Cody’s Blog

Barons Escape Pitcher’s Duel 2-1 March 13, 2010

After moving up the game to a 4:30 start time because of the threat of rain, junior Patrick Gordon finally got to toe the rubber around 4:50 at Laurence Manning after LMA starter Matt Mays knocked the Barons down in order to open the game. Gordon, who looked good from the start, scattered six hits and six strikeouts while only allowing 1 run to cross the plate. Matt Mays also had an extremely strong outing, but allowed the Barons to post all the offense they would need in the fourth with 2 runs coming on a Gordon RBI single and a Matthew Carnes sacrifice fly. The Barons are 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in Region II-3A play this year and are averaging 9 runs a game while only allowing 4.

Varsity Baseball Open With a Bang March 3, 2010

Led by Patrick Gordon’s three-run dinger over th center field fence, the Barons got off to a quick start in their first game of the season by scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first five Barons that reached base scored, and by the time you looked up from your scorecard, they were taking a comfortable five run lead into the second. The Barons continued to pound the Calhoun pitching, scoring 8 more runs that rest of the way, with most of them coming in one inning clusters. Starting pitcher Tyler Smith had a strong showing in his first start of the season, holding the Cavalier batters in check on his way to giving up just one run. Patrick Gordon finished the night 2-3 with a homerun, 4 RBIs, and a walk and a steal, and fellow junior Zach Sherril also hit a homer, while driving in two on a 1-4 performance. Sophomore cathcher Blake Graham also contributed a 3-3 performance, while senior second baseman Jordan Cannon also had three hits. The Barons lace ‘em up again on Friday as they face Ben Lippen at home at 7:00 p.m.

White Out Not Enough For Barons February 26, 2010

As Barons Fans poured into the stands decked out in white for their “White Out” in the SCISA 3A State Semifinal game against the Heathwood Hall Highlanders, the Sumter County Exhibition Center began to fill up and the much anticipated game got ready to get underway. From the tip, the Highlanders had control of the game. Down 16-3 in the first quarter, the Barons made an 8-2 run and at the end of the stanza, the score read 18-11 in favor of Heathwood. The Barons came out a little differently in this game, getting 6′5″ center Will Duffy going early, as he scored the Barons’ first 6 points of the game. Usually Wilson Hall looks to get out and run and play pressure defense, but Heathwood forced them to play out of their element, and it showed through their play. The Barons still stood within striking distance at the half, down only 8 at 28-20. Heathwood put the nail in the coffin in the third stanza, outscoring WH 15-8 and took a 15 point, insurmountable lead into the last quarter. This game did not sponsor much to cheer about for the Barons, as they went down early and could not come back from their rocky start. Claude Lathan led the Barons with 13 points, while Wesley Talley scored 11 points, and Will Duffy also posted 11 points. Lathan and Talley both averaged over 15 points per game in the state playoffs, but the Barons will lose Talley’s services next year, as he is a senior. Josh Glenn, Zach Martin, Brendan Murphy, and Max Stroebel are also seniors, and will leave the Barons as a very young team next year. (Pictures: Left: The Baron Fans cheer for their team. Right: Josh Glenn faces the basket as Coach Eddie Talley yells out the play. Photos courtesy of Chase Clark)

Barons Explode at Eagles Expense February 24, 2010

The Wilson Hall Barons faced off Wednesday night against the Hilton Head Christian Eagles in the Sumter County Exhibition Center in the SCISA 3A Boy’s State Quarterfinal game. After wrestling a 21-16 lead from the Eagles in the first quarter, the Barons outscored HHC 19-11 in the second stanza en route to a 40-27 halftime lead. Wesley Talley and Claude Lathan again exploded for the Barons in the first half, scoring 15, and 13 respectively. Although the Barons only scored 29 second half points, the first half lead they had obtained proved to be enough as they went on to win by a count of 69-54. The Barons had an extremely superb shooting night, which offset that they were out played on the glass 39-14, as they shot a shade over 55% from the field as well as shot 50% (4-8) from the three-point line. For the second game in a row, Lathan and Talley led the Barons in scoring, and are now each averaging north of 19 points-per-game in these State playoffs. Talley finished the night with 17 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists, and Lathan turned in a 19 point, 4 rebound, 4 assist performance while eclipsing the 1000 point mark for his career with a driving layup in the wanning seconds of the game, which now gives him 1,001 career points in just under three years at LMA and now Wilson Hall. Senior Josh Glenn also contributed 10 points and dished out 8 assists, and juniors Patrick Gordon and Will Duffy scored 9 and 8 points, respectively. The Eagles were led by Chris Ferarro, who poured in 17 points and 21 rebounds. The Barons next play Friday night at 8 o’clock versus Heathwood Hall at the Exhibition center, in what should be one of the best games of the season thus far for both teams.

Lady Barons Suffer Tough Loss in State-Quarterfinals February 23, 2010

After Ansley Ard scored two quick buckets for the Barons in the early going to take a 4-2 lead, the Pinewood Prep Panthers wrestled the lead back and never gave it up from that point on. The Panthers closed out the quarter with 15 more points en route to a 52-39 win. The defending champions dominated every aspect of the game, but the one bright spot for the Barons was sophomore Ansley Ard. Ard carried the team the entire night, scoring 24 of their 39 points, which included the first eight Baron scores as well as 10 for 12 from the free throw line, but the Barons did not have enough to fuel them past the Panthers as they closed out a 23-5 season with a trip to the SCISA 3A State Quarterfinals.

Talley, Lathan Lead Barons to Opening Round Win February 20, 2010

You could feel the playoff energy radiating in the Nash Student Center Saturday afternoon as fans poured into the bleaches even well after tip-off for the Baron’s opening round game of the 2009-2010 SCISA 3A state championship against the #7 Hammond Skyhawks. The Barons, who are a #2 seed in the tournament, were shorthanded for this game as Max Stroebel re-broke his leg, and Patrick Gordon rolled his ankle, but junior Claude Lathan and senior Wesley Talley took the reins and led their team to victory. Lathan rang home 23 points, which included 5-7 from the free throw-line, and Talley scored 21 points, pulled down 4 rebounds, and registered 3 assists and 4 steals. After a slow, 16-6 first quarter, the Barons picked up the scoring pace, averaging 17 points over the last three quarters and putting a 67 spot up on the scoreboard, while giving up 39 points. The Barons, while they continue to get to the free throw line, are still struggling to convert as they were 11 for 21, shooting just 52%. Allow they continue to roll, WH will have to clean that number up as they move further into the playoffs and go up against better and better competition. (Photo: Wesley Talley makes a play at the rim off of an assist from Claude Lathan. Photo courtesy of Chase Clark.)

Varsity Boys Hold On for Title February 16, 2010

34 points per game. That was the average margin of victory for the Barons in their three previous contests with the Robert E. Lee Cavaliers, which included the barons scoring over 80 points against them two of the three times. But REL head coach Brian Scott brought the Cavs ready to play aginst the extremely heavily favored Barons. The Cavaliers had a lead up to 8 points before the Barons pulled to within three at 16-13 in the second quarter. WH wrestled the lead back at 28-27 with two minutes before the half. Robert E. Lee kept a lead almost the entire game, but the Barons scored to make it 50-48 in the ensuing inbounds play of the fourth quarter, and held on for the 61-57 win and the conference championship. Claude Lathan led the Barons with 23 points, while Wesley Talley and Josh Glenn scored 18 and 14, respectively for the Barons. Awards: Claude  Lathan- all-tournament and all-region selection; Wesley Talley- all-tournament and all-region selection; Josh Glenn- all-tournament and all-region selection; Will Duffy- all region team and head coach Eddie Talley was named region coach of the year.

Lady Barons Eek Out Conference Championship February 16, 2010

Both the varsity girl’s and the varsity boy’s basketball teams played Tuesday night at the Sumter County Exhibition Center for the Region II-3A championships, and each of the teams gave the crowd their money’s worth. In the Lady Barons championship game versus the Orangeburg Prep Indians, the two teams combined for more total turnovers (60) than points (56). The Barons and Indians swapped the lead five times in the final stanza, and scored the final bucket of the game with just under two minutes to play as they improved to 22-4 on the year. Ansley Ard led the Barons with 11 points, while senior Ryane Kinder contributed 9 and junior Victoria Thomas continued her extreme knack for grabbing rebounds as she pulled down an impressive 13 boards. Awards: Ansley Ard- all-tournament team, tourney MVP; Ryane Kinder- all-region and all-tournament teams; Emily Cain- all-tournament team.

