SCHSL football playoffs reach midpoint with quarterfinal matchups tonight

Crusaders to face undefeated W.W. King on Friday at Greenwood Christian

Batesburg – Seeking the completion of an undefeated season, the W.W. King Academy takes on rival Laurens Academy in the 2025 8-man state championship game at Greenwood Christian on Nov. 21. King already owns two victories over Laurens Academy this season but beating a team three times is said to be difficult. The game also pits mentor versus student as King’s first-year head coach Brian Kneece, a 2010 graduate of the school, played high school football for Jolly Doolittle, who is now the head coach at Laurens Academy. Doolittle and Kneece coached together at Greenwood Christian before both coaches took new positions. For Kneece, his opportunity as a head coach came after serving a five-year stint as a middle school coach and varsity assistant. “I am very fortunate and blessed to be a part of this school and this program,” Kneece said. “I owe a lot to coach Doolittle. He is someone I have great respect for as a coach and a human being. But we’re competitive and we both want to win a state championship so we’re going out to try to win the game. Laurens will have the same goal. It should be a great game.” Only once during their 11-0 season have the Knights scored less than 40 points. They put up 74 points in the semi-final win over Jefferson Davis Academy. In the two regular season wins over Laurens Academy, the Knights won 60-34 and 44-22. “Coach Doolittle is a great coach and I am sure he will have some new wrinkles that we haven’t seen,” Kneece said. “We have to be ready for anything and bring a tough, physical mindset into the game. They (Laurens) played in the state championship game last year so they have the edge in experience. We just have to be mentally ready for a battle. We can’t get complacent and we must remain humble.” The Knights make most of their living offensively in the run game but have been very successful when they need to throw. Junior quarterback Elijah Hutto has completed 75 percent of his attempts with 1,064 yards and 20 touchdowns. He only has thrown one interception. Senior Dallas Hill has 17 receptions for 483 yards with 12 touchdowns while junior Landell Anderson has six touchdown catches among his 13 total receptions for 386 yards. Anchoring the running game is sophomore Joseph Morse with 1,721 yards and 29 touchdowns. He averages 12.3 yards per carry. Freshman Blake Rabar adds 587 yards and five scores on the ground. Seniors Smith Kirby and Wyatt Burbank, along with sophomore Josh Oswald, form the interior offensive line. Hill sees a lot of time as a tight end and is a good blocker as well as receiver. Landell, Ty Doolittle, Jacob Clamp, Luke Harvey, and Jacob Bussey all work as fullbacks and/or receivers. Several players also start or play extensively on defense but depth has improved over the course of the season. Bussey, a freshman linebacker, has 129 tackles and junior Caden Buzhardt has 91 tackles and nine tackles for loss. Hill, a lineman, has 19 tackles for loss and three sacks while Anderson has 54 tackles at linebacker. Sophomore lineman Josh Oswald has 53 tackles and freshman Tucker McGinty has six interceptions on the back end. Kneece says a key to the success this season has been a renewed commitment by the players to put in the work in the weightroom. Assistant coach Dennis Gibson coordinates the strength program and the defense. “We are a lot stronger and physical,” Kneece said. “They kids bought in and coach Gibson has been awesome with training them. I can see the strength paying off, and it has helped some of the younger guys develop physically to where we can use them on the field.” Though he has only three seniors (Hill, Kirby, Burbank) on the team, Kneece says the leadership of those three seniors has been another key to this season’s success. “We’re pretty young overall,” he said. “We have 15 varsity players who are either freshmen or sophomores. Our seniors have stepped up and helped bring those younger guys along. The seniors want to go out with a championship and they knew they would need the young guys to step up.” Offensive Starters QB – 11 – Elijah Hutto RB - 5 – Joseph Morse TE – 55 – Dallas Hill TE – 12 – Landell Anderson WR – 2 – Luke Harvey/6 TY Doolittle FB – 23 – Jacob Clamp/17 Jacob Bussey OL – 72 – Smith Kirby OL – 62 – Wyatt Burbank OL – 50 – Josh Oswald Defensive Starters DL – 55 – Dallas Hill DL – 50 – Josh Oswald/58 Grayson Rikard DE – 5 - Joseph Morse/56 Blake Rabar LB – 17 – Jacob Bussey LB – 12 – Landell Anderson LB – 2 – Luke Harvey DB – 7 – Tucker McGinty DB – 11 – Elijah Hutto SCISA Championships AAAA Friday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg Heathwood Hall (9-3) vs. Northwood (10-1), 7 p.m. 8-Man Friday at Greenwood Christian W.W. King (11-0) vs. Laurens Academy (9-2), 7 p AA Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg Pee Dee (8-3) vs. Bethesda (11-0), noon Class A Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg Williamsburg (10-1) vs. Colleton Prep (9-2), 3:30 p.m. AAA Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg Wilson Hall (11-1) vs. Pinewood Prep (9-3), 7:30 p.m.

