5. Philip Simmons 6. Central 7. Ninety-Six 8. Marion 9. Pelion 10. Mullins HSSR Class A Boys (As of 1-16-2026) 1. Bethune-Bowman 2. Abbeville 3. Horse Creek Academy 4. CA Johnson 5. Latta 6. Carver's Bay 7. Calhoun County 8. Green Sea Floyds 9. Hunter-Kinard Tyler 10. Cross HSSR AAAAA Div. I Girls (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Byrnes 2. Mauldin 3. Blythewood 4. Dorman 5. Spartanburg 6. Wando 7. Sumter 8. Carolina Forest 9. Dutch Fork 10.Lexington HSSR Div. II Girls (As of 1-15-2026) 1. North Myrtle Beach 2. Goose Creek 3. Berkeley 4. Greenwood 5. Irmo 6. Gaffney 7. Eastside 8. Greenville 9.Catawba Ridge 10. Eastside HSSR Class AAAA Girls (As of 1-15-2026) 1. North Augusta 2. Westside 3. South Pointe 4. Camden 5. South Florence 6. Daniel 7. Blue Ridge 8. Darlington 9. Lower Richland 10. Wilson HSSR Class AAA Girls (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Walhalla 2. Dillon 3. Oceanside Collegiate 4. Southside Christian 5. West Oak 6. Aynor 7. St. Joseph's Catholic 8. Fox Creek 9. Orangeburg-Wilkinson 10. Keenan  HSSR Class AA Girls (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Clinton 2. Ninety-Six 3. Atlantic Collegiate 4. Kingstree 5. Andrew Jackson 4. Landrum 5. Saluda 7. Timberland 9. Whale Branch 10. Marion HSSR Class A Girls (As of 1-15-2026) 1. Military Magnet 2. Great Falls 3. North 4. Latta 5. HKT 6.Cross 7. Denmark-Olar 8. Lewisville 9. McCormick 10. Williston-Elko

SCBCA Rankings - January 13, 2026 5A D1 Boys Top 10 1. Dorman 2. Dutch Fork 3. Ridge View 4. Cane Bay 5. Byrnes 6. Ashley Ridge 7. West Ashley 8. Sumter 9. Boiling Springs 10. Spartanburg 5A D2 Boys Top 10 1. Greenville 2. Westwood 3. Riverside 4. Fort Mill 5. Goose Creek 6. TL Hanna 7. St. James 8. Irmo 9. Nation Ford 10. Eastside 5A D1 Girls Top 10 1. Byrnes 2. Blythewood 3. Dorman 4. Wando 5. Spartanburg 6. Mauldin 7. Carolina Forest 8. Dutch Fork 9. Lexington 10. West Ashley 5A D2 Girls Top 10 1. Goose Creek 2. North Myrtle Beach 3. Berkeley 4. Irmo 5. Greenwood 6. Gaffney 7. Greenville 8. Catawba Ridge 9. Eastside 10. St. James 4A Boys Top 10 1. Gray Collegiate 2. North Augusta 3. May River 4. Crestwood 5. Wilson 6. Brookland Cayce 7. Bluffton 8. Darlington 9. South Pointe 10. Camden 4A Girls Top 10 1. Westside 2. North Augusta 3. South Pointe 4. Camden 5. Daniel 6. Blue Ridge 7. Darlington 8. Lower Richland 9. Wilson 10. Gray Collegiate Academy 3A Boys Top 10 1. Christ Church 2. Loris 3. Fox Creek 4. Keenan 5. Georgetown 6. Waccamaw 7. Orangeburg Wilkinson 8. St. Joseph's Catholic 9. Mountain View Prep 10. Battery Creek 3A Girls Top 10 1. Walhalla 2. Oceanside Collegiate 3. Dillon 4. St. Joseph's Catholic 5. Keenan 6. Southside Christian 7 West Oak 8. Aynor 9. Fox Creekl 10. Orageburg Wilkinson 2A Boys Top 10 1. High Point Academy 2. Andrew Jackson 3. Liberty 4. Philip Simmons 5. Central 6. Hampton County 7. Marion 8. Mullins 9. Chesnee 10. American Leadership Academy 2A Girls Top 10 1. Clinton 2. Atlantic Collegiate 3. Andrew Jackson 4. Landrum 5. Kingstree 6. Ninety-Six 7. Burke 8. Timberland 9. Marion 10. Blacksburg 1A Boys Top 10 (No CHANGE) 1. Bethune-Bowman 2. Horse Creek Academy 3. CA Johnson 4. Carver's Bay 5. Calhoun County 6. Green Sea Floyd 7. Hunter-Kinard Tyler 8. Branchville 9. Abbeville 10. Latta 1A Girls Top 10 1. Military Magnet 2. North 3. Great Falls 4. Latta 5. HKT 6. Denmark-Olar 7. McBee 8. Williston Elko 9. Lewisville 10. McCormick

