What We Saw: Gray Collegiate 27, Abbeville 12
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WEST COLUMBIA | Gray Collegiate rode a tenacious, hard-hitting defense, a huge special teams play and favorable field position to a 27-12 victory over defending state champion Abbeville Friday night in the Class 2A Upper State championship. That moves the…
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Continue ReadingWEST COLUMBIA | Gray Collegiate rode a tenacious, hard-hitting defense, a huge special teams play and favorable field position to a 27-12 victory over defending state champion Abbeville Friday night in the Class 2A Upper State championship.
That moves the War Eagles to their second-ever state championship game appearance next Thursday night. Gray Collegiate will play former sister school Oceanside Collegiate at 7 p.m. at S.C. State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg. The War Eagles won it all in 2021, their only other championship game appearance.
“Football teaches you how to face adversity and our football team faced adversity. We went out and played great football teams and it got us ready for nights like this. (Abbeville) set the precedent for 2A and that’s what we’re working to be and get on that level,” Gray Collegiate coach Adam Holmes said.
BJ Montgomery BJ Montgomery 5'9" | 175 lbs | RB Gray Collegiate | 2025 State SC (pictured) scored twice, and Tyler Waller Tyler Waller 6'0" | 180 lbs | QB Gray Collegiate | 2026 State SC threw two touchdowns to spark the offense. But it was the play of the defense that set the tone.
Abbeville received the opening kickoff and jumped to a 6-0 lead on a 24-yard TD pass from Marcus Leach to Karson Norman Karson Norman 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB Abbeville | 2025 State SC . That capped the 8-play, 78-yard drive. But that would be the Panthers best drive of the night.
Gray Collegiate’s defense was led by Jeb Taylor, Kaine Williams Kaine Williams 5'11" | 215 lbs | LB Gray Collegiate | 2024 State SC , Michael Boulware Michael Boulware 6'2" | 200 lbs | LB Gray Collegiate | 2026 State SC , Ethan Raysor and Trequan Singleton. Outside of Leach’s 80-yard scoring run in the third quarter, they limited the Panthers to just 98 yards on their eight other possessions. Six of those possessions ended with a punt, the half ended another drive and Zion Job Zion Job 5'10" | 185 lbs | ATH Gray Collegiate | 2025 State SC had an interception to set up a Gray Collegiate score on the other one.
“Our defense did an amazing job,” Holmes said. “They balled out tonight. Guys like (Michael) Boulware and (Trequan) Singleton played great. Other than that one long run, we held them and made them have to go on long, long drives. Proud of that defense and we just have to do it one more week.”
Montgomery might have had the play of the night. Leach shocked the home crowd with his 80-yard sprint for the score that made it a 13-12 War Eagles lead with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Montgomery dropped the ball, gathered himself enough to pick it up without a defender around, and raced 88 yards to make it 20-12 with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter.
““I had to stop and give it a second to make sure it didn’t roll through my legs,” Montgomery said. “Coach talked about it all week that if we take it back to the right side, we score. That’s what we did. We executed it very well.”
Gray Collegiate forced a three-and-out and sealed it on their next offensive possession. Montgomery, who had 96 yards on 24 carries, danced in from 5-yards out to make it 27-12 with 7:59 remaining.
Waller threw a 7-yard touchdown to Blaine Redmond with 1:57 remaining in the half to make it a 6-all game at the break.
The War Eagles started their second drive of the third quarter at the Abbeville 23-yard line and it only took three plays to reach paydirt. Waller, who was 13-of-22 for 165 yards, found Jamarious Lockett Jamarious Lockett 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Gray Collegiate | 2024 State SC on an 18-yard TD pass that made it 13-6 with 5:21 remaining in the third. Lockett finished with six catches for 103 yards.
ABBEVILLE NOTABLES
Na’Gavin Calhoun and Mikelyn Bowie, a pair of linebackers for the Panthers, made a ton of plays. Add in the two interceptions by Justin Rollinson, and Abbeville limited Gray Collegiate to 306 yards of total offense but it wasn’t enough to defend their state title from a year ago.