SCISA Softball Tournament Weekend May 9 & 10

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer HSSR Columbia - Homecoming, the Region 5-5A opener, and a spirited crosstown rivalry converged into one charged football game before a packed house at Blythewood’s District Two Stadium Friday night. In the fifth game of the Battle for the Axe, Westwood rallied from a 10-7 deficit early in the third quarter to take a 20-10 lead by the end of that frame and held on for a 20-17 victory over Blythewood to retain the Jeanne Schmidt Memorial Trophy . Jovan Howard rushed for 127 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown run, Angelo Rios ran for a score and caught a TD pass, and Carrington Carter passed for 180 yards and two scores to lead the Redhawks (4-1) to their first region victory of the season. Since 2012 when Westwood first fielded a football team, the Redhawks lead the rivalry 6-5. Since the Jeanne Schmidt Memorial Trophy, an oversized blue-and-red axe that Westwood won last year with a 7-0 victory over Blythewood in 2024, Westwood leads the series 3-2. With Blythewood playing a lot of man-to-man coverage, Westwood head coach Stephen Burris said the team worked on playing against all facets of man in practice. “Our challenge this week was for our offensive line to control all those extra guys in the box, and our receivers need to go one-on-one,” he said. “I thought they did a good job of it. We missed some deep shots and that’s going to happen, but you’ve got to throw it to at least show that you will throw it. I thought Carry did a great job of managing the game and doing what we asked him to do. Our receivers made plays when they had to be made, and overall it was a great team win.” For the Bengals (2-3), Landyn Strong rushed for 115 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown run, and James Veasey threw a touchdown pass to Ben Hendrix . Besides the rushing and scoring highlights, Friday night was a night of turnovers. Westwood had three lost fumbles and an interception, while Blythewood lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions. “They did a great job adjusting to what we were doing to them in the first half,” Burris said of Blythewood. “I thought we moved the ball all night long. We got inside the red zone three times but had three turnovers, and then we turned it over again on the interception.” Westwood moved up and down the field with ease in the first half, racking up 211 total yards–134 through the air and 77 on the ground, but takeaways by the Bengals defense proved costly. Bengals placekicker Ashton Davis made good on a 26-yard field goal late in the first quarter, but Westwood drove quickly down field and took a 7-3 lead on Carter’s short pass to Rios, who stretched the play into a 24-yard touchdown with 48 seconds left in the first quarter. Westwood recovered a Blythewood fumble after that touchdown pass and marched downfield, looking to take a two-possession lead. Jovan Howard seemed to set Westwood up in the red zone on a long run toward the end zone. Blythewood defenders met Howard hard at the 11-yard line and he coughed up the football. Westwood had one fumble in the first quarter, but Howard’s fumble was the first of three straight Redhawk turnovers in the second quarter. Burris said the team could have been bothered by the takeaways, but that wasn’t the case. “I’m proud of these kids for just sticking with it and staying in the fight and not getting frustrated,” he said. When play resumed in the third quarter Westwood punted twice and Blythewood fumbled the ball away. After the Redhawks’ second punt, Blythewood took over at its own 10-yard line and got a first down on Vesey’s 11-yard pass to Strong. On the next play the Bengals offensive line sprung