Ridge View Runs Wild over Westwood
Worthy Evans • September 29, 2025
By WORTHY EVANS
Contributing Writer, HSSR
Columbia - In its Region 5-5A opener Friday night, Ridge View had a simple but solid game plan. Dominate the line of scrimmage and run, run, run.
Spencer Bobian rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, and the Blazers rolled up 304 rushing yards on 46 tries to plow past Westwood 46-8.
“We’re a good rushing football team. We’ve got two or three guys who can really run the football,” fifth-year Ridge View head coach Derek Howard said. “A lot of it is Aiden Keefe who’s been playing H-back for us. He’s opened up a lot of holes. He’s like an extra offensive lineman playing in a fullback position. We’re a different offense when he’s in there. Spencer Bobian did a great job of carrying the football and I think Ryan Williams did a good job for us as well.”
Nine Ridge View runners had touches, most of them as substitutions in the second half. Bobian’s running attack set up all the scores in the first half.
The Blazers (3-2) cruised through the first half riding the coattails of Bobian, who went into the locker room at halftime with 161 yards and a score on 17 carries.
Bobian’s rushes set up Ashton Champman’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Carter Coleman and two Ryan Williams rushing touchdowns of 23 and 17 yards. Bobian gave Ridge View a 32-0 lead with a 1-yard TD run with 1:40 left in the first half.
After Champman’s TD pass to Coleman and Williams’ first score—both of which Aidan Keefe followed with 2-point conversion runs—The Blazers defense chalked up a safety at the 2:57 mark of the first quarter to go up 18-0.
“That’s kind of where we are and what we do,” Howard said about Ridge View’s start. “When we’ve come out in our games we’ve been hyped up real early, it’s just trying to keep that intensity throughout the whole game is the part that we’re trying to work towards.”
The only highlight of the night for Westwood—and the team’s only first down, came just before halftime.
Ridge View held Westwood (4-2) to minus-8 total yards until late in the second quarter. With the Redhawks parked at their own 20-yard line, Jovan Howard burst up the middle for a 78-yard run. Carrington Carter finished the quick drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Miles Grant. Carter found Jaylen Donaldson in the end zone for the 2-point conversion with 12.6 seconds to go before intermission to cut Ridge View’s lead to 32-8.
In a scoreless third quarter the Westwood defense managed to force Ridge View to two turnovers on downs, but the Blazers’ offense couldn’t capitalize.
The Blazers picked up two fourth-quarter scores, Bobian’s 2-yard TD run and Toryn Stuckey’s touchdown from 20 yards out, to seal the win.
Westwood’s loss snapped its 4-game winning streak.
“They’re one of the best teams in the state of South Carolina, and we’re not. And tonight showed that,” Westwood first-year head coach Stephen Burris said. “They’re physical, they’re fast, they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played, and until we do the day-to-day things as a program to get to that stage, these nights are going to happen.”
Ridge View plays host to Spring Valley Friday. Westwood is idle this week and plays the Vikings at Spring Valley Oct. 9.
Ridge View 18 14 0 14 – 46
Westwood 0 8 0 0 – 8
First Quarter
R - Carter Coleman 17 pass from Ashton Champman (Aidan Keefe run) 7:42
R - Ryan Williams 23 run (Keefe run) 5:01
R - Safety 2:57
Second Quarter
R - Williams 17 run (Issaija Yohannes kick) 3:01
R - Spencer Bobian 1 run (Yohannes kick) 1:40
W - Miles Grant 2 pass from Carrington Carter (Jaylen Donaldson pass from Carter)
Fourth Quarter
R - Bobian 2 run (Yohannes kick) 10:31
R - Toryn Stuckey 20 run (Yohannes kick) 1:41
RV WHS
First downs 22 1
Rushes-yds 46-304 20-70
Passing yds 35 4
Att-Com-Int 15-9-2 14-2-1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties-yds 10-83 3-30
Punts-avg 1-41 8-28.8
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
R - Spencer Bobian 24-191, Ryan Williams 5-40, Aidan Keefe 4-9, Chris Capers 3-12, Chris McDonald 3-6, Toryn Stuckey 2-27, Liam Mueller 2-6, Ashton Chapman 2-(-7), Jalyq Black 1-21.
W - Jovan Howard 8-76, Carrington Carter 8-11, Quentin McGill 4- (-17).
PASSING
R - Ashton Champman 8-12-1 Bijon Virgo 1-3-1.
W - Carrington Carter 2-13-1. Josiah Henryhand 0-1-0.
RECEIVING
R - Jourdin Mack 3-19, Carter Coleman 2-20, Aidan Keefe 2-(-2), Chris McDonald 1-(-2), Tyler Mathis 1-4.
W - C.J. Bennett 1-2. Kham Cunningham 1-2.