SCHSL Release 2026-2028 Realignment Final Columbia, SC (12-19-25) -- The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) has finalized the classification placement of all schools beginning with the 2026-27 school year. This classification placement will be in effect for two years. The guidelines established by the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee served as the blueprint for schools’ placements. Schools were assigned based on their enrollment count, to include district additions and the 3.0 multiplier. Flexibility, as approved by the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee, was also used with consideration given to geographics and travel. “Appreciation is expressed to those who served on the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee,” said Dr. Jerome Singleton, Commissioner of the SCHSL. “Classification placement of schools is the initial phase of the process. The next step for the League staff is to place the schools into regions in their respective classifications.” The SCHSL’s Executive Committee will meet January 13-14, 2026, to hear appeals regarding the classification placements. The final reclassifications are attached.

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By David Shelton Senior Writer Spartanburg – Stratford quarterback Jachin Davis threw a pair of touchdown passes and South Carolina defeated North Carolina, 17-7, in the 89 th Shrine Bowl all-star game in Spartanburg on December 20. Davis , named the offensive most valuable player for the Sandlappers, completed 10 of 15 passes for 184 yards in the game. He is headed to Liberty University as an early enrollee. “Great experience and great to get a win,” Davis said. “Playing with all of these great players was something I will never forget.” South Carolina dominated the game defensively, allowing only 136 total yards. The Tarheels completed just five of 19 passes. Stratford running back Maliq McGowan , a late addition to the roster, finished as the leading rusher for South Carolina with 42 yards on nine carries. West Ashley’s Bristol Biegenzahn played on the defensive front for the Sandlappers while Berkeley’s Zion Britt started on the offensive line. Cross safety, and South Carolina signee Caden Ramsey , Berkeley linebacker Gehad Sneed , and Timberland offensive lineman Desmond Green, who is headed to Florida, also played for the Sandlappers. “You win all-star games with defense and our defense was outstanding,” said SC head coach Paul Sutherland , who retired as the head coach at Liberty High after the season. “Glad to get the win for South Carolina. The kids were great. I am very blessed to have had this opportunity.” It took less than 10 seconds for the Sandlappers to score the game’s first touchdown as Davis combined with Dillon receiver Zay Robertson , heading to North Carolina , on an 80-yard bomb on the first play of the game for a quick 7-0 lead. Robertson finished the game with four catches for 131 yards. “He’s a great player,” said Davis of Robertson. “Getting that first touchdown was a tone setter.” South Carolina lost fumbles on their next two possessions, the second miscue leading to North Carolina’s game-tying touchdown after a 23-yard drive. Spartanburg’s Will Love , heading to Virginia Tech , kicked a 35-yard field goal late in the second quarter for a 10-7 halftime lead for the Sandlappers. South Carolina’s last play offensive snap in the game was Davis’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Jude Hall of Christ Church with :59 seconds left on the game clock. Chester linebacker Terry Rayford , who had 11 tackles, was the defensive most valuable player for the Sandlappers. Dorman's Kentavion Anderson and Ridge View's Jordan Best recorded interceptions The win gives South Carolina a 48-34 lead in the series. There have been seven ties.

Proposal has AAAAA going from 54 schools to 40 and not being split into divisions

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.”

Oceanside senior WR, Terence Johnson, a Shrine Bowl all-star game selection, had 57 catches for 1,153 yards and 17 touchdowns plus 9 rushing touchdowns this season.

Running back Grayson Salego is one of several starters who should return to the Panthers’ football team next season. Photo by Roger Lee.