Strong, who sprinted down the right side of the field for a 79-yard touchdown run. That score gave Blythewood a 10-7 lead at the 4:13 mark of the third. Westwood responded in kind with a chunk play of its own. Taking over at its own 20, the Redhawks drove to the 36-yard line on five plays. On the sixth play Howard took the hand off and broke through the lines and bolted 64 yards to the left side of the end zone to give Westwood a 13-10 lead with 1:03 left in the third. Before that play, Westwood went for it on fourth and 1 at its own 29-yard line. Carter’s 2-yard pass to Miles Grant moved the sticks and set up Howard’s scamper. “We’re going to take risks on offense,” Burris said. “We only got two yards, and it wasn’t like we set the world on fire, but the kids did a great job executing at that moment, Carry did a good job of getting the ball out to Miles and Miles did a good job of getting the yards. A couple of plays late Jovan Howard rips off one and we take control of the game.” Blythewood’s second fumble of the half happened on the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff. Westwood recovered at the Blythewood 25-yard line and one play later Rios rushed into the end zone from 24 yards out to give the Redhawks a 20-7 lead in the last seconds of the third. Blythewood struggled to move the ball in the fourth quarter, but in the final three minutes the Bengals put together a quick scoring drive that Veasey capped with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hendrix with 1:57 to play. The Blythewood defense forced a turnover on downs with 1:03 left and the Bengals were set up at their own 48-yard line. Veasey moved his team slightly into Westwood territory, but a long pass inside the 20-yard line fell into the hands of a Westwood defender along the visiting sidelines to end the Bengals’ chance to win. Westwood’s offense took the field in the shadow of the goalposts and kneeled on the ball to let the last few seconds tick away. “I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week,” Burris said. “Going 1-0 in the region matters most.” The Redhawks play host to Ridge View (2-2), which was idle last week. The Blazers’ two losses came as single score defeats on the road to defending 5A champions Dutch Fork (Division I) and Northwestern (Division II). “We’ve got a really really good team coming to our place next week, so it’s back to work,” Burris said. Blythewood travels to Spring Valley (2-3), which lost 54-0 at Sumter . Westwood 7 0 13 0 – 20 Blythewood 3 0 7 7 – 17 First Quarter B - Ashton Davis 26 field goal 3:09 W - Angelo Rios 24 pass from Carington Carter (Mushin Yakubu kick) :48 Third Quarter B - Landyn Strong 79 run (Davis kick) 4:13 W - Jovan Howard 64 run (kick failed) 1:03 W - Rios 24 run (Yakubu kick) :14 Fourth Quarter B - Ben Hendrix 12 pass from James Veasey (Davis kick) 1:57 WHS BHS First downs 19 12 Rushes-yds 39-210 31-99 Passing yds 180 148 Att-Com-Int 16-19-1 15-22-2 Fumbles-lost 3-3 5-3 Penalties-yds 5-50 9-81 Punts-avg 3-39.0 4-46.8 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING W - Javon Howard 11-127. Angelo Rios 20-88. Carrington Carter 7-(-9), Quentin McGill 1-4. B - Landyn Strong 17-115, James Veasey 9-1, Braden Mayre 4-(-8), Team 1-(-9). PASSING W - Carrington Carter 16-19-1. B - James Veasey 15-22-2. RECEIVING W - Quentin McGill 5-60, Angelo Rios 4-61, Javon Howard 3-44, Miles Grant 2-10, Tyrek Jenkins 1-2, Kham Cunningham 1-3. B - Chance Johnson 4-57, Braden Marye 3-27, Jordan Greaves 2-27, Ben Hendrix 2-19, Ryan Hall 2-10, Amari Fisher 1-4, Tay’Shawn Johnson 1-4.

Oceanside Collegiate stuns AAAAA Division I No. 1 Dutch Fork 24-20

Pinewood Prep’s Heyward Moore tackles Laurence Manning’s Scoop Dennis. Photo by Roger Lee

BHP Junior WR/CB, Tajeh Watson-Martin.

