COWPENS, SC - The Chesnee basketball program kicked off the 2021-22 basketball season on Tuesday night as both teams competed hard but ended up on the losing end of the scoreboard against two hard fighting Broome teams.
The Chesnee boys' basketball team held a lead throughout most of their game but were unable to overcome a strong fourth quarter run from the Centurions that saw them capture a 57-47 victory over the Eagles. After falling behind 13-11 at the end of the first quarter behind a six-point quarter from Broome's Kendre Sinclair, were able to bounce back to take leads in the second and third quarters. In the second quarter the Eagles outscored the Centurions by five points to take a 27-25 halftime lead and got some key contributions from Daniel Wease who scored five points off the bench for Chesnee. Brady Poole took control of the game for Chesnee in the third quarter as he scored nine of the team's eleven points in the quarter as the Eagles extended their lead to 38-33 heading into the final quarter of play. In the fourth quarter Broome made the defining run of the game as they locked down on defense to outscore the Eagles 24-9 in the final quarter. The run was fueled by the outstanding play from three Broome players (Dylan Ramirez, MJ Sims, and Jed Dawson) who scored 21 of the team's 24 points in the quarter. Dylan Ramirez led the Centurions with 16 points while Jeb Dawson and MJ Sims added 10 points each. Chesnee was led by Brady Poole who scored 19 points to go along with nine rebounds while KJ Valentine scored six points with 12 rebounds, four blocks, and three steals. In the girls' game the Chesnee basketball team held an early first quarter lead but were unable to keep up with the Centurions as Broome defeated Chesnee 28-21 to start the new season. Chesnee held a 6-4 lead at the end of the first quarter before Broome tied the game at 10-10 when the game went to halftime. In the second half Broome outscored the Eagles 18-11 to grab the victory as the Centurions got twelve of those points came from the duo of Destiny West and Anaya Wofford as West led the Centurions in scoring with 11 points on Tuesday night. Chesnee got a big game from sophomore Pearl Holloway who scored seven points while adding 12 rebounds and four steals. The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host Woodruff before finishing out the week by hosting district rival Boiling Springs on Friday night. -James McBee The number ten ranked team in 2A Chesnee basketball opened the 2021-2022 season against some strong competition and finished the three-day tournament with a 2-1 record, with their only loss coming against one of the top teams in the state.
Chesnee opened the season at the Rippy's Tip Off Classic, held at Union High School, with a matchup against the #1 ranked team in 1A Southside Christian. In that matchup the Eagles were within one at 48-47 with less than two minutes to go in the game but the Sabres were able to outscore the Eagles 9-1 over the final two minutes to capture a 57-48 victory. In the second game Chesnee used a lock down defense in the fourth quarter to grab a 69-44 victory over Woodruff as the Eagles held the Wolverines to only two points in the fourth quarter. The performance was especially impressive for the Eagles as they were down 13-2 to start the game before battling back for the victory. The final game of the tournament saw the Eagles come away with a 65-48 victory over fellow region opponent Blacksburg to finish the tournament with a 2-1 record. The Eagles had three different players score in double figures in the finale as Brady Poole led the way with 20 points, KJ Valentine added 15 points, and Carson Williamson came away with 14 points of his own. Brady Poole was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring a total 81 points in the tournament for an average of 27 points a game. KJ Valentine also had a strong tournament averaging 13 points a game for the tournament. Chesnee will be back in action on Tuesday at Broome before opening hosting their first game of the season on Wednesday against the same Woodruff team they defeated on Tuesday. Chesnee Boy's BasketballChesnee heads into the 2021-2022 season with some big expectations as they look to be in the hunt for the playoffs and a chance at a region championship this year thanks to the return of some key players. The Eagles will be led by head coach Andy Pitt who enters his 11th season at the helm of the Chesnee program and 12th overall as part of the Eagles program, which has been filled with many playoff runs and they look to make this season another one of those years. Chesnee will enter the season as the #10 ranked team at the 2A level by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association. "We will be smaller in size than in past years so you'll see us playing more with four guards on the floor," said Pitt. "You will still see us playing hard and competing with grit each night for 32 minutes. We should be highly competitive in Region II-AA while competing for a playoff spot and maybe even a chance at winning the region." Chesnee will be led this season by preseason All-Region selections senior KJ Valentine and sophomore Brady Poole. Valentine enters the season coming off back-to-back All-Region performances along with a 2020 season that saw him finish the year averaging a double-double (11.3 points and 12.2 rebounds a game) along with 2.4 blocks a game. Poole is the leading returning scorer from last year's team as he averaged 12.9 points a game while shooting 43% from the field and over 80% from the free throw line. "We're going to lean on KJ and Brady with their experience this year," said Pitt. "KJ is in his fourth