Sophomores Lead Charge Past Eagles February 16, 2010

With 36 combined points, the Wilson Hall J.V. Baron sophomores helped Wilson Hall grab their 4th title in four years while doing it in an undefeated 33-0 record fashion. Sophomores Drew McDuffie and Matthew McMillan took advantage of the big stage in the Region II 3A tournament at the Sumter County Exhibiton Center by combining for 35 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, as well as 6 steals. After struggling for the momentum over the Florence Christian Eagles the entire first half, the Barons took a slim 22-18 lead in the half. Wilson Hall then preceeded to score 30 second half points coming out of the locker room on their way to a 52-38 win. McDuffie posted a game high as well as a season high 22 points, and also went for 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, while McMillan put up 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals for the conference champion Barons.

Glenn Leads Barons Past LMA February 13, 2010

The Wilson Hall Baron defense again showed up to play Friday night, and this time, they would need it as they had a rough night on the offensive end of the floor. At the half, the scoreboard read a J.V.-esque 17-8 as the Barons struggled early and often from the free throw line, which was one of the reasons for their low point output. The Barons went a horrid 15-35 from the stripe, but made up for it on the defensive end of the floor as they held the Swampcat offense to just 8 first half points and 33 overall. Despite their anemic free throw shooting percentage, the Barons got to the line at will against LMA, and that will be a big factor heading into their region tournament next week. Although they struggled a bit on the offensive end, there was one bright spot for the Barons on senior night. Senior point guard Josh Glenn led all scorers with 24 points, with 16 of them coming in the second half. Wilson Hall ran their record to 24-3 overall, and got tremendous efforts from their inspired seniors in their last home game, as they combined for 39 of the teams 49 points. Similar efforts by these players next week will give the Barons a chance to bring home the region title next week as they open facing off against either Orangeburg Prep or Florence Christian. (Photo: Josh Glenn drives to the bucket in the Barons 49-33 win. Courtesy of Mike Morgan-Sumter Item) (Senior Statistics: Josh Glenn- 24 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks; Wesley Talley- 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals; Brendan Murphy- 1 point, 1 rebound, and 2 assists; Zach Martin- 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist; Max Stroebel- 1 point, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist.)

Lady Barons Pound Laurence Manning on Senior Night February 13, 2010

The Varsity Baron basketball team’s observed senior night on Friday, recognizing the varsity basketball players as well as the varsity cheerleaders and their many years of service to Wilson Hall. Due to the 5 0′clock start time because inclement weather cancelled the junior varsity games, the Lady Barons got off to a rough start. The Barons missed their first four shots pretty badly, but senior Ryane Kinder hit a three-pointer and Mary Bennet Bracalente nailed a 15-footer as the first quarter buzzer sounded. Although only clinging to a 10-8 lead, the Lady Barons picked up the scoring pace immensely, scoring 41 points over the final three quarters of play, while holding the Swampcats to just 29 total points on their way to a 51-29 win. The Lady Barons got solid contributions from most every player, and finish the regular season as co-region champions at 7-1 and head into the region tourney next week as the #2 seed behind that of Orangeburg Prep. Ansley Ard led the Barons with another 20 point outing. (Photo: Ryane Kinder pulls the ball out before setting up the play.) (Senior Statistics: Ryane Kinder- 3 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists, and 5 steals; Alston James- 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals; Maria Ouzinidis- 1 point, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 steal; Caycee Evans- 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.)

Varsity Boys Handle Robert E. Lee 73-30 February 4, 2010

With a 25 point drubbing of the Cavaliers in the first half, the Wilson Hall Barons scored 33 points in the second half. Coupled with their first half total of the 37, the Barons are now averaging right around 68 points in their last 5 games. Claude Lathan scored 14 points for the Barons and and Wesley Talley scored 11 with three coming at the charity stripe. However, the real star of the game was senior point guard Josh Glenn. Glenn scored 22 points had three assists, and went 3/4 from the free throw line as well as shot  67% from three point territory (4 for 6). The game started off very bad for the Cavaliers, as they missed thei first 12 shots from the field before finally adding a free throw to get them on the board. This slow start allowed the Barons to grab a commanding lead and hold onto it the entire game en route to a 43 point victory. In all four games, the Barons outscored the Cavaliers by a total count of 209-91, as defense and high scoring offenses were the trademark of three out of the four games on Thursday. The boys will face off against bitter rival Laurence Manning on February 12th as they will be looking to end the season on a high note heading into the state playoffs. (Photo: Wesley Talley knocks down one of his three free throws in the Baron’s victory. Photo courtesy of Chase Clark)

Lady Barons Clobber In-ept Lady Cavs February 4, 2010

Ansley Ard had yet another dominating performance, and the varsity girls basketball team clobbered the Lady Cavaliers by a count of 62-18. Ard poured in 20 points, 2 rebounds, dished out three assists and stole four balls, and fellow sophomores Caroline Cunningham and Taylor Goodson combined on 13 points as the Barons cruised. Robert E. Lee never got anything going on the offensive end of the floor, and the Barons took advantage of their inability to score and had 15 steals as a team. The Barons held the Cavs to just 9 points in the first half and held a 37-9 lead at the intermission and never looked back on their way to a 44-point win. Baron center Victoria Thomas also had another one of her stat-sheet filling performances, as she scored 4 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, handed out 3 assists, 6 steals, and 2 blocked shots. With just two games left, the Barons will be looking to grab their final two rivalry games against Orangeburg Prep and Laurence Manning so as to get some momentum rolling as they head into the playoffs. (Photo: Ansley Ard crusies past a defender for two of her 18 points Thursday night. Photo courtesy of Chase Clark)

Junior Varsity Boys Pound Cavaliers February 4, 2010

Behind solid scoring contributions from each player on the team, the J.V. Barons improved to 14-3 and 6-0 in region play with their 54-22 defeat of the Robert E. Lee Cavaliers. The Barons started off quickly scoring the first 10 points of the game off of their full court pressure defense en route to a 32 point first half. The Barons continued their point barrage against the porous Cavalier defense, as they went for 22 more in the second half. The Barons were lead in scoring by Drew McDuffie who had 12 points, as well as Sharp Turner who posted 10; point guard Matthew McMillan scored 8 points, and Edel Barret also contributed 5 points. The Barons have been extremely productive on offense this season as they are averaging 40 points per game, while allowing 30 a game on the defensive end of the floor led by a stong interior defense  with Drew McDuffie and Paris Tindal clogging up the middle. With two region games left before tournament play, the Barons will be playing for pride and for the number 1 seed, as they have already locked up a spot in the 2010 conference playoffs and will have to wait and see who they will draw in the first round. In the JV Girls game the Barons lost a heart-breaker 21-20 and fall to the #2 seed in the region with two games left. (Photo: Adam Smith tenses as he and Sharp Turner get ready to run an inbounds play in the second half of their contest. Photo courtesy of Chase Clark)

J.V. Barons Win Foul-Laden Slugfest January 29, 2010

Led by extraordinary efforts from forwards Paris Tindal and Drew McDuffie, the J.V. Barons improved to 5-0 in region play with a 51-45 win over the home standing Florence Christian Eagles. Tindal and McDuffie dominated in what was an extremely foul-laden game, as both teams were in the bonus for three out of the four quarters of play and shot north of 15 free throws each. The game was extremely close right out of the starting gate, as both defenses got off to rough starts and the teams knew they would be involved in a dog fight as the halftime score read 29-25 in favor of Wilson Hall. Tindal and McDuffie came out early and established their presence early, which allowed them to take over the game for the Baron. Tindal gave Wilson Hall a huge momentum swing in the final stanza, as he had 6 straight points in a one minute span that gave the Barons a 5 point lead after trading baskets with Florence Christian through the first three quarters of play. The Eagles made a late attempt cutting the Baron lead to 2 before WH began to shoot free throws and pull away. Tindal filled out the stat sheet nicely as he posted an 11 point, 7 rebound, 3 assist, and 5 steal performance and Drew McDuffie had another solid outing for the Barons, as he scored 15 points and grabbed 12 boards. Wilson Hall stands at 12-3 on the seaon and can wrap up a berth in the playoffs with one more conference victory.

Lathan, Barons Explode for 79 Points January 22, 2010

As Darude’s “Sandstorm” resounded through the Nash Student Center and the Baron starters were introduced, the Baron fans went crazy as they anticipated the start of what promised to be an exciting conference game. However, that is exactly the opposite of what happened. Claude Lathan scored ten of the Baron’s first twelve points, and the Barons jumped out to a 12-2 lead that they would never relinquish. The Barons held the commanding 44-22 lead at halftime, and then exploded for 35 more points in the second half. Lathan paced the Barons with a stellar 23 points, while Wesley Talley scored 17 points while going 5 for 6 from the free throw line and Josh Glenn dropped 16. The Barons outplayed the Indians right out of the starting gate, and never looked back en route to a 79-50 win over the Orangeburg Prep Indians. The Barons are averaging 80 points in their last two games, and will look to continue their hot steak next week with three games.

