Moncks Corner —The winter sports season for basketball concluded with the SCHSL crowning six boy’s and six girl’s championship teams from across South Carolina (March, 5-7), marking the first time in five years since the championships had been hosted at the spacious and very accommodating Colonial Life Center at the University of South Carolina, home to the “Lady Gamecocks” who are among the best women’s college basketball program in the nation. On the boy’s side of the state finals, congratulations are extended to the Ridge View boys’ basketball team for winning the Div. I AAAAA state title with a 65-44 win over Ashley Ridge . It was Ridge View’s third straight title win, and they have also earned seven titles in the past nine years. Adding a sentimental angle to the game was the fact Ridge View head coach Joshua Staley was coaching his senior son “ Talan” for the last time in a Ridge View uniform. Coach Staley will coach his son for the final time in a post-season all-star game. By the way, his son had 10 points in the win. In Div. II AAAAA boys’ finals, congrats to Westwood (25-3) who defeated last year’s champion, Greenville (23-7) 67-55. On a side- note, Goose Creek head coach Blake Hall complained about the disparity in the fouls called against his team versus Greenville in the state finals a year ago. Well, one year later Westwood nails 25-of-32 free throws in the win. Greenville now understands what Coach Hall was talking about. The Raiders were 12-of-20 from the free throw line. In AAAA boys, congrats to North Augusta (27-3) as they finally won the first boys’ basketball state title in school history, after cheering on the girl’s teams at the school for their numerous titles, with their thrilling double overtime, 64-56 win over South Pointe (20-9). This was easily the most competitive game of the three- day event. In boy’s AAA, congratulations are extended to Christ Church (26-1) who defeated Fox Creek, 52-49 in a highly competitive game. In boy’s AA, congratulations are with newcomer Phillip Simmons who defeated frequent finalist High Point Academy 50-46 for the school’s first boys’ basketball title since the school was founded 9 years ago. The HSSR also extended congrats to C.A. Johnson for their 72-64 win over Bethune-Bowman in the in the Class A boys on March 7.  The girls’ competition was just as exciting to watch. In Div. I AAAAA congrats go the way of Blythewood who defeated Wando 68-44 on March 6 to win their second straight state title. In Div. II AAAAA high fives are extended to a school located five miles from where I live; give it up for my neighbors the mighty Berkeley Stags who repeated with a 54-50 win over Greenville. (Can u surmise if any of the Stag players live on my street in Moncks Corner?) In AAAA girls, congrats to North Augusta (28-1) who added yet another state title to the school’s trophy case with a63-50 win over Westside (27-2). In AAA competition, how about a high five for repeat winner Wallhalla (26-2) who defeated Keenan 70-58. In Class AA, we salute the Landrum (25-7) girls for getting the three-day event off to a winning note on March 5 with a 45-43 win over Atlantic Collegiate Academy . In girl’s Class A, we salute Military Magnet for repeating this season with the most dominant win in any game over the event when they defeated Great Falls 70-21 on March 7. This writer has always day-dreamed about what if you were starting a brand new college boy’s and girl’s college basketball program in the state of South Carolina, and you were only allowed to sign, or make an offer, to players who played in the SCHSL state finals regardless of grade. So, there you are sitting at the state finals, as the boy’s head coach, with your fellow girl’s head coach sitting by you busy observing the talent before you. Both of you are even sharing a box of pop- corn making comments like, “This is going to be easy!” If you based your choices simply on stats in the game, you might be surprised how some top-flight players do not always have their top games in title games. Often a hardworking teammate might step up and have their best game of the season. There were only five girls who scored 20 or more points in the state finals. They were Ashlyn Frick (23) from Wallhalla, Taelor Lee - Sutton of Keenan (20), Alaina Carter (29) of Berkeley, Mariah Brown (25) of Military Magnet, and Chase Thomas of Blythewood (28). I have no problem at all offering all five of these players a full ride to come on a new journey to a brand-new college. There were only four girls in the state finals with 10 or more rebounds. They were Messiah Williams (12) of North Augusta, Ava Owens of Greenville, Delaney Caldwell of Landrum (12), and Miley White of Walhalla. We are going ahead and offering these four players also. We now have 9 scholarship players to work with. On the boy’s side there were eight players who pumped in 20 or more points during the state finals in Columbia. They are Clayton Everett (20) of Ashley Ridge, while Terrence McFadden of Bethune-Bowman had (31), tops over the three-day period. Others included Aassic Germany and Javrius Wyche of CA Johnson and they both scored 24 points. The remaining four players are Treven Raymon (22) of South Pointe, Quh’Mareon Webb of North Augusta, Jayden Crews (23) of Westwood, and D’Marcus Thomas (26) of Westwood, With little hesitation all 8 players were extended full rides to this new college program to be located somewhere at some time in the future. There were only three boys’ form among the 12 teams competing for state titles who had 10 or more rebounds. This was a bit of a surprise. Terrance McFadden not only had 31 points in the big moments, but he took the time to grab 13 rebounds in the same game! Aassic Germany, playing against McFadden in the same game was not going to be outdone. He matched his 24 points with 17 rebounds. (The new college program is looking forward to having these two rim-rockers on the same team on the new State-U team). In all honesty, what if all these players could end up on the same team in the near future? I guess we will never know. A week earlier, at the Sumter Civic Cener, the SCISA organization crowned four boy’s and four girls’ champions, and we extend congrats to all 8 teams. On the boy’s side we salute Pinewood Prep , Greenwood Christian , Cathedral and Ragin Prep, from AAAA on down to Class A. On the girls, from AAAA to Class A, we salute winning teams First Baptist , Florence Christian , Dorchester Academy and Wardlaw . Now it is on to Spring sports and time to PLAY baseball and softball!

