Region Play Fires Up Midlands Teams

Worthy Evans • October 5, 2026

Camden's senior QB Grayson Rimpf from earlier this season in their win over Dillon.

Midlands Top 10

 

  1. Dutch Fork (6-0, 1-0 Region 3-AAAAA)
  2. River Bluff (6-1, 1-0 Region 3-AAAAA)
  3. Lugoff-Elgin (5-1, 1-0 Region 4-AAAA)
  4. Camden (5-2, 2-0 Region 4-AAA)
  5. Ridge View (3-2, 0-0 Region 4-AAAAA)
  6. Fairfield Central (6-0, 0-0 Region 3-A)
  7. Chapin (4-2, 0-1 Region 3-AAAAA)
  8. Keenan (5-1, 1-0 Region 3-AA)
  9. Lexington (4-3, 0-1 Region 3-AAAAA)
  10. Hammond (7-0, 2-0 SCISA Region 1-AAAA)

 

 

Region Play Fires Up Midlands Teams



By WORTHY EVANS

Contributing Writer

Columbia - Friday night, with the weather warm but skies clear of thunderstorms and lightning, Many Midlands teams grappled with one another in region battles.


Several Region 3-AAAAA games, such as Dutch Fork at Lexington and Chapin at River Bluff were a good gauge to determine the teams’ strengths. One game, North Augusta at Irmo in a Region 5-AAAA battle of Yellow Jackets, may have exposed a struggling Irmo team.


And way out in the peaceful town of Gilbert, the home-team Indians had their hands full with a fired-up—yet penalty and mistake prone—Camden in a Region 3-AAA tilt.

 

Camden overcomes mistakes to top Gilbert

As the sun set on Gilbert America Friday night, the Bulldogs and the Indians kicked off what was to become a thriller.

Camden built a 20-7 lead before the Bulldogs started beating themselves. Gilbert wound up taking a 26-20 lead by halftime, but Camden shook off its first half mistakes to score four touchdowns en route to a 48-33 victory.


“This is a big region win for us,” Camden head coach Brian Rimpf said. “It was a great experience to get down, have to come back, and get a big win, and we’re happy with that.” 


Camden got off to a quick 13-0 lead, getting scores from Grayson Rimpf’s touchdown passes of 14 yards to Bernard Green and 24 yards to Will Haunert in the first quarter.


Kendall Wright put Gilbert on the scoreboard with a 3-yard TD run early in the second quarter, but Rimpf’s TD run from seven yards out boosted the Bulldogs to a 20-7 lead.


Camden, which had 12 penalties for 125 yards in the first half, began to melt down. Two personal foul–unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the same play moved Gilbert to the Camden 13-yard line. Not long afterward, Gavin Elliot scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.


Then followed a team safety when a snap sailed over punter (7’s) head, which cut Camden’s lead to 20-16.


On Gilbert’s possession after the free kick, the Indians drove to the 5-yard line, but they had to settle for Noah Blackwell’s 22-yard field goal. 


The Indians got the ball back in the final 1:24 when another Camden possession got eaten up on penalties, and a botched fake punt play set Gilbert up at the Bulldogs 23-yard line.


After some setbacks that put the Indians back on the Camden 38, Wright connected with Chandler Guthrie at the goal line for a 38-yard go-ahead touchdown strike with 18 seconds left in the half. 


Camden ran out the final 18 seconds and the game went into intermission with the Indians holding a 26-20 lead. 


“I don’t know if we could’ve made more mistakes in the first half,” Rimpf said. “We fumble a fake punt, a bad call by me, we had three dropped third-down passes, we had a safety, first safety we’ve had in, I don’t know, about five or six years. Penalties extended their drives, penalties stopped our drives, I don’t think anything more could have went wrong.”


When play resumed, Gilbert took the kickoff but turned the ball over on downs around the Camden 25-yard line. Camden took over and finished the 75-yard drive with Jaden Manning’s 2-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldogs up 27-26. 


Another drive padded with Gilbert personal fouls ended on Green’s 23-yard touchdown scamper with seven seconds left in the third quarter. 


Gilbert cut Camden’s 34-26 lead back down to one point with Jaylen Brost’s 7-yard TD catch at the 7:44 mark of the fourth quarter

Good fortune then broke for the Bulldogs. 


Green scored again on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:30 left in the game to make it 41-26. Gilbert looked toward scoring quickly and trying for the ball on an onside kick, but on the first play from scrimmage at the Indians’ 20-yard line, Hayden Williams picked off a Wright pass and returned it to the end zone for the game-clinching score with 3:17 left.


Lavay Penny made the win official when he recovered a Gilbert fumble in the closing two minutes.