Look for Defending Champ South Florence to Face South Pointe for AAAA Title By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – As is normally the case, the first round of the South Carolina High School League AAAA football state playoffs, the overwhelming majority of the 16 games were blowouts. Half of them were decided by by 20 points or more with six of the eight having victory margins of at least 30 points. Four more of them came by at least 14 points. Only four games were decided by less than 10 points. Only three games were won by the lower seeded teams. One was the 8-9 game in the upper state bracket with No. 9 Emerald topping No. 8 Foutain Inn 44-36. The other two came in the lower state. No. 10 seed Wilson beat No. 7 May River 36-28. The other was a fairly significant upset. No. 12 seed Gilbert knocked off No. 5 seed Bluffton 38-21. A huge upset came oh so close to occurring. Perennial power, once-beaten and No. 2 seed Daniel had to score a fourth-quarter touchdown to beat No. 15 seed Dreher 14-10. The Blue Devils ended the year with a 3-8 record. With all of the preliminaries out of the way, it’s now time to get down to business. Let’s work our way down each of the brackets and see who will be in Orangeburg on December 6 at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium for a noon kickoff with the state championship on the line. We’ll start with the upper state bracket: Second Round (9) Emerald at (1) South Pointe (5) A.C. Flora at (4) Seneca (6) Wren at (3) Westside (7) Camden at (2) Daniel Easily the most intriguing of these four games is 8-3 Camden visiting 10-1 Daniel. The teams have a long playoff history together, meeting for the AAA state title in 2020, 2021 and 2023. The Lions won all three times with the last one coming by a 45-44 count in overtime. Camden, the seventh seed, beat No. 10 seed Greer 38-20 to win a first-round playoff game for the eighth straight season. Bulldogs head coach Brian Rimpf said his team is excited for the opportunity to face Daniel again. “Playing Daniel this year has a little added motivation for us,” Rimpf said. “We have a recent history with them and are excited to be able to play a familiar team. Like all Daniel teams, they are well-coached, play with great effort and will be a tough opponent.” Daniel is in its first season under head coach Chris Stone . The Lions are led by sophomore quarterback Jace Grass . He has completed 170 of 275 passes or 2,641 yards and 29 touchdowns against just one interception. This should be a fun game but look for the Lions to be victorious. South Pointe is 10-1 and the No. 1 seed. The Stallions are led by South Carolina commitment Z’zavien Currence . He is a standout strong safety and is also the starting quarterback. They should come away with a comfortable victory over 6-4 Emerald. In the matchup between No. 4 Seneca and No. 5 A.C. Flora, you have two 10-1 teams. Flora’s only loss was to Camden while the Bobcats only loss was at the hands of Daniel. The Falcons have an explosive offense led by quarterback Roper Wentzky and will return to Columbia with a win. The other game pits 2023 state champion and defending upper state champion Westside playing host to Wren. The Rams lost their first four games of the season by a combined score of 199-67. Since then, they’ve reeled off seven straight wins, including a 49-21 win over Pickens last week. Wren and Westside are Region 1 foes. The sixth-seeded Hurricanes lost to Westside 21-7 on October 30. Wren beat Blue Ridge 42-28. Westside should win again. The quarterfinal matchups will be: (5) A.C. Flora at (1) South Pointe (3) Westside at (2) Daniel South Pointe beat A.C. Flora in the regular season, so there’s no reason to think it won’t win again. Look for Westside’s upper state reign to come to an end against Daniel. The upper state title game will be: (2) Daniel at (1) South Pointe. So it will be No. 2 Daniel traveling to Rock Hill to face the Stallions for the upper state title. South Pointe is on a mission and should advance to the state championship game, Here are the lower state second-round games. ( 8) Bishop England at (1) South Florence (12) Gilbert at (5) North Augusta (6) Hartsville at (3) Gray Collegiate (10) Wilson at (2) Hilton Head Island South Florence is the team to beat, regardless of the success of some of the other teams still remaining. When you’re the defending state champion, the 3-time defending lower state champion and the winner of two of the last three state titles and are 10-1 after a 47-7 win over Darlington , that’s how it has to be. The Bruins shouldn’t have much trouble against Bishop England. North Augusta has only one loss, that coming to Gray Collegiate, and beat 6-5 Gilbert 56-14 in a Region 4 contest, so it should win. Hartsville is a perennial power and has the ability to put up points. However, it has struggled defensively this year, and that’s not a good thing against GCA. After losing two of their first three games, the War Eagles have won eight straight. They should make it nine in a row. Wilson has had a bounce-back season under first-year head coach Brian Wilson . They are 7-4 after traveling down Interstate 95 to beat May River 36-28. They’ll be making a return trip to the Lowcountr y to meet 10-1 Hilton Head Island. The Seahawks will be too much. So for the quarterfinals, you will have: (5) North Augusta at (1) South Florence (3) Gray Collegiate at (2) Hilton Head Island South Florence traveled to North Augusta last year to win the lower state championship. The Yellow Jackets will return the visit this year, but the Bruins will be victorious. Although Hilton Head has had a tremendous season, Gray will be too much to handle. So the lower state title game will be: (3) Gray Collegiate at (1) South Florence This should be an offensive explosion by both teams, but until someone takes the Bruins down, you’ve got to go with them. The state championship game will be: South Pointe vs. South Florence This is the matchup that everyone has been looking toward this season. This will be an interesting game. Both teams are outstanding offensively but have their moments defensively as well. The Bruins will be trying to win back-to-back state titles like in 2023, and again they will come up short. Pointe will be behind South on the state championship trophy this year.