Chargers to face Heathwood Hall for SCISA AAAA title on Friday

Highlanders face Northwood Academy for SCISA AAAA title on Friday

Hammond won't play for a stte title for the first time since 2016

Aiken - South Pointe High in Rock Hill is known for its success in football as a perennial state title contender, but cross country is making a statement of its own. South Pointe edged power Bishop England by three points (73-76) to claim the AAAA boys team title. SCHSL schools ran the 2025 state meet at the Aiken Steeplechase course on Nov. 14-15. South Pointe’s Keller Brown took home individual honors as the state champion. “It was really close the whole way,” Brown said. “About the two and half mile mark I kept thinking I had to push as hard as I could. I’m really thankful to my coaches for pushing me.” May River’s Talan Farrington was the runner-up and Bishop England’s Connor Good finished third. Rounding out the top five were Evan Rybacki of South Pointe and Bishop England’s Jackson Muller. Wren’s Camden Pendleton finished sixth and Daniel’s Sam Proffitt was seventh. Other all-state runners were Jackson Wright (May River), Marek Sticha (Traveler’s Rest), David Brown (AC Flora), Parker Harris (Wren), Boyd Collins (Bluffton), Gabe Hilsop (Bishop England), Derek Ashworth (Fountain Inn) and Felix Cassidy of South Pointe. Reid Finley of Liberty was the top runner in the AA meet. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “This day has been on my mind for the last five or six years. It feels good to get it done. I’m very proud of myself.” Philip Simmons was the AA team champion with region rival Academic Magnet finishing as the state runner-up. Philip Simmons’ effort was led by Matthew Perry’s fourth-place run while teammate Trent Manning finished fifth. Also earning all-state honors for the Iron Horses were Grady Castiglia (7th), Brian Stambaugh (9th), and Griffin Tollison (12th). Academic Magnet’s Brayden Bunt was the state runner-up and was one of four Raptors to run to all-state honors. The others were Samuel Fletcher (6th), Andrew Amani (10th) and Dylan Johnson (11th). Brashier’s Ben Elliott was third and Pelion’s Kolton Gleaton ran eighth. Landrum’s Jayson Phillips was 13th, Ellie Horton of Greenville Tech was 14th, and Brashier’s Hendrix Robards was 15th. Greer Middle College won the Class AAA title with 26 points. Christ Church was the runner-up with 66 points and Walhall a was third with 93. Southside Christian and Waccamaw rounded out the top five teams. North Charleston finished sixth and Fox Creek was seven. Woodruff was eighth, St. Joseph’s was ninth and Crescen t finished 10th. GMC teammates and brothers Jackson and Beason Tuck finished first and second, respectively, for the gold and silver. All-state runners included Wilson Rutherford (Waccamaw), Chappell Martin (GMC), Parker Frey (Walhalla), Henry Bacon (Christ Church), Ben Fulk (Christ Church), Marwin Milani (GMC), Andrew Weber (GMC), Finn Powell (Walhalla), Leland Brissie (Southside Christian ) and Max Delpino (Christ Church). Green Sea Floyds won the Class A title with 53 points. Riverwalk Academy was second, followed by Ware Shoals, Ridge Spring-Monetta and Dixie in the top five. Governor’s School was sixth, Carver’s Bay was seventh, Abbeville finished eighth, Calhoun County was ninth and Green Upstate was in 10th. Individually, the Class A champion was Hunter Willis of Riverwalk. Branton Brown of Ware Shoals was second and Cole Forbes of Green Sea Floyds was third overall. Damian Rapaj of Green Sea was fourth and Max Berry of Charleston Math & Science finished fifth. 