Varsity Girls Outlast Indians 54-48 in Overtime January 22, 2010

Ryane Kinder and Victoria Thomas both brought their “A” game Friday night, and the Lady Barons fed off their energy every minute of the game. From the start, the Barons knew that they were in for a dogfight, as the OP Lady Indians matched the Barons shot for shot. The trend continued throughout the entire first half, and the Barons took a slim 23-20 lead in the locker room. Much of the same occurred in the second half, as each team matched what the other did and at the final horn, the score read a 46-46 tie. In the overtime period, the Lady Barons imposed their will and outscored the Lady Indians 8-0 in the extra stanza led by Kinder and Thomas’ 3 points a piece. Kinder finished the game with 19 points and 5 assists, and Thomas grabbed a double-double going for 16 points and pulling down 10 boards while blocking one shot. The Lady Barons showed a gritty side of their play, and this gutsy performance is one that will help them as they get ready for tough conference competition down the stretch.

McDuffie, Tindal Lead Baron Charge January 22, 2010

In their fourth conference game of the year, the junior varsity Barons used a quick 20-4 burst to capture a commanding lead as they cruised to a 45-14 win over the Orangeburg Prep Indians. Leading the explosive offensive display were forward Paris Tindal and center Drew McDuffie. Tindal and McDuffie dominated in the paint and helped lead the defense, which allowed a season low 14 points. Tindal scored 6 points and grabbed three rebounds as well as had two steals. Drew McDuffie turned in another tremendous performance, as he clogged the stat sheet for 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and two blocks. The Barons improved to 4-0 in the conference with the win, and have a tough upcoming schedule as they play three games in 5 days next week. In the junior varsity girls game, the Lady Barons lost a 38-34 thriller to the Lady Indians.

Varsity Boys Grab Victory Over LMA January 15, 2010

As the LMA and Baron fans poured into the stands, the atmosphere tensed and the anticipation for a good old fashioned rivalry game heightened. However, that is just the opposite of what the fans got to see over the entire course of the game. After the first quarter, the scoreboard read 5-2 in favor of Wilson Hall, as the teams combined to shoot a shade under 10% from the field in that opening stanza. The second quarter brought some relief, but the Baron’s offensive struggles continued as they had almost as many rebounds as they had points and headed into the locker room with a 10-point 21-11 lead. However, Jordan Tindal and Josh Glenn did give fans two things to cheer about from the first half. With 2 minutes to go, LMA advanced the ball up the court and took a shot that was blocked into the wall by Tindal. Glenn also provided the Baron’s with a spark as his second quarter buzzer-beating three pointer gave them their ten point advantage. Wilson Hall scored 30 points in the second half on their way to an ugly 51-27 win over their arch-rivals, and Claude Lathan led the Barons in his return to Laurence Manning with 22 points and 7 rebounds. The rebounding trend also continued for the Barons throughout the game as they pulled down 46 boards, which is something that they can take away from the game, however offensively dismal it may have been.

Kinder, Lady Barons Defeat Swampcats 47-38 January 15, 2010

Senior point guard Ryan Kinder came to play in Wilson Hall’s rivalry game against the Laurence Manning Swampcats. Kinder opened the game on 4/5 shooting good fro 9 of the Lady Baron’s first 19 points. Kinder finished the contest with 20 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals and coupled by Ansley Ard’s 12 point, 7 rebound, 6 steal performance the Barons had no problem coming up with offense. The Barons led by 20 in the third quarter, but allowed the Swampcats to get back in the game before closing it out and grabbing the 9 point victory.

JV Barons Squeak By LMA January 15, 2010

With a 37-33 win, the JV boys improved to 8-2 on the season and 2-0 in region play. Paced by forward Drew McDuffie’s 18 point, 8 rebound, 2 block performance, the Barons grabbed another close win. Up by ten at the half, Wilson Hall allowed LMA to make a late run late in the game. With under 44 seconds left to play in the game, LMA guard Nick Gibbons made a drive to the right of the top of the key, but Charlie Barnes and Paris Tindal were waiting for him. Tindal stole the ball, and was fouled at the other end of the floor, but by that time there was 3 seconds left and no chance for the Swampcats to make up the four point differential and the Barons escaped with another “W”.

Varsity Boys Slam Florence Christian 68-43 January 12, 2010

In what was a close game at the half, (28-25 Wilson Hall) the Barons used a 25 point third quarter to blast the anemic Eagle offense. Leading the charge were Claude Lathan and Wesley Talley, who had 15 and 17 points respectively. The Eagles were simply over matched, as Wilson Hall grabbed 34 rebounds and shot 20/33 from the charity stripe good for 61%. The Barons travel Friday to Laurence Manning to take on the rival Swampcats.

McDuffie, McMillan Lead Charge Past Eagles January 12, 2010

Sophomores Drew McDuffie and Matthew McMillan showed up to play Tuesday night as the Barons hosted their first conference game of the year versus the Florence Christian Eagles. McMillan dropped 11 points for the Barons, and forward Drew McDuffie dominated the paint and led all scorers with 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. McMillan and McDuffie combined on 32 of the Barons 50 points, and Wilson Hall improved to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in region play.

Late Surge Not Enough as Varsity Barons Fall 52-45 January 5, 2010

As the crazed Baron fans lined the the court and House of Pain’s “Jump Around” blared over the speakers in the Nash Student Center, you could feel the tension building as the Barons got ready for the opening tip of what promised to be a good game. Unfortunately for the Barons and the Baron fans, that is not how the game began. Heathwood Hall’s standout guard and college prospect Cory Little John scored 12 of his team’s first 18 points and Heathwood grabbed a 27-15 lead over the Barons at the half. the baron fans did come back to life and Wilson Hall did begin to chip away in the fourth quarter, as they used scrappy defense and a slight Heathwood slump to charge within seven points with just over two minutes left but could not sustain the comeback, as Heathwood regained their footing and commenced to defeat the Barons 52-45. Claude Lathan led the Barons, who struggled offensively, with 11 points and Cory Little John led his team as well as all scorers with 20 points including a break away dunk off of a steal.

Ard Leads Lady Barons Past Highlanders January 5, 2010

Sophomore guard Ansley Ard dominated the field of play in Tuesday’s game versus Heathwood Hall. Ard scored 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds as the varsity Lady Barons rolled 45-29 over the Highlanders. The Barons travel to the upstate Friday and Saturday for games against Spartanburg Christian and St. Joseph’s High School.

JV Boys Take Rematch Against Heathwood January 5, 2010

Paced by sophomore center Drew McDuffie’s 12 point performance, the Wilson Hall JV Barons improved to 6-2 on the season with their 37-30 win over the previously undefeated Heathwood Hall Highlanders. The Barons avenged their double overtime loss earlier in the year to Heathwood using a combination of defense and consistent scoring in the second half of the contest. The Barons kick off region play Tuesday when they host Florence Christian in what should be an extremely competitive game and a tough task for the Barons.

JV Boys Grab Runner-up in Orangeburg Tournament December 29, 2009

With a 10 point victory over Cardinal Newman, the JV Wilson Hall Barons moved on to face the Orangeburg-Wilkinson Bruins in the championship game. Wilson Hall came into the game sporting a 5-1 record, but were no match for the public school Bruins, as OW drubbed WH by a count of 60-13. Matthew McMillan led the Barons with 4 points and Charlie Barnes and Drew McDuffie took home the tourney MVPs on the Wilson Hall Barons side. now at 5-2, the Barons get to rematch Heathwood January 4th in an attempt to avenge their 1 point double overtime loss in the third game of the season.

Barons Defeat Generals 62-46

In head coach Eddie Talley’s first game back this season after rupturing his appendix, the Wilson Hall Barons grabbed their sixth win of the season with a 62-46 defeat of the Thomas Sumter Generals. Junior Claude Lathan paced the barons with 16 points, and Josh Glenn and Wesley Talley each contributed 13 and 12, respectively. The Barons, who’s only loss was to the Heathwood Hall Highlanders, get their next game in the Chesterfield High Christmas Tournament looking to put some more wins in the win column.

McMillan Leads JV Barons Over Generals December 18, 2009

The JV Barons basketball team improved to 4-1 on the season with a 31-13 win over the Thomas Sumter Generals. The Barons over came a slow start in the first quarter and at the half they held the 16-6 advantage. In the second half, the Barons improved on their first half performance en route to their second consecutive 18-point win. Sophomore point guard Matthew McMillan paced the Barons with 8 points, while sophomore center Drew McDuffie contributed 6 points. Freshmen Andrew Clinkscales also scored five, and freshmen forward Paris Tindal also scored five points while going 3/4 from the free throw line. The Barons next face off in Orangeburg for their annual Christmas Tournament and will be seeking their fifth win of the 2009 season.

