GREENVILLE, SC - On a rainy Saturday morning, the Boiling Springs girls' cross-country team won their first meet in over a decade by winning the Patriot Classic 5k championship event at Riverwest in Greenville.
The event is the first victory in a non-dual meet for the Bulldogs team since 2011 as they were the best of 18 teams at the event in a field that included teams such as Laurens, Woodmont, Hillcrest, and Southside Christian. "It was bad conditions on the course today and both teams ran really tough," said Bulldogs head coach Drew Thomas. "The girls won a meet that they were seeded seventh in and the boys came home with an 11th place finish after being seeded 17th, so across the board we had a great day in tough conditions. It just shows that these kids are putting in a lot of work and trying to accomplish something special this year." Boiling Springs was led in the victory by Gaby Sanchez who finished in seventh place overall and just ahead of teammate Ainsley Steadings who finished in eighth place as both runners won individual medal honors. The Bulldogs boys' team came away with an 11th place finish in the international race on Saturday as well. Boiling Springs will next compete on Wednesday in a dual match at Dorman before running in the Cavalier Classic on September 24th. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - Despite an impressive first half performance from their defense that limited the Rams to a 7-0 lead most of the half, when the final horn sounded it saw Hillcrest, the #3 team in 5A, leave Boiling Springs with a 48-0 victory over the homestanding Bulldogs.
"Our kids played their tails off and played as hard as we could ask them to tonight," said Bulldogs head coach Matt Reel. "We did a good job in the first half not giving up big plays but in the second half we gave up a few. My hats off to our defense though as they played hard tonight. I told our guys that teams better get their licks in now because when we get it figured out, we're going to be a tough team to beat." After a couple of stops by the Bulldogs defense, Hillcrest got their first touchdown of the game on an eleven-yard touchdown run on a counter to the right side by running back Logan Coldren to go up 7-0 with just over two minutes to go in the first quarter. The touchdown was setup by a pass interference call on second and long against the Bulldogs earlier in the drive that set the Rams up at the Bulldogs 26-yard line. Boiling Springs's defense held on to the 7-0 lead throughout the second quarter, all the way to the last minute of the half. On a third and 16 play with thirty-eight seconds to go in the half, Hillcrest quarterback Bennett Judy found Coldren down the middle as Coldren made an over the shoulder catch to put the Rams down at the Bulldogs two-yard line. Judy ran it in two plays later to put the Rams up 14-0 with twelve seconds left in the first half, a lead they took into halftime. Hillcrest scored twenty points in the third quarter to push their lead to 34-0 over Boiling Springs and the scoring started on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Judy to Jaylen Neal that went from the right side of the field to the left side before the play was over as the Rams took a 20-0 lead after a mishap on the extra point. Coldren added another touchdown run, a one-yard run, while Judy connected with Neal again on a 17-yard touchdown pass for the two other touchdowns in the third quarter for the Rams. The Rams added another touchdown with just over seven minutes to go in the game when Judy found Adarian Mayberry on a six-yard touchdown pass to the right side to go up 41-0 over the Bulldogs. Hillcrest also added a two-yard touchdown run with forty-seconds left in the game when running back Thomas Stanley ran the ball in from two yards out to give the Rams a 48-0 victory. Bennett Judy led the Rams offense through the air going 21 of 30 for 285 yards and three touchdowns while Logan Coldren led Hillcrest on the ground with 145 yards on 20 carries for two scores while also adding 55 yards receiving. Jaylen Neal led the Rams receivers with seven catches for 133 yards and two scores. Justin Woodruff led the Bulldogs defense with nine and a half tackles while Jameilion Miller was close behind with eight and a half tackles including a sack. Calvin Jackson also added a sack with a forced fumble for the Bulldogs defense. "Our kids are getting better, and I know the score doesn't always show that," said Reel. "We're playing with a lot of sophomores especially on offense but they're giving us everything that they have each game. The one thing that I know about this bunch is that they're going to keep showing up and working. We're going to find a way to win more football games this year." Boiling Springs will look to rebound next week as they travel to Greer to take on the Yellow Jackets who loss to Byrnes 23-14 on Friday night. SPARTANBURG, SC - In their final meet before the Region II-5A meet, the Boiling Springs swim team came away with victories over Oakbrook, Walhalla, and Seneca with their only loss coming to region foe Dorman at Converse University.