Dillon – While they haven’t played every year, the Dillon vs. Hartsville football rivalry goes back several decades. Both programs have rich traditions and have been among the top programs in the Pee Dee so when they do get together on the gridiron, it’s a pretty big deal. After a break for more than 20 years, the two powerhouses resumed yearly meetings in 2022. Hartsville has won two of the three meetings heading into Friday’s night contest. While many of the players don’t know the old tradition, the die-hard fans in both communities do remember and want to hold an edge for a year. The 2025 game pits the 1-2 Red Foxes against the 1-2 Wildcats of Dillon. Both teams are still working to find a consistent level of performance and playing quality competition can be a good teaching experience. “We don’t look at their record. We know they’re a good football team,” Dillon head coach Kelvin Roller said. “They have good players. That shows on film. I know Hartsville come here ready to play. We have to match their intensity and physicality.” Hartsville head coach Jeff Calabrese has put his team through a tough non-region slate with games against Carolina Forest, Camden and Rock Hill. The coach sees progress but says his team is not close to its potential. “You know we have a whole lot of young guys out there and they’re learning on the go,” the coach said. “We just try to get better each day and then we go play and see where we are. Dillon is going to test us in every area. This is a tremendous challenge.” Both teams play with young quarterbacks. Dillon starts freshman Khayel Sam-fong Telia, a promising 6-2 prospect that continues to improve with each game. Hartsville starts sophomore Ford Wallace, a good athlete with improving performances each week. Quarterback play dictates a lot in terms of wins and losses, but each coach realizes how important it is for complete team play. “We have to do things to help our quarterback,” Calabrese said. “We need to improve defensively, tackle better, execute better. We need to get stops.” Other key games in week 4 Dutch Fork at Oceanside Collegiate Bishop England at Porter-Gaud South Pointe at AC Flora Fairfield Central at Newberry Clinton at Daniel Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Woodland Chesnee at Woodruff Nation Ford at Northwestern

AAAAA Player of the Week: Connor Dantzler, James Island: Senior quarterback Connor Dantzler had a career-night in the Trojans’ 34-14 win over Cane Bay. Dantzler completed 13 of 19 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns to help improve James Island to 4-0 on the season. AAAAA Honor Roll K’den Foxworth, Berkeley, 113 yards rushing Jack LaMonica, Lucy Beckham, 154 yards rushing, TD Finn Gunter, Lucy Beckham, 144 yards passing Jaden Gethers, Lucy Beckham, 149 all-purpose yards Maliq McGowan, Stratford, 79-yard kick return TD; 68 yards rushing, TD Jachin Davis, Stratford, 176 passing yards, 3 TD Trenton Fordham, Stratford, 2 interceptions (one returned for TD); fumble recovery Bryson Bowers, James Island, 13 tackles, TFL Malachi Washington, James Island, 142 yards rushing, TD Jordan Kendrick, James Island, 109 yards receiving Raphael Puiu, James Island, 145 yards receiving, 2 TD Jaxon Knotts, Dutch Fork, 175 yards pass Spencer Bobian, Ridge View, 123 yards, TD D’Juan Franklin, Ridge View, 11 tackles, 2 TFL Emar Nance. TL Hanna, 104 yards rushing, 4 TD Easton Crocker, Lexington, 222 yards passing, 3 TD Nigel Lewis, Lexington, 8 receptions, 128 yards 2 TD Tristan Lewis, Greenwood, 169 yards rush, TD;281 yards passing, TD Disiray Christian, Greenwood, 6 receptions, 198 yards, TD Patience Andrews, Nation Ford,115 yds rush, 77 yards receiving, 2 TD Dreyon Dopson, Irmo, 201 yds pass, 4 TD Darius Carter, River Bluff, 137 yds receiving, TD, interception Alex Sandt, St. James, 208 yards pass, 3 TD James Vessey, Blythewood, 148 pass yds, 2 TD Landyn Strong, Blythewood, 186 yds rush, TD Darius Dixon, Blythewood, 15 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks Tyler Black, Chapin. 