2025 Weekend of Champions Day 1 Notes

ORANGEBURG | South Carolina is going to have a number of players in Saturday's state championship game playing in their fourth straight championship appearance, or at the very least being on the varsity roster for all of them.   But Big Game Aiden has done enough to eclipse what Dutch Fork's [player_tooltip player_id='1592529' first='Julian' last='Walker'] or [player_tooltip player_id='1025776' first='Raleigh' last='Salters'] or even South Florence's [player_tooltip player_id='1267265' first='Amare' last='Reaves'] and [player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon'] have done in their respective teams' recent runs.   On Friday, Oceanside Collegiate junior [player_tooltip player_id='1094944' first='Aiden' last='Manavian'] put himself into rare territory by winning his third consecutive state title game as the starting quarterback in the Landsharks' 28-7 Class 3A championship victory over Belton-Honea Path. If he were to repeat the act one more time next year, he would become just the second signal caller to pull off a four-peat in state history, joining Dillon's Avery McCall, who did it from 2012-2015. (No, Prep RedZone South Carolina didn't exist back then.)   Even moments after Friday's win, Manavian was cognizant of what's ahead of him not only this offseason, but heading into what will be his highly anticipated senior season.    “With the team we have and the talent we've produced, I feel like there's no shot of stopping us,” he said. “We have great coaches here. Development is everything. It's like a family at Oceanside. Having that ability and bond in the offseason is going to put us in this position next year.”   Manavian was held well below his season passing average of 276 yards per game through the first 14 contests of the season. He was 11-of-21 for 152 yards and a score in wet conditions brought about by Friday's steady and often heavy rains.   He also fumbled twice during the early going. However, he settled down and started treating the downpour as if it was nothing more than an inconvenience and was rewarded with another on-field celebration.    Moments after, OCA coach Brent LaPrad knew he was watching something special in real time.   “He's unbelievable,” LaPrad said. “He's the best I've ever had. The way he gets in and out of calls - you wouldn't believe how many calls he changed at the last second. I'm talking about big third-down plays. It's like having a coach on the field. I told him when he won three I'd have to start sharing my office. So I guess I have to start [planning] for office space.”   Manavian burst onto the scene during the playoffs of his freshman season. While he was a backup during the regular season, he took over for an injured Eddie Riedenbach for the postseason and immediately made waves. In the 2023 state championship victory over Gray Collegiate, he threw for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He then used that as a springboard into his sophomore season, when he finished with 3,469 yards and 42 touchdowns.   This fall, he passed for 4,027 yards and 41 touchdowns.    And with the help of another strong defensive effort on the other side of the ball, he had put himself into that super-small class of South Carolina quarterbacks.    “After we came out in the second half and defense got that stop, we felt like they were shut down,” Manavian said. “It was ours from there.”   NORTHWESTERN'S WATKINS BIDS FAIRWELL TO HS CAREER   Earlier this week, [player_tooltip player_id='1267200' first='Tamarion' last='Watkins'] fulfilling a bunch of his promise by signing with Texas A&M.   On Friday, the Trojan safety fulfilled years of promise and then production with his pick-six that was among a number of highlights for Northwestern's 35-point second quarter in the lopsided win over Irmo is the Class 5A Division II title game.    “I think it really just cements my legacy here,” Watkins said. “I've given this school everything I've had since day one, since I was a freshman before I moved up to varsity. I wasn't really getting lots of reps, [trying to] make plays here and there. To become the player I am now, that moment sums it all up.”   The crazy part about the interception return and the ensuing few minutes was how much it flipped the script from last year's final-seconds win over Irmo in the state championship game. If 2024's second half was about nail-biting and hope, 2025 was about running out an already running clock.   “We didn't want to celebrate until the clock read 0:00, but man, it was definitely a lot of pressure off our backs knowing we weren't in that type of dogfight like we were last year,” Watkins said. “Everybody knows Irmo is going to fight up until the wire.”   Watkins has already publicly said he's skipping the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas in order to finish up his high school requirements and enroll at Texas A&M for the spring semester. So the next time we hear from him will likely be when he's in a college uniform.    BATTLE-TESTED, TIMES TWO   Friday's Class A title game between Lamar and Bamberg-Ehrhardt was a beautiful look at small-class linemen.    Silver Fox senior [player_tooltip player_id='1267226' first='Devaughn' last='Locust'] (guard, defensive tackle), junior [player_tooltip player_id='1822292' first='Messiah' last='Simes'] (tackle, end) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1615075' first='Lamont' last='Williams'] (defensive end, tight end) all started both ways in the trenches.    Red Raiders sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1817745' first='Saveon' last='Bamberg'] (defensive end, right guard) and [player_tooltip player_id='1822460' first='Jaden' last='Moody'] (defensive end, right tackle) did the same.    LOOKING AHEAD   With one more three-pack of games on Saturday, the stars will be out in force from the get-go. For each matchup, here are the top players we're expecting to see show up and show out.    GAME 1: South Pointe-South Florence (12:06 p.m.)   SP - [player_tooltip player_id='1819627' first='J'Zavien' last='Currence'] (QB/DB), No. 1 overall, Class of 2026   SF - [player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon'] (QB), No. 20 overall, Class of 2026   SP - [player_tooltip player_id='1165103' first='Anthony' last='Baxter'] (OL), No. 47 overall, Class of 2026   SP - [player_tooltip player_id='1271263' first='KJ' last='Burg'] (LB), No. 23 overall, Class of 2027   GAME 2: Strom Thurmond-Hampton County (4:06 p.m.)   ST - [player_tooltip player_id='617663' first='Kaleb' last='Simpkins'] (DB/WR), No. 58 overall, Class of 2026   HC - [player_tooltip player_id='1165165' first='Jaylen' last='Singletary'] (RB/DB), No. 63 overall, Class of 2026   GAME 3: Dutch Fork-Summerville (7:36 p.m.)   DF - [player_tooltip player_id='1025776' first='Raleigh' last='Salters'] (LB), No. 27 overall, Class of 2026   DF - [player_tooltip player_id='1592529' first='Julian' last='Walker'] (DE), No. 40 overall, Class of 2026   S - [player_tooltip player_id='1639684' first='Tyree' last='Patton'] (LB), No. 81 overall, Class of 2026 S - [player_tooltip player_id='378969' first='Jaiden' last='Kelly-Murray'] (WR/DB), No. 1 overall, Class of 2027    S - [player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams'] (RB), No. 5 overall, Class of 2027    Editor's Note: All rankings based on currently published charts

ORANGEBURG | South Carolina is going to have a number of players in Saturday's state championship game playing in their fourth straight championship appearance, or at the very least being on the varsity roster for all of them.