SC football state championship guide: How to watch, ticket info, predictions

Lou Bezjak
·8 min read

This week’s South Carolina High School League football state championship games are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at S.C. State’s Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg.

The schedule

  • 7 p.m. Thursday, Class 2A: Oceanside Collegiate vs. Gray Collegiate

  • 2 p.m. Friday, Class A: Johnsonville vs. Christ Church

  • 8 p.m. Friday, Class 5A: White Knoll vs. Dutch Fork

  • Noon Saturday, Class 4A: South Florence vs. Westside

  • 7 p.m. Saturday, Class 3A: Camden vs. Daniel

The games, predictions

▪ Class 2A: Oceanside Collegiate (11-2) vs. Gray Collegiate (14-3), 7 p.m. Thursday

Game notes: It’s the first time that two charter schools are playing each other for a state football championship. Oceanside is making its second-straight state title game appearance. The Landsharks lost to Abbeville last year. Gray is making its second state championship appearance in the last three years. Oceanside leads the all-time series between the two schools, 3-2, including last year’s 48-20 victory.

Top players: BJ Montgomery is Gray Collegiate’s leading rusher with 1,183 yards and 15 TDs. Gray offensive lineman JT Sowell is an Appalachian State commit. Jamarious Lockett is Gray’s leading receiver with 47 catches for 945 yards and 11 TDs. Michael Boulware (156. 5) and Kaine Williams l(155) lead the War Eagles in tackles. Boulware also has four interceptions. Zeb Taylor leads team with 7 1/2 sacks. ... Oceanside lost starting quarterback Edward Reidenbach with an injury during the playoffs. The Landsharks have alternated Tanner Swisher and Aiden Manavian at QB. Manavian had four TD passes last week against Hampton County. The Landhsarks’ top defensive players include Ben Britton, Max Moorman and Miles Robinson.

Prediction: Gray Collegiate

Zai Offord (2) of Gray Collegiate carries the ball during Hammond’s game against visiting Grey Collegiate on Friday, September 1, 2023.
Zai Offord (2) of Gray Collegiate carries the ball during Hammond’s game against visiting Grey Collegiate on Friday, September 1, 2023.

▪ Class A: Johnsonville (11-2) vs. Christ Church (12-2), 2 p.m. Friday

Game notes: It’s the second-straight year the two teams are meeting in the state championship game. Christ Church won last year, 43-20, for the program’s fifth state championship. Johnsonville is looking for its first state title since 1993.

Top players: Johnsonville quarterback Malik Shippy has 1,942 yards of total offense and 26 touchdowns this season. Neal Martin leads the Flashes in rushing with 1,318 yards and 16 touchdowns. Martin also has 99 tackles, 17 for loss. Travis Wilson leads the team in receiving with 36 catches for 731 yards and 13 touchdowns. Wilson also has 89 tackles and team-high 23 for loss. Landyn Cribb (113) and Taysawn Brown (104) are Johnsonville’s leaders in tackles. … Christ Church QB Tucker Hendrix has thrown for 2,539 yards and 37 touchdowns. Jackson Repp is Christ Church’s career leader in receiving yards, receiving TDs and single-season TDs. This season, Repp has 57 catches for 1,391 yards and 29 total touchdowns. Running back Dashun Reeder has rushed for 1,619 yards and 24 touchdowns and has more than 4,000 rushing yards in his career. Jake Good leads CC with 113 tackles. Patrick McMaster and Cooper Hronchek are team leaders in sacks with seven each.

Prediction: Christ Church

▪ Class 5A: White Knoll (14-0) vs. Dutch Fork (9-5), 8 p.m. Friday

Game notes: Both teams are from Region 4-5A and played earlier this season, with White Knoll winning 17-14 on Oct. 6. That win was just the Wolves’ third victory in 22 games against Dutch Fork. White Knoll is making its first state championship appearance and has set a school-record in victories this season. They are giving up 7.1 points and 170.4 yards a game. … Dutch Fork is the defending state champion and is making its 11th state title game appearance, all coming since 2012 and all under coach Tom Knotts. The Silver Foxes have won seven straight games since losing to WK.

Top players: White Knoll QB Landon Sharpe has 3,063 total yards and 37 total touchdowns. Evan Henderson leads the team with 56 catches for 750 yards and five touchdowns. CJ Earl has 31 catches for 611 yards and team-high eight touchdowns. Running back Tiyon Fanning has rushed for 801 yards and 11 touchdowns. White Knoll has four players with more than 100 tackles this season: Demencio Banks (120), Connor Burgess (117), Jaiden Kimble (111) and Mondo Domench (100). Lincoln Ilunga leads the team with 27 QB pressures. Caleb Geronomi leads the team with four interceptions. … Jon Hunt and Ethan Offing have both played at QB for Dutch Fork and have battled injuries this season. Offing left last week’s game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. Hunt, the team’s opening-day starter, came in last week in relief of Offing. Maurice Anderson (664 yards, 15 TDs) and Trent Lodge (590 yards, 10 TDs) are DF’s leading rushers. Lodge is second on the team in receiving. Anderson missed last week’s game with injury. Jacob Hamilton leads Silver Foxes with 43 catches for 567 yards. Deon Winsley leads DF with 114 tackles. Bryce Nutall is tops with seven sacks. Peyton Betts has five interceptions.