271 yds pass, 2 TD; 67 yds rush, TD Jessup Boulware, Chapin, 6 rec, 147 yds Dyson Kelly, Fort Mill, 123 pass yds, 3 TD Brodin Mitcheson, Fort Mill, 128 yds rush, 2 TD Zach Williams, Lugoff-Elgin, 184 pass yds, 3 TD Jarkese Grant, Lugoff, Elgin, 129 yds rush AAAA Honor Roll Player of the Week: Gavin Thoma, Seneca, 372 yds pass, 5 TD (18 of 20) Quinn Mahoney, Bishop England, 202 yards passing, TD; 29 yards rushing Brody Tonon, Bishop England, 143 yards rushing, 3 TD Aeden McCarthy, Bluffton,29 of 39 352 yards, 4 TD Carnell Warren, Bluffton, 10 receptions, 122 yards, TD Amare Patterson, Bluffton, 7 receptions, 105 yards, 2 TD Jzavien Currence, South Pointe,196 yards passing, 2 TD; 113 yards rushing, TD Messiah Jackson, South Florence, 90 yards passing,TD, 68 yards rush, 2 TD Mike Doe, North Augusta, 224 yards rush, 2 TDs Tahmary Echols, Wilson, 2 TD rush; int return for TD Roper Wentzky, AC Flora, 272 yds [ass. 4 TD Amari Verner, Seneca, 120 yds rush, 3 TD Jeremiah Hunter, Seneca, 10 rec, 228 yds, 3TD Derrick Raniszewki, Hilton Head, 154 yds pass, 2 TD Sean Mitchell, May River, 164 yds rush, 2 TD Andrew Frick, Brook-Cayce, 329 yds pass, 4 TD Tyree Johnson, Brook-Cayce, 8 rec, 181 yds, 2 TD Solomon Kelson, Lower Richland, 110 yds rush, 2 TD AAA Honor Roll Player of the Week: Colin Davis, Woodruff, 23 of 30 pass, 354 yds, 3 TD Aiden Manavian, Oceanside Collegiate,220 passing yards, TD Zahki Muncey, Oceanside Collegiate, 184 yards rushing, TD Anthony Williams, Oceanside Collegiate, 6 receptions, 100 yards Noah Thomas, BHP, 114 yards passing,2 TD;98 yards rushig Mack Rambo, St. Joes, 170 yards rush, 4 TD Kenton Caldwell, Newberry, 3 TD pass, TD rush Moon Gerald, Loris, 272 yds pass, 3 TD D’Andre Caldwell, Swansea, 170 yds rush, 2 TD Brayden Williams, Saluda, 173 yds pass, 3 TD Keenan Jackson, Waccamaw, 2 int, 8 tackles. Rushing TD Luke McCracken, Aynor, 138 yds rush, 4 TD Mak Anderson, MVP, 203 yards pass, 3 TD; 250 rush, 3 TD Adrian Grate, Waccamaw, 143 yds rush, 2 TD Airen Gibson, Woodruff, 119 yds rush, TD; 68 yds rec Judd Windham, Christ Church, 167 yds pass, TD; TD rec Banks Horton, Christ Church, 14 tackles Troy Hailey, Marl Co, 108 rush, TD Branden People, O-W, 348 pass yds, 5 TD Daylin Haltiwanger, O-W, 3 rec, 105 yds, 3 TD AA Honor Roll Malyk Goodman, Timberland, 103 passing yards, 73 rushing yards Antuan Faison, Timberland, 90 yards rushing, TD; 12 tackles, 2 PBU Montez Addison, Timberland, 105 rushing yards, TD; receiving TD Javen Cook, Clinton, 215 yds rush, 3 TD Kaden Diggs, Fair-Central, 122 yds pass Kenyan Douglas, Fair-Cemtral, 127 yds rush, TD Dwayne Louellen, Central, 175 yds pass, 2 TD Aiden Short, Central, 223 yds rush, 4 TD Class A Honor Roll Class A Player of the Week: Scott’s Branch quarterback Jairen Conyers passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 120 yards and a score in a win over Lake View Mah’ky Green, Cross, 157 yards rushing, TD Michael Bennett, Cross, 11 tackles, 3 TFL, sack Zori Pierce, Lamar, 179 yds rush, 116 yds pass, 4 TD Jairen Conyers, Scott Branch, 273 yds pass, 2 TD, 120 yds rush, TD SCISA Honor Roll SCISA Player of the Week – Davidson Lynch of Trinity Collegiate passed for 445 yards amd four touchdowns, adding a rushing TD John Whetsell, Dorchester Academy, 172 yards rushing, 2TD John