Duffy Blocks 7 Shots, Barons Roll in Tourney Championship December 11, 2009

In front of a capacity crowd in the Nash Center, the Wilson Hall Barons defeated the Robert E. Lee Cavaliers 53-30 in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Invitational Christmas tournament. Will Duffy and the Baron defense set the tone early as on the Cavaliers’ opening possession, Duffy rejected two successive shots and WH jumped out to an early 15-4 lead led by seniors Josh Glenn and Brendan Murphy. Wilson Hall led by 13 at the half 35-22 and would hold that lead as the Cavs only scored 8 second half points and the Barons took home the trophy. The Lady Barons also defeated the Cavaliers to take home their trophy. Wilson Hall next travels to Thomas Sumter on Friday to take on the Generals. (Closing Stats: Josh Glenn led the Barons in scoring with 13 points, and also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and went 3/3 from the free throw line. Center Will Duffy posted 7 points, 5 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots and forward Wesley Talley scored 8 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while posting 4 assists and two steals. Brendan Murphy also scored 9 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Barons, and Claude Lathan added 10. Jordan Tindal also got in on the action, as he scored 4 points and grabbed 2 rebounds.)

Lathan and Co. Down Trojans 65-47 December 8, 2009

Led by Claude Lathan’s 22 points, the Wilson Hall Barons defeated the Byrnes Trojans in game 2 of the Wells Fargo Invitational Christmas Tournament. After jumping out to a quick 19-4 lead the Trojans mounted a comeback and cut the Baron lead down to 36-26 by halftime, but using a late surge, Wilson Hall pulled away in the final quarter. The Barons improve to 4-1 and will face Robert E. Lee on Friday. (Closing Stats: Lathan led all scorers with 22, and Josh Glenn scored 14 points. Forward Wesley Talley dropped 17 to go along with 5 assists, Will Duffy had 6 points and 6 rebounds to go with two assists, and the Barons went 8/11 from the line.)

Barons Overcome Slow Start to Beat Dillon Christian 76-65 December 7, 2009

After a rough start, in which the Barons experienced a deep cold spell, Wilson Hall stepped up to win its first game of the Wells Fargo Invitational pre-Christmas tournament over the Dillon Christian Warriors. Down 35-31 at the half, the Barons exploded fo 45 points in the second half, led by starters Claude Lathan, Wesley Talley, Will Duffy, Josh Glenn, and Patrick Gordon. Out of the half, WH regained the lead using a quick scoring burst, and would not look back. Claude Lathan led the Barons with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, but senior point guard Josh Glenn was hot on his heels as he dropped 18 points and had 7 assists to go along with 3 steals. The Barons face the Byrnes Trojans tomorrow night at 8 o’clock as they look to grab another victory and gain momentum heading into the Chesterfield High Christmas tourney on December 28th. (Closing Stats: Wesley Talley finished with 16 points and 5 boards and Will Duffy turned in a 14 point, 6 rebound, 3 assist performance.) In the Varsity girls game, Ansley Ard led all scorers with 17 points as the lady Barons routed Dillon Christian 51-22.

JV Boys and Girls Involved in Thrillers December 3, 2009

Thursday, the JV Baron basketball teams traveled to Heathwood Hall to take on the Heathwood Hall Highlanders in what was expected to be a great match up. Both of these games were, in fact, close contests. In the Lady Baron’s game, the JV girls turned a 5-4 halftime lead into a 21-17 overtime win over the Highlanders as they converted key free throws down the stretch in overtime. Elizabeth Munn led the Lady barons with nine points. In the JV boys game,the offenses showed up and the defenses did not, as the Barons fell in double overtime 57-56. The Barons held a slight 21-18 halftime lead, but each team basically traded buckets and turnovers down the stretch and Baron Forward Paris Tindal tied the game at 43-43 with a bank shot from about six feet out that allowed the Barons to live to fight another period. With less than ten seconds left then in the first overtime, point guard Matthew McMillan drained a 21 foot three point shot that pushed the game into a second overtime. The second overtime featured similar play to that off the previous period, but the Barons did not have enough magic left in the tank as they fell in a 57-56 heart breaker to Heathwood Hall. Drew McDuffie led the Barons with 20 points. (In the varsity gils game, Ansley Ard posted 18 points for the second game in a row.)

Claude Lathan, Will Duffy Lead Barons Past Falcons 69-52 December 1, 2009

After a win in the first game of the season, the Barons looked to grab another in their home debut against the Ben Lippen Falcons Thursday night. With the crazed Baron fans cheering wildly on the sidelines, the Barons jumped out to a lead behind Claude Lathan’s early 14 points. The Falcons, however, mounted a comeback and each team would basically trade baskets until about two minutes left in the half. Within less than a minute’s span, Will Duffy scored 6 straight points on two buckets and two free-throws to allow the Barons to pick up some momentum, as they headed into the locker room with a 43-34 lead. Wilson Hall would never relinquish this lead, scoring 26 second half points for a 17 point win. Claude Lathan paced the Barons with 19 points, and three steals including going 5-6 from the charity stripe. Forward Will Duffy also turned in a very solid performance, scoring 17 points and grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking two shots. The Barons travel to Heathwood Hall Thursday to take on a very good Highlander team. (Closing Stats: Lathan dropped 19 points, Duffy had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Wesley Talley scored 10 points to go with eight rebounds and 4-6 from the free-throw line. Josh Glenn and Patrick Gordon also turned in good performances, as Gordon scored 6 points and Josh Glenn dropped 10 points as well as had three rebounds and seven assists. Zach Martin also scored two off the bench for the Barons.) In the varsity girls game, the Lady Barons dominated the Falcons in every aspect of the game as Ansley Ard led the way with 18 points en route to a 51-30 victory.

JV Barons Continue Streaks in Home Openers December 1, 2009

Behind Paris Tindal’s 10 points, the JV Barons escaped with a victory over the Ben Lippen Falcons by a count of 37-35. Tindal did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 6 points on multiple put backs off of offensive rebounds. Ben Lippen gradually closed the game late, and the Barons held a two point lead with just under a minute to go before Matthew McMillan iced the game with two free throws. The Barons improve to 2-0, and travel to Heathwood Hall on Thursday. In the JV Girls game, the Barons put up a solid victory to also improve to a record of 2-0.

JV Barons Open with Impressive Wins Over Carolina November 24, 2009

In the first game on the the 2009, the JV boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Carolina Academy to face the Bobcats. In the junior varsity boys contest, Drew McDuffie led the Barons as well as all scorers with 10 points. The Barons pounced on the Bobcats early, and did not look back on their way to a 55-10 win. In the JV girls game, the Lady Barons did much like the boys, jumping on Carolina early on their way to a rare win, as the Lady Bobcats did not score a point and the Barons took the game 48-0.

Wilson Hall Winter Sports Coming Soon!

Hammond Takes Dogfight From Barons 20-7 November 13, 2009

In this semifinal match up between the Barons of Wilson Hall and the Skyhawks of Hammond, the Barons came in riding a six game win streak, but that would end tonight as Hammond out gained the Barons behind running back B.J. Bennet 381 total yards to 138. In the first quarter, Hammond scored on a methodical 15 play, 79 yard drive that was capped off by Bennet’s 6 yd TD run that gave the Skyhawks a 6-0 lead. Wilson Hall started off the second quarter with a Wesley Talley 39 yard TD catch from Josh Glenn off of a Chris Sharp 4th down conversion, but the Skyhawks scored on a TD pass of their own from Dave Nidiffer to one of if not the best receiver in SCISA Aaron Walters for a 33 yard score that gave Hammond a 12-7 lead at the half. The only score of the second half came on a Bennet 4 yard TD run, (who finished with 183 yards on 33 carries and two scores) and he also added the two point conversion to run their lead to 13 points. The Hammond defense won this game for them, as they held the Barons to under 140 yards on the game and provided a vice grip over the Baron offense as at one point they had three straight sacks on Glenn in the third quarter. The Barons did manage to force a fumble in the final stanza, but their drive was halted on Glenn’s second pick of the night. It was a close game until that third quarter score, and the Barons played a much better game than some of the previous games with Hammond and they have nothing to be ashamed of as they finish the season at a solid 9-4. Wilson Hall will graduate many key seniors this year, but with good young talent, I suspect that they will be competitive next year and for years to come. (Closing Stats: Josh Glenn finished at 6/13 for 115 yards, a TD, and two interceptions. Wesley Talley was targeted twice and had two grabs for 78 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, Candler Matthews and Donovan Burns each had seven tackles, (Burns also had a sack) and Zach Hubbard, Blake Graham, and Chris Sharp each turned in four tackles.)