By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – After the first-round of the AAAAA state playoffs went about as expected, round two may offer a few more eyebrow raising results. However, expect most of the favored teams to move on to round three. Upsets can and will happen but after 11 weeks of games, we all have a pretty good idea of who the best teams are this season. The only true upset of the first round was Blythewood’ s comeback win over Clover. In Division, defending state champion Dutch Fork had a bye in round one and should be poised for a repeat run. If we have learned anything over the last decade, it’s Tom Knotts doesn’t lose much after November 1. Dutch Fork will be favored in every playoff game but the most intriguing matchup would be if Dorman can reach the Upper State finals against the Silver Foxes. Remember though, Ridge View is a sleeper and already played Dutch Fork close earlier this season. On paper, the Lower State of Division I may be more wide open. The favorite has been Summerville b ut the Green Wave are far from a shoo-in. Summerville gets a shot at revenge when they visit Ashley Ridge in round two. Ashley Ridge dominated the Green Wave during the regular season meeting, 42-19. Plus, this is already a very big rivalry game. The 9-1 Sumter Gamecocks host the 10-1 James Island Trojans in round two. Sumter eliminated James Island from last year’s playoffs so the revenge factor is alive and well. Carolina F orest and Stratford are coming off byes and both are heavily favored in round two. A dark horse in the Lower State of Division I may be Stratford , with a 9-1 record. The Knights have a winning quarterback in Shrine Bowl selection Jachin Davis and also have a big-time running back in Maliq McGowan . Division II The Division II ranks are the deeper of the two divisions with more serious title contenders. Most of the top teams reside in the Upper state but the conversation starts with last year’s two finalists, Northwestern and Irmo . Both teams are as good as they were a year when Northwestern beat Irmo with a last second field goal. Both teams entered the season having to replace big-time quarterbacks and Northwestern’s Xavier Means and Irmo’s Devron Dobson have not missed a beat. Both offenses are explosive and high-scoring so some team will need a great night offensively to keep up. Greenwood and Gaffney , two storied programs, will clash in the second-round with a good team packing up after Friday night. Greenwood has been good all year but can Shrine Bowl quarterback Tristian Lewis , a South Carolina commit as a defensive back, do enough to advance. Speaking of Gaffney, the Indians went through some adversity early but seem to be hitting their stride after a quarterback change. The Indians clearly have the talent to win the Upper State. Two teams to keep an eye on are T.L. Hanna and Hillcrest but both would be dark horses. The Hillcrest at Indian Land game is one to watch in round two. The Lower State probably doesn’t have a team capable of beating Irmo. If there is team to watch it would be Berkeley. The Stags are very good defensively and run the football well . If the Stags can cut down on penalties, they could be around for a while. Lucy Beckham, Lugoff-Elgin and Myrtle Beach have solid teams but taking down Irmo is a tremendous challenge. Second-round Division I-AAAAA matchups Boiling Springs at Dutch Fork Rock Hill at Byrnes Spartanburg at Ridge View Blythewood at Dorman Fort Dorchester at Carolina Forest Summerville at Ashley Ridge James Island at Sumter River Bluff at Stratford Second-round AAAAA Division II Catawba Ridge at Northwestern Gaffney at Greenwood Hillcrest at Indian Land Greenville at T. L. Hanna Lugoff-Elgin at Irmo Lucy Beckham at White Knoll West Florence at Myrtle Beach Westwood at Berkeley
AAAAA Max Stafford, Summerville, 155 yards passing, TD Jayven Williams, Summerville, 110 yards rushing, TD Cam Grayson, Summerville, 4 rushing TD Nate Beaver, Summerville, 33-yard field goal, 8 PAT, 6 touchbacks Jack LaMonica, Lucy Beckham, 138 yards rushing, 3 TD Connor Dantzler, James Island, 246 yards passing, 3 TD Raph Puiu, James Island, 4 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD Darius Carter, River Bluff, 6 rec, 168 yds, 3 TD Hayden Myers, River Bluff, 156 yds rush Jarkese Grant, Lugoff-Elgin, 5 TD rush Tyrese Drakeford, Westwood, 3 interceptions Jonah Young, Rock Hill, 142 yds pass, TD Josiah Hill, Gaffney, 140 yds rush, 3 TD Peyton Schrader, Eastside, 173 yds pass, TD; 63 yds rush Zyon Ratchford, Gaffney, 