“It was a big challenge for them in the second half, and they scored four touchdowns,” Rimpf said. “All four second-half drives resulted in touchdowns. They responded like I thought they would, an experienced team. You’ve gotta give Gilbert credit, but we came out on top tonight.”


Gilbert plays at Brookland-Cayce (2-4) this week, and Camden plays host the Bearcats Oct. 16.

 

River Bluff-Chapin

River Bluff, under second-year head coach Perry Parks, had its hands full with a fully renovated Chapin program under first-year coach Cory Helms.


The Eagles, who finished 0-10 last year, held a 25-24 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Gators quarterback Brayden Moore fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Brady Barrineau for the go-ahead score. 


Liam Flynn added a 22-yard field goal in the closing minute of the game to give the Gators a 34-25 victory.


Earlier in the game, River Bluff’s Davis Taylor threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Coastal Carolina commit Darius Carter. Carter later had a 98-yard kickoff return


Caleb Renwrick and Anthony Lavington came down with interceptions for River Bluff. Flynn kicked two field goals and threw a touchdown pass to Reece Huffstetler on a fake field goal play.


Chapin quarterback Tyler Black passed for 328 yards on the night, with a touchdown pass to Connor Finley. Charlie Howell had a touchdown run.


Helms, a former University of South Carolina offensive lineman, came to Chapin after a successful head coaching tenure at Pelion. The Eagles (4-3, 0-1) play host to Dutch Fork Friday.


Parks is a Sumter native and Coastal Carolina alum who coached at Lakewood before moving to Ridge View, where he coached for six years and led the Blazers to the AAAA upper state championship game in 2019. He also was an assistant at Charlotte and Coastal.

River Bluff (6-1, 1-0) is off this week and will travel to face the Silver Foxes Oct. 16. 

 

Dutch Fork tops Lexington

In the region opener for both teams, the Dutch Fork offense was not as dominating in previous games, but the Silver Foxes (6-0, 1-0) scored four rushing touchdowns to defeat Lexington 28-7.


Jaxon Knotts threw two interceptions, but also had touchdown runs of one and seven yards. Quintin Wilson, who rushed nine times for 44 yards, had scores from one and four yards.


The Dutch Fork defense was the dominant force on the field. The Silver Foxes intercepted Lexington’s Easton Crocker three times and limited him to 60 passing yards. The Wildcats could only manage 72 net rushing yards on 25 attempts.

Appalachian State commit K.J. Dupree picked off Crocker twice. Liberty commit James Smith also came down with an interception.

The Silver Foxes continued several winning streaks Friday. It was their 16th straight win, 14th straight region win, and 13th straight win against Lexington.


Dutch Fork travels to Chapin and the Wildcats travel to White Knoll (1-5) Friday.

 

Irmo falls to North Augusta

The Irmo known for back-to-back appearances in the AAAAA Division 2 state championship game in 2025-2026 is encountering some troubles in its first year back in Class AAAA competition.


The hometown Yellow Jackets (3-3, 0-1) played host to the Yellow Jackets (5-1, 2-0) from the Savannah River area and fell 25-16.


Irmo held a 16-14 lead at the half, but North Augusta blanked Irmo in the second half. Defender Deante Darde ran back an interception for a touchdown in the second half for the go-ahead score. North Augusta added two safeties in the second half as well.


Irmo’s third loss of the season is a first since 2022. The Yellow Jackets also lost to Dorman and Rock Hill this year. All of the losses were to ranked opponents.


“We think sometimes we’ve got the Irmo across our chest, we can live on what we have done in the past,” Irmo head coach Aaron Brand said. “We just are not doing it and totally got to get back to the drawing board and get some wins.”

 

Other games of note around the Midlands

Ridge View (3-2) whipped White Knoll (1-5) 46-14 in a nonregion matchup. Tre Howard threw two touchdown passes to Isaiah Smalls and a third to Khristian Jackson. Jackson also had a punt return for a touchdown.


On Thursday night, a rejuvenated Lugoff-Elgin (6-1, 1-0 Region 4-AAAA) held off a winless-but-toughened Westwood 30-20. White Knoll transfer Tiyon Fanning broke out for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Zach Williams was 23-for-34 for 270 yards and a TD. Lugoff-Elgin (5-1) takes on A.C. Flora (1-5, 0-1) Friday.


Hammond made easy work out of Wilson Hall in a 58-0 shutout. Cade Amell needed only 145 passing yards on the night, but he connected with Caden Young three times for touchdowns. Blaze Barnes night had two rushing touchdowns. The Skyhawks (7-0, 2-0 SCISA Region 1-AAAA) travel to Ben Lippen 5-2, 2-0) Friday. The Falcons fall 42-14 to Pinewood Prep last week.