Barons Looking to Get Back to State Championship November 12, 2009

The 9-3 Wilson Hall Barons will come under the lights Friday night at Spencer field as they host the 10-1, three time defending state champion Hammond Skyhawks. Hammond prevailed in their previous matchup, as they clouted the Barons by a count of 35-7, but WH is looking for a different outcome this time. The Barons hit their stride in the seventh game of the season against Thomas Sumter, and since that game the Barons have won six straight. Hammond has had its share of success also, as the offense has scored an average of 27.3 points a game and the defense has not given up more then 21 in any game. Hammond’s offense is led by quarterback Dave Nidiffer, who has completed 130 of 201 passes for 1,903 yards and 29 touchdowns and senior standout wide receiver Aaron Walters, who has 52 catches for 948 yards and 15 scores on the season. As far as the rushing attack comes, B.J Bennett has rushed for 928 yards and nine touchdowns. The Barons have a prolific offense of their own, led by QB Josh Glenn, who has completed 135 of 234 passes for 2,336 yards and 18 touchdowns and has also accumulated 778 yards and 15 more scores on the ground for a total of 3,114 yards and 33 TDs. Wideout Chris Sharp been the favorite target of Glenn’s with 1,113 receiving yards with 10 TDs and Wesley Talley also has over 700 yards and has tossed three TDs on trick plays this season. The keys to this game are going to be how well the defenses can neutralize the opposing offense and whichever team can accomplish that will prevail. As much as I think the Barons will have success, I think the Hammond defense will perform better and therefore lead Skyhawks to a 35-21 win.

Klapthor Helps Propel Wilson Hall Past Lions 35-28 November 6, 2009

Led by 12th man Madison Cox, the Barons crashed through the banner as “Amazing Grace” blared over the speakers and took the field for their first round playoff matchup with the Augusta Christian Lions. The first quarter of play sponsored zero points scored, as each team tried to establish some momentum and get something going on either side of the ball. WH and AC punted a total of 7 times in the first, but things shaped up very differently as the teams moved to the second stanza. The Barons opened up the scoring with some trickery, as Josh Glenn passed out to WR Wesley Talley in the flat who then proceeded to heave a 45 yard TD pass to Chris Sharp for the 7-0 lead. Augusta countered on their ensuing drive as freshman QB Tyler Roberson took in in from a yard out to cap off an 8 play 58 yard drive to tie the score at 7 apiece. This is when sophomore tight end Gibson Kalpthor got in on the action. WH took the lead 14-7 on Klapthor’s 27 yard TD catch, and they went into the half nursing a slight lead over ACS. The third quarter presented itself very similarly to the first, as neither team scored and punted a total of 3 times. In the final stanza, things got interesting as each team began to trade scores as they racked up the points. Klapthor started off the fourth quarter scoring with his second TD catch; this one being a 29 yarder from Talley on the same play that was run for a score in the 2nd. That allowed the Barons to jump out to a 14 point lead, but ACS then countered with an Evan Wells 70 yard TD catch to make it 21-14. WH and AC would trade two more scores on consecutive possessions on a Glenn run and Lewis catch, and after Drakeford fumbled, defensive player of the game Tyler Smith recorded a fumble recovery that led to a Glenn 1 yard TD run to make it 35-21. The Lions would score with about three minutes to go on another Roberson TD pass, but that is where it would end as the Wilson Hall Barons defeated the Lions by a final count of 35-28. (Closing Stats: QB Josh Glenn finished at 18-23 for 242 yards and a TD as well as rushed for 50 yards and two scores. Wesley Talley was 2-2 passing for 74 yards and two scores, while also catching 7 passes for 51 yards. Chris Sharp had another big game as he caught 6 balls for 121 yards and a score, and for the second week in a row a sophomore stepped up for the Barons, as Gibson Klapthor caught 3 passes for 77 yards and two scores and Zach Hubbard, Blane Russel, Tyler Smith, Donovan Burns all had four tackles each to pace the Bron defense) Photo: Gibson Klapthor gets into the endzone on his 27 yard TD catch. (Courtesy of Keith Gedamke-Item)

Wilson Hall Slams Pinewood Prep in Final Game of Regular Season October 30, 2009

In the Baron’s final game of their 2009 high school football regular season, Wilson Hall demonstrated that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, as they showed a great combination of rushing and defense that allowed them to cruise over the visiting Panthers. Led by offensive players Josh Glenn and Logan Weiland, WH thumped the Pinewood defense as they racked up a total of 476 yards of total offense, with most of that coming on the ground. In the first quarter, Pinewood would get the only sniff of offense that they would have for most of the game, as tailback Moses Richardson took it in from a yard out to gave the Panthers a very early 7-0 lead. WH countered with a Blane Russel 68 yard kick return to the Pinewood 13, where Josh Glenn finished of the drive with a 5 play drive with a 1 yard TD run of his own that tied the score. Before the quarter came to a close, Josh Glenn would add a 55 yard TD run that gave the Barons a 14-7 lead heading into the second quarter of play. In the second quarter, the Wilson Hall Baron’s defense really began to apply  their vice grip on the Panther offense, as they would not score another TD and held Pinewood to two 3 and outs and two fumbles in the second quarter. As far as Wilson Hall was concerned, the bulk of their scoring came in that second stanza, as they would score on a Logan Weiland 48 yard TD run, and a Josh Glenn 25 yard TD pass to Chris Sharp that gave them the 27-7 halftime lead. The third quarter of action consisted of a 15 play Wilson Hall drive that ended with a Glenn interception, but managed to take almost the entire quarter (save a couple of minutes) off of the clock and as the two teams headed into the final stanza of play, WH had the game well in hand with a 20 point advantage. In the final quarter, Pinewood tried to spread the Baron defense out, but they did an excellent job of containing the Panthers as they had done the entire game. WH would add a Chandler Matthews 17 yard TD run, and that would round out the scoring in tonight’s contest as the Barons took this one by a final score of 34-7. The Barons showed that they can run the ball (behind Logan Weiland’s and Glenn’s great performances on the ground), but they more importantly showed that they can also play some defense as well. WH only gave up 7 points for the game, Devin Solberg and Zach Hubbard both forced fumbles, and Donovan Burns had five tackles and two sacks for a total of 10 yards lost. Chase Breeden, Tyler Smith, and Devin Solberg also got into the defensive action as they each had five tackles. Wilson Hall displayed a great showing on both offense and defense, and will ride this momentum into their home game next week that begins the 2009 playoffs. (Closing Stats: Glenn went 3/9 through the air for 48 yards and a TD, and also added 17 rushes for 127 yards and 2 TDs and Chris Sharp led all recievers with 3 grabs for 48 and a TD. Logan Weiland had his coming out party in this last game of the regular season, as he had 10 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown.)