12 tackles, TFL Trey Burke, Spartanburg, 227 yds pass, 3 TD Trenton Lynch, Spartanburg, 115 yds rush, 2 TD AAAA Will Donato, Bishop England, 188 yards passing, TD Brooks Dew, Pickens, 194 yds pass, TD Cam Wilson, Pickens, 8 rec, 128 yds, TD Bear Woods, Westside, 111 yds pass, 2 TD Keylan Powell, Westside, 200 yds rush, 2 TD Trevon Williamson, Gray Collegiate, 222 yds rush, 4 TD Xavier Wright, Gray Collegiate, 161 yds pass Nate Dixon, Gray Collegiate, 3 TD rush Navier Boykin, Camden, 127 yds rush, 3 TD J’Zavien Currence, South Pointe, 173 yds pass, 3 TD; 103 yds rush, TD KJ Burg, South Pointe, 10 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks Messiah Jackson, South Florence, 152 yds pass, 3 TD Michael Boulware, Gray Collegiate, 20 tackles, TFL Roper Wentsky, AC Flora, 211 yds pass, 2 TD Jalen Simmons, AC Flora, 161 yds rush, 3 TD Kendall Byrd, AC Flora,100 yds rec, TD Derrick Raniszewski, Hilton Head, 271 yds pass, 3 TD Kaden Stewart, Hilton Head, 4 rec, 168 yds, 2 TD Jayvin Risher, Hilton Head, 11 tackles, 2 TFL Will Jimenez, Hilton Head, 11 tackles, TFL Kaeleb O’Berry, South Aiken, 110 yds rush, TD Blain Drake, South Aiken, 145 yds pass, TD Kingston Bibb, Daniel, 104 yds rush, TD Teagan Pounds, Daniel, 13 tackles AAA Aiden Manavian, Oceanside Collegiate, 14 of 16 passing, 220 yards, 4 TD Cooper Webb, Oceanside Collegiate, 5 receptions, 79 yards, 2 TD Tripp Gallus, Hanahan, 138 yards passing, 3 TD Isaiah Snodgrass, Hanahan, 155 yards rushing, 3 TD Quamell Grant, Hanahan, 7 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TD Khayel Sam Fong Talia, Dillon, 107 yds passing, TD Noah Singleton, Dillon, 106 yds rush, TD Kenton Caldwell, Newberry, 2 TD pass, 2 TD rush Tre Blakeney, Marlboro Co., 283 yds passing, 3 TD Troy Hailey, Marlboro Co., 111 yds rushing, TD Noah Thomas, BHP, 134 yds pass, 4 TD MJ Earl, BHP, 107 yds rush, TD Jakyri Anderson, BHP, 3 sacks Zamire Gerald, Loris, 106 yds pass, 2 TD; TD rush Makel Stephens, Loris, 126 yds rush, 2 TD Sam Patterson, St. Joseph’s, 6 tackles, 2 Int. Jordan Williams, Silver Bluff, 104 yds pass Max Breit, Southside Christian, 180 yds pass, 4 TD; 48 yds rush, TD DJ Lee, Southside Christian, 109 yds rush, TD Keldin Wrona, Southside Christian, 88 yds rec, 2 TD; 3 int., 10 tackles, 3 TFL Judd Windham, Christ Church, 238 yds pass, 3 TD; TD rush Michael Martin, Christ Church, 153 yds rush, 2 TD Jue Hall Christ Church, 3 rec, 109 yds, 3 TD Mason Evans, Crescent, 272 yds pass, 4 TD;65 yds rush, 3 TD Amiri Acker, Crescent, 7 rec, 163 yds, 2 TD Braydon Simpson, Broome, 129 yds pass, TD;114 yds rush, 2 TD Tyqwon Booker, Broome, 176 yds rush, TD Tremt Garner, Pendleton, 22 tackles, 2 TFL AA Bri’shaun Lee, Strom Thurmond, 158 yds pass, 2 TD Kalen Simpkins, Strom Thurmond, 2 TD rec Sincere Hubbard, Chesterfield, 14 tackles Taveon Moore. Central, 85 yds rec, 2 TD Ashten Wilson, Central, 97 yds rush (4 carrries), 2 TD Jaylen Singletary, Hampton Co, 279 yds rush, 5 TD Tarell Grant, Chesterfield, 69 yds rush, 49 yds pass, TD Logan Neal, Andrew Jackson, 15 of 17, 212 yds, TD Jacob Evansm, Ninety Six, 127 yds pass Joe Moore, Ninety six,115 yds rush, TD Jase Fair, Andrew Jackson, 16 tackles Braylon Harley, Andrew Jackson, 15 tackles Nick Gordon, Cheraw, 139 all-purpose yards Kai Streater, Cheraw, 3 TFL, sack Omonte Taylor, Philip Simmons, 130 yards rushing, 4 TD Brayden Williams, Saluda, 269 total yards, 3 TD rush, TD rec Ethan Chisum, Philip Simmons, 10 tackles, 5 sacks Javion Jenkins, Timberland, 11 tackles, int. ret. TD, blkd punt recover for TD Antuan Faison, Timberland, 11 tackles, 2 TFL, 80 yds rush Eric Roberts, Timberland, 13 tackles Anthony Peeples, Timberland, 19 tackles. TFL KD Whitt, Batesburg-Leesville, 3 TD rec, TD rush A Brayden Franklin, Baptist Hill, 204 yards passing, 2 TD; 78 yards rushing Martrell Wright, Baptist Hill, 7 receptions, 147 yards, 2 TD Kevin Smalls, Baptist Hill, 26 total tackles, 4 TFL Nygel Eaddy, Lamar, 126 yds rush, 2 TD Kamil McCoy, Lamar, 2 rec, 92 yds Jayden Johnson, Ware Shoals, 115 yds pass, 3 TD;146 yds rush, TD Altavis Evans, Ware Shoals, 144 yds rush, TD Elijah Brown, Ware Shoals, 11 tackles, 3 TFL Zaghe Davis, Johnsonville, 190 yds rush, 4 TD Jeremiah Knightner, CA Johnson, 4 sacks SCISA Allen Chisolm, Porter-Gaud, 13 tackles, 5 TFL, sack Reed Almers, Dorchester Academy, 170 yards rushing, 2 TD Silas Brawner, Pinewood Prep, 338 yards passing, 5 TD Tyler Harper, Pinewood Prep, 4 receptions. 82 yards, 2 TD
Powdersville overcomes Landsharks challenge to win second straight 3A championship.
