Westwood Redhawks dug deep and came away with a 34-28 Homecoming win.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer, HSSR Columbia - In its Region 5-5A opener Friday night, Ridge View had a simple but solid game plan. Dominate the line of scrimmage and run, run, run. Spencer Bobian rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, and the Blazers rolled up 304 rushing yards on 46 tries to plow past Westwood 46-8. “We’re a good rushing football team. We’ve got two or three guys who can really run the football,” fifth-year Ridge View head coach Derek Howard said. “A lot of it is Aiden Keefe who’s been playing H-back for us. He’s opened up a lot of holes. He’s like an extra offensive lineman playing in a fullback position. We’re a different offense when he’s in there. Spencer Bobian did a great job of carrying the football and I think Ryan Williams did a good job for us as well.” Nine Ridge View runners had touches, most of them as substitutions in the second half. Bobian’s running attack set up all the scores in the first half. The Blazers (3-2) cruised through the first half riding the coattails of Bobian, who went into the locker room at halftime with 161 yards and a score on 17 carries. Bobian’s rushes set up Ashton Champman’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Carter Coleman and two Ryan Williams rushing touchdowns of 23 and 17 yards. Bobian gave Ridge View a 32-0 lead with a 1-yard TD run with 1:40 left in the first half. After Champman’s TD pass to Coleman and Williams’ first score—both of which Aidan Keefe followed with 2-point conversion runs—The Blazers defense chalked up a safety at the 2:57 mark of the first quarter to go up 18-0. “That’s kind of where we are and what we do,” Howard said about Ridge View’s start. “When we’ve come out in our games we’ve been hyped up real early, it’s just trying to keep that intensity throughout the whole game is the part that we’re trying to work towards.” The only highlight of the night for Westwood—and the team’s only first down, came just before halftime. Ridge View held Westwood (4-2) to minus-8 total yards until late in the second quarter. With the Redhawks parked at their own 20-yard line, Jovan Howard burst up the middle for a 78-yard run. Carrington Carter finished the quick drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Miles Grant . Carter found Jaylen Donaldson in the end zone for the 2-point conversion with 12.6 seconds to go before intermission to cut Ridge View’s lead to 32-8. In a scoreless third quarter the Westwood defense managed to force Ridge View to two turnovers on downs, but the Blazers’ offense couldn’t capitalize. The Blazers picked up two fourth-quarter scores, Bobian’s 2-yard TD run and Toryn Stuckey’s touchdown from 20 yards out, to seal the win. Westwood’s loss snapped its 4-game winning streak. “They’re one of the best teams in the state of South Carolina, and we’re not. And tonight showed that,” Westwood first-year head coach Stephen Burris said. “They’re physical, they’re fast, they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played, and until we do the day-to-day things as a program to get to that stage, these nights are going to happen.” Ridge View plays host to Spring Valley Friday. Westwood is idle this week and plays the Vikings at Spring Valley Oct. 9. Ridge View 18 14 0 14 – 46 Westwood 0 8 0 0 – 8 First Quarter R - Carter Coleman 17 pass from Ashton Champman (Aidan Keefe run) 7:42 R - Ryan Williams 23 run (Keefe run) 5:01 R - Safety 2:57 Second Quarter R - Williams 17 run (Issaija Yohannes kick) 3:01 R - Spencer Bobian 1 run (Yohannes kick) 1:40 W - Miles Grant 2 pass from Carrington Carter (Jaylen Donaldson pass from Carter) Fourth Quarter R - Bobian 2 run (Yohannes kick) 10:31 R - Toryn Stuckey 20 run (Yohannes kick) 1:41 RV WHS First downs 22 1 Rushes-yds 46-304 20-70 Passing yds 35 4 Att-Com-Int 15-9-2 14-2-1 Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1 Penalties-yds 10-83 3-30 Punts-avg 1-41 8-28.8 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING R - Spencer Bobian 24-191, Ryan Williams 5-40, Aidan Keefe 4-9, Chris Capers 3-12, Chris McDonald 3-6, Toryn Stuckey 2-27, Liam Mueller 2-6, Ashton Chapman 2-(-7), Jalyq Black 1-21. W - Jovan Howard 8-76, Carrington Carter 8-11, Quentin McGill 4- (-17). PASSING R - Ashton Champman 8-12-1 Bijon Virgo 1-3-1. W - Carrington Carter 2-13-1. Josiah Henryhand 0-1-0. RECEIVING R - Jourdin Mack 3-19, Carter Coleman 2-20, Aidan Keefe 2-(-2), Chris McDonald 1-(-2), Tyler Mathis 1-4. W - C.J. Bennett 1-2. Kham Cunningham 1-2.

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.

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.