year of starting on varsity and we're going to be looking to him as our emotional leader this year. We have a lot of great kids that have been working hard this summer along with this preseason and I like the direction that we're heading as a team. I think we can have a lot of success with the style of ball we're playing this year." Valentine says that he wants to make his senior season the best of his career and he has a list of things he wants to accomplish before his high school basketball career comes to an end. "We want to win the region this year and we're working hard everyday to attain that goal," said Valentine. "With this being my senior season I want us to go far this year and I'm expecting a bigger season from myself this year than I've ever had before." The duo won't be the only Eagles returning from an 8-7 team last year, as they will also see the return of seniors Ty Dawkins and Jayden Gossett along with junior Carson Williamson. Chesnee will also look to get key contributions from four newcomers as they welcome senior Elijah Wease, junior Jalen Rudisill, sophomore Daniel Wease, and freshman Coyie Poole. The Eagles will tip off their season in the Rippy's Tipoff, a three day tournament from November 22-24, where they will start off the tournament against the #1 ranked team at the 1A level, Southside Christian. Pitt says the early season matchup against such a strong team will show the Eagles where they stack up against other teams early in the year. "We're going to find out pretty early where we stand," said Pitt. "We don't normally play in tournaments to start the season but with circumstances we changed it up this year and we're going to get tested early being on the same side of the bracket with Southside Christian. Depending on what happens we'll play the winner of Woodruff and Spartanburg Day School, which have been two good teams so we'll find out pretty early what we're made of going into the season." Chesnee will also see the return of their Roundball Classic for the 2021 season, as last year's event was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. The tournament will take place on December 21-23 with a field that consists of: Blacksburg, Boiling Springs, Catawba Ridge, Chesnee, Fort Mill, Spartanburg Day, Union County, and York. Pitt says that the team is looking forward to the opportunity to bring back the tournament with another strong field. "It's going to be really good to get our tournament back going this year," said Pitt. "We have a nice field and like most years, no easy games. We hope to have three exciting days of basketball to send people into the Christmas holiday as we changed the dates this year to have the tournament happen just before Christmas instead of after like it has been in years past." The Eagles fanbase will get their first chance to see their team play at home on December 1st when they host Woodruff in a non-region matchup. Chesnee Girl's BasketballWhen the new season arrives for the Chesnee girls basketball team it will be a year of change for the Eagles as they'll have many new faces around the program this season.
The biggest change for the Eagles this season will be the leader of the program as first year coach Derek Byars takes over for former coach Carey Burns who stepped down at the end of last year, after leading the Eagles program for many years. He has been part of multiple state championship teams with the Eagles serving as an assistant on the 2013 state championship baseball team as well as an assistant on the 2020 volleyball state championship team, which the Eagles hope will transition to the girl’s basketball team. In a press release from the school district prior to the season Byars said that he's looking forward to the opportunity to take over the reigns of the Eagles program and to continue what Coach Burns has built with the Eagles. "I'm really excited," said Byars. "This is a good program and I'm looking forward to helping us take the next step. Coach Burns has always done a great job of leading them in basketball and in teaching players how to be good people. I want to continue that." Byars takes over a program that finished 9-7 last year during a season that saw that saw many teams dealing through the Covid pandemic. In a normal season the Eagles would have been in the playoffs but last season they were left out as only the top two teams from each region were allowed in the playoffs. "We are looking to improve throughout the season," said Byars. "We are excited to work hard and compete this year as we're going to play sound defense and do all of the little things right." Chesnee will be looking to their lone returning starter from last year's team, Brie Smith, to lead the team as she was named a Top 5 senior player at the 2A level by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association this season. She will be joined by two newcomers, Hannah Henderson and Pearl Holloway, who the Eagles hope to get big contributions from this season. The Eagles will kick off their new season in the Turkey Shootout tournament at Chesnee that will include York, Broome, and Polk County. The tournament will be November 22-23 and start at 6:00 PM. Chesnee will follow up their play in the tournament with a road trip to Broome on November 30th before hosting their first home game of year on December 1st against Woodruff. CHESNEE, SC - On Wednesday afternoon in the Chesnee gymnasium in front of family and friends two key players in the Eagles last two state championships committed to continue their athletic careers at the college level next season as Kaitlyn Barrett signed to continue her volleyball career and Sydney Roberts signed to continue her golf career.