Wilson Hall Steals Barn-burner 34-33 October 23, 2009

As the Wilson Hall Varsity cheerleaders raised their Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever banner, the varsity Barons lined up behind the banner to take the field against their fierce rivals, the LMA Swampcats. As they burst through the tunnel, the bagpipes sounded, the balloons were let go, and the Barons took the field donning their Columbia blue uniforms seeking their seventh win of the season and fourth straight. In the first quarter of play, the two teams spent almost the entire quarter trying to establish their respective tempos, as Wilson Hall spread things out and wanted to pick apart LMA’s secondary while Laurence Manning wanted to establish their running game. Wilson Hall drew first blood behind Josh Glenn’s 5/6 for 60 yards and Blake Graham punched it in from 9 yards out behind Chase Breeden for a 7-0 lead. The scoring entourage continued in the second quarter as LMA countered with a Matthew Johnson rushing TD and on the ensuing Baron possession, Glenn was intercepted by Ryan Bollinger as he jumped Talley’s underneath route, and Banks Lee added a 24 yard rush TD that gave LMA a 14-7 lead. WH countered LMA’s scoring drive with one of their own, as Glenn connected with Wesley Talley for a 21 yard score that allowed WH to tie the game. LMA returned to their rushing ways, as Shane Green  capped off a 9 play drive that went for 62 yards and a 3 yard TD. With LMA up by 7 points 21-14, the Barons got the ball on their own 34 yard line. Josh Glenn then threw a great touch pass which Gibson Klapthor corralled with his fingertips and set up a 1 yard TD run by Josh Glenn that again tied the game for WH. LMA added a field goal and the halftime score read LMA 24, Wilson Hall 21. There was not a great deal of expense in the third quarter, but Glenn did take it in from a yard out behind the left side off the line that gave WH a 28-24 lead heading into the final stanza. This last quarter was a high energy quarter, with the momentum shifting back and forth as the two teams tussled for some sort of advantage over one another. LMA scored to open the quarter after converting a 4th and 6 and took the 3 point edge. On the Barons next possession, Glenn had another gorgeous 31 yard TD pass to Chris Sharp but the PAT was blocked and the score read 34-31 in favor of the homestanding Barons. The Baron defense held the Swampcats on a Devin Solberg batted pass, but Daniel Drakeford fumbled and LMA took over on their 21 yard line with around two minutes to go. The Cats then proceeded to drive the ball down the field with help from Lowery’s late hit out of bounds, and the ball rested at the 3 yard line as LMA faced a 4th and 3 from the three. As their ensuing play developed, Matthew McMillan came out of no-where from his safety position to make the game winning hit. Or was it? WH took over with three second left, and decided to commit a safety and take free kicked from their 2o yard line with .6 left on the clock. As WH brought down the LMA returner, the crazed Baron Fans stormed the field as they celebrated their seventh win of the season as they look to close out the regular season with a big winning streak next week at home vs. the Pinewood Prep Panthers. (Closing Stats: QB Glenn went 19/24 for 325 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs. The  Barons did not have much on the ground, but Blake Graham did 26 yards on three carries for a touchdown. WH wideouts had spectacular games, with Chris Sharp catching 5 balls for 133 and a TD, and Talley added 123 yards on 9 grabs for the Barons. Tyler Smith and Blane Russel led the Barons with seven tackles each, and Solberg, Lowery, and McMillan each contributed 5 tackles on the defensive side of the ball.)

Barnes Dominates Early In Last Game of the Season October 20, 2009

Back on September 15th at Spencer Field, as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the B-Team Barons watched the LMA steal a victory right out from under their nose as the Swampcats returned the kickoff for a TD and the win in the final 3.6 seconds. So the Barons traveled this week to Manning to try and avenge their loss from earlier in the season and when LMA put together a 3:01 drive that led to a touchdown, it looked as if it was going to be an ugly game. But not if QB James Barnes had anything to say about it. WH and Barnes countered LMA’s opening drive with a scoring drive of their own capped off by a Barnes 1 yd TD run that gave the Barons a slight 8-6 lead. In the second quarter, James Barnes punched it in from 15 yards out on an unscripted fumblerooski play, and that gave the Barons a 16-6 halftime lead that they would not relinquish (although it was close). In the third quarter of action, the teams traded three and outs for most of the quarter, but as the third quarter came to a close, the Swampcats got the ball at the Baron 12 yard line. In the final stanza, LMA took it in from 3 yards out, which ran the score to 16-12 WH. In the final minute, it looked as if LMA would get the ball back, as they began to use their timeouts in an effort to try and obtain one last drive. As the clock ticked down to three seconds left, it was the Barons that had the ball at the end of this game, and they hung on for a 16-12 win over their arch rivals and finished the season with an impressive 7-1 record. (Closing Stats: James Barnes was 2/2 through the air for 69 yards, and also had 14 carries for 27 yards and the 2 TDs. RB John Wells Baker carried the ball 13 times for 79 yards, and Robert James had 98 all-purpose yards. On the defensive side of the ball Thomas McGinnis had 5 tackles and a sack, Tillman Tumbleston had 4 tackles and a batted pass, and Brandon Harbour also added 4 tackles.)

Wilson Hall Improves to 6-3 with 14-12 Win over OP October 16, 2009

On a brisk, soggy night in Orangeburg, SC, the Wilson Hall Barons used 176 yards on the ground to squeak by the Orangeburg Prep Indians at Indian Field. As was the case last week versus the Augusta Christian Lions, the Barons and Indians traded fumbles as well as three and outs in the first quarter in a power struggle for momentum, but OP did manage to grab some on a FG from kicker Evan Salley and took a 3-0 lead into the second quarter of play. It looked like it was going to be a very long night for the Barons with their first possession of the second quarter, as they got to the one yard line and then proceeded to commit two penalties and Glenn was thrown for a loss which led to a Walker Blanding missed FG. On their next drive, however, the Barons got into a groove, as Josh Glenn found Chris Sharp 5 times on that 73 yard drive on the way to scoring their first points on a Sharp 11 yard TD catch. That gave WH a 7-3 halftime lead, and they would not relinquish it the rest of the contest. In the third quarter of action, Blane Russel muffed a kickoff and OP got the ball on the WH 22 and got on the board again behind another field goal coming off the leg of Evan Salley. WH got the ball back on their own 15 yard line, and behind sophomore tailbacks Daniel Drakeford and Blake Graham marched the ball down the field and scored again on a Gibson Klapthor three yard TD pass from Glenn on 4th and 3 from the three yard line which gave the Barons a 14-6 edge over the home standing Indians. There would be some drama in the final stanza of the contest, as Op drove the ball down the field in the final 5 minutes and scored on a TD run by senior running back Walker Smith which pulled the Indians to within two. Then on the two point conversion, OP called a pass play and rolled out to the left. QB Cap Thackston threw to his receiver right near the goal line, but a host of Barons led by Blake Graham made the tackle just short of the goal line that allowed the Baron’s to secure their 6th victory of the season as they head into the final two weeks of the regular season. (Closing Stats: Josh Glenn threw for 91 yards and two scores on 7/12 passing with one INT. Rushing the ball, Blake Graham had 15 carries for 70 yards and Daniel Drakeford also contributed a 53 yard effort on the ground. From a receiving standpoint, Chris Sharp had 7 grabs for 88 yards and a score, and TE Gibson Klapthor had the go ahead three yard TD reception. On defense, the Barons were paced by Jordan Cannon, Blake Graham, GibsonKlapthor and Tyler Smith with each of these players combining on 25 tackles and two QB sacks.)

John Wells Baker Carries B-Team Barons to Victory October 15, 2009

Behind a tremendous performance from workhorse running back John Wells Baker, the Barons dominated the Orangeburg Prep Indians for a 24-0 win and improve to 6-1 on the season. Baker had 94 yards on 15 carries for 2 TDs and James Barnes also contributed a rushing score as the Barons cruised. The first half was very sloppy, with multiple fumbles and three and outs by each team and the only score of the game coming on a John Wells 6 yard TD run capping a 2 play, 10 yard drive that took 25 seconds. In the second half, the Barons would score 2 more TDs coming on 9 and 5 yard TD runs by John Wells Baker and James Barnes that ran the score to 24-0 and that is how it would turn out, as the B-team defense pitched a shutout for their sixth win of the season. On the defensive side of the ball, Brandon Harbour, Cody Hoover, Thomas McGinnis, Will Watson, the Baron defense had a strong showing. McGinnis had four tackles, Will Watson had a sack and two tackles for a loss of 13 yards, and Brandon Harbour had 6 tackles including a sack and tackles for a total of 16 yards loss. The Barons travel to LMA Tuesday in the last game of the season and they will be looking for revenge as their only loss this season was to the Swampcats in the final seconds.

Weiland Secures 2nd Straight Baron Victory October 9, 2009

On Homecoming night at Augusta Christian in Martinez, Georgia the Barons came in favored by 11 points, and they played like it early on, running early and often on the young Lions defense. Although the 1st quarter was a trade of 3 and outs between the Lions and Barons, Wilson Hall and QB Josh Glenn owned the second quarter as he rushed for TDs of 30 yards and 2 yards and Walker Blanding went 2/2 on PATs which allowed the Barons to take a 14-3 lead into the half. In the third quarter of action, Daniel Drakeford capped off a 12 play, 77 yard drive by punching it in from a yard out to give the Barons the 18 point advantage 21-3. Things got interesting, however, in the final stanza of play. The Lions opened with some trickery, as freshman QB Tyler Roberson threw a flare pass out to RB Cole Turner, who then proceeded to pass it to Mr. Utility (he was a WR, DB, return man, and kicker) Christian Croft for the TD that brought ACS to within 21-10. WH responded with a little trickery themselves on a Gibson Klapthor end around reverse for a 9 yard score. At that point, the score read 28-10 WH, but the Lions were not done yet. Roberson connected with Caleb Harmon on a 45 yard pass play resulting in a TD to pull within 10 points. After the Barons punted, ACS took the ball and drove it down the field in the final two minutes but were stopped in their tracks at the 10 yard line when sophomore OLB Logan Weiland forced and recovered the game clinching fumble for the Hall. This win runs the Barons record to 5-3 on the season with the next game coming next week at Orangeburg Prep in region play. (Closing Stats: Josh Glenn went 9/16 for 139 yards and also added 116 rushing yards on 15 carries with two rushing scores. Chris Sharp caught 6 balls for 115 yards and Talley caught 3 for 24 yards. On the ground, Daniel Drakeford rushed for 21 yards on 8 carries and had a score, while Blake Graham ran for 37 yards on 8 carries. On the defensive side of the ball, Tyler Smith, Cole Connor, and Gibson Klapthor, each had five tackles.)

