Porter Gaud Cyclones
By: Gerald Doolittle The South Carolina Independent Schools Association enters October with teams now playing for playoff seeding. Last seasons Champions in Class 3A (Pinewood), Class 2A (Bethesda) and Class 1A (Williamsburg) all moved up a classification in the new alignment. Can Northwood repeat in 4A and can W.W. King repeat in 8-Man? The top 2026 contenders in Class 4A are Hammond (6-0), Pinewood Prep (6-0), Ben Lippen (4-1) and Laurence Manning (3-1). Defending Champion Northwood Academy (4-2) and Porter-Gaud (4-2) could sneak into the finals. The top 2026 contenders in Class 3A are Northside Christian (6-0), First Baptist (5-1), Hilton Head Christian (5-1) and Bethesda (3-1). Florence Christian (4-2) and Wilson Hall (4-2) could determine who make the finals. Class 2A will be a four- way battle between Calhoun Academy (6-1), Colleton Prep (6-1), Greenwood Christian (4-1) and Patrick Henry (4-1). Williamsburg Academy (3-1) will have say on who makes the finals. Class 1A will be a battle between Dorchester Academy (5-1) and Dillon Christian (4-2) SCISA 8-Man will have Jefferson Davis Academy (6-0), Laurens Academy (5-0), W.W. King Academy (4-1) and Newberry Academy (4-1) working hard to win the Title. Wardlaw Academy (2-3) can be a sleeper to pull off a surprise finish. The top rushing leaders leading into October are Jordan Blackmon (Dillon Chr) 935 yds, Isaiah Scott-Palacos (Greenwood Chr) 871 yds, Joseph Morse (W W King) 857 yds, Reed Almers (Dorchester) 839 yds, B J Suits (Northside Chr) 712 yds, Parker Kizer (Holly Hill) 673 yds, Derrick Porter (First Baptist) 683 yds, Michael Polite (Northwood) 583 yds, Kai Sobey (Patrick Henry) 558 yds, Caleb Hardy (Laurens Ac) 533 yds, Grant Smalls (Williamsburg) 480 yds and Ethan Porter (Augusta Chr) 447 yds. The top passing leaders going into October are Silas Brawner (Pinewood) 1898 yds, Cam Werntz (Porter-Gaud) 1387 yds, Cale Owens (Colleton Prep) 1312 yds, Kres Langhals (Hilton Head Chr) 1297 yds, Gibbs Isom (First Baptist) 1256 yds, Ethan Collins (Laurens Ac) 1110 yds, Harris Janik (Augusta Chr) 1070 yds and Kevin Johnson (Northwood) 1053 yards. The top pass receivers going into October are Amir Chisolm (Porter-Gaud) 742 yds, Tre Green (Pinewood) 687 yds, Drew Wolfe (Northwood) 640 yds, Lavoris Lucas (Pinewood) 612 yds, Thomas Corbett (Colleton Prep) 540 yds, Joshua Bradley (First Baptist) 507 yds, Jackson Richardson (Hilton Head Chr) 489 yds, Jimmele Smith (Ben Lippen) 447 yds, Wilson Yarborough (Porter-Gaud) 415 yds and Gray Easterling (Dillon Chr) 404 yards. The top tackle leaders going into October are Jacob Bussey (W W King) 73, Mac Strickland (Orangeburg Prep) 72, Allen Chisolm (Porter-Gaud) 66, Luke Sobey (Patrick Henry) 65, Stone Porter (Ben Lippen) 59, Davis Padgett (Palmetto Chr) 58, Eli Seigler (Greenwood Chr) 57, Chandler Rogers (Dillon Chr) 57, Lincoln Dial (Dillon Chr) 57, Zach Weatherford (Holly Hill) 54, Jake Harrington (Jefferson Davis) 53, Scooter Brown (Porter-Gaud) 52 and Eli Garrett (Laurens Ac) 50.
By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston - Porter-Gaud’s girls team went wire-to-wire as the top team in Class AAAA this season, completing a 24-2 season with a 6-0 win over Hammond School of Columbia. Zoe Molten scored three goals and Gracie McCabe added two goals to lead the Cyclones to their first title since 2019. “We’ve been shooting for this for several years but came up short. This team came into the season very determined and focused,” coach Hope Walters said. “They worked extremely hard. We knew we had a chance for a special season and today was just the final statement.” Molten’s goal in the sixth minute of play gave the Cyclones a 1-0 halftime lead. A red card on the Hammond goalkeeper left the Skyhawks short-handed and the Cyclones took advantage. McCabe’s tally in the 47 th minute made it 2-0. Less than a minute later, Spencer Hostetter made it 3-0 with a score, and Molten’s second goal pushed the advantage to 4-0 in the 53 rd minute. McCabe scored in the 57 th minute and Molten completed her hat trick with a goal in the in final minute of regulation. Molten, a junior, scored 55 goals this season, which was seventh most in the state overall. She has 107 career goals and was named the SCISA player of the year. McCabe, a freshman, finished with 22 goals and six assists. Senior Claire Trowbridge and freshman Ava Adams also were key midfielders. The Cyclones allowed only eight goals all season and out-scored their playoff opponents, 21-0. Senior captain and center back Anna Davis was the leader defensively. Davis started and played in 106 games during her career. The Porter-Gaud boys were trying to unseat powerhouse Cardinal Newman in the AAAA boys championship but the Cardinals won their sixth consecutive championship with a 6-2 win. After falling behind on a Cardinal Newman goal in the first minute of play, the Cyclones evened the score on a penalty kick from Mateo Tozzi in the 19 th minute. But, the Cardinas answered with two goals over the next 10 minutes and led 3-1 at the half. A score early in the second half pushed the lead to 4-1. Trailing, 6-1, Porter-Gaud got a goal from Graham Winterfield in the 78 th minute of play. The Cyclones finished with a 16-7 record. Porter-Gaud sweeps SCISA lacrosse titles There have been eight state championship games in SCISA girls lacrosse and Porter-Gaud has won all eight titles. The private school powerhouse completed a perfect 19-0 season with an 18-2 win over Heathwood Hall. Porter-Gaud led early and held a commanding 13-1 lead at halftime. The Cyclones defeated Heathwood Hall three times this season. Scarlett Mayer finished with five goals and three assists and went over 100 goals this season. Ragan Stryker added four goals and Ravi Hawkins and Hila Tiller each scored three times. “The eight straight is a great accomplishment but the undefeated season is what really stands out to me,” said coach Brent Hilpert . “Getting to work with this amazing group of girls who came together and pushed each other every day was the highlight of my coaching career..” The Porter-Gaud boys team also won the state championship on Friday, taking care of Heathwood Hall, 16-5. It was their sixth title in the last seven years after seeing a five-year winning streak snapped in last year’s finals.