Between the two players they account for three state championships, three region player of the year awards, eight All-Region selections and six All-State selections. Sydney Roberts signed on Wednesday to continue her golfing career at Clemson University next season, where she plans on majoring in health science. Roberts ended an impressive high school career earlier this season with a twenty-five foot putt to seal the first ever girls golf state championship for Chesnee while also winning the individual state championship. She is two-time region player of the year, a five time All-Region selection, and finished in the top four every season from her freshman to senior years. "I went on many visits during my recruitment and because of Covid I thought I may have to go Division II but I'm glad I stuck it out because I love the coaches, players and atmosphere at Clemson," said Roberts. "I'm glad I stuck it out because if I hadn't I wouldn't have this opportunity and it worked out like it was supposed to and I'm excited to be part of the program." Roberts was one of the original members of the Chesnee golf team where she has set numerous records, including the lowest round ever of 62, and now will be joining a Clemson team that is just in it's ninth season. She said the opportunity to help build a young Clemson team was a factor since it was similar to what she's leaving at Chesnee. "Clemson is a fairly new program as well so the opportunity to be a part of that has some to do with it as well," said Roberts. "The coaches there have kind of started fresh after the old coach left and I believe she has a great thing started. I'm excited after helping starting the program here at Chesnee at possibly setting some new records at Clemson and I'm excited to see where it goes." Roberts said she'll miss Chesnee but happy with how she ended her high school career there. "My career here at Chesnee ended exactly the way I wanted it to," said Roberts. "It was cool to see us finally get the state championship and all the girls played their best rounds of the season over those two days. I'm really going to miss the girls and it was bittersweet when I walked off the course for the final time as I was excited for the championship but it hit me that I had played my last round for Chesnee. I'm going to miss it but glad of what we accomplished." Kaitlyn Barrett signed to continue her volleyball career at Anderson University next season where she plans on majoring in nursing which was a key factor in her decision to attend the school. "I had an offer there for a long time but one of the main things I wanted to focus on was what was the school like," said Barrett. "When I visited and saw they had one of the best nursing programs in the state it just set in stone that Anderson was my future home." She also said that the team and coaches at Anderson were keys in her decision to choose to make that her college choice. "The team and the coach are amazing," said Barrett. "The coach is amazing and knows what he's talking about when it comes to volleyball skills. The team is so loving and caring and put in a lot of hard work to get better which I admire. Seeing other players with the same mindset as me makes me want to be a better as a player and a person. I'm beyond excited to get to join the program next year." Barrett has been a member of the Chesnee varsity volleyball team for five years earning All-State honors twice, being named Region Player of the Year this season, being named All-Region for three years and being a key member of the 2020 2A State Championship volleyball team. During that five year career she has accumulated 855 kills, 144 ace serves, 655 digs, and 34 blocks. She said that with the state championship last year and all the accolades that she's proud of all she has accomplished at Chesnee in her career. "It's been a great way to end my high school career," said Barrett. "When I found out I had won the Region Player of the Year I felt beyond blessed and thankful. It was a great way to finish out my Chesnee High School career and I'm thankful for what this team has given me." -James McBee Chesnee’s 2021 football season came to an end on Friday night as they fell in the first round of the 2A playoffs 68-35 in a home playoff game to Crescent.
An Eagle roster missing numerous players due to injuries and featuring underclassmen in new roles put up a valiant effort but ultimately came up short. The Eagles got a nice night from KJ Proctor who got his first varsity start at quarterback as a freshman. Proctor finished with five completions for seventy-seven yards and a pair of scores while his twenty-three yards rushing gave him a total of 100 yards and four touchdowns including two rushing. Two seniors had their best games offensively for the Eagles as Jayden Gossett had 132 yards on the ground and Tyquan Dawkins caught four passes four seventy-two yards and a score. He also had a beautiful tip drill reception that went for a first down. Dawkins also had a big night defensively also he led the way with six tackles. The other Proctor touchdown pass went to Kyle Martin, who ended up with 127 total yards including the five yard touchdown pass. KJ Valentine also had a big play for the Eagles as he had a 91 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Kaydon Sauers led the Tigers offensively with 287 yards and a trio of touchdown passes on fourteen completions. Cody Drummond led the Tigers in receiving with 140 yards and a score on four receptions. Darius Latimer had 372 total yards for the Tigers with five scores as he scored his touchdowns in a variety of ways with two kickoff returns, two receiving, and one rushing. Steele Sears also had a pick six for the Tigers. Crescent will travel to Gray Collegiate next Friday at 7:30pm. |
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