Summerville, Berkeley to do battle for 93rd time to highligh week's schedule

Sumter – Few schools in the history of South Carolina high school football have faced off against each other more times than Summerville and Berkeley. The Lowcountry schools just over 20 miles apart met on the gridiron for the first time in 1923.

The teams will renew their rivalry for the 93rd time on Friday when the Green Wave crosses Interstate 26 to head to Moncks Corner in a showdown of top 10 teams in the High School Sports Report AAAAA poll.

The Stags enter the game ranked fifth with a 3-0 record. They have dominating wins of 36-0 over Stratford, 44-15 over Fort Dorchester and 46-10 over St. James.

SHS is 2-1 after suffering a 20-19 defeat at the hands of West Charlotte of North Carolina last week. It opened the season with a 28-7 win over Sumter and a 45-28 triumph over Hillcrest.

Leading the way for Berkeley is senior quarterback Henry Rivers. He has completed 48 of 74 passes for 746 yards and 10 touchdowns against just three interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 246 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries.

Rivers spreads the football evenly when passing, having completed at least four passes to seven different receivers. Junior Bryson McGee has the most receptions with nine for 121 yards, while junior Elijah Mitchell and senior Malik Callen both have eight catches. Mitchell has 181 yards and two TDs, while Callen has 135 yards and three scores.

Sophomore Latroy Washington has six receptions for 56 yards, senior John Cleveland has five for 89 yards and two touchdowns, senior Jonathan Mitchell has five for 69 yards, and sophomore Ashton Hyche has four for 70 yards and two TDs.

The Stags are passing for 248 yards a game and rushing for 217 a contest. McGee has 163 yards and two scores on 18 carries, while senior LJ Washington has 114 yards and three scores on 22 carries.

Summerville is much more dependent on its running game and the legs of senior Jayven Williams. The James Madison commitment is averaging 129.7 yards a contest. He has 389 yards and three touchdowns on 57 carries.

Sophomore Maxwell Grent is off to a good start as well. He has 190yards and three TDs on 25 carries.

Junior quarterback Ethan Dwater has completed 36 of 53 passes for 320 yards and three scores. Williams has caught nine of those passes for 32 yards. Junior Jaelyn Pounds has six catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns, junior Toreyion Jackson has seven catches for 54 yards, and sophomore Quinten Bitting has five catches for 68 yards.

Dorman at Gaffney

Let me tell you all a story about a region named 2 – AAAA that is, Dorman, Spartanburg, Gaffney, Byrnes, Northwestern, Rock Hill.

If you know the lore of Palmetto State football, then you know that in the late 20th century this was a region that was so cutthroat the schools were happy when the first two rounds of the state playoffs rolled around so they would normally catch a break from the grind.

Region realignments over the years and now reclassification have alleviated the tortuous schedule to a degree. Still, the schools like to play one another for the competition – and, oh yeah, the big gates. All that will be on the table when No. 4 AAAAA Dorman travels to The Reservation to take on Gaffney, the top-ranked AAAA team.

The Indians, in their first year in AAAA since the creation of AAAAA, are off to a 3-0 start. Senior Amire White is the leading rusher with 265 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries. Senior Kendaris Bailey has 186 yards and five scores on 21 carries.

Senior quarterback Corey Taylor has completed 32 of 48 passes for 340 yards and two TDs.

Dorman is 2-0 and owns a 40-30 win over Hillcrest and a 35-21 triumph over Byrnes. The Cavaliers have a pair of highly touted running backs in senior Nick Means and sophomore Carter Nash. Both hold Power 4 conference offers.

South Pointe at Rock Hill

If South Pointe had been around back in the day, it too would have been part of the Region 2-AAAA bloodletting. SPHS has been a championship program pretty much since coming into being and is the defending AAAA champion.

The Stallions are 2-0 and ranked No. 2 in AAAA. Both of the games were Region 3 contests, a 56-0 win over Nation Ford and a 49-7 triumph over Lake Wylie.

The South Pointe defense is led by senior defensive end Seth Tillman. The 6-foot-3-inch, 294-pounder is committed to Clemson.

The Bearcats, who have been on a less-than stellar run the past few years, are 3-0 and ranked No. 2 in the AAAAA poll.

