Phillip Simmons opens region play with 39-14 win over Woodland

Neill Kirkpatrick • October 6, 2025

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR 

Charleston – Phillip Simmons and Woodland entered Friday’s contest looking to open Region 6 Class AA with a win and it was the Iron Horses who imposed their will and controlled the game from start to finish as they handed the Wolverines their fourth consecutive loss 39-14.


“It was a huge win for our team. Getting the first region win sets the tone for the rest of the season,” said Phillip Simmons head coach Eric Bendig.


The win was the fourth straight for the Iron Horses after dropping their first two contest and this win puts them atop the region standings with Andrews and Timberland.


Coach Bendig, “We’ve been building momentum so to come out and execute as we did against a good Woodland team shows are kids are locked in. The growth from those early games has been visible and our guys have been locked into the plans and they play for the right reason. They love each other and it is a great locker room.”


The Wolverines have been going in the opposite direction as they dropped their third straight after a 3-0 start. Their losses have all been to ranked (HSSR POLLS) opponents in Bishop England ( 5th AAAA), Bamberg Ehrhardt (1st A) and Friday night’s loss to 7th ranked AA Phillip Simmons.


“We have to a better job of not turning the ball over and playing better third down defense. I thought our defense played well in the first half but we didn’t play complementary football,” said Woodland head coach Eddie Ford.


Coach Ford continued, “We have played three really good football teams that past three weeks and while the scores may not show it we have gotten better. I feel like if we can iron out the issues we can make run towards the playoffs.”


The Iron Horse’s defense set the tone for the game on Woodlands first possession of the game allowing only 11 yards. In fact, counting the 11 yards the Wolverines gained just 18 yards on their first four possessions.


Leading the charge for the Iron Horses were senior linebacker Ethan Chisum, and juniors defensive ends Alex Tchoryk and Diavante Irving, and defensive tackle Christian Cromedy. Cromedy clogged the middle forcing the Woodland’s runners to the outside where Tchoryk and Irving would make a play or force them back inside to meet Mr. Chisum. Chisum led the team with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery while Irving forced two fumbles to go with five tackles.


“Our defense has been playing lights out. We challenged them to be more physical as a unit and they responded. They forced Woodland into uncomfortable situations all night. They deserve a lot of credit for setting the tone of this game,” said coach Bendig.


The offense followed up the defense first stop with a 5-play , 62-yard drive to take a 6-0 lead. The drive was highlighted by the Iron Horses version of the “Triplelets” in juniors quarterback Hayes Goddard, wide receiver Ashton Kellermann, and running back Omonte Taylor. Taylor had three carries for 25 yards while Goddard and Kellermann connected twice for 44 yards and a touchdown.


Woodlands defense would come up big on the next Iron Horse possession. The Iron Horses drove the ball to a first and goal at the Wolverine four-yard line. A holding penalty whipped out a touchdown and moved the ball back to the 14. The Wolverines got pressure up the middles on Goddard and forced a fumble which recovered by the Wolverines Chandler Fogle turning away the Iron Horses.


After a Woodland punt out to the 50. The Iron Horses needed one play to extend their lead when Goddard and Kellermann connected on a beautiful 50-yard touchdown pass. Senior CJ Falotico added the extra point and the lead was 13-0.


Woodland’s offense finally showed some life on their fifth possession. Behind Kymonte Goodwin and Jeraze Salley they moved from their 35 to a first down at the Iron Horse 13. On first down Chisum came up with a three-yard tackle for loss putting the Wolverines behind the chains. A fourth down incompletion turned the ball back over to the Iron Horses.


The Wolverine defense followed the Iron Horse defense by turning over the Iron Horse offense on downs. Taylor started the drive by ripping off a 31-yard run to the 48. Goddard would connect Blake Johnson for 28-yards down to the Wolverine 37. But then the Wolverines defense forced four straight incompletions to stop the drive.


Woodlands best chance to score came on the final possession of the first half. After picking up a first and then a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the Iron Horses 25. Salley’s threw into the endzone on third down but the Iron Horses Montrell Mungin went up and picked off the pass in the endzone with 17 seconds remaining.


The Iron Horses put the game away in the third quarter when they scored on their first three possessions of the second half. The first was a two-play drive after the second half kick-off. Goddard hit Kellermann for a 19-yard gain and then connected with Patrick Clarke for a 33 -yard touchdown strike.


After a Irving forced a fumble that was recovered by Chisum gave the Iron Horses the ball at their 20. On second down the Goddard to Kellerman combo struck again for a 58-yard catch and run. The drive would stall but Falotico would make sure the Iron Horses scored as he nailed a 34-yard field goal to make the score 23-0.