By WORTHY EVANS HSSR Contributing Writer Columbia - The Westwood football team shook off a regular-season ending loss to Sumter on Halloween with a double-digit postseason victory over St . James Friday night. The Redhawks, seeded seventh in the lower state bracket, opened the Class 5A Division 2 playoffs with a 41-14 victory over the No.10 Sharks at District Two Stadium. Against the Sharks, the Redhawks’ defense showed up early and finished the night with six interceptions and a fumble recovery. “On that side of the ball we’re playing really well despite what some scores looked like,” Westwood head coach Stephen Burris said. “Even last week (a 65-28 loss to the Gamecocks) I thought they played well enough to keep us around for a while.” Against St. James, Tyrese Drakeford came down with two interceptions and recovered a fumble. Zion Oliver , Justin Washington , Donte’ Davis , and Shareef Pitt also came down with picks. Besides forcing turnovers, the Westwood defense held St. James to just 6 yards rushing and 48 yards passing in the first half. That effort enabled the Redwhawks offense to overcome an early sputter, and put 20 points on the scoreboard by halftime. “Our offense has to pick it up and do their part and tonight we looked OK,” Burris said. “But our defense, any time you force turnovers, you have a chance to win the game. I’m proud of their effort, our kids are playing hard and our coaches are coaching hard and we’ll see if we can piece one together against Berkeley” Westwood hits the road Friday to take on No.2 Berkeley. The Stags (8-2) had a bye week last week. St. James (4-7) took the opening kickoff, and two plays later gave it back to Westwood when Sharks quarterback Alex Sandt’s pass got deflected into the hands of Oliver. Westwood took 11 plays to go 44 yards, but the Redhawks hit paydirt when Elye Owens hooked up with Tyrek Jenkins for a 13-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0 with 7:31 to play in the first quarter. The Redhawks limited St. James on offense again and drove to the St. James 1-yard line. Angelo Rios’ run on fourth down went for a 2-yard loss. Westwood turned the ball over on downs on that drive, but on the Sharks’ next possession Justin Washington picked off another Sandt pass. This time Westwood got to the goal line and Rios shot through to the end zone to put the Redhawks up 13-0 at the 9:47 mark of the second. Westwood went up 20-0 on Jovan Howard’s determination not to be tackled for loss. On second and 10 at their own 41, Howard took the handoff and a St. James tackler met him immediately in the backfield. Howard wrestled out of the stop, cut back and turned to the left side of the field where he ran free to complete a 59-yard touchdown run. That score at the 3:31 mark of the second gave the Redhawks a 20-0 halftime lead. Rios opened the second half with a 65-yard touchdown run from scrimmage after the opening kickoff. St. James got on the scoreboard with Sandt’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Alijah Ochoa midway through the third quarter. Rios scored on a 28-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, which the Sharks countered with another Sandt-to-Ochoa touchdown pass that put the score at 34-14. Jayden Rischer’s 2-yard score with three minutes in the game closed out the scoring. The Redhawks face a challenge with the Stags, who finished second to Stratford in the Region 7-5A standings and shut out Westwood 36-0 in the second round of the playoffs a year ago. Berkeley has rushed for 2,467 yards and 31 touchdowns and passed for 1,130 yards and 11 touchdowns for the season. Junior quarterback Henry Rivers has thrown for 851 yards and 7 touchdowns but 3 interceptions and rushed for 557 yards and 12 TDs. “Big, physical, but nothing we haven’t seen yet,” Burris said. “Their quarterback is very dynamic, very similar to the kid from Sumter ( Franklin Richardson ). Our kids went down there last year and played them. I think they know what to expect.” With the defense playing as well as they have been in recent weeks, Burris said in spite of the seeding, he can see Westwood have a good chance to make the trip to Moncks Corner very interesting. “We’ve just got to get ready to play, man,” Burris said. “They’re a good team, they’ve got a bye for a reason, and we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ll go in as an underdog and nobody will expect anything out of us, but sometimes I like being in that situation. When your back’s against the wall sometimes you play the best.” St. James 0 0 7 7 – 14 