In the combined standings the Bulldogs finished second to only Dorman and the girls team came in second as well in their standings while the boys were just edged out by Seneca in their standings. "We did pretty good as we came away with a second place in the overall combined," said Bulldogs head coach Lanie Peden. "Our girls team fought hard and pulled out a win against everyone but Dorman. We made some mistakes that can be corrected, and we will continue to work hard to get ready for the region championship in a few weeks." The girls got the meet going with a victory in the 200y medley relay as the Boiling Springs team (Laney Moore, Reagan Shaw, Morgan Greenlee, and Camryn Duncan) won with a time of 2:02.71, which was six seconds better than second place. They also added a second-place finish in the 400y freestyle relay. Morgan Greenlee added her second win of the meet just a short time later when she won the 200y freestyle with a time of 2:06.47, narrowly defeating Dorman's Lyndsey Nielsen to the wall by just over two tenths of a second. She added a second-place finish in the 100y butterfly, finishing less than three-tenths behind the winner, Allie Parker of Dorman. Laney Moore added her second victory of the night in the 200y individual medley with a time of 2:23.65, which was almost four seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer. Camryn Duncan added a second-place finish in the 100y freestyle event with a time 1:03.87. On the boy's side of the event the Boiling Springs relay team (Miles Humphreys, Ashton Threadgill, Garrett Watson, and Zachary Nanoua) finished with second place finishes in both the 200y medley relay and the 400y freestyle relay. Garrett Watson gave the Bulldogs a victory in the 500y freestyle with a time of 5:01.11, which was fourteen seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer. He also grabbed a victory in the 100y backstroke with a time of 59.92, which was three seconds ahead of second place. Miles Humphreys added another victory for the Boiling Springs boys' team winning the 100y breaststroke with a time 1:08.34, which was over four seconds ahead of second place. Boiling Springs will now turn their focus to the region championship in two weeks as the Bulldogs will have an intersquad scrimmage between now and then. "It's a quick season so we have to make some adjustments and move forward," said Peden. "We have somewhat of an off-week next week with only an intersquad meet between now and the region meet." The region meet for the Bulldogs is scheduled to take place on October 1st at Converse College at 3:00 PM. SPARTANBURG, SC - As the sun rose across the Milliken Research Center campus in Spartanburg, hundreds of high school cross country runners from across the southeast arrived to compete in the prestigious Eye Opener Classic on Saturday morning, including many local teams.
The Eye Opener Classic is a cross country event held on the Milliken campus and put on by USC Upstate, which includes multiple 5k races in different divisions. "When you have teams coming from all over the southeast it gets you a chance to see the best and when it comes time for the state qualifiers it doesn't seem so daunting," said Bulldogs head coach Drew Thomas. "There are people here running sub fifteen-minute times and you're not going to see a lot of that at the state qualifiers, where our eighteen-minute times will be strong performances. We're ready for the competition and we're geared up for a strong season." In the boys' international 5k event, Wando won the team event along with seeing local schools Dorman finish fourth and Spartanburg finishing ninth. Dorman's performance was led by Elias Workman who finished in 17th with a time of 16:26.8. Knox Easton led the Spartanburg attack with a 31st place finish with a time of 16:40.1. In the girls' international 5k event, James Island (Charleston, SC) won the team event as local team Dorman finished fifth. James Island was led by Hannah Vroon who finished first in the individual standings with a time of 18:24.3, which was seventeen seconds ahead of second place. Dorman's top finisher was Ella Tombuelt who finished 36th with a time of 20:17.5. The boys' championship 5k event was won by River Bluff and saw strong performances from local teams Landrum (14th), Boiling Springs (22nd), and Chapman (26th). Boiling Springs was led by Jake Sapp who finished in 59th with a time of 18:38.3 and Andrew Cooler who finished in 63rd with a time of 18:47.9. Damar Davis led the Landrum charge with a 37th place finish with a time of 18:15.5 and Colby Wines led the Chapman attack with a 75th place finish with a time of 18:58.4. Chesnee had the strongest individual performance as Omarion Ocampo-Rios finished in 29th place with a time of 17:58.8, out of 436 runners in the event. The girls' championship 5k event was won by AC Flora as local teams Spartanburg (7th), Spartanburg Christian (10th), Byrnes (13th), and Boiling Springs (25th) had good showings. Byrnes Reese Houck had the highest individual finish with a 24th place finish in a time of 21:46.1. Gabriella Sanchez led the Boiling Springs attack with a 40th place finish in a time of 22:13.4 Natalie Goodwin led Spartanburg Christian with a 50th place finish in a time of 22:27.8 and Helen Colbath led Spartanburg's attack with a 61st place finish with a time of 22:48.3. The finishes were out of a field of over 400 runners. "Our guys ran okay today but our varsity girls were probably the highlight of our day," said Bulldogs head coach Drew Thomas. "We had a couple girls run within seconds of their PR (personal record) and our guys are led by strong group of three. I expect both our boys' and girls' teams to be contenders to qualify for state this year." Boiling Springs cross country will be back in action next Saturday (September 10th) in the ICS Patriot Classic in Greenville. INMAN, SC - In a game the student bodies have deemed 'The Cookout Bowl', there were some sizzling plays by both teams, but at the end of the day it was Boiling Springs coming away with a 28-27 victory in the rivalry game over Chapman on Friday night.