Aiken – The Aiken steeplechase course was the site for the 2025 state championships in girls cross country with Philip Simmons winning a fourth straight state championship. The Iron Horses finished the meet with 39 points, placing five runners on the all-state team with top 15 finishes. Landrum finished as the runner-up with 46 points and Academic Magnet was third with 106 points. Philip Simmons coach Josh Michael has guided the program to six titles (2 boys) in his seven seasons as coach. “Win or lose, I told the teams to go out with our best effort and we did just that,” Michael said. “Both teams have sort of had a target on their backs so it was great to see them go out and perform like they did. I’m so proud of both teams.” The effort was led by senior Avah Mallek , who won the gold medal for the third straight year. Teammate Laura Perry , a sophomore, finished fourth overall and Flynn Taylor placed 10th. Keziah Varner ran 12th and Stella Wininger finished 15th, giving the Iron Horses five all-state performers. “I’m relieved to finally get my four years of high school over and I’m excited to move on to the next step,” Mallek said. “I’m really grateful for my coaches who helped me have this success.” Ruby Cain of Landrum was the individual state runner-up and Gabrielle Aycock of Brashier finished third. Brashier’s Keathley Cack was sixth and Marlowe Leet was seventh. Rounding out the all-state team were Ava Campbell of Landrum (8th), Strom Thurmond’s Tabby Trapp (9th), Landrum’s Eden Holton (13th) and Hampton County’s Taryn Hanna (14th). Rounding out the top 10 in the team standings were Brashier (148), Pelion (157), Greenville Tech (185), Bridges Prep (191), Hampton County (212), Mid-Carolina (261) and Andrew Jackson (261). Dixie was the dominant team in the Class A race, finishing with 23 points with five runners finishing in the top 15 as all-staters. Riverwalk was the runner-up with 60 points and Green Sea Floyds was third with 63 points. Bamberg-Ehrhardt (128) and Horse Creek (162) round out the top five. The Governor’s School finished sixth and Ridge Spring-Monetta was seventh. Latta, Green Upstate and Johnsonville finished in the top 10. Dixie’s Rachel Prescott won the individual gold in Class A. Prescott overcame a stress fracture earlier this fall to finish strong. “It was a great ending. It’s been stressful,” Prescott said. “I was happy to be back and get this opportunity.” Riverwalk’s Emme Herring was the runner-up and Adalay Gillespie was third. Talia Fetter of Dixie was fourth and Evy Carroll of Riverwalk was fifth. The rest of the all-state team included Dixie’s Adelaide Culclasure, Ella Felter, Della Rhodes-Jenkins, and Lylah Kemmerlin; Nelly Clark and Emily Slaton and Allexa Bulikes; Sophia Andresky of Governor’s School and Kai Fluck (Riverwalk ). Bluffton High won their first state title as region seven dominated the AAAA meet. Bishop England finished second, May Riv er was third and Hilton Head finished sixth. Six of the top 15 individuals were from region seven schools. Wren’s Daya Ross, Hilton Head’s Julia McKenna and Bishop England’s Nora Brahim were the top three finishers. Bluffton won the title with 61 points, finishing 40 ahead of Bishop England. Wren finished fourth and Traveler’s Rest was fifth. Dreher, Daniel , A .C. Flora and Pickens round out the top 10 teams. Individual all-state runners were Libba Faircloth (South Pointe), Glada Garge (Bluffton), Kaylee Degirmenci (Blufton). Gabi Lidey (May River), Jenna Livingston (Dreher), Lizah Williams (Daniel), Emily Hunt (Bluffton), Ella Teton (Pickens), Ava Shook (York), Paisley Hinkle (Gray) and Kaylee Anderson (Gray). Greer Middle College was the AAA girls champion with 26 points and placed five runners in the top 15 all-state list. GMC was led by Sierra Connor in third, Ally Hyman in fourth and Ella Hammon in fifth. Christ Church was the runner-up with 85 points and St. Joseph’s was third at 116 points. Hanahan was fourth and Walhalla ran fifth. Rounding out the top 10 teams were Southside Christian, Fox Creek, Belton-Honea Path with Mountain View Prep and Waccamaw Eva Cifuni of St. Joseph’s was the gold medalist. Corrie Reinhardt of North Charleston was the runner-up and Colby Delamielleure of Hanahan finished sixth. Kendall Foster of Christ Church was seventh and Walhalla’s Camille Daughtery was eighth. Other all-state runners were Lexie Shenton and Bella Mair of Greer Middle College, Millie Johanning of Waccamaw, Charlotte Shew of Christ Church, Olive Dixon of Fox Creek, Ella Dorriety of BHP and Sutton Alexander of St. Joseph’s. Clov er won the AAAAA Division I team title with Wando finishing second and Mauldin running in third. Lexington finished furth and Dorman was fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Summerville, River Bluff, Boiling Springs and James Island . Clover’s Ella Nighbor was the individual champion with Summerville’s Taylor Blackwelder taking second and Anna Kelly of Blythewood finishing third. Wando’s Anna Cavallon was fourth and Mauldin’s Callie Rohm was fifth. Jayna Duke of Mauldin was sixth, Ava Jagielski of Clover was seventh and Spartanburg’s Elloree Flippin finishing eighth. The remaining all-state runners were Kinley Stevens of Boiling Springs, Avalie Workman of Dorman. Caroline King of J.L. Mann, Sophia Lee and Ana Laurient of Wando, and Ensley Dyar of Spartanburg . The AAAAA Division II team champion was Fort Mill , led by all-staters Marlee Cade (2nd), Lauren Allen (4th), Alivia Cleveland (6th) and Bailey Nolin (12th). Greenville was second in the team standings and Chapin was third. Nation Ford and Eastside round out the top five. West Florence , led by medalist Susana Martinez , finished sixth, ahead of Easley, Northwestern, St. James, and Lucy Beckham . Other all-state runners were Lydia Scanlon (Lucy Beckham), Caroline Dixon (Greenville), Addison Eastley (Nation Ford), Isabella Cardoza (Catawba Ridge), Kyla Adams (Greenville), Hailey Reames (Hillcrest), Finna Hollo (North Myrtle Beach), Stella Blackwell (Lugoff-Elgin), Halley Garcia (Nation Ford) and Jenna Mast (Greenville).