Quattlebaum, Dorchester Academy, 154 yards passing, 2 TD Silas Brawner, Pinewood Prep, 264 yards passing, 5 TD Jayden Alexander, Pinewood Prep, 3 receptions, 157 yards, 3 TD Desmond Williams, Trinity Collegiate, 7 rec, 207 yards, TD Garrison Copeland, Trinity Collegiate, 8 rec, 156 yds, 2 TD, int. ELIJAH HUTTO W W KING PASSED 6/8 142 YDS 3 TDS JOSEPH MORSE W W KING RUSHED 19/85 2 TDS CASEN BUZHARDT W W KING 10 TACKLES 1 SACK JORDAN TURNER BETHESDA PASSED 5/6 118 YDS 4 TDS PARKER KIZER HOLLY HILL ACADEMY RUSHED 15/363 6 TDS 1 INT TD TYLER GREEN HOLLY HILL ACADEMY 10 TACKLES 1.5 SACKS ETHAN COLLINS LAURENS ACADEMY PASSED 8/12 147 1 TD RUSHED 6/31 3 TDS MASON COOPER LAURENS ACADEMY RUSHED 27/155 1 TD CALEB HARDY LAURENS ACADEMY 21 TACKLES 1 SACK LUKE SOBEY PATRICK HENRY ACADEMY 13 TACKLES GRANT SMALL WILLIAMSBURG ACADEMY RUSHED 15/213 4 TDS ELI BROWN WILLIAMSBURG ACADEMY RUSHED 14/101 1 TD COLT LAYTON CALHOUN ACADEMY RUSHED 23/166 2 TDS JACE WILLIAMS THOMAS SUMTER PASSED 25/32 470 YDS 8 TDS C. WILLIAMS THOMAS SUMTER RECEIVING 11/208 3 TDS SAM PETRAUSCHKE THOMAS SUMTER RECEIVING 5/130 3 TDS CARTER HILL THOMAS SUMTER 15 TACKLES BRADEN FINAN THOMAS SUMTER 16 TACKLES REID MCCOLLUM HILTON HEAD CHRISTIAN PASSED 16/23 292 3 TDS RUSHED 16/108 2 TDS 1 INT JOSEPH HOUPT HILTON HEAD CHRISTIAN RECEIVING 6/144 2 TDS HALL SEASE ANDREW JACKSON ACADEMY RUSHED 23/142 3 TDS ZION GADDIST BEN LIPPEN RUSHED 12/101 2 TDS MICHAEL TRAYNUM BEN LIPPEN RUSHED 9/130 1 TD NIC SHUFORD BEAUFORT ACADEMY PASSED 10/14 119 YDS 1 TD RUSHED 5/40 1 TD NYCH UNDERWOOD BEAUFORT ACADEMY RUSHED 19/186 4 TDS 1 INT

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Bulffton QB Aedan McCarthy led the Bobcats to a 31-7 win over Hampton County.

By WORTHY EVANS HSSR Contributing Writer Columbia - The Westwood football team broke the paper in front of the inflatable Redhawk tunnel Friday night, and that spelled the end for Airport .  Nearly every offensive and defensive player got onto the field at District Two Stadium as Westwood rang up a 65-7 victory with a running clock in the second half. “Anytime you get a win, you take it, but the goal is to get everybody in every week,” head coach Stephen Burris said. “Obviously it’s not always possible but our starters, their responsibilities we told them before this game was to make sure everybody got the chance to play. Challenge accepted and mission accomplished.” While working with a short field, the Redhawks (3-1) had seven rushers contribute to 189 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, and Carrington Carter spread the ball to seven receivers for four scores. Jaden Boyd returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. Placekicker Mushin Yakubu made good on a 20-yard field goal and was 8-for-9 in point-after attempts. On the defensive side, the Redhawks held Airport (0-4) to 49 yards rushing and 10 yards passing in the first half, sacking quarterback Isaiah Clemons twice and making seven tackles for loss. They recovered two fumbles that the offense converted to touchdowns, and Brandon Evans made an interception that led to another score. Westwood got the ball moving after Airport’s opening possession mostly went backward. The Redhawks got to work at midfield and took nine plays to reach the end zone on Carter’s 13-yard pass to Jaylen Donaldson at the 5:37 mark of the first quarter. Westwood scored two more touchdowns, on Carter’s 15-yard pass to C.J . Bennett and a 40-yard catch-and-run play to Tyrek Jenkins to go up 21-0 by the first quarter buzzer. Angelo Rios opened the second quarter scoring with a 23-yard TD run, and after Kendrick Pearson scored Airport’s only touchdown from one