Greenville broke out to an 18-4 lead on the Westwood in the first quarter, then Westwood controlled the rest of the game.

Westwood senior Jayden Crews, 6-2 Point Guard, driving hard against Greenville in their 67-55 victory over Greenville in the 5AD2 State Title game.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Florence – Heading into Friday’s night 5A Division II lower state championship game you had one team that had been on this stage several times in Goose Creek and the other Westwood who was making their first appearance. The Gators of Goose Creek were the defending lower state champions and had designs on making their sixth trip to the state finals while Westwood was looking to make school history and reach their first state championship game. The Redhawks (24-3)made school history as they hung on for a 56-53 win over the Gators sending them to Colonial Life Arena where they will look to continue their historic run in the playoffs. They will take on defending 5A Division II state champion Greenville. The Red Raiders (23-6) defeated Riverside 55-48 to punch their ticket earning the chance to go back-to-back. “Once we settled down and got going and figure out the game we were fine. We feed off our defense and we were able to chip away and get the lead by halftime,” said Westwood head coach Trent Robinson. “ I’m so proud this group they have made history and we have reached new heights. Look over there they are so happy and I am going to let them celebrate. We are going to state.” The Gators ended the season at 26-3 but short of their goal of returning to the state championship game. “I’m disappointed for that group. I wanted the seniors to get another chance at a championship. I have had these guys for a lot of years and I feel like I raised all of them. I love those guys and I could not have asked for more from them. They gave me everything and I’m proud of them,” said Goose Creek head coach Blake Hall. “Unfortunately, this is the nature of the beast when you get this far.” The game started well for both teams as they relied on their strengths. The Gators hit five three-pointers with Ja'Quell Brown hitting all three of his attempts and scoring 11 points in the quarter. Brandon Grant chipped in 9 points. The Redhawks pounded the ball inside and were led by Ariel Huell with six points in the quarter. The quarter ended with the Gators on top 23-16. The second quarter saw the Gator’s increase their lead to 28-20 without Brown or Grant scoring before the Redhawks made a charge. Down by 8, Quentin McGill would start what would be a 12-2 run to end the quarter with a drive to the basket for two-points. Cylan Mcleod gave the Redhawks the lead at 30-28 when he hit their only three-pointer of the night. He would end the quarter by making two free throws and the Redhawks headed to the half up 32-30. Daytron Cockfield would score six points and Mcleod added five as Westwood increased their lead to 46-41 by outscoring the Gators 14-11. The fourth quarter saw the Redhawks stretch the lead to seven at 48-41 before the Gators began to chip at the lead and tied it at 50 when Brown hit his first three-pointer since the first quarter. McGil would give the Rehawks the lead for good as he hit an inside shot with under two-minutes to go for 52-50 lead. D'marcus Thomas would finish it at the line for Westwood as he scored an old fashioned three point play and hit a three free throws to keep the Gators at bay and send his team to the state finals. Westwood was led by Mcleod with 12 points and Cockfield with 10. Jayden Crews and Thomas chipped in with 9 and 8 points, respectively. Brown led the Gators and all scorers with 17 points while Brown finished with 10. Idreyiss Hoist and Reggie Dozier III added 8 and 9 points.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – After the first-round of the AAAAA state playoffs went about as expected, round two may offer a few more eyebrow raising results. However, expect most of the favored teams to move on to round three. Upsets can and will happen but after 11 weeks of games, we all have a pretty good idea of who the best teams are this season. The only true upset of the first round was Blythewood’ s comeback win over Clover. In Division, defending state champion Dutch Fork had a bye in round one and should be poised for a repeat run. If we have learned anything over the last decade, it’s Tom Knotts doesn’t lose much after November 1. Dutch Fork will be favored in every playoff game but the most