Staff reports
Photo by Myles Hickey (HHIHS Student Photojournalist)
The “second season” of the 2025 high school football campaign is fully cranked up with mostly region matchups from here out, and the stakes were high on Friday night.
The Hilton Head Seahawks claimed the Lowco’s signature win in Week 6 by wiping out defending Region 6-4A champion Bishop England, but Bluffton and May River held serve, Hampton County bounced back in a big way, Ridgeland kept rolling, John Paul II picked up a big win, and Thomas Heyward found its footing.
We’ve got all that and more in Lowco First Down.
Bluffton 48, Beaufort 7
Aedan McCarthy passed for 478 yards with a touchdown to Amare Patterson, and McCarthy and Kordell Holley each scored three times on the ground to lead the Bobcats to a blowout home win to snap their two-game skid. Patterson caught three passes for 156 yards and a touchdown against his former team, while Malcolm Gordon, Jacobi Saunders, and Chris Doyle anchored a dominant defensive performance for Bluffton.
Next week: Bluffton (5-2, 1-1) is idle; Beaufort (2-4, 0-1) vs. Colleton Co.
May River 35, Colleton Co. 12
The Cougars struck first in The Tank and kept themselves in it into the second half, but the Sharks were able to wear down Colleton County and take advantage of two turnovers to pull away. Tony Cooper rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, Justin Head added 80 yards and a TD on nine totes, and quarterback Luc Tran rushed eight times for 70 yards and a TD, as the Sharks eased the burden on workhorse back Sean Mitchell, who rushed 11 times for 38 yards and a score and added six tackles and an interception on defense.
Next week: May River (5-1, 1-0) vs. Bishop England; Colleton Co. (1-5, 0-1) at Beaufort
Hilton Head 41, Bishop England 10
Thaddeus Czarnecki and Jayvin Risher combined for nearly 300 rushing yards and helped anchor a dominant defensive effort as the Seahawks ran away from the Battling Bishops in a matchup of top-10 teams in Class 4A, Czarnecki rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries and Risher added 107 yards and a score on 10 rushes behind a relentless Hilton Head offensive line, and Derrick Raniszewski tossed touchdown passes to Ty Wiedemann and Jeremiah Walters. Will Jimenez had 10 tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery, Josh Bigger dominated the line of scrimmage, and Czarnecki and Risher each added interceptions for the Seahawks.
Next week: HHIHS (6-1, 2-0) is idle
North Charleston 16, Battery Creek 13
The Dolphins did everything they needed to do to win on the road except stop Lorenzo Kitching Jr. The Cougars star rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 75 yards to the house, and Kitching and quarterback CJ Furby each added a two-point conversion run, which proved to be the difference in a key Region 6-3A game.
Next week: Battery Creek (2-5, 0-1) at Oceanside Collegiate
Hampton Co. 43, Edisto 0
Jaylen Singletary rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, and Karinton Sabb caught a touchdown pass and took an interception 45 yards for a score as the Hurricanes rebounded from three straight tough losses to rout the Cougars on Senior Night. Braydon Blake and Gavin Polite led the shutout effort on defense for Hampton County, while Desmond Mathis and Tarell Grant made big contributions on both sides of the ball.
Next week: Hampton Co. (4-3, 1-0) at Lake Marion
Bamberg-Ehrhardt 64, Hardeeville 6
The Hurricanes couldn’t contain the top-ranked Red Raiders, who have outscored their seven opponents 346-49 and were coming off a 62-8 rout of then-No. 5 Hunter-Kinard-Tyler. Camari Brown provided a bright spot for Hardeeville with an 80-yard touchdown run.
Next week: Hardeeville (1-6, 0-2) vs. Denmark-Olar
Ridgeland 52, Denmark-Olar 12
Bam Crawford rolled up 140 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and Dashawn Albany added 150 yards from scrimmage and two rushing scores, and the Jaguars scored two more special teams touchdowns to roll to their third straight win following an 0-4 start. Taishaun Smith had his best game of the season, going 20-of-28 for 227 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, and Marcus Hunter’s 95-yard kickoff return and Kayon Mulligan’s 45-yard punt return gave the Jags their eighth and ninth touchdowns on defense or special teams in the past three games.
Next week: Ridgeland (3-4, 2-0) vs. Allendale-Fairfax
John Paul II 42, First Baptist 10
Jadon Inabinett had a breakout game with 243 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries to lead a dominant offensive showing in a key region win for the Golden Warriors. Andrew Boyden added 80 yards and a score on 10 carries, Alan Wolf rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown and threw a TD pass to Sean Phalen, and Merrick Baroni added a rushing touchdown to go along with five tackles, a punt inside the 20, and a 6-for-6 night on PATs.
Next week: JPII (3-3, 1-0) at Hilton Head Prep
Pee Dee 44, Hilton Head Prep 0
The Dolphins dug an early hole and couldn’t get out against a strong Pee Dee squad, suffering their fourth shutout of the season to drop to 0-2 in region play.
Next week: HHP (1-5, 0-2) vs. John Paul II
Bethesda Academy 50, Beaufort Academy 0
Jordan Turner went 6-of-7 for 182 yards and four touchdowns with three TD passes to Ralo Wesley, and the Blazers scored twice on defense and took a kickoff return to the house as they continued their dominant run through the regular season. Bethesda has scored 47 or more points in each of its five games.
Next week: BA (5-2) is idle
Thomas Heyward 47, Patrick Henry 14
Rylin Brunson took the opening kickoff to the house for the Patriots, but Tony O’Banner answered with a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff and the Rebels rolled from there to pick up their first win in dominant fashion. O’Banner added a touchdown run later, and Josh Gibson rushed for three touchdowns and threw TD passes to Owen Palazzo and Tyler Hyman to lead the Rebels’ offense.
Next week: THA (1-3, 1-1) vs. Andrew Jackson Academy; PHA (1-5, 0-2) at Colleton Prep
The King’s Academy 40, Cross Schools 28
The Stingrays had their best showing of the season and made a dramatic turnaround from a 33-0 lost to the Lions in the season-opener, but they came up just short of claiming their first win of the season.
Next week: Cross (0-6) at Cathedral Academy