"I'm so happy for these kids and the assistant coaches because they bust their butts every day," said Bulldogs head coach Matt Reel. "We were down at halftime, and I told those guys in the locker room they were about to change the future of this whole season and the next three to four years of this program in the second half. I told them we were going to hit them back and win a football game which is exactly what we done. I'm just so happy with how they played tonight." After a strong defensive effort on Chapman's first drive to limit them to just one first down, the Boiling Springs offense took over at their own forty-yard line. Nine plays later on a fourth and seven, Boiling Springs took their first lead of the season when quarterback Lincoln Huskey hit Raymond Ristau on an 18-yard touchdown pass across the middle to take a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 14-0 just minutes into the second quarter when Huskey threw his second touchdown of the game, finding Spencer Eison in the back right corner of the endzone for a twelve-yard touchdown pass. The rest of the second quarter was all Chapman as they scored twenty-one unanswered points to take a 21-14 lead into halftime. The Panthers first score came on a fourth down play that saw quarterback Coleman Gray find Devin Roe over the middle for a twenty-six-yard touchdown. Mathai Scott tied the game up for the Panthers at 14-14 when he went over the right side for a one-yard touchdown run putting the teams even with just under two minutes to go in the half. After Chapman's Hudson Moss intercepted a pass on the next drive Bulldogs drive, the Panthers took advantage with a little luck as a Gray pass deflected off the chest of a Bulldogs defender and found a streaking Devin Roe for a 60-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers a 21-14 halftime lead. After a Boiling Springs fumble on their first drive, the Panthers went for a score on their first play of the drive and were denied when Bulldogs junior cornerback Amayjai Boyd made an interception in the endzone for a touchback and it wouldn't be his last of the game. On a fourth and one at the Chapman goalline, a Boiling Springs mishap gave the ball back to Chapman at their own fifteen-yard line. The Boiling Springs defense soon responded again as Bulldogs junior defensive end Jameilion Miller forced and recovered a Chapman fumble giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Panther's twenty-yard line. Boiling Springs senior running back wasn't going to be denied on their next drive as he accounted for all twenty-yards on the Bulldogs two-play drive capping it off with a nine-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21. The touchdown added to an impressive night for Williams as he accounted for 105 yards on twenty-six carries for the Bulldogs on Friday night. "Kam is the ultimate competitor," said Reel. "He's great mentally as no moment is ever too big or too small for him. He works hard and is going to have a great year for us because of how tough he is both mentally and physically." With six minutes to go in the game Boiling Springs capped off a fifty-four-yard drive when quarterback Lincoln Huskey ran for a two-yard touchdown run over the left side for his third score of the game and gave Boiling Springs a 28-21 lead after a Holden Mace extra point, which became a big point before the game ended. Going down a touchdown the Panthers weren't going to go away quietly though as Mathai Scott ran for a four yard touchdown over the right side to put the Bulldogs lead at 28-27. On the ensuing extra point the Bulldogs were able to break through the Chapman line and make a key block to hold onto their lead with just under three minutes to go in the game. "We're young and we're learning how to stay in these games along with winning these games," said Reel. "Tonight, was huge for our confidence and after they scored our kids went and blocked the extra point. That one play just showed you what tonight was all about as our kids fought the whole game." The Panthers forced a Bulldogs punt on the next drive and were poised to make a last attempt to take the lead but that was extinguished on the next play when the Bulldogs Amayjai Boyd made his second interception of the game and the one that effectively ended the game. "Amayjai is one of those kids that was a surprise for us in the spring at how quickly he picked up things and how responsive he was to what we were doing," said Reel. "He's been in a rotation the last few weeks but had to step into a starting role tonight because of injury and came in and played phenomenal. I'm just happy for him because of how he approaches everything." Boyd said that the help from his teammates helped him be able to do his job and he just done what his coach always preaches to them in practice. "On the last interception, my defensive line put good pressure on the quarterback and I just made the play when the ball was in the air," said Boyd. "It felt great making the play, especially on the last one, as my coach always preaches to us that playmakers make plays." Bulldogs quarterback Lincoln Huskey went 10 of 17 for 154 yards with two touchdowns for the Bulldogs while also adding thirty yards on the ground with a score. Spencer Eison led the Bulldogs in receiving with six catches for 88 yards and a score. Coleman Gray led Chapman in passing going 16 of 23 for 192 yards and two scores while adding 44 yards on the ground to lead the Panthers rushing attack. Devin Roe led the Panthers in receiving with seven catches for 122 yards and two scores. While the victory is big for the program, it also marks a significant moment for first year head coach Matt Reel as it's his first win leading the Bulldogs and first win at the 5A level. "It's a special win because it's the first step into turning this program into what we think it should be," said Reel. "The way our kids responded tonight showed to me that the way we're doing this with the whole program is going right as their resolve is changing and their belief in what they can and can't do is changing. To me, that's the reason I do this to see the kids succeed after putting in so much work." Boiling Springs will return to action next week in a home matchup against the #5 team in 5A Hillcrest. |
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