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Kingstree - Williamsburg Academy junior running back Grant Small rushed for 272 yards on 37 carries, including a touchdown, helping lead the Stallions to a 37-20 win over Thomas Heyward, to advance to the SCISA Class A Finals against Colleton Prep. The SCISA Class A finals game will take place at South Carolina State University on Saturday November 22 at 3:30 p.m. Colleton Prep advanced with a 22-16 win over Dorchester Academy . This will be the 5 th year in a row the Stallions have made it to a SCISA state finals game. They made the SCISA AA finals in 2021, losing to Hilton Head Christian . They won the AA title in 2022 with a win over Colleton Prep . In 2023, they lost to Bethesda Academy in the AA finals. In 2024, they competed in the SCISA Class A finals and lost to Thomas Heyward . In school history, the Stallions have won two state football titles, the other one was in 2013 against Colleton Prep also. They have won 13 regions titles in school history also. After the big win over the Rebels, head WA coach Will Furse shared his thoughts on the win. “It feels great right now, and this is what you want to strive for when the season begins, and at our school competing for a state championship is always a goal, and while we try not to think about it too much, it is always in the back of our minds,” said Coach Furse. “We still have a lot of work to do in preparing to play for Colleton Prep because they are a really good team,” said Coach Furse. “We have our hands full competing against them this week.” Coach Furse was pleased with the effort of Small, who came into the game with over 1,600 yards to his credit. “Grant ran hard and he has been very consistent from game-to-game this season, and he does a great job of understanding the blocking schemes of our offensive line and I have to give them praise also,” said Coach Fuse. “We have really good linemen like Mason Cribb at left tackle, Sammy Tomlinson at left guard, Poppy Livingston is at center, Connor Morris and Michael Ard take turns at right guard, and Marlin Morris plays at right tackle. “Our tight ends also block extremely well,” said Coach Fuse. “Those guys are Charlie Caulder , Jay Kellahan and Seth Cherinko also plays there. “We also have some excellent assistant coaches who work with these guys on offense,” said Coach Fuse. “ Ken Kellahan is our offensive line coach and John Floyd works with our tight ends, and they have done a good job developing our blocking schemes on offense.” Coach Fuse also praised the play of senior quarterback Micah Balder who has been on the team for four years. “Micah can do anything we ask him to do, and he is a tremendous passer,” said Coach Fuse. “He also runs the option well and he makes good reads.” Caulder, a junior wing caught a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone against Thomas Heyward and Coach Fuse said that “he is a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses.” The defense has allowed teams just over 13 points a game this season. Ard, a junior MLB, leads the Stallions defense coming into the game with THA with 114 tackles, including three sacks. Kellahan, a senior OLB, was next on the index with 76 tackles, followed by Caulder, an OLB with 52 tackles and 13 TFL along with junior FS Hall Dukes who came into the game with THA with 39 tackles and a team leading five interceptions. Balder had 38 tackles and two picks after 10 games. Junior OLB Seth Cherinko and soph DB Lane Patrick each had 35 tackles after 10 games followed by nose guard Marlon Morris who had 31 tackles and three TFL. Soph DB Gamble Wilson had 28 tackles and four picks after 10 games. Freshman DB Caden Morris , a top catching prospect in baseball, had 29 tackles and one pick while Tomlinson, a junior DL, had 26 tackles and two TFL. Soph FS Weston McKenzie contributed 15 tackles