Rock Hill is coming off of a 33-15 victory over Hilton Head Island. It played the game without starting quarterback Jonah Young. Jalen Culp stepped in and tossed two scoring passes.

Wide receiver Myles Brooks has just four catches, but they’ve accounted for 273 yards and three touchdowns.

South Florence at West Florence

There’s no doubt this is an intense rivalry. The second word in both of the schools’ names is Florence and the first word in each is a direction.

However, the past two seasons it was just a rivalry. West Florence was playing AAAAA while South Florence was AAAA, thus it wasn’t a region game.

They are region foes once again this year in Region 7-AAAA. They’ll be getting a jump on pretty much on everyone not named South Pointe, Lake Wylie and Nation Ford with this region showdown.

Both are 1-2. The Bruins got their first win under head coach Scott Braswell, beating Ashley Ridge 41-23. West is coming off of a 35-0 loss to Sumter.

Senior Cameron James leads South, having rushed for 458 yards and four touchdown on 52 carries.

West Florence has a pretty good senior running back of its own in Jeremiah Bryant.

C.A. Johnson at Keenan

There was a time – not really all that long ago – when this game would basically have been an afterthought. However, both C.A. Johnson and Keenan now have more-than-respectable programs.

The Raiders are led by senior Dante Howse. He’s completed 44 of 71 passes for 736 yards and six touchdowns. His top targets are senior Jordan Wilson with 14 catches for 367 and three touchdowns, while Marcus Simpson Jr. has 13 catches for three TDs.

Senior running back Hunter O’Neal has rushed for 565 yards and six scored on 63 carries.

C.A. Johnson, ranked ninth in the HSSR Class A Division II poll with a 3-0 record, has outscored its foes 144-0.

The Green Hornets are led by sophomore quarterback Stacey Isaac. He’s completed 21 of 44 passes for 402 yards and six touchdowns. His top target is sophomore Carter Bennett with 10 catches for 218 yards and three scores. Another sophomore, Elijah Harper, has seven catches for 157 yards and three TDs.

Junior Jeremiah Knightner is the leading rusher with 188 yards and three scores.

Abbeville at Belton-Honea Path

It doesn’t matter where Abbeville or its foes are classified, you can expect it be a good game. That’s why this game between the Class A Panthers and AAA Belton-Honea Path is intriguing.

Abbeville is 2-1 and is the top-ranked team in Class A Division I. Abbeville’s offense leans heavily on the run with juniors Jamiere Killingsworth and Jamerion Williams.

The Bears, who have been the AAA state runner-up the past two seasons, just picked up their first win under first-year head coach David Crane last week, beating AAAAA J.L. Mann 31-17. They lost to AAAA T.L. Hanna 17-14 to start the season before getting whipped by fellow AAA power Daniel 45-7.

BHP is still trying to find its offensive footing. Its most potent weapon is sophomore wide receiver Malachi Bohler. He has 13 catches for 207 yards and two scores.

Calhoun Academy at Hilton Head Christian

Calhoun Academy is ranked second in the HSSR SCISA AA poll with a 1-0 record. Hilton Head Christiani Academy is 3-0 and ranked third in SCISA AAA.

Senior quarterback Kres Langhals is off to a great start for HHCA. He has completed 34 pf 51 passes for 688 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 200 yards and three TDs on 34 carries.

Seniors Jackson Richardson and Joseph Houpt are Langhals’ top receivers. Richardson has 16 catches for 379 yards and five scores, while Houpt has 11 catches for 247 yards and four touchdowns.

Laurens Academy at W.W. King

This is a rematch of last year’s 8-man state championship game won by W.W. King. The Knights are 2-1 and ranked second in the state, while Laurens Academy is 3-0 and ranked third.

King is led by senior running back Joseph Morse. He has 563 yards and 10 touchdowns on 43 carries.

            The Crusaders have a more balanced attack. Senior quarterback Ethan Collins has completed 37 of 68 passes for 789 yards and 13 touchdowns. Running back Caleb Hardy has six catches for 261 yards and five TDs and has rushed for 301 yards and three scores on 30 carries.

Elijah Hornberger has 10 catches for 285 yards and four touchdowns.