JV Barons Dominate Lions On the Ground October 8, 2009

Behind the insane performance on the ground from the Barons running backs, WH rushed for 300 yards on 37 carries for 6 TDs while the offense attempted only one pass, an INT from QB Tyler Pannel to Augusta Christian DB Thomas Banks. Banks was by far the best player for the Lions tonight, as he accounted for most of the offensive yards as well as adding 128 total return yards for the Lions. On the WH side, the Barons dominated the line of scrimmage with great performances from Gordon Owens, Paris Tindale, and Jay Goodson. (Remind you of a certain Army-Navy game a couple years back when Navy rushed for 450+ yards and ran it every play of the game?) In the first quarter, the Barons started the scoring off with a Gordon Owens 22 yd TD run that gave WH an early 6-0 lead. Then after an AC drive fizzled out, the Barons’ Tyler Pannel punched it in from a yard out to give WH a 13-0 lead. The second quarter was belonged to Wilson Hall RB Paris Tindale, as he rushed for 61 yards and 2 TDs on two carries that allowed the Barons to take a 27-0 lead into halftime. The second half was not as explosive as the first, but the Barons would score twice more and the Augusta Christian Lions would score a 9 yard TD pass in junk time from Frank Flemming to Thomas Banks. As the final 8.1 seconds ticked off the clock the WH JV Barons kept their record at an unblemished 6-0 with their 41-8 win over the AC Lions. (Closing Stats: Paris Tindale rushed for 65 yards and 2 TDs, Gordon Owens rushed for 59 yards on 9 carries for a TD, Jay Gooson had 80 yards on 8 carries, and Parker McDuffie had 30 yards on 4 carries while Matthew High and Tyler Pannel also contributed rushing TDs.)

Cross Country Very Competitive in 9 Team Meet October 8, 2009

In a meet that sponsored 9 total schools, the Barons did exceedingly well as they had six runners finish in the top 36 on the 3.1 mile course at Patriot Park. Josh Jennings came in 2nd, Grant Shadwell came in 6th with a 18:20 time, Neyle Noyes came in 20th, Spencer Brabham came in 32nd with a time of 20:23, just ahead of Robert Rohner, who finished in 33rd, and Jack Duffy finished out in 36th place. (and Morgan Simpson finished with a time of 24:57) Jennings, Shadwell and Noyes received medals for being in the top 3o place, but all the other WH runners did  a great job competing while running on a slick, slippery course. The Barons have had a great season so far, with Josh Jennings providing the leadership needed for the team to succeed. WH next travels to Santee State Park for the Orangeburg Meet and then it is on to the State Meet as the Barons look to continue to improve as they head into state at 10:00 at Heathwood Hall on Saturday October 31, 2009. (The girls cross country team also did well. Anne Davis Shaw finished in 5th and Kendal Brogdon finished 9th. 5 out of the 7 members of the team are in seventh grade, so look for the Lady Barons cross country team to dominate the field of play in the years to come.)

Barons Lose in Straight Sets to REL 25-22, 25-9, 25-15 October 6, 2009

In the fourth to last game of the season before the State Tournament, the Wilson Hall Lady Barons took on the Robert E. Lee Lady Cavaliers at WH. Robert E. Lee is one of the best volleyball teams in SCISA and have not lost a conference game in 3 years, but the Barons looked to change that. The very first set of the game was a very competitive one, in which the Barons barely lost to the Cavs 25-22. The Barons began the second set a little sluggishly and the Cavs jumped out to a lead that they would not relinquish as they went on to take the second set 25-9. The third set was desperation time for the Barons, as they needed a win to keep the match alive. REL jumped out to a quick lead, but the Barons clawed back and could not come back enough as the Cavs won the set 25-15 and won the match 3-0. The Barons were led by strong play from their starters with Victoria Thomas in the middle, Ansley Ard, Emily Turner, Erin Carter, Maria Ouzouinidis, Caycee Evans, and Dorinda Barnes. The Barons have three games left against LMA, Ben Lippen and Florence Christian and look to finish the season on a high note as they try and make the playoffs at th Exhibition Center.

Barons Get Revenge 34-20 Over the Homestanding Generals October 2, 2009

In front of a capacity crowd at General Field, the Wilson Hall Barons played TSA in a battle for bragging rights after the amazing game that the two schools played last year at WH and snapped their three game losing streak by going on the road and ousting the Thomas Sumter Generals as they racked up a total of 410 yards. (172 rushing yards, 238 passing yards) This game turned out to provide some very good offensive fireworks, with these starting on the first drive of the game as TSA took the ball and picked up huge chunks of yardage on the ground, but K Harrison Cardone missed a 32 yard field goal wide left and on the ensuing Baron possession Cole Connor punched it in from 3 yards out to give the Barons the early 7-0 advantage. In the second stanza, TSA scored twice on runs of 1 and 8, resectively, from QB Blake Stengal and RB Charles Metcalfe, but WH’s Walker Blanding hit a 30 yard field goal just before the half that cut the General lead to 14-10. In the third quarter, it looked like a boxing match out on the field as a total of 23 points were put up and each team answered one another with big plays and scores. WH started off the scoring on a 13 yard pass from QB Josh Glenn to TE Gibson Klapthor and within the next two minutes, the Barons were on the board again as Matthew McMillan intercepted a Stengal pass and took it 40 yards to the house to give the Barons a 24-14 lead. Blanding then hit another field goal from 35, but TSA answered on a Metcalfe 4 yard run that cut the Baron lead from 13 to 7 and at the end of the third quarter, the score read WH 27, TSA 20. There was next to no action in the final quarter, but Glenn did have a 12 yarder to Chris Sharp that made the score 34-20, and that is where it would stay as the Barons were victorious and improve to 4-3 on the season. This was a much needed victory for the Barons, and they executed very well in this game. Most of the offense was either accounted for by Josh Glenn, Chris Sharp, and Wesley Talley. Sharp and Talley scorched the TSA corners, as they could not stop WH’s pair of 6′4" wideouts. Next week, the Barons make a non-region trip to AUgusta Christian to take on the Lions and hopefully they can pull out a win revert back to their winning ways. (Closing Stats: Josh Glenn finished at 16/28 for 238 yards and 2 TDs. On the receiving end of things, Chris Sharp had seven grabs for 109 yards and a TD, and Wesley Talley had 6 grabs for 63 yards. On the ground, Glenn led the way with 14 carries for 154 yards and Daniel Drakeford had 8 carries for 15 yards.)

JV Barons Dominate, Beating TSA 41-6 October 1, 2009

With their dominating 35 point win over the visiting JV TSA Generals, the JV Barons football team improve to 5-0 on the season and have showed that they are one of the best in conference (if not the best) again this year. To open the game, freshman running back Gordon Owens punched it in from 4 yards out which allowed the Barons to draw first blood. After that, they did not look back as Sharp Turner scored on the longest play from scrimmage for the Barons, a 44 yard TD pass from Tyler Pannel that gave them a lead that would not be relinquished. RBs Paris Tindale, Jay Goodson, and Will Young also scored last night. They look very strong this year, and we will see what they can do next week @ home vs. Augusta Christian.

B-Team Continues to Score Points as They Cruise Past TSA 30-0 October 1, 2009

With their 3o-0 defeat of the TSA Generals, the B-Team Barons improved to 5-1 on the season and run their point total to 134 points on the season. In the 1st quarter, Brent Carraway got the scoring going for the Barons as he returned a punt 65 yards that gave WH a 6-0 lead. TSA then got the ball, but could do nothing with it and punted it back to the Barons, and on the next Baron play from scrimmage, Robert James broke a 71 yard run that put the Barons up by a score of 12-0. On their first drive of the second quarter, John Wells Baker punched it in from 9 yards out and the Barons went into the half holding onto a 18-0 lead. The second half was not as dramatic as the first, but John Wells Baker and Robert James would each score again on runs of 2 and 4 yards, respectively that got the Barons the win over the Generals as they head into next week’s contest riding a 2 game win streak. (Stats for the game: QB James Barnes was 3/8 for 42 yards, and also added 76 yards on the ground on 6 carries. RB John Wells Baker totaled 8 carries for 46 yards and two touchdowns, and Robert James rushed for 76 yards and two TDs. On the receiving end, Baker added two grabs for 35 yards.)