Saluda Football Uses Spring To Build Depth

By Dennis Brunson • July 3, 2026
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Saluda – The Saluda High School football team will have a good amount of experience returning for the 2026 season. The Tigers have six starters back on offense and eight on defense from a team that went 6-6 and reached the second round of the AA state playoffs. However, they didn’t get a lot of work in during spring practice because many of them were on the school’s baseball and track and field teams that made deep runs in the postseason. Saluda head coach Greg Woerner found a silver lining in that though. “We were only able to get eight days of spring practice in and made the most o it and got better learning the offense and defense and developing some depth with the younger guys,” said Woerner, who will be in his second season as head coach. “A lot of our returning starters were making playoff runs in baseball and track, so we got a good luck at our depth.” Saluda returns four players who were selected to the All-Region 2-AA team last year. They are rising junior placekicker Ericson Vasquez , senior running back Tristan Daniels, senior tight end Jahmeer Myers and junior defensive back Ceddion Springs . Vasquez was named the Region 2 Special Teams Player of the year. Woerner is hoping the Tigers can be productive in the month of July leading into the start of fall practice. “For the remainder of the summer we’re really just looking forward to continuing to get stronger but also focusing in more on football,” Woerner said. “We had a good June competing in 7-on-7s (competitions) and getting better at our passing game and pass defense. July will focus more on getting better at the whole game.” The Tigers completed their 7-on-7 competition in June. Their first scrimmage will be on August 6 at Woodland before coming home to scrimmage Gilbert on August 10. Saluda is scheduled to open its season on August 21 at home against Abbeville . The Tigers will be part of a new region in Region 4-AA. The region will include two old Region 2 foes in defending state champion Strom Thurmond and Pelion to go with American Leadership Academy , Orangeburg-Wilkinson and Silver Bluff . MILLER MARTIN SELECTED TO AA ALL-STATE SOFTBALL TEAM Sophomore pitcher Miller Martin , a key figure for Saluda’s AA state championship softball team, was selected to the AA All-State softball team announced by the South Carolina Association for Women’s Sports . Martin had a 15-3 win-loss record and struck out 248 batters in 139 2/3 innings while posting a 0.70 earned run average. At the plate, Martin had a .308 batting average with five home runs and 32 runs batted in. Martin was also named the Region 2 Co-Player of the Year. Martin was joined on the All-Region team by Amy Sorcia , Zoey Springs and Nyla Jordan . Tigers head coach Hannah Towery said the program’s first ever state title sets a precedent for the future. “Future players will walk on to that field knowing a championship can be achieved because this team proved it,” said Towery, who guided Saluda to a 29-3 record. “The banner will hang, the trophy will be displayed, and the record books will always show who did it first. “History remembers champions, but it especially remembers those who paved the way. This team just didn’t win a state championship – they built a legacy.”

Jefferson Davis football focusing on the basics over the summer

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • July 3, 2026
Raiders return everyone along the line from 8-4 team that reached 8-man semifinals

OCA Football Sets Sights On Four-Peat

By David Shelton • July 2, 2026
Oceanside's rising senior QB, Aiden Manavian is nearing 10,000 career passing yards and threw 42 touchdown passes last season.

W W King Holds Spring Athletic Banquet

By Gerald Doolittle • July 1, 2026
By: Gerald Doolittle Contributing Writer, HSSR Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. -W.W. King Academy held its Spring/Winter Athletic Banquet in mid-May to honor their 2025-26 athletic efforts. All the Knight teams were very competitive in their SCISA Class A region where they competed against Wardlaw Academy, Newberry Academy, Cambridge Academy, Richard Winn Academy and Anderson Christian . The Varsity Baseball team won the SCISA Class A Title . The Varsity Softball team was very competitive in the playoffs. Coach Jessica Anderson presented the Varsity Girls Basketball Awards . Blythe Buzhardt won the All-Around Excellence Award. Kenzie Morse won the Defensive Player-of-the-Year Award. Coach Dennis Gibson presented the Varsity Boys Basketball Awards. Spencer McCormick received the Most Outstanding Player Award. Brady Goff received the Sharp-Shooter Award. Coach Allen Guy presented the Varsity Softball Awards. Blythe Buzhardt received the Most Outstanding Player Award. Abby Aull received the Leadership Award and Kenzie Morse received the Iron Athletic Award. Coach Zach Matthews presented five awards to his Varsity Baseball State Champion players. Elijah Hutto received the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Luke Harvey received the Defensive Player of The Year Award. Wyatt Burbank, Zed Watkins and Smith Kirby shared the Team Leadership Award. Athletic Director Kathy Gibson assisted in presenting the Senior Awards. Smith Kirby and Abby Aull received the Senior Student Athlete of the Year Award. Wyatt Burbank and Kenzie Morse received the Athlete of the Year Award. Spencer McCormick and Abby Aull received the Christian Leadership Award. Wyatt Burbank and Kenzie received the Varsity Year-Round Athletes Award.