Westwood 7 13 7 14 – 41 First Quarter W - Tyrek Jenkins 13 pass from Elye Owens (Muhsin Yakubu kick) 7:31 Second Quarter W - Angelo Rios 1 run (kick failed) 9:47 W - Jovan Howard 59 run (Yakubu kick) 3:31 Third Quarter W - Rios 65 run (Yakubu kick) 11:45 S - Alijah Ochoa 15 pass from Alex Sandt (Woods Herring kick) 6:16 Fourth Quarter W -Rios 28 run (Yakubu kick) 11:25 S - Ochoa 25 pass from Sandt (Herring kick) 7:06 W - Jayden Rischer 2 run (Yakubu kick) 3:48 StJ W First downs 16 15 Rushes-yds 26-115 43-225 Passing yds 116 177 Att-Com-Int 32-13-5 23-16-1 Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-yds 7-45 5-50 Punts-Avg 4-27.3 4-29.5 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING S - Hayes Cochrane 10-64, William Bradshaw 8-1, Alex Sandt 3-12, Josh Harnish 2-9, Rylan Williams 1-9, Team 1-20. W - Angelo Rios 15-82, Jovan Howard 13-112, Elye Owens 7-21, Jaylen Donaldson 2-2, Jayden Rischer 2-4, Carlos McKenzie 1-2, Quentin McGill 1-1, Tyrek Jenkins 1-(-5), Team 1-6. PASSING S - Alex Sandt 13-31-4, Woods Herring 0-1-1. W - Elye Owens 15-22-1, Josiah Henryhand 1-1-0. RECEIVING S - Ayden Smith 2-14, Alijah Ochoa 4-69 Josh Harnish 4-10, Brady Larrow 1-15, Rylan Williams 1-1. W - Angelo Rios 3-14, Cohen Scott 3-9, Quentin McGill 2-67, Miles Grant 2-18, Jovan Howard 2-13, Sheldon Bradley 1-20.
Running back Cam Grayson picks up yards for Summerville Oct. 30 during the Green Wave’s win over Fort Dorchester. Photo by Roger Lee.
Hampton County Senior Jaylen Singletary has rushed for 1555 yards and 24 touchdowns so far this season.
By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Andrews – Since head coach Scott Durham and his staff took over the Andrews football program in 2013 they have had only one losing season and have established themselves as one of top-class AA teams in the low country but the 2025 seasons did not meet the standard set by previous Yellowjacket teams. “Finishing 4-7 is not up to our expectations or standards. I don’t feel like we’ve played a complete four quarters of football in all three phases all year. We just haven’t been able to put it all together and it showed in all our games,” said coach Durham. The Yellowjackets season ended Friday night in the first round of the class AA playoffs when they fell to the Cheraw Braves 17-7 on the road. “We have played a tough schedule. Two of our non-region opponents won their region (Carvers Bay and Andrew Jackson), Waccamaw had the best team I have seen them have, and Hanahan hosted them in a playoff game. You add those to our region schedule, and we certainly played some tough teams,” Durham said. Despite the up and down season, there were a few highlights. Senior running back AJ Lee became the first running back in Andrews history to rush for over 4000 yards with a school record 4350 yards. He has also rushed for a school record 53 rushing touchdowns. The All State running back burst on the scene as a sophomore when he replaced All State and Touchstone North/South All Star Lavon White and he rushed for 1175 yards and 15 touchdowns. He followed that up with a school record 1432 yards and another 17 touchdowns. He capped his career with another school record with 1752 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is starting to get looks for colleges and has several visits scheduled. He is a hidden Gem. It’s hard to understand how he was left off the rosters for the Shrine Bowl or the Touchstone North/South All Star game. Before the season coach Durham said for the Yellowjackets to be successful AJ just had to be AJ and I would say he accomplished that in a big way. Western Michigan commit Chris Stewart had another stellar season for the Yellowjackets despite people running away from him or double/ triple teaming him. He still found ways to make plays as he led the team in tackles with 76, tackles for loss with 19, sacks with 10 and pass breakups with five. He was selected to play in the Touchstone North/ South All Star game in Myrtle Beach. For his career, he had over 200 tackles to go with 63 tackles for loss, 27.5 sacks and 11 pass break ups. Joining Stewart at the Touchstone North/Sout All Star game will be offensive linemen Da’Viyon McNair . He is a three-year starter and is the unquestioned leader of the Yellowjackets offensive line. He and the rest of the line paved the way for AJ’ s school record rushing yards. Riley Jordan played well on both sides of the ball while quarterback Avery Durham had a solid year throwing for over 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns. .
