Wilson is homecoming king of Florence 1 Schools football teams
South Florence begins quest for fifth straight trip to AAAA title game against Lucy Beckham
Florence – You can call the Wilson High School football team the 2026 homecoming king for Florence 1 Schools.
Not only did the Tigers win their homecoming contest, but they were the homecoming opponents for both West Florence and South Florence. They beat West 20-14 and defeated South 18-13 in the regular-season finale.
That propelled WHS into the AAAA state playoffs as the No. 8 seed. They dropped a 20-19 home decision to No. 9 Dreher in the first round on November 6.
Despite that loss, second-year head coach Brian Wilson was pleased with how his team rebounded from a 3-game losing streak in the middle of the season when it was inundated with injuries to finish 6-4 in the regular season and 4-2 in Region 7.
“I think we are a lot further ahead of schedule than people expected,” said Wilson, who didn’t put his projected preseason starting lineups on the field together for the first time until the South game. “I don't think anybody expected this, just like last year (when the tigers went 7-5). We want to be consistent winners and to beat the teams we beat, I think that means we’re headed in the right direction.”
Senior Resean Wilson and freshman Nabryson Elliott split time at quarterback. Entering the playoffs, Wilson had passed for 739 yards and five touchdown, while Elliott had 628 yards and seven TDs.
Wilson had also rushed for 334 yards and two scores. Senior Amaure Austin had a team high 508 yards to go with two touchdowns, and sophomore Zyier Lyde had 319 yards and six TDs.
Kayden Bethea was the leading receiver with 26 catches for 438 yards and four scores, while Davon Bowman had 21 receptions for 420 yards and five touchdowns.
SOUTH FLORENCE OPENS WITH LUCY BECKHAM
Despite the loss to Wilson, South Florence earned the No. 4 seed in the AAAA state playoffs and the first-round bye that came with it by winning the Region 7 title. South, which played in the last four AAAA title games under former head coach Drew Marlowe, will host Lucy Beckham in the second round on November 13. Beckham destroyed North Myrtle Beach 56-0 in the first round.
After starting the season with a pair of lopsided losses, the Bruins reeled off seven straight wins before falling to Wilson under first-year head coach Scott Braswell.
“First and foremost, I think we played two really great teams,” Braswell said of the road losses to James Island and Hilton Head Island, the No. 1 seeds in the lower state for the AAAAA and AAAA playoffs, respectively. “We have a lot of guys that don't have a whole lot of experience, so they were thrown into the fire and learned and grew a lot from those losses.
“Our team mantra coming out of the first two games was "TOGETHER" and we did a lot of culture coaching to make sure that we could withstand some adversity and continue to play together as a team. Our guys did a great job of continuing to work to improve and supporting each other, and the whole program got better from the losses.”
While not particularly fond of the bye, especially coming off of a loss, Braswell didn’t mind that it gave the Bruins a chance to heal, in particular star running back Cameron James. He suffered an injury against Wilson, but is expected to play.
James has 1,488 yards and 15 touchdowns on 163 carries. Quarterback De’eric Davis has 586 yards and 15 scores on 83 carries, while Jayden Allen has 368yards and five TDs.
Davis has competed 74 of 121 passes for 1,024 yards and 11 touchdowns. Semaj Parker has 24 catches for 397 yards and six scores, while Malik Robinson has 23 catches for 281 yards and three scores.
WEST FLORENCE MISSES PLAYOFFS
After rebounding from a 1-3 start with three consecutive Region 7-AAAA victories, West Florence lost its final three games to finish 4-6. In so doing, the Knights also missed out on the state playoffs.
WF averaged 2584 rushing yards a game with six players running for at least 349 yards. Leading the way was Juwan Gamble with 511 yards and seven touchdowns. Cory Patterson had 458 yards and three scores, Matthew Benjamin 452 and eight, Jeremiah Smiling-Waiters with 405 and two, Jeremiah Bryant with 369 and five, and Markel Scott with 349 and two.