Keenan (5-1, 1-0 Region 3-AA) opened region play with a 42-19 victory over Andrew Jackson. Dante Howse completed 17 of 23 passes for 275 yards and four touchdown passes. Tavares Lively rushed 18 times for 151 yards and two scores, and Daylin Casey and Howse both had touchdown runs. Jordan Wilson had six catches for 101 yards and two TDs. Jaden Moody and Marcus Simpson Jr. also had touchdown receptions. Keenan travels to Chester Friday.


Dreher (5-1, 1-0) topped Richland Northeast (2-4) 37-12 in its Region 4-AAAA opener. Aidan Fitzgerald threw three touchdown passes, two of which were to Terry Cantlow. Ashton Felder had two rushing scores.

 

 

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GCA Volleyball Looks To Clinch Region Title

By Worthy Evans • October 5, 2026
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - With Gray Collegiate Academy’s volleyball team entering the second half of Region 4-AAAAA play, the War Eagles (18-4, 5-0) are in the driver’s seat for a region title, provided they can hold off Blythewood (11-11, 4-1).  “We’re rolling around this time of year, in the second half of region play,” head coach Shonda Wallace said. “We’re looking to finish strong.” Gray last won a championship in 2023, back when the War Eagles were at the AA classification. Now in AAAAA, the War Eagles are excelling. The team lost Courtney Burgess , who now plays at Virginia Tech , and two other seniors. Burgess had 219 kills (3.3 kills per set), 57 blocks and 53 aces last year as the team went 22-5 and a second-place (13-1) finish in Region 4-AAAA. While Burgess left, five out of six starters returned and, with two transfers, have brought the program to a higher level. “Fans will always wonder if we’re as good (without Burgess) because we lost an impact player,” Wallace said. “But I think we’re just as good if not better with our returners and transfers. We’re playing really well together.” The team showed its togetherness early. Gray started the season using a 6-2 offense (two setters, back row only; six hitters) until one of the setters, sophomore Ela Perez , broke her arm. The War Eagles had to return to a 5-1 offense (one setter; universal) with senior Colby Branham as the setter and didn’t miss a beat “She’s used to running the 5-1 from league volleyball and a lot of the girls were used to playing in that offense,” Wallace said. “She’s our setter, and setters don’t get a lot of the glory but they do a lot of the work. They’re the ones who touch the ball every single time. Branham is getting close to 1,000 career assists since becoming a starter in 2025, with 806 as of Oct. 2. Middle hitters Sadie Williamson , a sophomore, and junior Olivia Ford provide a dynamic boost as well as hitting efficiency. Williamson has 96 kills to Ford’s 95, and Ford has 35 blocks to Williamson’s 32. Junior Libero Haylen Lawson battled injuries last year but has played steady, with a team-leading 206 digs to go with 22 aces and 43 assists. Junior Emily Burgess , Courtney’s sister, is a jack-of-all trades on the court. She has 126 kills, a team-leading 163 rotation points, 243 service attempts, 154 digs, and 246 service receptions. “She does everything for us,” Wallace said. “She has to hit, serve, play defense, and she does all of it well.” Junior transfer Peyton Capps , who leads the team in kills with 163 and has 12 blocks, 92 digs and 151 service receptions, provides an extra punch in the lineup. “She is a super dynamic offensive player,” Wallace said. “Really solid for us and adds to the culture.” Senior outside hitters Brianna Jones (31 kills, 29 blocks) and Sasha Hughes (23 kills, 12 blocks) have come into their own this year. “Brianna’s a 6-footer and right-side attacker, and I enjoy seeing the strides she has made,” Wallace said. “She embodies what the right side does, she has to block at the net and she has to put the ball away.” Hughes, who has been on Wallace’s teams since she was a freshman. “She was an integral part in the 6-2 offense, but when the team had to go back to the 5-1, she had to take a lesser role,” Wallace said. “It’s just the way the offense had to change. She has been extremely patient and learned to be OK with her new role, which is when we need her on the court as an offensive threat. She has been such a good teammate through it all.” With just a few games left in the season, Wallace appreciates the team’s focus at this point in region play. “Our goal from the beginning of the year was to win region, but it’s a game-by-game process,” she said. “we’re playing our best volleyball of the season and we’re working to solidify all of our goals that we wanted to reach by the end of the season.”

