South Carolina High School Football Top 25: Week 1 Delivers Upsets, Streak-Busters and Surprises

South Carolina high school football's opening weekend produced statement victories, broken winning streaks, dramatic finishes and enough weather problems to stretch Week 1 across three days.

James Island snapped Oceanside Collegiate Academy's 13-game winning streak, Rock Hill knocked off Irmo in a Top 25 showdown, T.L. Hanna erased a 14-point deficit and Hough's defense sacked Northwestern quarterback Xavier Means a staggering 12 times.

Here's how the teams in the High School On SI South Carolina Top 25 fared in Week 1, along with the performances and numbers that stood out.

Week 1 By the Numbers

166 — Rushing yards for Greenwood's Cassidy Lee, reportedly on only two carries
13 — Oceanside Collegiate's winning streak before James Island ended it
12 — Sacks by Hough against Northwestern
10 — Consecutive Gaffney victories over Spartanburg
2 –– Games cancelled
:01 — Time remaining when T.L. Hanna kicked its winning field goal

Thursday, Aug. 20

Indian Land 49, Harding 0: It was the Matt Kucia show at quarterback for the Warriors. He threw for 229 yards and five touchdowns, two to Kenneth Wilson III.

Friday, Aug. 21

Rock Hill, football — Rock Hill defensive lineman Javarrion Thompson against Irmo. | Thomas Grant Jr.

James Island 41, Oceanside Collegiate Academy 21: Quarterback James Dantzler threw four touchdowns in his first career start. The Trojans’ defense also sacked All-State quarterback Aiden Maravian seven times to snap the Landsharks’ 13-game winning streak.

Hilton Head Island 38, South Florence 21: The Islanders spoiled the debut of new Bruins’ head coach Scott Braswell. Quarterback Derrick Raniszewski threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns, two to Jeremiah Walters (seven catches, 175 yards), and rushed for a score. The backfield tandem of Bill Risher and Noah Czarnicki both reached 100 rushing yards.

Rock Hill 24, Irmo 14: The Bearcats made a “statement” with the road win over the Yellow Jackets. Quarterback Jonah Young threw two touchdown passes and cornerbacks Zymier Gordon-Miles and Donald Franklin sealed the win with back-to-back interceptions. The Yellow Jackets committed three turnovers that prevented them from capitalizing upon opportunities created by the defense.

Summerville 28, Sumter 7: The Green Wave scored four straight touchdowns and held the Gamecocks scoreless in the second half. Sumter’s Franklin Richardson was also reportedly injured in the first half and did not finish the game.

T.L. Hanna 17, Belton-Honea Path 14: The Yellow Jackets capped a rally from 14-0 with a game-winning field goal by Corban Lack with a second left for the victory.

Strom Thurmond 21, North Augusta 7: Versatile senior Zy Rouse played a role on both sides of the football. He had a 74-yard interception to set up the first of his two rushing touchdowns. It was the Rebels’ first win in the series since 2022.

Greenwood 33, Riverside 7: The Eagles used a punishing run game to defeat Riverside. Martavious “Tay” Hamilton rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns and Cassidy Lee finished with 166 yards on two carries and two touchdowns.

Daniel 42, Wren 28: The Lions held off a strong challenge by the Hurricanes for the victory. Sophomore Kingsten Bibb rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Jace Grass and running back Daimien Curry both accounted for two scores.

Westside 39, Ashley Ridge 14: The Rams jumped out to an early advantage in the weather-shortened contest.

Dorman 40, Hillcrest 30: After waiting out a 2-hour weather delay, the Cavaliers got 127 rushing yards and three touchdowns (two rushing) from Nick Means.

Gaffney 24, Spartanburg 20: A fourth quarter touchdown run by Kendaris Bailey enabled the Indians to defeat the Vikings for the 10th straight time. Spartanburg's Trenton Lynch rushed for three touchdowns, including two for 70 yard scores.

Chambers (N.C.) 50, Gray Collegiate Academy 21: The War Eagles fell in their first game as a Class 5A program.

Saturday, Aug. 22

Hough (N.C.) 15, Northwestern 10: In a "Battle of the Carolinas" between two defending state champions, Hough's defense sacked Northwestern quarterback Xavier Means 12 times and held Northwestern to its lowest point total since a 49-0 shutout loss to Dutch Fork in 2019.

Camden 35, Dillon 13: The Bulldogs closed out the Week 1 schedule with a win over the Wildcats. Isaiah Smith accounted for two touchdowns.

Weather Cancelations

Three of the Top 25 teams scheduled to play in Week 1 had their contests cancelled.

Bad weather prevented South Pointe and Ridge View from ever getting their game underway, while J.F. Byrnes started play against Independence (NC) Friday night and took a 7-0 lead. Midway through the second quarter, however, play was halted due to bad weather and the contest never resumed.

Ultimately, both games were ruled no contests with no plans for a makeups.

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