AC Flora Captains for Game 1 Against Westwood.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – The Westwood football team’s offense was lacking at key moments in their 5A Division 2 playoff opener Friday night. Luckily for the Redhawks, the defense put in a clutch second-half effort to beat Socastee 34-14 for its first playoff victory since 2019. Westwood (6-5) is in the lower state bracket and travels to Moncks Corner next week to take on Berkeley. The Stags (5-5) received a first-round bye with a second-place finish in Region 7. “It feels good, for sure,” said head coach Robert O’Connell , who won his first playoff game in his three years as head coach of the Redhawks. “It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t have to be. We just talk about being 1-0. That’s all that matters, you just gotta beat the people you’re in front of and keep advancing.” Quarterback Carrington Carter had two touchdown passes, running back Angelo Rios had 102 yards on 14 carries, and Quentin McGill Jr. had a rushing score, but Westwood struggled to sustain drives. Carter threw two interceptions—both to Socastee defensive back Brayden Bolinger —and the Redhawks turned the ball over on downs inside the Braves’ 10-yard line on their opening drive. “We kind of hurt ourselves on some penalties, got off schedule. Nobody’s good in third-and-long,” O’Connell said. “We put ourselves in some bad spots on third down, and we’ve got to keep improving.” The Westwood defense, which held Socastee to 204 total yards, forced two fumbles and three second-half turnovers on downs, all from inside the Westwood 20-yard line. “That’s kind of been our M.O. this year,” O’Connell said. “That ball gets in the red zone, and we bend but don’t break. I’m just really proud of those guys defensively.” D.J. Jones had a solo sack and shared a second sack with Jayce Rios . Rios also had a 36-yard fumble return for his first career touchdown, a drive-ending interception, and another drive-ending pass breakup. “It’s an effort from everybody.,” Rios, a senior and older brother of the sophomore Angelo Rios, said. “Everybody’s always facing some type of adversity.” Westwood scored first, taking over after holding Socastee to a 3-and-out and closing out a quick 53-yard drive with Carter’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Sean Goddard at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter to go up 6-0. The Braves came back quickly, with Brayden Bolinger scoring seconds letter on an 85-yard kickoff return. They took a 7-6 lead on Daniel Devaux’s extra point. Socastee added another score after Bolinger picked off a Carter pass that set up the Braves on the Westwood 12-yard line. Amare Godfrey’s score from six yards out made it 14-6. That lead lasted all of 13 seconds. Westwood’s Cameron Bennett took the kickoff at around the 5-yard line and raced it all the way back for a touchdown at the 6:35 mark of the second quarter. Angelo Rios’ 2-point conversion run evened the score at 14. Westwood capitalized on a Socastee fumble late in the second quarter that set up the Redhawks at the Braves’ 41-yard line. Six plays later Quentin McGill Jr. ran it into the end zone from three yards out to put the Redhawks up 21-14 with 2 minutes left in the first half, a lead they held at intermission. Westwood’s defense led the way in the second half. Rios scooped up a Socastee fumble two minutes into the third quarter. The defensive back returned it 36 yards for a score to give the Redhawks a 27-14 lead. After that touchdown Socastee held onto the ball and threatened Westwood with three long possessions that put the Braves inside the 20-yard line in the third and fourth quarters. Each time Socastee moved into scoring position, Westwood held. First came a turnover on downs at the Redhawks’ 4-yard line after 11 plays beginning at midfield. The Westwood offense went nowhere on the next series and punted from its own 15-yard line, Socastee took the short punt and started at the Redhawks’ 14-yard line after a personal foul. That short drive would have resulted in a 3-yard Haze Weaver touchdown run were it not for a chop block call that set the Braves back at the 18, and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag moved them back to the 33-yard line. Even with those setbacks, Royals completed big passes to Hayes Hardwick and Jonathan Goswick that moved the Braves to a fourth-and-goal situation on the 4-yard line. Once again, Rios crushed the threat with an interception in the end zone. And once again, Westwood’s offense came up short, this time with Carter throwing his second interception of the evening to Brayden Bolinger. By then in the fourth quarter, Bolinger’s return put Socastee at the Westwood 35-yard line, and the Braves moved into scoring position for a third time. Just like the other two attempts, Socastee fell short, and Rios was there for a pass breakup at the goal line on fourth down at the 9-yard line. The Redhawks still could not put together an offensive drive to drain the clock, but Cullen Henderson’s 47-yard punt pinned Socastee back at the 23-yard line, and the Westwood defense picked up another turnover on downs. Westwood’s last score of the game came on fourth down, when Carter inadvertently connected with Bennett, who fell in the end zone but reached for and grabbed the tipped ball to complete a 28-yard touchdown pass play. “We just came together,” Rios said about the second-half defensive effort. “We knew we had to get a stop, and if we got a stop it would end the game. It was a group effort. Everybody played up and physical and it won us the game.” Socastee 7 7 0 0 – 14 Westwood 6 15 6 7 – 34 First Quarter W - Sean Goddard 9 pass from Carrington Carter (kick failed) 4:27 S - Brayden Bolinger 85 kickoff return (Daniel Devaux kick) 4:16 Second Quarter S - Amare Godfrey 8 run (Devaux kick) 6:48 W - Cameron Bennett 95 kickoff return (Angelo Rios run) 6:35 W - Quentin McGill Jr. 4 run (Cullen Henderson kick) 1:56 Third Quarter W – Jayce Rios 36 fumble return (run failed) 10:01 Fourth Quarter W – Bennett 28 pass from Carter (Henderson kick) 2:14 SHS WHS First downs 12 12 Rushes-yds 34-73 31-182 Passing yds 131 85 Att-Com-Int 26-18-1 12-8-2 Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0 Penalties-yds 6-63 6-55 Punts-avg 2-28.0 3-38.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING S – Jonathan Goswick 11-27, Christian Royals 9-13, Amare Godfrey 4-14, David Covalli 4-7, Josh Brown 1-10, Daniel Devaux 1-5, Marcus Brown 1-0, Hayes Hardwick 1-1, Team 3-(-4). W – Angelo Rios 15-102, Quentin McGill Jr. 8-37, Devon Howard 6-37, Kham Cunningham 1-(-1). PASSING S – Christian Royals 18-26-1. W – Carrington Carter 8-12-2. RECEIVING S – Jonathan Goswick 10-68, Hayes Hardwick 3-33, Josh Brown 3-23, Haze Weaver 1-4, Amare Godfrey1-3. W – Kham Cunningham 3-30, Angelo Rios 2-8, Cameron Bennett 1-28, Sean Goddard 1-9, Quentin McGill Jr. 1-10.