Ridge View’s Upper State win puts Blazers in 5A championship game for first time
Yerrick Stoneman’s farewell tour has one more stop — the state championship.
Stoneman’s Ridge View High School squad held off a furious Mauldin comeback for a 58-49 win Saturday night in the Class 5A Upper State championship, held in a jam-packed Davis Field House at Bob Jones University.
The Blazers will play Fort Dorchester at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the state championship game at USC Aiken.
“It definitely pulled the team together more than we already were,” Ridge View star forward GG Jackson said of Stoneman leaving. “We realize it was his last year so we got to go out with a bang, and I feel like we are going to do that Thursday.”
It is Ridge View’s fourth state championship appearance in five years but the first in Class 5A. The Blazers won three straight Class 4A championships from 2018-20.
The title run comes in Stoneman’s final season with the program. He announced earlier this month that he will be leaving to take over nationally ranked Oak Hill next season. Stoneman spent 11 years as an assistant coach there.
“I’m just glad I get to coach one more game for Ridge View. That is the main thing,” Stoneman said. “I have known (Oak Hill) was a possibility for eight months, but I had to stay focused with these guys and get side-tracked with something in the future than what is at hand right now.”
The Blazers played the toughest schedule in school history with trips to Las Vegas and New Orleans for tournaments as well as two hometown events — the Chick-fil-A Classic and the Bash. That tough scheduling has paid off, especially over the past month.
Ridge View won its first three playoff games by 19 points or more and looked like it was on its away to another blowout. The Blazers were essentially playing a road game against Mauldin, which was coming off a win over No. 1 Dorman on Monday. The Mavs’ campus was a 10-minute ride to Bob Jones University.
Ridge View quieted the crowd for the first two-and-half quarters and led 42-20 with 4:43 left. But behind Caleb Byrd and Caleb Downs, Mauldin went on an 18-4 run over the next eight minutes to cut it to 46-38.
Downs and Byrd, who hit the game-winning shot against Dorman, combined for 24 points in the second half. Ridge View was able to answer and got a lift from players other than Jackson down the stretch. The five-star prospect had a team-high 16 points but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Xavier Moultrie and Gamar Powers picked up the scoring in the fourth for the Blazers. Moultrie, who had 15 points, and Powers had back-to-back baskets to put the Blazers up 52-43.
Powers finished with 10.
“We know GG is going to get his, but we need other guys to step up and the last three ballgames we have been pretty good at it. It helps,” Stoneman said.
Summary
RV: Xavier Moultrie 15, GG Jackson 16, Gamar Powers 10, Owens 7, Letthand 4, Squirewell 2, Rivers 4. M: Ballenger 5, Hershberger 2, Byrd 16, Downs 15, Sherer 6, Owens 3.
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 9:27 PM.
