Oceanside Collegiate wins third consecutive football state championship

Orangeburg – The Oceanside Collegiate Academy football team won its third consecutive state championship on Friday. The Landsharks beat Belton-Honea Path for the second straight year for the AAA title, winning by a 28-7 count on Willie Jeffries Field at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

However, the significance of their accomplishment was quickly overshadowed when a fight during the postgame handshake broke out. The brawl moved around the field and lasted several minutes.

Order was restored and the awards ceremony took place. Both teams remained on their sidelines, which is the normal procedure.

“They came after us,” OCA head coach Brent LaPrad said. “I had my kids on the side. They were going that way and we were going this way. Four of their guys came after our kids. It is all on video. We got it. We left the cameras running.

“It is upsetting what happened. It is not right. I know their coaches didn’t want it to happen. Nobody wanted it to happen. It is unfortunate. Nobody wants to lose, but you’ve got to take your loss like a man. They just had some kids that acted out of character. It’s not good for anybody.”

Bears head coach Russell Blackston was disappointed with what happened.

“It is really sad,” Blackston said. “This is where high school football is at. You see it in the NFL (National Football League) and in college. You’ve just got to be able to do better.”

Oceanside had a dominating defensive performance. BHP, which entered the game with a 14-0 record, was averaging 48.5 points per game. It was averaging 388 yards of total offense, 231 rushing the football and 157 through the air.

Belton-Honea Path was limited to 204 yards, 82 on the ground and 122 passing the football. The Landsharks also forced four turnovers, recovering three fumbles and coming up with an interception.

“Our defense has been shut down all year,” said senior defensive end Sawyer Arnold, who has signed to play collegiately with Appalachian State. “We kind of knew we were the better team. We had to come in with confidence, but be humble.”

LaPrad, the son of former Fort Dorchester head coach Steve LaPrad, said his defense came into the game with a chip on its shoulder.

 “Our defense was fired up,” Brent LaPrad said. “We heard all week in the papers and on social media about their high-powered offense, and our defense just wanted to show they’re good players too.”

 Senior linebacker Rhys Meredith led the OCA defense with 11 tackles to go with one tackle for a loss. Junior linebacker Romaun Parson had seven tackles and a team high two TFLs. Senior defensive lineman Joey Harriott and sophomore linebacker Tyler Staffford both had four tackles, one TFL and one forced fumble. Arnold finished with three tackles, one TFL, one forced fumble and two quarterback hurries.

 Junior safety Michael Strickler had an interception, and senior cornerback Jordan Wright had three pass breakups.

 Blackston said there is no secret to the talent OCA possesses, alluding to the fact it is a charter school and doesn’t have a defined student body from which to draw athletes.

“They’re that good, they’re that good,” Blackston said.  “All my kids come from either Belton Middle (School) or Honea Path Middle. We grow ours; they’re our kids.”

 LaPrad is in his first year as head coach after serving as the defensive coordinator the two previous championship seasons. OCA, which won the AA crown in 2023, has had a different head coach in each of the title games.

 Someone who has been there for each of the state titles is junior quarterback Aiden Manivian.

   “It means a lot to be able to win three in a row, especially for our seniors,” Manavian said. “We’re going to try and come back improved and better and hopefully we’ll win again.”

 The Landsharks, who finished the year with 13 straight victories after losing their first two games, were no slouches offensively either. They came into the game averaging 40.6 points.

 OCA came up empty on its first three possessions though, one of them starting at the Belton-Honea Path 29-yard line after Stafford forced a fumble. However, Oceanside fumbled the ball right back with junior linebacker Ty Dubose recovering at the 6 after freshman cornerback Malachi Bohler knocked the ball loose from Manavian following a 20-yard run.

 OCA’s fourth possession was its worst field position, starting at its 4 following a punt. Running back Zakhi Muncey broke off an 18-yard run on first down followed by an 8-yard run by Manavian. A 3-yar run by Muncey gave Oceanside a first down before Shrine Bowl wide receiver Terence Johnson had a 20-yard run to the BHP 47 on the final play8 of the first quarter.

 On the first play of the second quarter, Manavian went deep to junior wide receiver Anthony Williams for a touchown. Sophomore placekicker Jackson Summey added the extra point to make it 7-0 with 11:52 remaining in the first half.

 The next time the Landsharks got the ball they put together an 11-play, 55-yard scoring drive. It ended with Johnson scoring from two yards out for the first of his three TDs operating out of the Wildcat formation.

“We played good,” LaPrad said of the offense. “We were a little too fired up. We had to settle in a little bit. In games like this you get a little too jacked up.”

 That score came just 45 seconds before halftime and sucked 6 minutes, 44 seconds, off the clock. OCA’s next score started in the middle of the third quarter and ended in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

 Oceanside put together a 13-play, 54-yard scoring drive that ate up 6:42 of the clock. Johnson ended it with a 4-yard run to make it 21-0 with an even 11 minutes left in the game.

 The Landsharks’ final score came on a 1-yard run by Johnson with 9:10 to go.

 Belton-Honea Path got on the scoreboard on a 52-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Noah Thomas to junior wide receiver Tajeh Watson-Martin with 4:27 remaining. Senior placekicker Benji Ward added the extra point for the final 28-7 score.

 Oceanside finished with 329 yards of total offense, 177 on the ground and 152 passing. Manavian completed 11 of 21 passes for the yardage and a TD while rushing for 43 yards on nine carries.

 Johnson had six carries for 30 yards and the three scores while coming up with two catches for 14 yards. Williams had three catches for 75 yards, and junior wide receiver Cooper Webb had three catches for 39 yards.

 Muncey led the rushing attack with 89 yards on 19 carries and had a 14-yard reception.

 For the Bears, Thomas completed 9 of 25 passes for 122 yards and rushed for 45 yards on 11 carries. Watson-Martin ha six catches for 107 yards.

 Senior running back MJ Earl had 37 yards on 13 carries.

   Senior defensive tackle Kylan Dixon led the BHP defense with nine tackles, one of them for a loss. Dubose had eight tackles along with the fumble recovery. Senior defensive back Jacus Paul and junior noseguard Kamarion Glenn also had fumble recoveries.

 Even though Belton-Honea Path came up short for the second straight year, Blackston said he couldn’t be prouder of his team, the seniors in particular.

 “I mean they finished 14-1, and I’m so proud of these guys and what they’ve been able to do,” he said. “They have 50 wins in their careers, and the sun’s going to come up tomorrow.”

  For Oceanside, Manavian is happy the senior class goes out with another championship trophy.

“It's special. I know so many of these seniors, so to help them win their last game is special.”

LaPrad said he never felt any pressure to repeat, saying his greatest coaching move was following an old axiom.

“We didn’t change a lot. When it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” he said. “We worked hard the last couple of years. We didn’t change a whole lot. We produce good kids, and we have good parents who produce good kids. That’s what’s special over here.”