yard out, Boyd returned the kickoff 75 yards to put Airport up 34-7. Carter connected with Tyrek Jenkins for a 40-yard score before intermission. With a running clock in the second half, Westwood got a 20-yard field goal from Yakubu, a 5-yard touchdown run from Rios, an 8-yard TD run from Jovan Howard and a 64-yard rushing score from Quentin McGill . “I’m proud of them,” Burris said. “We’ve still got some things we need to work on, and we know it’s going to get a little bit harder next week. It’s a rivalry game, the Battle for the Axe, so we looking forward to it.” Westwood renews its rivalry with Blythewood Friday. Since 2012, when Westwood first fielded a football team, the series is tied at 5-5. After the rivalry was christened “The Battle for the Axe” with the Jeanne Schmidt Memorial Trophy as the prize for the winner, the teams are 2-2. The Bengals (2-2) are coming off a restorative 41-6 victory over Keenan and look to take the trophy back after falling 7-0 to the Redhawks last year. Besides renewing a friendly rivalry, both teams will open their Region 5-5A schedule with the game. After Westwood’s opening loss to 4-0 A.C. Flora , it outscored Lakewood , Richland Northeast , and Airport by a combined score of 160-21. This year’s nonregion schedule showed not to be competitive beyond the season opener with the Falcons, but Burris said “We played a very good team in A.C. Flora, who will play in a lot of games this season and play into the playoffs,” he said. “It (competition) dropped off a little, but our standard doesn’t change regardless of who we’re playing. When we turn the film on we’re always making sure our kids are doing what we coached them to do, that’s regardless of opponent.” With games against Blythewood, 2-2 Ridge View , 2-2 Spring Valley , 3-1 Lugoff - Elgin , 1-3 West Florence and 3-1 Sumter on tap through Oct. 31, Burris said he knows his team will be ready to play for a high spot in the 5A Division 2 playoffs. “I think we’re prepared from the standpoint of are we executing the way we’re expected to execute,” he said. “We had some lopsided scores but we’re a good football team, and that’s what’s supposed to happen. I think we’ve got a good football team and we have a chance to have a really good football team, and we’re about to find out starting Friday.” Airport 0 7 0 0 – 7 Westwood 21 20 17 7 – 65 First Quarter W - Jaylen Donaldson 13 pass from Carrington Carter (Mushin Yakubu kick) 5:37 W - C.J. Bennett 15 pass from Carter (Yakubu kick) 2:15 W - Tyrek Jenkins 40 pass from Carter (Yakubu kick) 2:02 Second Quarter W - Angelo Rios 23 run (kick failed) 7:35 A - Kendrick Pearson 1 run (kick) 3:04 W - Jayden Boyd 75 kickoff return (Yakubu kick) 2:53 W - Quentin McGill 40 pass from Carter (Yakubu kick) :49 Third Quarter W - Yakubu 20 field goal 10:27 W - Rios 5 run (Yakubu kick) 8:46 W - Jovan Howard 8 run (Yakubu kick) :58 Fourth Quarter W - Quentin McGill 68 run (Yakubu kick) 3:24 AHS WHS First downs 8 12 Rushes-yds 34-108 18-179 Passing yds 11 189 Att-Com-Int 15-7-1 18-12-1 Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0 Penalties-yds 7-60 1-5 Punts-avg 5-24.6. 0-0.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING A - Isaiah Clemons 15-44, Kendrick Pearson 11-40, Ashton Boyd 5-29, Team 3-(-5). W - Angelo Rios 6-58, Jovan Howard 6-37, Josiah Henryhand 2-8, Carrington Carter 2-1, Quentin McGill 1-68, Tyrek Jenkins 1-9. PASSING A - Isaiah Clemons 7-15-1. W - Carrington Carter 12-18-1. RECEIVING A - Kendrick Pearson 5-21, Team 2-(-10). W - Jovan Howard 3-23, C.J. Bennett 3-23, Tyrek Jenkins 2-46, Jaylen Donaldson 2-25, Kham Cunningham 2-19, Quentin McGill 1-40, Angelo Rios 1-3.