Larry Gamble HSSR, Photo Editor Orangeburg - Photo gallery from the Oceanside Collegiate vs Belton-Honea Path rematch game this time under the clouds and in rainy conditions at SC State's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. Final score in the rematch, Oceanside 28, BHP 7.

Oceanside Collegiate Junior QB Aiden Manavian (6-0,195) has proven himself as a strong accurate passer.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Moncks Corner - When Oceanside Collegiate used a highly rated junior quarterback. ( Aiden “Laser” Manavian ) to defeat AAAAA power Dutch Fork back in September, the media boys were about ready to phone in to the engraver at the South Carolina High School League to get the Class AAA trophy ready early for the Land Sharks. This reporter was on hand for that mild upset win at Charleston Southern back in September but there is too much football left to be played in Class AAA just to go ahead and give the trophy to the most talented team in AAA in South Carolina. The AAA SCHSL state finals will take place at high noon on Friday December 5 th at South Carolina State University so you AAA fans go ahead and phone in to your boss about having the flu because this is not a Saturday game. Oceanside Collegiate, coached by Brent LaPrad , advanced this week to host Marlboro County by defeating Georgetown 49-15 last week. The Bulldogs, who have an 180- mile ride to Charleston in front of them this week, advanced with a 49-13 win over Swansea. Do not be surprised if the Bulldogs hang around for three quarters against Oceanside but in the final quarter the Sharks should win with their depth numbers. BHP did survive the graduation of all-world running back Maurquise Henderson , and the number one ranked 11-0 Bears advanced with a 56-7 win over Palmetto in round one. Russell Blackstone’s team has been the most offensive productive team at all levels of prep football in SC with a state leading 558 points! (Wow!) Coach Blackston told the HSSR recently, “It sure is good when you can graduate 8,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in Marquise Henderson, that you can still be very good. There are people who thought we were not going to be anything and that’s okay. I knew we had 23 seniors back and six starters back on both sides. We’re where I thought we would be. We had a tremendous Spring and a tremendous summer.” BHP will host Southside Christian this week. The Sabres defeated Chapman 55-18 to advance. Senior BHP QB Noah Thomas is among the best dual threat athletes in the state. By season’s end Thomas should pass for well over 2,200 yards and he will be close to 1,000 yards rushing. His favorite target is junior stud Tajeh Watson Martin . Third ranked Loris (11-0) beat Dillon for the second year in a row and that got the folks around town pretty whipped up for sure. The Lions whipped Battery Creek 49-14 last week to advance. They will host upstart Orangeburg-Wilkinson this week after the 9-1 Bruins beat Keenan 25-12 last week. This game should be a one possession lead for either team well into the fourth quarter. Dillon has won a state title before with three losses, and the Wildcats have a rising star in 9 th grade QB Khayel Fong Talia (6-2, 200) who recently visited Clemson for the Florida State game. This Under Armour Next Level All-American has helped make talented North Carolina WR commitment and Shrine Bowler Zay Robertson the top WR in South Carolina. Robertson has drawn comparisons to former New England NFL receiver Troy Brown who played high school football at Blackville-Hilda . Dillon is also led by Shrine Bowl LB Daniel Capehart and North-South LB Keryien Brown . Dillon advanced in round one with a 49-8 win over Fox Creek and the Wildcats will host Silver Bluff this week, a 34-13 winner over North Charleston . It seems strange that Newberry (11-0) is competing in the playoffs as a lower state team this season but that is the case. Newberry is led by SC tight end commitment Jamel Howze (6-3,215) and they have dominated teams 470-142 this season. Newberry advanced with a 54-14 win over Aynor last week and they will host Hanahan this week. The Hawks advanced with a 38-21 win over Waccamaw last week. In the upper state , Powdersville advanced with a 66-0 win over Carolina , and they will host Pendleton this week. Pendleton advanced with a 24-21 win over Broome last week. Mountain View Prep (MVP) can be a sleeper but an early season loss to Woodruff exposed some of their weaknesses. MVP had a close 28-21 win over St. Joseph’s in round one to advance and they host Crescent this week. The Tigers advanced with a 52-14 win over Union County . Christ Church won Class A titles under head coach Quin Hatfield (a Manning native) in recent years but moved up to AAA with realignment two years ago. The Cav’s advanced with a 42-7 win over Walhalla last week and they will be at Woodruff this week. The 10-1 Wolverines are ranked 5 th by the HSSR this week and they advanced with a 49-7 win over West-Oak . Woodruff is led by a talented 1-2 punch junior pair on offense. QB Connor Davis (6-2, 210) has completed 147-of-242 passes for 1,904 yards and 23 TD’s coming into the game with Christ Church. Junior RB Amari Gibson has gained 1,284 yards on 159 carries and 19 TD’s. This makes Woodruff a very balanced team on offense between passing and running. While Class AAA might look like a BHP vs OC rematch anything can happen, and most teams are just one unfortunate injury away from a course correction so staying healthy is so important.

