Late Heroics Boost Summerville Past Carolina Forest

MYRTLE BEACH | [player_tooltip player_id='1267287' first='Jordan' last='Ravenell'] and his mates in the defensive backfield got burned. Twice, actually.   The Summerville corner got the ultimate laugh.    Ravenell made an acrobatic interception with 91 seconds remaining to stave off any chance of last-minute Carolina Forest heroics and preserve a 29-28 road win to advance the Green Wave to next week's Class 5A, Division-I Lower State final. And for the senior and one-year Summerville player, it further legitimized his decision to transfer last offseason.    “They got us a couple times, and that kind of brought us down, but we came back out [in the second half] with a chip on our shoulder. They're not scoring no more points,” Ravenell said, referencing two home-run passes Carolina Forest hit on over the top in the first half to build a second-quarter, two-touchdown lead. “We did what we had to do.   “It felt good. Coming to Summerville was one of the best decisions I've made in my career. That pick just really motivated me and my team to go anywhere, anytime, anyplace. We've got it.”   Thanks to James Island's last-second field goal, that place for the Lower State final will be at home. But, it was also thanks to some gritty in-game decisions and plays that lifted Summerville to a road win over the No. 1 seed in the Lower State bracket.   It ended with Ravenell's interception, of course, but that was nowhere close to all of it.   For starters, anyone who knew these two teams would have said that opposing tailbacks [player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1148537' first='Jaryn' last='Fox'] unofficially finishing with a combined 50 carries for 161 yards and no touchdowns would have been worthy of a psychological evaluation. The two players came into the game with more than 3,200 yards and 41 touchdowns between them.   But both defensive strategies were intended to prevent both from doing the heavy lifting.    “After we lost to Ashley Ridge, we made some personnel changes on defense,” Summerville coach Ian Rafferty said. “We've got a little more size inside and moved [player_tooltip player_id='1816961' first='Demarcus' last='King'] outside. Our defensive line does a good job. We did put all our hats into stopping the run. They burned us with a couple of those pass plays. I wasn't real surprised by how they shut us down. They had seven, eight people in the box. We kept trying to force it, force it, force it because Jayven is our bell cow. But it's tough against us. We have so many weapons.”   Defensively, the line combinations featuring the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='1615021' first='Dexter' last='Chavous'] [player_tooltip player_id='1822311' first='Carson' last='Vaughn'] [player_tooltip player_id='402500' first='Malachi' last='Washington'] and DJ Hall more than did the trick in keeping Fox in check.   Offensively, there were a number of them.   Junior [player_tooltip player_id='378969' first='Jaiden' last='Kelly-Murray'] is the top overall player in the Prep RedZone Class of 2027 rankings for a reason and made his impact felt with six receptions for 69 yards. His biggest of the evening came near the end of the first half when he hauled in a 17-yarder in heavy traffic to extend a drive that eventually ended in the end zone.   The player who scored that time?   It was fellow receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1061146' first='Teru' last='Davis'] - whose 19-yard touchdown was not only his second of the evening but was set up by Kelly-Murray pulling his and Davis' receiver toward the sideline to spring the sophomore.    Davis, who also scored on a 44-yarder less than 3 minutes into the corner, finished with five catches for 137 yards and those two scores.   “We're the best receiver duo in the country. In the country,” Davis said. “This ain't nothing new. We've been doing this in practice. We've been doing this all season. We make plays and do our job.”   Like Ravenell, Davis will play in a Lower State final after making his way over from Goose Creek in the offseason.    “It's a blessing. Who doesn't want to wear that “S” on their shirt?” Davis said. “The history behind it, it's just a blessing to be here and be a part of this team.”   [player_tooltip player_id='1734517' first='Max' last='Stafford'] obviously had the same idea when he moved back to the Lowcountry last spring after spending a season at IMG Academy. The senior finished the game 214 passing yards for those two touchdowns, a two-point conversion throw to back-up tailback Cam Grayson and a 1-yard quarterback keeper touchdown run.    The two-point try came with exactly 10 minutes left in the game, and Stafford found Grayson - the fourth option on the play - to give Summerville it's only lead of the game.   It stuck, with some late help from Ravenell.    “Jordan's a very, very good player. Our kids understand [getting burned is] part of being a corner,” Rafferty said. “The best ones in the world get beat. You've got you move on and play the next play. We had a good call and we kind of sat on that, but he made a good play.”   Carolina Forest Notables    [player_tooltip player_id='284135' first='Kamren' last='Long'] QB, 2026 - Long's evening and Carolina Forest career ended on a low note. But that came after he threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns.    [player_tooltip player_id='1820976' first='Nick' last='Zincone'] WR, 2026 - One of the two Panthers' burners caught four passes for 92 yards. His second-quarter touchdown over the top showed everyone in the stadium how fast he was when he not only hauled in a long pass but then left every Summerville defender well behind him en route to a 72-yard score.   [player_tooltip player_id='1576586' first='River' last='Thayne'] TE, 2026 - The senior H-Back started off the scoring with a nifty 16-yard grab in the back of the end zone. It was just his second touchdown reception of the season. The first came in the second-round victory over Fort Dorchester last week.   [player_tooltip player_id='1672894' first='Brady' last='McDowell'] WR, 2028 - McDowell not only made his impact felt with a electric 71-yard touchdown reception of his own with 3:34 left in the second quarter. He also ignited the crowd with his 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half. As it turned out, it was the Panthers' final points of the 2025 season.

MYRTLE BEACH | Jordan Ravenell Jordan Ravenell 5'10" | 190 lbs | DB Summerville | 2026 State SC and his mates in the defensive backfield got burned. Twice, actually.