Florence Christian football team lost a few players to more than just graduation

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • July 1, 2026
Eagles do return Region Defensive Player of the Year in Hayden Schwab

Lodge Begins Fourth Season As Berkeley Coach

By David Shelton • June 30, 2026
By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – After a pair of six-win seasons in his first two years , Berkeley head football coach Eric Lodge guided the Stags to a 10-3 record last fall. Lodge is hoping and expecting to see continued growth and development in 2026 and recently put his prospective team through spring drills. The purpose of the spring is to identify roles and hopefully find rising talent that can assist either as backups or starters this fall. “Our spring is about evaluating kids, all of them, to see where they fit in,” Lodge said, “Those practices are very important to the growth of the program. We get everyone involved amd work to get them up to speed. Once we get into the summer, we are working hard to get stronger in the weight room along with seven-on-seven stuff.” Lodge says most of the returning experience is on the offensive side and the Stags should be explosive. Henry Rivers , a senior, will be a fourth-year starter and rates as one of the best in the state. Hethres for more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, adding 803 rushing yards and 16 more scores. Returning at receiver are John Cleveland, Eli Mitchell and Johnathan Mitchell, who combined for more than 60 receptions last season. Anchoring the running game are returners Lawrence Washington, Bryson McGee and Jesse Brown . That trio will work behind a revamped offensive line but Lodge sees potential in the developing unit up front. “I like our depth at running back and receiver, and of course we have a veteran leader at quarterback,” said Lodge. There are significantly more holes to fill on defense. The Stags lost an all-state tackle and three starting linebackers that were three-year starters. There also are three holes to fill on the back endd. “We have identified some young men who we feel will step in and be solid players for us,” Lodge said. “Replacing the experience is tough but we have some guys who will learn and grow over time. We’re not new to having young guys on the field. The talent is there and there are opportunities for guys to get on the field.”

Pinewood Preparing To Move Up A Class

By Roger Lee • June 29, 2026
Expectations are high for Pinewood Prep quarterback Silas Brawner.

Cane Bay Football Looking To Get Back On Track

By David Shelton • June 29, 2026
By David Shelton Senior Writer Summerville – The last two football seasons have been sub-par for the Cane Bay Cobras but veteran head coach Russell Zehr believes the pieces are in place for a potential resurgence. The Cobras finished the last two seasons with three wins each but did win a region championship in 2024. Zehr and his staff have worked hard in the offseason to develop some up and coming talent. They did so through the weight room and spring practice. “We had a good spring overall,” Zehr said. “We were missing a handful of guys due to track but we had good numbers. We spent a lot of time getting everyone up to speed. It was an opportunity for us to see younger kids that are coming up and find out who can help us this season. We had about 80 kids during the sprng and about 75 of those have been consistent in their workouts over the summer.” The Cobras will have a new quarterback this fall. Zehr says senior Coran Houp e is moving from running back to run the option offense this season. Returning in the backfield are Mayson Samuel and Sam Rolston , with some talented backs coming from the lower levels. The offensive line returns two starters, Isaac Siefken and Eli Taylor . Junior JJ Rose is back as the leader along the defensive front, with ends Devin Cobbs and B rennen Shokes also returning. The linebackers will be new starters with only Jackson Williamson returning with experience. The secondary could be a strength with returners Tyrell Bess, Zion Bryant and Caeden Wilson . The kicking game is a solid strength with senior Aiden Thorne returning. Thorne is a deep threat on kickoffs and field goals. “He’s got a leg and can be a real weapon for us,” Zehr said. Cane Bay participated in weekly 7-on-7 passing league scrimmages during June and will play at The Citadel event in July.

Mckoy Continues To Build A Winner At James Island

By David Shelton • June 29, 2026
Head football coach at James Island, Jamar McKoy has worked to build his program into one of the more consistent programs in the state.

Red Fox Football Putting In The Work For 2026 Season

By David Shelton • June 29, 2026
By David Shelton Senior Writer Hartsville – As he embarks on his 22 nd season as the head football coach at Hartsville High, Jeff Calabrese is anxiously anticipating the upcoming 2026 season. Calabrese, with more than 200 career coaching wins, sys his team has put in good work in the offseason and appears focused on bettering last year’s 7-5 record. “We had a good spring practice, a good offseason all together really,” the coach said. “The numbers were maybe a little down but not far off. We spent a lot of time evaluating every position. If we needed to make a change we did. The focus in the spring and summer is making sure we have the right guys in the right spots. We basically are trying to get everyone on the same page.” Like all the schools in the state, the Red Foxes put in training four days a week from 8:30 to 11 am. Calabrese says this summer has been especially important as four new coaches have joined the program, including new defensive coordinator Neil Smith . “Really excited to have coach Smith. He brings a ton of energy and experience and he has really adapted well here,” Calabrese said. In terms of personnel, the Red Foxes have experience returning in several areas, starting with quarterback. Junior Ford Wallace is back as the starter and continues to develop in his role as a leader on the offense.. Returning at running back is Trace Hillian with CJ Hickmon moving from receiver to the backfield. Anchoring the offensive line is two-time all-region performer Fred Turner . Other returning linemen, who could end up on either side of the ball, include Creighton McKnight, Jake Williams, Jaquan Samuel and Pat Rhode. Rod Cranford returns in the back seven as a third-year starter. Zi’Yon Mason is moving from the secondary to linebacker, as is Jamario Scipio-Bishop. Devaris James and Deon McCall are players to watch in the secondary. “At a school our size, sometimes you have to move some kids around to make it all fit,” Calabrese said. “That’s why the summer is so important, to get those kids a lot of reps, good group to work with. We just need to build some depth.”
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