Jayden Alexander is Pinewood Prep’s leading receiver this season. Photo by Roger Lee.
By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Columbia – Saturday was a great day for tennis at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center where the Girls state tennis championship were held with a couple of first time participates, a couple of rematches from last season and a match between two of the all-time state tennis powers. From the start of the day loud cheers could be heard from all over the complex as most of the matches were nail-bitters. The Championships started at 10 with AAAAA Division 1 and 2 and the class AAAA getting things started with the AAAAA Division 2 match finishing first. The West Florence Knights battled with TL Hanna Yellow Jackets in the AAAAA Division 2 match. It was West Florence first trip to the state finals while TL Hanna was looking for their third state championship. They brought home the title in 2013. While the match was tough it was the first timers from Florence who walked away with their first state championship winning the match 4-2. “It feels amazing to hold this trophy,” said West Florence head coach Abby Sullivan . “This something we worked for, we has been to the lower state finals the last three years so it is really amazing to come out on the winning side.” Coach continued, “One of the keys to getting here was beating Myrtle Beach. The match was intense and hard fought on every court. I feel that experience helped us today push through when things got tough.” The Knights got off to fast start as Shelby White won the number singles over Melina Moncada Lema in straight sets 6-3,6-2 and in the number two singles Grace Murrell also won in straight sets 6-1,6-1 over Hanna’s Emery Tripamer. The number two doubles made it a 3-0 lead for the Knights when Mattie Segars and Lillian Guerriero defeated Emry Smith and Karis Kim 6-3,6-0. The Yellow Jackets fought back in the three and four singles with Josie Eskridge and Meri Drake Venturella winning their matches. Eskridge beat Elle Brannon in a third set tie breaker 10-7 after they split the first games 7-5, 4-6 while Venturella beat Maia Rivera-Cintron 6-4,6-3 to bring the match to 3-2 West Florence. The Knights would end the match in the number five singles when Emma Watford beat Lauren Yaekoub 6-3 in the first set and 7-6 with a 7-3 win in the tie breaker. The win made it 4-2 with Knights getting ready to hold the trophy. “I am so happy to have won. I didn’t know that my match would win the state title, I thought it would just tie it at 3-3. To find that out was so exciting for me and I just had to dig it out for my teammates,” said Emma. The AAAAA Division 1 match was between two of the all-time top programs in state history in Spartanburg and Wando . Spartanburg was in it’s 22 state final looking for win number 12 while Wando was in their 19 th looking for their 10 th . The Vikings last title was in 2018 beating Wando 4-3. The Warriors were looking to go back-to-back for the first time since they won six straight from 2004-2009. The teams were 2-2 in state championship matches between the two. It was Deja Vue all over again for Wando as the Warriors needed to win the number one doubles match to win the state championship. Seniors Mia El-Kheddiwi and Calli Casazza did what they did last year win the fourth match of the day to give Wando the state championship 4-3 over Spartanburg. They won their match in straight sets 6-2,6-4 over the Vikings Ti’arri Watkins and Wallace Lynch. “It was really exciting for it come down to us again. I love playing doubles with Mia. We are a great team and we wanted to bring a lot of energy to the match,” said Calli. “The first thing I thought was we did this last year in doubles. I am so confident when I play with Calli. She keeps level headed. So, we went out, went with flow, and took the match,” Mia said. Head Coach Bob Lang said, “It was basically like last year, we were tied at three all with River Bluff and Calli and Mia came out and won that match. They did the same thing today. The entire day nip and tuck with every match being intense.” “We were happy to be in position to win the match with our number one doubles and we would have liked to pull that out. I am really proud of our team this year,” said Spartanburg head coach Devin Hileski. The Vikings were on the verge of claiming their 12 th state title with a 3-2 lead as they won the number one, four and five singles matches. Watkins beat El-Kheddiwi in straight sets 6-4,6-1 in the number one singles, Mary English Hammett defeated Madelyn Langheim 6-2,6-2 in the number four singles and Myers Brantley defeated Mae Keegan 6-1, 6-3. “It is fun being here and to be able to win my match. I felt like I was in a good rhythm and I just made the shots I wanted to make,” said Watkins. In the number three singles, the Warriors needed a win to stay alive and up was seventh grader Cyanna Enright. On the court for the Vikings was eighth Ana Kate Alverson. Enright won the first set 6-0 but the second one was