Sumter Stumbles on Flags, then Surges Past Westwood

8-man brackets have yet to be officially released

Monarchs take final five region contests after dropping opener to defend crown

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Summerville – It was not only the final game of the regular season, but it was also Senior Night as the Northwood Academy Chargers hosted the Heathwood Hall Highlanders Friday night in a battle for the SCISA region AAAA championship and the top seed in the AAAA playoffs. The Chargers jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half and never looked back as they wrapped the region championship and top seed with a 39-20 win over the Highlanders. The Chargers finished the regular season 6-0 in region play and 9-1 overall. They will have a first round bye next week. “Us and Hammond have a bye next week and I’m not a big fan. I like to keep playing because your team gets into a rhythm and a bye can break that rhythm. For us, we had a bye when we didn’t play Augusta Christian, then we played Heathwood and now another bye so we have to maintain that mental focus and edge,” said Northwood head coach Johnny Waters . As for Friday’s victory, coach Waters said, “They have a really good quarterback so we wanted to pressure him and keep him in the pocket and we did a good job of that. Offensively, we wanted control the line of scrimmage and run the ball.” Heathwood Hall finished the regular season at 7-3 and 4-2 in region play. They wrapped up third place in the region and will host Ben Lippen next week in the first round of the playoffs. At halftime, three seniors were honored along with the teacher/ coach / staff member that inspired them. Elly Warren , a senior cheerleader, was joined by teacher Martha Blanton, Adeline Kriese, girls tennis , was joined by Coach Eric Bach and teacher Mathew Gilbert and Andrew Schwartzberg, swimming , was joined by Elixabeth Yoho. The football seniors were honored after the game. The Chargers punted on their first possession of the game but after that they would turn to senior running bask Kaven Ford . He would rush for three first half touchdowns to bring his season total to 20 rushing TDs. He would also go past the 1000-yard mark for the season. With 2:45 left in the first half he took a hand off up the middle, then cut to his left and tip-toed his way down the sideline for a 32-yard scoring run. Senior Cole McLeod was good on two of the extra points and the Chargers had a 20-0 lead with 2:35 to go until half time. The Heathwood offense found the going tough against Northwood defense as senior’s Garrett Andy , Cody McCleary and Hammer White controlled the line of scrimmage and applied pressure on Heathwood quarterback Patrick Belk . Belk finally got the Highlanders offense going as he drove them to a first and goal at the Charger 9-yard line with 36 seconds left in the half. However, the Highlanders had to settle for a James Richardson 31 yard field goal. It made the score 20-3 heading to the half. The Highlanders received the second half kickoff and they looked to get in the game. On the first play Belk hit Keon McKinnley with a 63-yard strike moving the ball from their 28 to a first and goal at the Chargers 9. The drive stalled at that point and Richardson came in and hit his second field goal from the 25. The field goal cut the lead to 20-6 and was now a two-score game. Northwood’s senior Jordin Carter would return the kickoff 45 yards to give the Chargers first and ten at midfield. On third and ten quarterback Kevin Johnson would move out of the pocket and to his right before spotting senior Jacair Medlock open behind the defense. He lofted a perfect 50-yard touchdown strike. The PAT was not good and the Chargers lead was 26-6. The Chargers Bryce Jenkins would pick off Belk on the next Highlander possession. The Highlander’s defense forced a punt. The Chargers would put the game away on their next possession when they went 64-yards in 10 plays. Carter capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run. He had three carries for 29 yards on the drive. The Chargers tried a two-point conversion but it was no good making it 32-6. The Highlander’s would finally reach the end zone when Belk connected with Morris Henry for a 7-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good and the score was 32-12 Carter would add another score for Northwood’s when he bolted around the left side and our ran everyone for a 32-yard touchdown run. On the night he rushed for 81 yards and the two scores. The PAT by McLeod was good and the lead was 39-12. Belk would connect with Charlie Hudson on a 36-yard scoring strike for the final score of the game. Belk hit Henry of the two-point conversion for the final of 39-20. On the night Belk was 20-42 for 297 yards and two scores. The Chargers were led by Ford, who rushed for 164 yards on 23 carries. That brought his season yardage total 1056 yard. Johnson was 14-21 for 153 yards and the one score while Medlock grabbed three balls for 70 yards and a score. After the football senior class was honored : Andy, KJ Burroughs, Carter, MJ Davis, Ford Antwaun Henderson, Aydan Hogan, Qunicy Lingard, Medlock, McCleary, McLeod, Elyjah Oler, Dominic Russell, Sully Stone and The Hammer.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - If there is such a thing as a dynasty in the early years of boys volleyball in South Carolina sports, Dorman has become one. With a 3-0 sweep of Carolina Forest Saturday at A.C. Flora High School , the Cavaliers won their fourth straight state championship, third straight state title sanctioned by the South Carolina High School League , and second straight 5A Division I crown. The win for Dorman (31-0) was also the 73 th straight victory of a streak dating to Sept. 16, 2023. Head coach Andrew Copeland said that while the match goes down in the books as a 3-0 win, he recognized a lot of fight and talent on the Panthers side of the court. “We knew that it was going to be a tough match,” Copeland said. “We knew that they were a scrappy team, so with their backs against the wall they were going to come out ready to play, ready to give us a little pushback, and so they got up on us but our guys they trust each other, they have a lot of grit, they have a lot of heart, they don’t want to lose this game, and so you saw that they responded later.” Both teams battled evenly until in the final stretch Dorman won the last four points and closed out the set 25-18. It was the second set where the Cavaliers main weapon, Lucas Helle , began to break the game open. Helle, a Long Beach State commit and opposite/outside hitter who also plays for the U19 national team peppered Carolina Forest with spikes and blocks. “He is one of the best players in the state if not the country. He’s a phenomenal athlete,” Copeland said. “He is a one in a generation athlete and it is a blessing to have him not only because of his leadership but for his play as well. What he gives to this team is unmatched.” Helle’s kills, along with Marcus McCullough - Bryant’s , pushed Dorman to a 25-17 win in the second set. The Panthers (27-6-1) did a better job defending Dorman’s front-row hitters, but the Cavaliers finished the match with a 25-20 win in the third set. Carolina Forest head coach Joe Goodwin , “Coach Goody” as he’s commonly known, is a former safety and football coach who later got into beach club volleyball in Myrtle Beach. He signed on to coach the Panthers in June, and since then he said it’s been a great ride. “I’ve known these kids for years. It was exciting for me coming towards the tail end of my career to get to do this with this group of kids,” Goodwin said. “This was the goal from the beginning, to get here and win of course, but you had to get here. They did awesome. They got us here and we were a No.3 seed, which was not something we were used to so we had to get on the road, but the boys battled hard, and we lost to a great team. They’re obviously a great team for the past four years and No.1 in the country. But we’re holding our heads high as we leave and I’m proud of these guys.” Dorman, ranked No.1 in the state and No.1 in the nation on MaxPreps graduates nine seniors. Most programs may consider the next year a rebuilding year, but Copeland, who openly remembered when he and his players “were literally celebrating getting three hits and getting it over the net” and comparing it to the present time, said he’s not worried about that. “We have some guys on our bench who if they were at another school would be starters,” he said. “With the depth that we have across the board at every position, that’s what keeps our team competitive and playing at a high level, they know we have people right behind them that can compete.” Both coaches are excited about the sports growth moving forward. “We actually got our boys coaches association approved this summer,” Copeland said. “And so helping to spotlight and highlight some of the different athletes, we have to show the different opportunities they have to go play at the next level. It means getting more exposure to get not only more guys to join but also to get more people to the games to support them.” Goodwin noted, “I moved to Myrtle Beach in my late 20s, and started playing beach volleyball, and it is just so much fun. I was a football coach at Myrtle Beach High School and ended my career as a volleyball coach. I never would have imagined it. But it’s just because of that reason that it’s going to grow. It’s just a matter of people, getting more kids out. Once they do it, they’re like this is great, this is awesome.”