and one TFL coming into the THA game. Thomas Heyward head coach Daniel Bryan told the HSSR after game. “I am 100 per cent proud of my boys from start to finish this season,” he said. “We are 180 degrees better from where we were when we started the season. “We are going to miss a group of hard-working seniors like Tony O’Banner , Dodge Peeples, Josh Gibson, Jayden Powell and Miles Stanley, who played a bunch of football for us the past few years,” said Coach Bryan. “We had 12 total seniors on the team. The others are Mackie Bowers, Drew Willis, Jace Bessinger, Tyler Hymon, Owen Palazzo, Antonio Grether, Tanner Reed, and our first- year senior who played well is Mackie Bowers. “I thought we hung with them until the fourth quarter until we took some shots that didn’t work out and that is what you try to do once you get behind,” said Coach Bryan. “I was proud of the effort of my players, but it just didn’t work out fore us tonight.” O’Banner, a highly regarded RB scored on a 55-yard touchdown in the game, and he finished off a five-year career with around 7,000 total rushing yards and over 100 touchdowns scored. Thomas Heyward led 6-0 early in the game when Josh Gibson returned the opening kick-off for an 88- yard score. Gibson scored a second TD on an 80- yard run and O’Banner’s 55-yard sprint down the Stallion sideline accounted for the Rebel’s three scores and 20 total points all in the first half. After the Rebel’s scored on the opening kick-off the Stallions answered on their first drive marching 61 yards in 8 plays with Balder scoring on a keeper from seven yards out. The PAT failed and the score was tied at six with 8:22 left in the first quarter.  By half-time, WA held a 22-20 lead as RB Eli Brown scored from one-yard with 5:20 left in the second period and Caulder caught a two-point conversion pass that put WA up 14-6 at the time. Caulder caught a five-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left in the first half, and Caden Morris caught a two-point conversion pass that gave the Stallions the lead for good, 22-20 at the break. In the second half WA got a five-yard rushing TD from Small, and he also ran in a two-point conversion to put the Stallions up 30-20 with 7:43 left in the third period. WA scored their final touchdown of the game on a pass from Balder to Caulder in the back of the end zone with 4:12 left in the game. Small ran in the two-point conversion to make the final score 37-20. In a post-game reception in the WA cafeteria after the game, several players were interviewed about the win, and the upcoming state championship game. Grant Small said, “I run hard and follow my blocking and when I make contact with the defense I turned my pads into them. I like the spin move, but I do not know if it is necessary. I also like to hurdle over tacklers. I will be running the 400 meters this Spring in track. The win was great tonight, but we must finish it this week at SC State.” Micah Balder : “I have been on the varsity for four years and this being my senior year it would be great to go out with a state championship. We were really concerned about this game tonight, and we prepared really hard for it. I have a good offensive line, good receivers, and it helps that we can run or pass on about every play.” Connor Morris : “I have worked hard in the weight room, and I am benching around 475 now. This is my second year on the varsity, and I enjoy playing with my younger brother. This was a great win tonight, but our focus now is on our gamer Friday night. We are going to leave it all on the field I promise you.” Note: Due to extreme loudness in the room (celebrations) several other interviews could not be transcribed coherently.

Senior quarterback Max Stafford threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another Nov. 14 during Summerville’s playoff win over Ashley Ridge. Photo by Roger Lee.