much different as the two combatants battled to 6 all in the second set forcing a tie breaker. Enright was down 4-1 in the tie breaker and on the verge of heading to a third set. She dug deep and won 7 of the next 9 points to win the tie breaker 8-6 and tie the match at 3. “Cyanna played great and made an incredible come back to win the second set. I am excited to watch her career,” said coach Lang. Wando became the 7 th in school in state history with 10 or more girls tennis state championships joining Bishop England (27), Christ Church (18), Myrtle Beach (16), Hilton Head (13), Spartanburg (11), and Belton (10). The AAAA match between AC Flora and Gray Collegiate also came down to the number one doubles match. AC Flora was back in the AAAA finals for the second straight year after falling to Bishop England 4-2 last year. It is their seventh trip to the state finals while this was Gray’s first attempt to win the girls state championship. The Falcons and the War Eagles had battled to a 3-3 tie when twins Emily and Catherine Smith took the court against Morgan Horlback and Kate Snyder . The twins won the match in straight sets 6-4,6-3 to give the Falcons a 4-3 win and three third state girls tennis title in eight trips. It was head coach Amy Martin’s second. “My number one doubles, are my number one and number two singles and they are twin sisters. They know each other thoughts, what they are going to do and they communicate. We felt good heading into that final match,” said coach Martin. “I still don’t believe it. We just worked so hard this season so I am really glad all our hard work paid off. Coming up short last didn’t feel great but winning this year feels awesome,” said Emily Smith. Gray Collegiate won the number one, number three and number four singles matches. Horlback beat Emily 6-2,7-6, Alisa Petushko beat Carlyn Guffee 6-3,6-2 and Cecily Lokodi beat Ruby Cecchini 6-0,6-1. The Falcons won the number two singles with Catherine beating Snyder 6-3,3-6, 10-4 and Liza Stavrou beat Sidney Moore 6-4,6-0 in the number five singles. The number doubles team Ella Foley and Stokely Haile defeated Mary Catherine Gabrielli and Stella Malcom 6-3,6-4. The next match to finish was the A/AA match between Academic Magnet and Landrum in a rematch of last years final won by Academic Magnet 6-0. The Raptors won their first title last year after four runner up finishes. The Cardinals were looking for their first championship. The Raptors won the first four singles match to go back-to-back winning 4-0. Maggie Schwartz won the number one singles 6-1,6-1 over Eva Burnett , Sophia Easterbrook beat Ilana Taylor 6-2,6-2 in the twos, Kamya Pham beat Ellis Burnett 6-3,6-1 in the threes, and Archer Fanning won the number four 6-2,6-1 over Amelia Campbell. First year head coach Mark Borst was excited to go back-to-back but it was different year for the Raptors. “Last years head coach did a great job in winning it all. I always say no matter what it is a new season. I told my athletic director that to be the best you have to play the best. Even though we had six loss this season, 17-6. We played some of the top teams during the year. Landrum is a good team and they were 21-1 so I felt we were the underdogs,” said coach Borst. Captain Sophia Easterbrook said , “I’m a senior so I’m over the moon with winning back-to-back championships. I think this is such a great team. We are young team, a passionate team and we did such a great job all year. I could not be prouder of the people around me.” The AAA match conclude the days events and it was another rematch from last year as 18 times state champion Christ Church was taking on four-time state champ Oceanside Collegiate . Oceanside won last year’s match up 4-3 as the match came down to the number one doubles match. The win was the fourth consecutive title for the Landsharks. The Landsharks won four of the five singles matches to down the Cavaliers 4-2 and win their fifth consecutive state championship. “They are all special,” said Oceanside head coach Shawn Harris . “Every year is different. The past four years we had more seniors. This is the youngest team I have ever had so do to win this one was very exciting and we knew it was going to tough. They girls knew they had to step up and they did that. Coach continued, “ Christ Church is an unbelievable team. We played them last year and had another dramatic ending. They are a young team as well so we look to battle with them many more times.” Maeve DeFord got things started in the right direction by winning the number one singles 6-0,6-0 over Lexie Sobocinski. Sephina Tringai won the number three singles beating Elza Cunningham 6-0, 6-1, Adi Levy beat Sadler Fox 6-4,6-3 in the number four singles and Sophia Sebold clinched the match by winning the number five singles in a tie breaker 10-8 over Mary Bess Williams . The Cavaliers won the number two singles when Lydia Mahfood beat Annsen Saulisbury 6-3,6-3 and the number two doubles of Karyston Davis and Elle Hawks defeated Ellore Besta and Kacy Kesner 6-0,6-2.