SPORTS REPORT
Coach Sharon Versyp’s women have been bitten hard by the injury bug for most of her first two seasons at USCB, but the Sand Sharks got some key pieces back on the court over the break, and one of them instantly ascended to legendary status. Sheridan Bostic was supposed to be a key piece of last year’s team, but she lost the entire season to injury and went back on the shelf just a few minutes into this year’s season opener.
Well, she’s back, and WHHI’s Kevin Libby and I nicknamed her “The Jackal” during Saturday’s broadcast, because she’s an assassin who rarely misses. Bostic hit her first six 3-point tries and finished 7-of-9 to lead USCB to a 62-55 win over Clayton State, and coach Ron Fudala’s men finished off the first Sand Shark sweep in Peach Belt play.
The Lakers gave USCB all it wanted and wouldn’t go away, trimming a double-digit margin to six on several occasions in the second half, but the Sand Sharks always had an answer, and Hudson Norton delivered the punctuation. Norton scored 13 of USCB’s last 15 points to finish with 23 points and nine rebounds in his best showing as a Sand Shark, but all 10 USCB players who saw significant time were in the scorebook, and it was the type of high-flying team effort we’ve come to expect from Fudala’s program.
The Hilton Head Prep boys stayed busy over the break, first taking the title at the John Drafts Battery Creek Classic with tough wins over Fort Dorchester, Brookland-Cayce, and May River, and Ty Harpring and company looked to run it back for another tournament title at the Bobcat Classic in Bluffton.
But the Dolphins ran into a buzzsaw in the host Bobcats, who pulled away for a 12-point win to avenge their loss by the same margin earlier this season in Sea Pines and claim the Bobcat Classic crown and the top spot in our Lowco Power Rankings.
The Cats kept the momentum rolling this week at the HTC Invitational in Waccamaw, taking down Cathedral Academy and Wilson Hall before knocking off the host Warriors in the championship game.
The Golden Warriors of John Paul II lead the ladies of the Lowco, and they backed up their top spot in the Lowco Power Rankings with a Bobcat Classic title, holding off Hilton Head Prep despite a massive effort from USCB commit Courtney Campbell.
Plus, there was plenty of wrestling over the holidays, including the 36-team epic that was the U.S. Army Shark Invitational at May River. The host Sharks finished fourth and had two champs — Blake Butler at 150 and Josh Echeverria at 175 — to lead the Lowco contingent.
We’ve long since closed the curtain on the 2024 high school football season, but we have a good bit of gridiron news concerning stars from the Lowco at all levels of the game. First, the South Carolina Football Coaches Association released its all-state teams, and a total of 17 players from the Lowco coverage area made the cut.
Among them are 11 combined players from Hilton Head High, May River, and Bluffton on the Class 4A team. Hampton County had three representatives on the Class 2A team, while Battery Creek, Whale Branch, and Ridgeland each had one player honored.
One name on that list has removed himself from another. Bluffton wide receiver Carnell Warren took himself off the list of the top uncommitted prospects in South Carolina when he announced his commitment to Virginia Tech during the ESPN2 broadcast of the UnderArmour All-America Game on Thursday. Warren hauled in 59 passes for 846 yards and 14 touchdowns in his junior season with the Bobcats, and he’s back for one more year in The Den.
Speaking of Lowco stars playing at the next level, we still have a representative in the College Football Playoff after Jaylen Sneed and Notre Dame knocked off Georgia to advance to the semifinals. Social media blew up after the game with video of an emotional embrace between Sneed and BJ Payne, his high school coach at Hilton Head High. Awesome stuff.
Former Whale Branch star Irvin Mulligan’s stellar collegiate career is over after the Jackson State standout announced recently that he will declare for the NFL Draft. Mulligan rushed for 1,239 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the Tigers to the SWAC title and a 28-7 win over South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl to claim the HBCU national championship.
Justin Jarrett, Lowco Sports
Last Night in the LowCo
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WHHI Daily News Anchor: Bob Stevens
January 2025
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