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - Oceanside Collegiate’s boys volleyball team overcame an early stumble against Travelers Rest Saturday, the Landsharks pulled together for a 3-1 victory to win their second straight 4A state championship Saturday at A.C. Flora High School. “It means a lot for the team. It says a lot about the kids and their hard work and their dedication,” Oceanside Collegiate head coach Jorge Riesgo said. “Both teams wanted that game. As a team it means a lot about who we are and our character as individuals.” The Landsharks (23-3) fell behind the Devil Dogs (15-10) early in the first set and while they pulled even, never recovered. Travelers Rest took the first set 25-22. Oceanside pulled together quickly and jumped to a 6-0 lead as Koda Smith served, and eventually took a 10-3 lead and a 21-11 advantage. The Landsharks closed out the second set 25-16 to tie the match 1-1. Travelers Rest got back into the game and traded shots with Oceanside for most of the third set, but toward the end the Landsharks moved to a 22-18 advantage on Jack Hancock’s serves and soon won the third set 25-18.  With the game on the line in the fourth set, Travelers Rest and Oceanside battled point for point all the way to when the Devil Dogs trimmed the Landsharks’ lead to 21-20. Oceanside scored four of the last five points to close out a 25-21 set win and match victory. “It was very challenging for us to get this far, especially after losing some key pieces last year,” Riesgo said. “It took being able to recoup those losses and being able to work hard as a team to achieve our goals.” “That’s a really good team we played,” Travelers Rest head coach Andrew Lull said. “We tried to stay within ourselves and do what we’ve done all year and just keep executing on those levels, keep spreading the ball around. We have such incredible hitters, and making sure everyone gets hits so other teams have to stay aware of us from the outside, middle, opposite, everywhere.” The Devil Dogs lose three seniors but have good players to bring up next season. “We’re just building,” Lull said. “It’s year one for me and I’ve got a lot of guys who love it and a lot of guys who want to get in the gym tomorrow and just keep playing. More than anything it’s a love of the game, and getting those guys who want to play.” Looking back on the repeat win, Riesgo said it was much harder for the team this year than last year, because this year the Landsharks were the team to beat in 4A. “Everyone wants to beat us, everyone in our region wanted to beat us really bad, and everyone would usually play their best game of the season against us,” he said. “I believe the first one was a little easier because we weren’t proven yet, and going back to back was difficult. They want to beat the champions.”