Prediction: Dutch Fork

Dutch Fork Silver Foxes defensive end Josh Smith (40) sacks Boiling Springs Bulldogs quarterback Lincoln Huskey (16) in their first round 5A Upper State playoff game at Dutch Fork High School Friday, November 3, 2023.
Dutch Fork Silver Foxes defensive end Josh Smith (40) sacks Boiling Springs Bulldogs quarterback Lincoln Huskey (16) in their first round 5A Upper State playoff game at Dutch Fork High School Friday, November 3, 2023.

▪ Class 4A: South Florence (14-0) vs. Westside (13-1), noon Saturday

Game notes: South Florence is the defending state champion and has a 29-game winning streak. They are averaging 290.2 yards a game rushing. Westside is in its first championship game since 1987, when it lost to Hartsville. Westside’s only state championship came in 1969. Brian Lane is in his first season as Westside coach. His first head coaching job was at South Florence in 2007.

Top players: South Florence has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Zion Gilbert (1,309 yards, 12 TDs) and Syree Livingston (1,193 yards, 22 TDs). Livingston, who played at Mullins last year, emerged as the Bruins’ top threat on offense in the second half of the season. South Florence WR and South Carolina commit Jayden Sellers tore his ACL earlier in the season. DE Amare Adams is top-ranked player in the state for the Class of 2025. He has 57 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks. Terry Gordon leads SF with 111 tackles and 17 tackles for loss. Noah Moore has 109 tackles. Gordon and Moore each have six sacks. … Westside QB Cutter Woods has thrown for more than 3,000 yards. Joshua Williams is Woods’ top target and has more than 1,000 yards receiving. Zeke Marshall leads Westside with nine interceptions.

Prediction: South Florence

▪ Class 3A: Camden vs. Daniel (14-0), 7 p.m. Saturday

Game notes: This is the third time the two teams are playing each other for the state championship. Daniel won the other two matchups in 2020 and 2021. This is Camden’s 17th state championship appearance. Its last title came in 2001. Daniel is looking for its eighth state championship in school history.

Top players: Camden QB Grayson White has 4,316 total yards and 54 TDs this year. White also leads the defense with six sacks and 19 QB pressures. The Bulldogs have two-1,000 receivers in Ja Mayrant (77 catches, 1,323 yards, 14 TDs) and Aidan Heriot (59 catches, 1,004 yards, TDs). Running back Averee Hickmon has rushed for 655 yards and 10 TDs. Wilson Nash leads Camden with 183 tackles. JoJo Crim has team-high four INTs and 87 tackles. Tyrin Macklin leads the Bulldogs with 20 tackles for loss. … Daniel QB Kolton Chapman has thrown for 2,279 yards and 23 TDs. Kari Bennett leads the Lions with 1,377 yards and 25 TDs. Graydon Nix has 60 catches for 651 yards and seven TDs. Spencer Conn leads Daniel with 137 tackles and seven sacks. Conn is the son of Clemson safeties coach Mickey Conn.

Prediction: Camden

Grayson White (15) of Camden leaps into the end zone during a 2-point conversion during Brookland-Cayce’s game against Camden in the Class 3A Lower State championship game in Cayce on Friday, November 24, 2023.
Grayson White (15) of Camden leaps into the end zone during a 2-point conversion during Brookland-Cayce’s game against Camden in the Class 3A Lower State championship game in Cayce on Friday, November 24, 2023.

Tickets, directions, how to watch championship games

▪ THE ADDRESS: S.C. State’s Oliver C Dawson Stadium is located at 300 College Ave, Orangeburg, SC 29115

▪ TICKETS: $15, can be purchased at gofan.co or through each of the schools before gameday. Gates will open for spectators no earlier than one hour prior to posted game time. Expect delays and long lines getting into the stadium.

▪ PARKING: Parking is $10 per car. Parking pass available through Gofan.co. Vehicles with trailers, pull behind grills and RV’s will cost $20. Parking lots open two hours prior to the first game of the day.

▪ TV: All five games will be carried on Sinclair Broadcasting stations across South Carolina. Affiliates are WMYA (My40 Asheville-Greenville), WACH (57.2/1250/Columbia), WCIV (MyTV Charleston) and WWMB (CW21, Florence/Myrtle Beach). The Dutch Fork-White Knoll game will be broadcast locally on WACH Fox’s regular channel.

▪ INTERNET: All five games will be streamed on www.nfhsnetwork.com. A subscription ($10) is required.

▪ RADIO: The South Florence-Westside game will will be on 96.3 FM in Florence and on the radio station’s Facebook page. WPUB Kool 102.7 FM in Kershaw County will carry the Camden-Daniel game and stream it online.