What We Saw: Abbeville Wins 2A State Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>COLUMBIA || Doing what they do best, the second-ranked Abbeville Panthers ran their way to the 2A state championship with a 35-20 win over top-ranked Oceanside Collegiate on Dec. 2, at Benedict College.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers came into the final game averaging 305 yards rushing per game and racked up 283 yards in the championship battle. Abbeville used a plethora of running backs, along with the occasional quarterback keeper, to score 35 points against an Oceanside Collegiate defense that yielded only 11.7 points per game during the first 13 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior safety/running back <strong>Antonio Harrison</strong> completed a remarkable comeback by scoring a touchdown in his final prep game. Harrison had his ACL repaired in June and worked his way back to playing late in the regular season. He rushed for 27 yards on four carries, caught a 20-yard pass, and had six tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It feels great that I was able to get back on the field, it means a lot," Harrison said. "I was on the team when we won state two years ago but winning as a senior, in my last game, is really special. This is why I worked so hard to get back out here with my teammates."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of underclassmen made their mark in the title game. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249809' first='Karson' last='Norman']</strong>, who plays receiver and defensive back, scored Abbeville's first touchdown on a 61-yard run in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore fullback <strong>Artavious Patterson</strong> (5-11, 230) bulled his way to 29 yards on 11 carries, all in the second half to help the Panthers eat the clock.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore outside linebacker <strong>Demarkus Leach</strong> (6-4, 180) also had a solid game with six tackles. Senior end <strong>Jae Harris</strong> led Abbeville with 10 tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oceanside Collegiate junior quarterback <strong>Edward Reidenbach</strong> finished with 322 yards passing but 228 of those yards came during catch-up mode in the second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202746' first='Jace' last='Kraftchick']</strong> caught six passes for 130 yards, including a fourth quarter 66-yard score. Kraftchick also led the Landsharks with 11 tackles as a linebacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='89344' first='Vaughn' last='Blue']</strong> had 68 yards receiving on five catches, including one for a touchdown, and rushed for 69 yards on 19 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139300' first='Ben' last='Britton']</strong>, who should be one of the top defensive linemen in the state next season, finished with eight tackles and two tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->