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - Socastee got off to a rough start in its 5A Division 2 volleyball championship match with Catawba Ridge Saturday at A.C. Flora High School . The Braves eventually dropped the set, but rallied over the next three sets to win 3-1 and claim the team’s first state championship victory. “It’s just something to be so proud of for these boys,” head coach Gracie Hinson said. “They’ve worked their butts off the entire season. We didn’t know what to expect coming into the season, and to end up here and to win it here, it just shows the hard work they put in so far this season.” Socastee (27-7) fell behind 9-8 in the first set, and as Copperheads’ Jaxon Hathaway served, fell to a 19-11 deficit before dropping the first set 25-17. Hinson and the Braves didn’t like opening a state championship mass with a loss, but were determined to tighten up. “I told the boys, we didn’t expect to win that first set, and we knew that it was going to be a tough match anyway,” she said. “We knew we had to reset and get back into the game and that’s what we did.” Soccastee’s front row began to take advantage of Catawba Ridge’s apparent weakness in getting to balls hit to the middle of their court, and the Copperheads’ outside hitters’ tendency to kill the ball out of bounds. That strategy began to pay off. The Braves won the second set 25-18 and the third set 25-22. “We had a miscommunication on the court,” Catawba Ridge head coach Ross Lisee said. “We’ve been facing some adversity as a team this week, overcoming certain pieces out of our lineup, but the guys really fought through it, and we got pressed a little bit in that second set and we weren’t able to respond. Socastee was a good team and we started to make a lot of errors, and we can’t have that. And that’s really where the match went south.” The Copperheads (25-5-2) pushed hard in the fourth set, taking a 6-1 lead and later taking the set from 12-9 to 15-10. From that point it seemed that a tie-breaking fifth set would be inevitable, were it not for Socastee’s turnaround. “Our guys have been pressed all year,” Lisee said. “We’ve been on that chopping block with teams coming for us, but I’m always confident in our guys, even when we’re behind, we’ve come back and forced sets this year and we’ve won. I thought we’d respond, unfortunately that wasn’t the case.” The Braves won the point from Charlie Gallagher’s serve to make it 15-11, and with Preston Widner serving, Socastee took a 16-15 lead. The teams battled point for point briefly, but the Braves closed out the match and the game with a 25-22 win. “This is kind of crazy,” Widner said. “I was on JV before varsity, and I never would have thought this… I barely played. And now I get to start, play here and we won. And I didn’t think we could (back then). I never thought we could have done this.” One former player played a key role for the team on the bench—Hinson’s younger brother Bradley Hinson . Hinson played on the team until he graduated last year but lent emotional support to his former teammates and to his sister. “He is my go-to person, he really is,” she said. “He was out here last year playing on the court and this year having him beside me has been a pleasure, just because I look at him and I know that he knows we’re both in this game and I honestly would not be here today without him. I really wouldn’t be here.”

6 state championhip games set for December 6-7 in Orangeburg

Cougars dominating in 3-0 victory over Curtis Baptist

Defending state champs Dutch Fork, Northwestern, Oceanside, Abbeville roll in big matchups