Powdersville overcomes Landsharks challenge to win second straight 3A championship.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - Oceanside Collegiate’s boys volleyball team overcame an early stumble against Travelers Rest Saturday, the Landsharks pulled together for a 3-1 victory to win their second straight 4A state championship Saturday at A.C. Flora High School. “It means a lot for the team. It says a lot about the kids and their hard work and their dedication,” Oceanside Collegiate head coach Jorge Riesgo said. “Both teams wanted that game. As a team it means a lot about who we are and our character as individuals.” The Landsharks (23-3) fell behind the Devil Dogs (15-10) early in the first set and while they pulled even, never recovered. Travelers Rest took the first set 25-22. Oceanside pulled together quickly and jumped to a 6-0 lead as Koda Smith served, and eventually took a 10-3 lead and a 21-11 advantage. The Landsharks closed out the second set 25-16 to tie the match 1-1. Travelers Rest got back into the game and traded shots with Oceanside for most of the third set, but toward the end the Landsharks moved to a 22-18 advantage on Jack Hancock’s serves and soon won the third set 25-18.  With the game on the line in the fourth set, Travelers Rest and Oceanside battled point for point all the way to when the Devil Dogs trimmed the Landsharks’ lead to 21-20. Oceanside scored four of the last five points to close out a 25-21 set win and match victory. “It was very challenging for us to get this far, especially after losing some key pieces last year,” Riesgo said. “It took being able to recoup those losses and being able to work hard as a team to achieve our goals.” “That’s a really good team we played,” Travelers Rest head coach Andrew Lull said. “We tried to stay within ourselves and do what we’ve done all year and just keep executing on those levels, keep spreading the ball around. We have such incredible hitters, and making sure everyone gets hits so other teams have to stay aware of us from the outside, middle, opposite, everywhere.” The Devil Dogs lose three seniors but have good players to bring up next season. “We’re just building,” Lull said. “It’s year one for me and I’ve got a lot of guys who love it and a lot of guys who want to get in the gym tomorrow and just keep playing. More than anything it’s a love of the game, and getting those guys who want to play.” Looking back on the repeat win, Riesgo said it was much harder for the team this year than last year, because this year the Landsharks were the team to beat in 4A. “Everyone wants to beat us, everyone in our region wanted to beat us really bad, and everyone would usually play their best game of the season against us,” he said. “I believe the first one was a little easier because we weren’t proven yet, and going back to back was difficult. They want to beat the champions.”

OCA's Junior QB Aiden Manavian in the 2024 State Title Game.

Aiden Manavian runs for a first down during Oceanside Collegiate’s 35-21 win at Ashley Ridge Sept. 12. Photo by Roger Lee.

Dillon's Zay Robertson.

OCA athletic director Mark Meyer , who also is the varsity girls soccer coach.