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – Region 3-AAAAA play has thus far been a challenge for the White Knoll volleyball team. The Timberwolves (12-6) got off to an 8-0 start before stumbling

By Worthy Evans • October 5, 2026
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – The run goes on for the Heathwood Hall girls cross country team.  The Highlanders, who won five straight SCISA state championships, got off to a great start in trying for a sixth. The girls took first place in the season-opening Skyhawk Invitational Aug. 15, with a total of 67 points. Junior Annabel Martin finished in sixth place with a time of 19 minutes, 14.84 seconds. Junior Lydia Smith took seventh place, followed by freshman Cate Leppard at 12 th place and sophomore Haley Hicklin at 27 th place. “We got off to a really good start,” Heathwood Hall head coach Willis Ware said. “We finished first at the Skyhawk Invitational and we did really well in the Heathwood Halll Invitational (Aug. 29), where we had several girls set some PRs there and in the Mike Moore Classic (Sept. 12).” Heathwood Hall, which was the only event this season where all seven of the team’s fastest runners competed, finished second in the Invitational it hosted Aug. 29, behind the state’s top girls cross country team, Chapin . Dorothy Hutchins , who did not run in the Skyhawk Invitational, came in third with a personal best, sub-18-minute finish with a time of 17:58.86. Martin bettered her time with a fifth-place finish at 18:29.70 and Smith came in 11 th with a time of 18:58.01, and Leppard finished 39 th at 20:04.46. At the Mike Moore Classic at Saluda Shoals Park in Columbia, the Highlanders finished second behind Chapin again. Hutchins finished third, and Leppard improved her time to 19:45.90 and finished 11 th . “We have not had my all seven of my fastest girls run together since the Highlander invitational mainly because of alternating runners in events to give some girls a rest and letting some of the other girls run,” Ware explained. “They’re all off to a really good start and I’m really proud of the good job the girls have done with their standing not just in SCISA but also competing hard against Chapin, which is the best cross country team in the state.” The team, with a completely different lineup, finished fifth among the 27-team field in the Hare & Hounds Invitational Sept. 18-19. Aimery Coffey finished 11 th with a time of 18:40.20, followed by Emma Nelson’s 20 th -place finish at 19:22.90, Mikayla Freeland’s 56 th place finish and Carmella Hayes’ 73 rd place finish. Heathwood Hall ran in the Alexander ( Brian Robinson ) Invitational in Douglasville, Ga., last Saturday and will run in the Bob Jenkins SCTCCCA Coaches Classic in Newberry this Saturday. Ware said all of his top runners will be competing there. After those events, the Highlanders will split their roster to run in the Lights Out Invitational at Blythewood and at the VA XC Showcase in Mechanicsville, Va. Both events play out Oct. 17. Two weeks after that comes the SCISA State Cross Country Championships at Heathwood Hall Oct. 31. Naturally, the focus will be whether the home team can walk another trophy into the school and put it in the trophy case. Ware is quick to emphasize that no state title is merely given to the team that’s expected to win it.

White Knoll Volleyball Hopes To Close Out The Regular Season Strong

By Worthy Evans • October 5, 2026
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – Region 3-AAAAA play has thus far been a challenge for the White Knoll volleyball team. The Timberwolves (12-6) got off to an 8-0 start before stumbling against region foe River Bluff Sept. 15, and later dropped a tournament game and two region games to Lexington , and another game against Chapin . “We’re playing decent as a whole group, but we’re just making simple mistakes that need to be fixed in practice,” head coach Amber Derrick said after her team’s third loss to the Wildcats Oct. 1. “I feel like they can beat any team in our region but it’s just the mental space that we have to be in to be able to do that.” Derrick is not leaning on coach talk. The Timberwolves have already improved over last year’s 8-19-2 mark, which was itself an improvement on the team’s 4-15 record in 2024. She attributes the team’s growth into this year to the Timberwolves’ seven seniors, libero and outside hitter Addisyn Fernandez , libero and defensive specialist Taylor Clariday , defensive specialist and setter Madison Lindler , right-side hitter Marissa Clarke , and middle hitters Natalie Harris , Jayla Taylor , and Samantha Keller . “This group is incredible. I’ve got a lot of leadership on the court,” Derrick said. “My group of seniors is probably one of the best that I’ve had in the past three years. I couldn’t ask for a better group to be leading right now, but we’ve just have to get into our head and make a place.” Fernandez, the primary Libero, keeps the team alive on the floor. “Addy is amazing,” Derrick said. “She can pass, she can set, she can hit, she can do everything. She’s a big key to our success.” As a middle hitter, Harris keeps the volleys going on the court, but Derrick values her as a team mentor. “She has a big impact leadership wise, she takes the girls under her wing and tries to help them as much as she can with her knowledge in the sport as well.” Junior outside hitter Alyssa Hendrix isn’t overshadowed by the seniors. So goes Hendrix, so goes the team, Derrick said. “She’s a key player as well, the team relies on her a lot to gain points and succeed on the court. If she’s having a bad day then we all kind of shut down.” With four games left in the regular season as of Friday, the Timberwolves look to get at least a couple more region wins to help them secure a good postseason berth.  “I sure hope so,” Derrick said. “As long as we show up and play our game anything can happen. We always have our days, which every team does, but most of the time they’re driven and they’re ready to go.”

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