High school notebook: Westwood hammering a tradition
Westwood quarterback Jalen Smith helped hammer home a victory Saturday against River Bluff.
Following the game, Smith had a hammer in his hand as he pounded a nail into a piece of wood symbolizing the Redhawks’ 34-17 victory. Westwood coach Rodney Summers said special teams coordinator Brett Miller came up with the tradition before the start of last year as a way to symbolize each of the Redhawks’ victories.
Summers picks that game’s top player as the one to hammer the nail home. The piece of wood has gotten plenty of nails placed in it with Westwood winning 11 games last season and off to a 1-0 start this year.
“The kids have carried it over and each game they always talk about it,” Summers said. “Fortunately, last year we were able to put a lot of nails into it. Hopefully we can do the same this year.”
Hammond’s Woods in latest Scout, ESPN rankings
Hammond guard Seventh Woods appeared in the Class of 2016 Top 100 by three different rankings services released Wednesday. Woods is ranked 34th by Scout, 55th by ESPN and 56th by 247Sports.
Woods was the only South Carolina player ranked in the top 100 of all three rankings. He averaged 16.5 points, 3.7 assists, 3.6 steals and 3.5 rebounds last season. The senior scored two points in nine minutes in Saturday’s Under Armour Elite Top 24 in Brooklyn, N.Y..
Woods also announced over the weekend he has narrowed his college choices to South Carolina, Florida, Georgetown and North Carolina. He will visit Georgetown in mid-September, according to the website HoyaNation.
Battle of the Bell
The Battle of the Bell is at stake for the winner of Friday’s Chapin at Mid-Carolina game.
The bell was introduced in 2012 to add interest to the rivalry between region foes. The bell was used on the railroad connecting Prosperity and Chapin.
Chapin has won two of the three meetings since the bell was introduced and holds a 41-18 advantage all-time against Mid-Carolina.
Natur Chem baseball field set
The field has been announced for the inaugural Natur Chem high school baseball tournament, which will be hosted by Lexington and River Bluff from March 2-6.
Airport, Dutch Fork, A.C. Flora, Sumter, Wren, South Aiken, Belton Honea Path, Spring Valley and the two host schools River Bluff and Lexington will be the teams in the first-year tournament. Pairings and schedule for the tournament will be announced later.
New track coaches at Ridge View
Ridge View recently named new track coaches.
Kendrick Pressley will coach the boys’ team, and Warren Eure is coaching the girls’ team. Eure was the boys’ coach last year.
Pressley’s a former Sumter standout and coached the past two years at Lakewood. Eure ran at Clemson and was a part of Tigers’ NCAA Nationals qualifying 4x400m relay team during his junior season.
Six to play at Border Battle
Six Midlands baseball players were invited to play in the South Atlantic Border Battle in Chapel Hill, N.C. from Oct. 3-4. Rosters for the teams are picked and coached by Major League scouts.
Dutch Fork’s T.J. Shook and Ward Hacklen, Camden’s Will Abbott, Newberry’s Ryne Huggins, River Bluff’s Brandon Tillmon and Blythewood’s Jordyn Adams were selected to play in the game.
Shook (South Carolina), Abbott (The Citadel), Huggins (Clemson) and Tillmon (Liberty) are seniors and have committed to play in college.
Recruiting
Richland Northeast linebacker T.J. Brunson said he will attend the Texas at Notre Dame game on Sept. 5. Brunson’s a Louisville commit but the Fighting Irish have continued to show interest.
Blythewood’s Jacob Davis committed to play baseball at USC-Lancaster.
White Knoll’s Zach Driggers announced he will play baseball at Erskine.
This story was originally published August 26, 2015 at 10:01 PM with the headline "High school notebook: Westwood hammering a tradition."