Oceanside Defense Delivers Third Consecutive State Title

ORANGEBURG | A year ago, Oceanside Collegiate held the Belton-Honea Path to just 17 points in the state championship.   This time around, the Landsharks one-upped themselves.    [player_tooltip player_id='1824759' first='Rhys' last='Meredith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='402505' first='Romaum' last='Parson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1821531' first='Joey' last='Harriott'] and their defensive teammates flustered and frustrated the Bears en route to a 28-7 victory Friday at South Carolina State's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. It was OCA's third straight state championship and second straight at the Class 3A level.    And for a team with so many different aspects of the game going its way for the last three falls, Friday's victory was among the biggest defensive showings the Landsharks have had during this run.    “I'm surprised that they scored,” Parson said after helping to hold the Bears to a mere 204 total yards of offense and about 34 points below their season average. “I didn't think they were going to score. The mentality was to just dominate, dominate, dominate. That's what we came out here and did.”   Outside of a fourth-quarter touchdown after the game was all but decided, that's exactly what the Landsharks did.    Meredith finished with a game-high 11 tackles and a tackle for loss. Parson had seven stops, two tackles for loss and broke up a pass. Harriott, Tyler Stafford and [player_tooltip player_id='1025774' first='Sawyer' last='Arnold'] each forced a fumble. And Michael Strickland picked off a pass to open the second half and start propelling OCA to yet another trophy celebration.    It was something Oceanside players felt was entirely possible all season, but then went into hyperdrive after the Landsharks took down perennial Class 5A Division I front runner Dutch Fork (who plays Saturday in that title game against Summerville) back on September 19.    “We knew we were going to win since the start of the year,” Meredith said. “The offensive players, the defensive players, we knew we were going to win. After Dutch Fork, we were No. 1 in the state. After we beat Dutch Fork, we were just electric. We were hungry every day.”   Oceanside standout receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1592182' first='Terence' last='Johnson'] echoed that impact of the win over the Silver Foxes after he rushed for three touchdowns in Friday's win over BHP.    “When we won that game, it was like nobody can mess us up,” Johnson said. “If you look at some of plays in that game, we had good possessions and they were plays we practiced in practice, over and over in practice. We just got it down pat.”   Johnson, a starting receiver, has spent much of the year adding a big-time component to the rushing attack via wildcat snaps. His 2-yard run out of the package gave he and his teammates a 14-0 lead just prior to halftime and then added another with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter to make it a three-score game. Then, on the Landsharks' next offensive possession, Johnson took a reverse pitch and briefly looked as if he was going to throw before tucking it back down and bulling over a defender for his third score.   Star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1094944' first='Aiden' last='Manavian'] completed 11-of-21 attempts for 152 yards and a 47-yard touchdown pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1823853' first='Anthony' last='Williams'] to open the scoring. And while his arm was again a threat, soggy conditions didn't do either team any favors with the passing attack.   Oceanside's defense, though was considerably more dangerous.    Again.   Through five playoff games, this defense allowed a grand total of 36 points, and 15 of those came after Oceanside had already earned a running-clock point differential in the opening-round victory over Georgetown.    Oceanside has allowed an average of 6.3 points per game since beating Dutch Fork. But that unit's production in the final three games of the 2025 season was exactly as Parson put it.   Dominant.    “They play with a chip on their shoulder,” head coach Brent LaPrad said. “All year, we hear all about the offense. We don't hear much about the defense. They want to prove a point. Dillon, Loris and then [Belton-Honea Path], those are some really good offenses. For them to go out and play like they did, they play hard, they're fast, they're violent. They're a nightmare for offenses.”   OTHER OCEANSIDE NOTABLES   [player_tooltip player_id='1821532' first='Zakhi' last='Muncey'] RB, 2026 - Thrust into the starting job (and a new position) after junior [player_tooltip player_id='1664501' first='James' last='O'Connor'] went down earlier this season, Muncey again did his job with some effective yards on the ground. He had 89 yards on 19 carries, with 45 before the break and another 44 in the second half. He's going to wrap up his only real slate at tailback with 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.    [player_tooltip player_id='1674386' first='Cooper' last='Webb'] WR, 2027 - Webb looked extremely capable to becoming a massive receiving threat for next year when he caught three passes for 39 yards and was a slipped throw away from adding heavily to those figures on another inside slant. His biggest catch came on a second-down play near the start of the fourth quarter where he nearly powered his way into the end zone before getting stopped at the 1. On the next play, Johnson scored his third touchdown to put the game away.   [player_tooltip player_id='1771847' first='Jordan' last='Wright'] DB, 2026 - The senior corner broke up three more passes to pad his season tally (which was already in the double digits). He was a big reason the Bears only threw for 122 yards, with nearly half of those coming after it was a four-score game.   BELTON-HONEA PATH NOTABLES    [player_tooltip player_id='779428' first='Tajeh' last='Watson-Martin'] ATH, 2027 - The all-everything junior ended any thought of an Oceanside shutout when he hauled in a 52-yard touchdown reception from [player_tooltip player_id='283891' first='Noah' last='Thomas'] with 4:27 left in the game. Watson-Martin finished the game with six receptions for 107 yards and that score. He came into the game just 4 yards shy of 1,000 receiving for the season and he'll enter his senior season next fall with more than 2,000 career receiver yards to go along with all of his defensive production, which includes 10 career interceptions.   [player_tooltip player_id='1639798' first='MJ' last='Earl'] RB, 2026 - Earl was held out of the end zone for just the second time all season. He finished with 37 yards and will wrap up his Bears career with north of 1,800 yards.    [player_tooltip player_id='283891' first='Noah' last='Thomas'] QB, 2026 - The Bears' senior wrapped up his storied career with the last touchdown pass to Watson-Martin. He was contained throughout most of the game but did manage to throw for 122 yards in the loss. He now runs out of eligibility, but not before tossing 55 touchdowns over the course of the last two seasons, a pair of Upper State championship campaigns.    [player_tooltip player_id='1592470' first='Kylan' last='Dixon'] DL, 2026 - Dixon led the way with nine total tackles and a tackle for loss. He shifted his starting position around prior to the snap and had moments where he shoved off potential blockers on either side of center.    [player_tooltip player_id='1818722' first='Malachi' last='Bohler'] DB, [player_tooltip player_id='1603850' first='Kamarion' last='Glenn'] DL, and [player_tooltip player_id='1820566' first='Jacus' last='Paul'] - Each of the three Bears defenders created a turnover by forcing and/or recovering a fumble.

ORANGEBURG | A year ago, Oceanside Collegiate held the Belton-Honea Path to just 17 points in the state championship.