High school sports preview

It’s the strangest time of the year to be a high school sports reporter, because there really isn’t much reporting to be done so much as speculating.

And speculating about high school sports is a nearly useless endeavor.

Unlike the pros, or even major college sports, where rosters are locked in months ahead of the season, many high school coaches are still recruiting key pieces of the puzzle from the hallways in hopes they can get them into game shape by midseason and make a run in region play.

Even preseason scrimmages and early-season matchups can be deceiving, as the best coaches will adjust their lineups and develop young talent early in the season and have their squads looking like a different team by region play.

But folks love speculation, especially when it comes to sports, so we’ll give you a smidge of the scuttlebutt we’re hearing as the fall high school sports season gets rolling. Just take it with a grain of salt, because none of this will mean anything once they start playing the games.

The word on the street is …

May River’s girls golf team is poised to continue its dynastic run in Class 4A despite losing an all-timer to graduation. Back-to-back individual state champion Claire Green is off to Clemson — having won her swansong as a junior at the Jimmy Self Invitational earlier this month — and Robbin Zetrouer will be at St. Francis University this fall, but the next generation is ready to shine. Hailey Zhao took the girls title at the SCJGA’s Players Series event at Fort Jackson by a whopping five shots. Don’t sleep on the baby Sharks.

Hilton Head Christian Academy is still at the head of the class among SCISA football programs in the Lowco. The Eagles easily handled Beaufort Academy in a scrimmage last week, and BA met little resistance from John Paul II, so the transitive property tells us HHCA should continue its dominance over the Golden Warriors.

After flirting with the notion of transferring for his senior year, Tony O’Banner is back at Thomas Heyward Academy, but it’s unclear how the Rebels will use him on offense this season. THA had a tough time in a scrimmage against Calhoun Academy last week, but the offense was far more viable with O’Banner under center. He might have to put up stupid numbers on offense for the Rebels to be successful, though, because the defense left something to be desired.

The vibes are immaculate around the Cross Schools football team with new coach Rico McCoy at the helm. A star linebacker for the Tennessee Volunteers from 2006-09, McCoy brings big energy to a program that is trying to turn the corner in SCISA 8-man.

John Paul II’s volleyball team seems to have the goods. The Golden Warriors went 4-0 and didn’t drop a set at the IP Builders Preseason Tournament in Walterboro, as hitter Lily Termini, setter Miranda Moulton, and defensive specialist Rachael Brenneman led the charge for first-year coach Chase Vaigneur.

The area’s top cross country runners are ready for the season. May River’s Jackson Wright blazed to a time of 16:53 to win the Bobcat Scorcher 5K earlier this month, with John Paul II’s Blake Hubik and Matthew Yanachik on his heels, and several of the returners from Bluffton’s state championship girls team dotted the top 10.

That’s just a little taste of what’s to come this fall, and by the time my word’s grace these pages again, we’ll have something more succulent than speculation for you to sink your teeth into.

Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and is the founder of Lowco Sports. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.