Saluda remains No. 1 in HSSR AA football poll

Dennis Brunson • October 5, 2024

Mail

By Dennis Brunson

hssr.com Associate Editor

Saluda – Life as the people of Saluda County – as well as other counties in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast – took a drastic turn a couple of weeks ago because of Hurricane Helene.

For the time being, what was the start of a tremendous football season for Saluda High School has been brought to a halt. The Tigers, ranked first in the High School Sports Report AA poll, are 4-0 on the season.

Saluda has yet to begin region play. The Tigers had beaten Crescent 20-6, Ridge Spring-Monetta 41-0, Chester 16-12 and Southside Christian School 19-14.

Saluda’s defense has made it very hard on the opposition. The unit is led by All-State defensive lineman JT Lott. He has 36 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.

Amir Johnson and Devon Wallace are the sack leaders with five apiece. Johnson has 14 tackles and two forced fumbles and Wallace has 21 tackles and six TFLs.

Jordan Hagler has 25 tackles, a sack, two interceptions, a defensive touchdown, a fumble recovery and two TFLs. Jayden Foulks also had two interceptions to go with 15 tackles.

The offense is led by quarterback Brayden Williams, who has passed for a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown and caught a pass for a touchdown. He has rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries while completing 18 of 35 passes for 371 yards and four TDs. He has two catches for 73 yards and a score.

Tristan Daniels is the leading rusher with 224 yards and a touchdown on 63 carries. Victavis Gaines is the leading pass catcher with 10 receptions for 187 yards and two scores. Daniels has two catches for 82 yards and a score Josh Uhlar has three catches for 36 yards.

VOLLEYBALL TEAM OFF TO GOOD START

Like every other sport at Saluda, volleyball has been in a holding pattern as well. However, the Tigers were off to a 5-2 start. That means Saluda had already won two more matches than it did in all of 2023 when it was 3-13 and lost in the first round of the state playoffs.

Head coach Meredith Wertz said a lot of hard work has gone into making that marked improvement happen.

“We have started off a lot stronger this year than last year,” said Wertz, who is in her fourth season as head coach. “The girls have worked hard at practice. We only lost one senior and most of our starters are returning players.”

The starting lineup is made up of junior setter Addy Buzhardt, senior outside hitter Abby Moore, sophomore middle hitter Amy Sorcia, senior rightside hitter Eboni Thomas, senior outside hitter Alyssa McDonald and outside hitter/middle hitter junior Ava Martin. The libero is junior Dayna Ortiz-Lopez.

The rest of the roster is made up of sophomore defensive specialist Karalynn Clary, sophomore middle hitter Kristy Long, outside hitter/middle hitter Abril Rodriguez, sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist MariCarmen Sanchez and rightside hitter Oz’Lyn Springs.

“We have a good team chemistry, and we are working hard to get to where we need to be,” Wertz said. “I believe if we keep up the hard work we will be able to make the playoffs, but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication.”

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Gators’ Hall has built consistent winner on Redbank Road

By Rob Gantt • July 30, 2025

Blake Hall has coached the Gators since the 2012-13 season and consistently produced winning teams over the years.

Hanahan volleyball program under new leadership

By Rob Gantt • July 30, 2025

Hanahan High School promotes Jamie Kock to head coach of the girls varsity volleyball. Koch, who has moved up from the junior varsity, takes over for former coach Sheena Lanham.

First Baptist Hires New AD and Football Coach

By David Shelton • July 30, 2025

By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston – First Baptist School has new leadership within its football program and athletic department for the coming 2025-26 school year. Kevin Mapp was hired as the new head football coach in the early spring and Jay Godbolt was hired as the new athletic director at the start of the summer. Mapp has extensive coaching experience on both the college and high school levels while also working in law enforcement. First Baptist is his first head coaching position. Mapp last coached defensive linemen at James Island Charter High and has had coaching stints at James Madison, Hampden-Sydney, Georgetown, Marshall, Missouri State and Coastal Carolina. Mapp graduated from James Madison and was a defensive lineman on the 2004 Division I-AAA (now FCS) national championship team. “Coaching has always been my passion,” Mapp said. “Ever since I was playing, I wanted to be a coach. I have always found a way to coach while working in law enforcement. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunities to do both.” Mapp has been with the Charleston County police department for the last 10 years. He took some time away from coaching to start a family. “I felt like First Baptist was the perfect fit for me and my family,” Mapp says. “It’s a great opportunity at a great place. The kids here work hard and there is a lot of support from the administration. I’m excited to be the head football coach at First Baptist.” Mapp has hired coordinators on both sides of the ball. Will McCombs , once the head coach of the program, will call the offensive plays. Chris Hart comes over from James Island as the defensive coordinator. “Our numbers are improving and the kids are working hard,” Mapp said. “I feel like we can be a competitive team. It’s year one of the building process.” Godbolt has been a coach and athletic director in the Charleston area for nearly two decades. As the boys basketball coach at Charleston Collegiate, Godbolt coached three state championship teams. He also has been a coach and athletic director at Lowcountry Leadership Academy. Godbolt has more than 450 career victories as a head basketball coach. Current First Baptist basketball coach Antoine Saunders was Godbolt’s assistant at Charleston Collegiate.