intriguing matchup would be if Dorman can reach the Upper State finals against the Silver Foxes. Remember though, Ridge View is a sleeper and already played Dutch Fork close earlier this season. On paper, the Lower State of Division I may be more wide open. The favorite has been Summerville b ut the Green Wave are far from a shoo-in. Summerville gets a shot at revenge when they visit Ashley Ridge in round two. Ashley Ridge dominated the Green Wave during the regular season meeting, 42-19. Plus, this is already a very big rivalry game. The 9-1 Sumter Gamecocks host the 10-1 James Island Trojans in round two. Sumter eliminated James Island from last year’s playoffs so the revenge factor is alive and well. Carolina F orest and Stratford are coming off byes and both are heavily favored in round two. A dark horse in the Lower State of Division I may be Stratford , with a 9-1 record. The Knights have a winning quarterback in Shrine Bowl selection Jachin Davis and also have a big-time running back in Maliq McGowan . Division II The Division II ranks are the deeper of the two divisions with more serious title contenders. Most of the top teams reside in the Upper state but the conversation starts with last year’s two finalists, Northwestern and Irmo . Both teams are as good as they were a year when Northwestern beat Irmo with a last second field goal. Both teams entered the season having to replace big-time quarterbacks and Northwestern’s Xavier Means and Irmo’s Devron Dobson have not missed a beat. Both offenses are explosive and high-scoring so some team will need a great night offensively to keep up. Greenwood and Gaffney , two storied programs, will clash in the second-round with a good team packing up after Friday night. Greenwood has been good all year but can Shrine Bowl quarterback Tristian Lewis , a South Carolina commit as a defensive back, do enough to advance. Speaking of Gaffney, the Indians went through some adversity early but seem to be hitting their stride after a quarterback change. The Indians clearly have the talent to win the Upper State. Two teams to keep an eye on are T.L. Hanna and Hillcrest but both would be dark horses. The Hillcrest at Indian Land game is one to watch in round two. The Lower State probably doesn’t have a team capable of beating Irmo. If there is team to watch it would be Berkeley. The Stags are very good defensively and run the football well . If the Stags can cut down on penalties, they could be around for a while. Lucy Beckham, Lugoff-Elgin and Myrtle Beach have solid teams but taking down Irmo is a tremendous challenge. Second-round Division I-AAAAA matchups Boiling Springs at Dutch Fork Rock Hill at Byrnes Spartanburg at Ridge View Blythewood at Dorman Fort Dorchester at Carolina Forest Summerville at Ashley Ridge James Island at Sumter River Bluff at Stratford Second-round AAAAA Division II Catawba Ridge at Northwestern Gaffney at Greenwood Hillcrest at Indian Land Greenville at T. L. Hanna Lugoff-Elgin at Irmo Lucy Beckham at White Knoll West Florence at Myrtle Beach Westwood at Berkeley

By WORTHY EVANS HSSR Contributing Writer Columbia - The Westwood football team shook off a regular-season ending loss to Sumter on Halloween with a double-digit postseason victory over St . James Friday night. The Redhawks, seeded seventh in the lower state bracket, opened the Class 5A Division 2 playoffs with a 41-14 victory over the No.10 Sharks at District Two Stadium. Against the Sharks, the Redhawks’ defense showed up early and finished the night with six interceptions and a fumble recovery. “On that side of the ball we’re playing really well despite what some scores looked like,” Westwood head coach Stephen Burris said. “Even last week (a 65-28 loss to the Gamecocks) I thought they played well enough to keep us around for a while.” Against St. James, Tyrese Drakeford came down with two interceptions and recovered a fumble. Zion Oliver , Justin Washington , Donte’ Davis , and Shareef Pitt also came down with picks. Besides forcing turnovers, the Westwood defense held St. James to just 6 yards rushing and 48 yards passing in the first half. That effort enabled the Redwhawks offense to overcome an early sputter, and put 20 points on the scoreboard by halftime.  “Our offense has to pick it up and do their part and tonight we looked OK,” Burris said. “But our defense, any time you force turnovers, you have a chance to win the game. I’m proud of their effort, our kids are playing hard and our coaches are coaching hard and we’ll see if we can piece one together against Berkeley” Westwood hits the road Friday to take on No.2 Berkeley. The Stags (8-2) had a bye week last week. St. James (4-7) took the opening kickoff, and two plays later gave it back to Westwood when Sharks quarterback Alex Sandt’s pass got deflected into the hands of Oliver. Westwood took 11 plays to go 44 yards, but the Redhawks hit paydirt when Elye Owens hooked up with Tyrek Jenkins for a 13-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0 with 7:31 to play in the first quarter. The Redhawks limited St. James on offense again and drove to the St. James 1-yard line. Angelo Rios’ run on fourth down went for a 2-yard loss. Westwood turned the ball over on downs on that drive, but on the Sharks’ next possession Justin Washington picked off another Sandt pass. This time Westwood got to the goal line and Rios shot through to the end zone to put the Redhawks up 13-0 at the 9:47 mark of the second. Westwood went up 20-0 on Jovan Howard’s determination not to be tackled for loss. On second and 10 at their own 41, Howard took the handoff and a St. James tackler met him immediately in the backfield. Howard wrestled out of the stop, cut back and turned to the left side of the field where he ran free to complete a 59-yard touchdown run. That score at the 3:31 mark of the second gave the Redhawks a 20-0 halftime lead. Rios opened the second half with a 65-yard touchdown run from scrimmage after the opening kickoff. St. James got on the scoreboard with Sandt’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Alijah Ochoa midway through the third quarter. Rios scored on a 28-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, which the Sharks countered with another Sandt-to-Ochoa touchdown pass that put the score at 34-14. Jayden Rischer’s 2-yard score with three minutes in the game closed out the scoring. The Redhawks face a challenge with the Stags, who finished second to Stratford in the Region 7-5A standings and shut out Westwood 36-0 in the second round of the playoffs a year ago. Berkeley has rushed for 2,467 yards and 31 touchdowns and passed for 1,130 yards and 11 touchdowns for the season. Junior quarterback Henry Rivers has thrown for 851 yards and 7 touchdowns but 3 interceptions and rushed for 557 yards and 12 TDs. “Big, physical, but nothing we haven’t seen yet,” Burris said. “Their quarterback is very dynamic, very similar to the kid from Sumter ( Franklin Richardson ). Our kids went down there last year and played them. I think they know what to expect.” With the defense playing as well as they have been in recent weeks, Burris said in spite of the seeding, he can see Westwood have a good chance to make the trip to Moncks Corner very interesting. “We’ve just got to get ready to play, man,” Burris said. “They’re a good team, they’ve got a bye for a reason, and we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ll go in as an underdog and nobody will expect anything out of us, but sometimes I like being in that situation. When your back’s against the wall sometimes you play the best.” St. James 0 0 7 7 – 14 Westwood 7 13 7 14 – 41 First Quarter W - Tyrek Jenkins 13 pass from Elye Owens (Muhsin Yakubu kick) 7:31 Second Quarter W - Angelo Rios 1 run (kick failed) 9:47 W - Jovan Howard 59 run (Yakubu kick) 3:31 Third Quarter W - Rios 65 run (Yakubu kick) 11:45 S - Alijah Ochoa 15 pass from Alex Sandt (Woods Herring kick) 6:16 Fourth Quarter W -Rios 28 run (Yakubu kick) 11:25 S - Ochoa 25 pass from Sandt (Herring kick) 7:06 W - Jayden Rischer 2 run (Yakubu kick) 3:48 StJ W First downs 16 15 Rushes-yds 26-115 43-225 Passing yds 116 177 Att-Com-Int 32-13-5 23-16-1 Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-yds 7-45 5-50 Punts-Avg 4-27.3 4-29.5 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING S - Hayes Cochrane 10-64, William Bradshaw 8-1, Alex Sandt 3-12, Josh Harnish 2-9, Rylan Williams 1-9, Team 1-20. W - Angelo Rios 15-82, Jovan Howard 13-112, Elye Owens 7-21, Jaylen Donaldson 2-2, Jayden Rischer 2-4, Carlos McKenzie 1-2, Quentin McGill 1-1, Tyrek Jenkins 1-(-5), Team 1-6. PASSING S - Alex Sandt 13-31-4, Woods Herring 0-1-1. W - Elye Owens 15-22-1, Josiah Henryhand 1-1-0. RECEIVING S - Ayden Smith 2-14, Alijah Ochoa 4-69 Josh Harnish 4-10, Brady Larrow 1-15, Rylan Williams 1-1. W - Angelo Rios 3-14, Cohen Scott 3-9, Quentin McGill 2-67, Miles Grant 2-18, Jovan Howard 2-13, Sheldon Bradley 1-20.

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.