WH Falls to Heathwood in Turnover Fest September 25, 2009

Homecoming 2009. As the students lined up to make the tunnel for the players, the sound of the bagpipes permeated the air. As the Barons broke down the banner, the balloons were let go and swept away in the cool breeze, and the fireworks shot into the air as WH got ready to take the field for their homecoming contest with the Heathwood Hall Highlanders. Heathwood came in at 4-0, while the Barons came in at 3-2. (Having played a week zero game.) The teams lined up, WH got the ball, and the game began. From the very beginning, this game turned out to be a very sloppy one. On the first WH drive, Gibson Klapthor had his blocked punt by Walker Sojourner at the 15 yard line. So Heathwood got the ball on the 15, but Mac Whalen fumbled the snap on a 3rd and inches that got the ball back for the Barons. After a few short plays, it happened again! Josh Glenn was intercepted by Chris Barton of the Highlanders and returned to the WH 30. These 3 turnovers were the result of the first three drives of the game for each team, and the first quarter ended with a 0-0 score. (Heathwood and WH would trade 3 and outs the rest of the quarter) The second quarter boasted the same type of game, with each team boasting three more total turnovers, but HH would score twice to make it 13-0 at the half. At the half, the Barons had only gained 54 yards, and the Highlanders had only gained 99 yards. In the second half, Heathwood scored on TD runs by Soujourner and Whalen, but Wilson Hall also got on the board in the 4th with a Josh Glenn rushing TD. That is where the score would end up for the game, as the Highlanders stole this homecoming match up from the Barons 26-6. Wilson Hall has had a tough time with injuries this year, as they had a total of nine players out for tonights contest and five of those player are gone for the year. It is going to be tough for the Barons without these players, but hopefully they will have them back for conference play so they can make a charge at the playoffs.

The Real Superheros September 25, 2009

Last night was the 2009 Wilson Hall Barons Homecoming game against Heathwood Hall. Every year, it is a tradition of Wilson Hall’s that the cheerleaders decorate the hallway in a certain theme the Friday of the game, which was Superheroes (Marvel). The homecoming tee shirts have to do with this theme that is picked and then prepared by the cheerleaders. They started to prepare at the end of last year for this year’s theme. These cheerleaders deserve all the credit, as they stayed up basically all night on Thursday getting things ready for the students and the football players that come in to school on Friday. This is just one of the many things that these cheerleaders do throughout the year for the football team and the players, and they also put so much effort into making homecoming and the enitre football season what it is, and deserve to be recognized for the all of things that they do.

WH B-Team Sneaks Past Heathwood Hall 28-14 September 24, 2009

In a game that featured six touchdowns and a lightning delay, the B-team Baron’s football team improved to 4-1 on the year with a 28-14 win over the  home standing B-Team Heathwood Hall Highlanders. The Barons opened the scoring with a James Barnes 44 yard TD scamper that gave the Barons a very early 6-0 lead after a failed two point conversion. On the ensuing Heathwood possession, Robert James picked off a pass that set up a 36 yard TD catch from Barnes to sixth grader John Ballard that ran the score to 14-0. Then about a minute into the second quarter, there was a lengthy lightning delay that cleared the stadium. After the teams had warmed up and were back on the field, the Barons scored again on a James Barnes 10 yard TD run that made the score 20-0 at the half. In the third quarter, Robert James broke a large run for the Barons that went for a 61 yard score and a 28-0 lead over HH. Then, things got a little interesting in the final stanza as the HHH scored twice on TD runs coming from Brandon Walden and Peyton Phillips that pulled them to within 14. (28-14) That is where the score would end up however, as the Barons cruised to their fourth win in its first five games. (Closing Stats: QB James Barnes went 5/for 68 through the air while also contributing 67 yards on 6 carries and scored twice on the ground. In the rushing department, WH went for 32 carries and 225 on the ground ith most of that coming from James Barnes and John Wells Baker who combined on 148 for two TDs. On the receiving end Ballard had two grabs for 56 and Sam Watford also caught a pass for 41 yards.)

Porter Gaud Takes Shootout 34-27 Sept. 18, 2009

In a game that featured two very evenly matched teams, the Wilson Hall Barons traveled to Charleston to face the Cyclones of Porter Gaud on Friday night. The first half was a struggle for the Barons, as their defense (who is missing some key members of the secondary due to injury) allowed Porter Gaud to move up and down the field at will picking up large chunks of yardage. After a Seckinger 46 yard TD pass and a Gallen-Givens Rolin TD run, the Barons countered with a Wesley Talley 21 yard touchdown catch on an 11 play, 80 yard drive that ran the halftime score to 17-7 Porter Gaud. Both teams came back to take the second half by storm, scoring a total of 37 points. In the third quarter, the Barons and Cyclones traded touchdowns, as George Campsen punched in a three yard TD run and QB Josh Glenn scrambled in for a 5 yard score that made the score 24-13. The final stanza of play boasted 24 points total from each of the offenses. Galen-Givens Rolin started things off in the 4th quarter with a 8 yard TD run that made the score 31-13. That is when the Barons really turned it on. Wesly Talley had another TD catch of 25 yards (with the 2 point conversion) and Josh Glenn scrambled in three yards for the score that made it 34-27 in the final minutes of the game. After Glenn’s pass to Talley, Walker Blanding tee-ed it up and kicked an onside kick. After bouncing off of a Porter Gaud player, the Barons recovered and the sideline went berserk. But the referees came in and said that the ball did not go ten yards and so Porter Gaud got the ball on the Wilson Hall 45 yard line. For the first time in that game, the Cyclones went three and out with Zach Hubbard making the key tackle that gave the Barons the ball back with about two minutes to play. On that closing drive, Chris Sharp had a 40 yard catch and Glenn had another scramble of 15 yards that set up a chance for the Barons to steal the win away from the Porter Gaud Cyclones. On fourth down and 11 from around the PG 21, Josh Glenn rolled out to his left and rifled a pass that was caught in the end-zone by Chris Sharp. The Baron fans, cheerleaders, and parents went absolutely wild screaming and yelling. But then came the call. The play happened ( looking from the press box) on the far side of the field, and the line judge on the opposite side came in and said the Glenn had crossed the line when he threw his pass. This resulted in a loss of down, and Porter Gaud got the ball, ran out the clock, and came away with an incredible win. Give credit to the Barons though, as they turned it on in the second half to give the Cyclones all they could handle. (Closing Stats; Josh Glenn was 18/32 for 302 yards and 2 TDs. (Glenn also had 109 yards on the ground for the Barons and 2 rushing TDs. Wideout Wesley Talley had a heck of a game, going for 143 yards on six catches as well as having 2 touchdowns, and Daniel Drakeford ran for 52 yards in 10 carries.)

Wilson Hall Takes Grudge Match from the Swampcats 21-6 Sept. 17,2009

Behind stellar performances on the ground from freshman running back Paris Tindal and eighth grade running back Jay Goodson, the JV Barons completely dominated in the first half of the game on their way to 21 pts. The first score of this contest came off of a Tyler Pannel roll-out flare pass to Andrew Clinkscales who took it to the house for a 13 yard TD and the early 7-0 lead. Then on the proceeding LMA drive, Parker McDuffie took a fumble recovery 15 yards for a score and stretched the WH lead to 14-0, and before the half, the Barons would put another TD on the board as Ashton Knowlton would punch one in from the 1 yard line to make it 21-0 in favor of Wilson Hall as the teams went into halftime. The second half, however, would prove to be nothing like the first half of this contest. In the third quarter, LMA quarterback LeGette Flowers broke a 44 yard run as he raced past the secondary for the score. The conversion would fail, and at that point, the score read WH 21-6. Then, at the 3:26 mark of the third quarter, the referees had a little debacle. The Barons punted to the Swampcats, and as the returner hauled it in after calling a fair catch, (a weak one at that) Will Young hit the returner that resulted in a 15 yard penalty. That is where the refs came in. At first they called it a 10 yard penalty and a re-kick. Then they got together and decided that it was a half the distance to the goal penalty and WH had to kick to the Swampcats from their own 20; and this was followed by an illegal return by LMA! None the less, there was no more scoring that occured in the remainder of the game, and the Barons improve to 3-0 on the season as they travel to Heathwood Hall to take on the Highlanders on Wednesday of next week. (Closing Stats: Pannel finished at 3/5 for 41 and a TD. In the rushing category, Jay Goodson had 53 yards, all coming in the 1st half, and Paris Tindale had 100 yards on 14 carries for The Hall. On the receiving end, Truett Burns had two grabs for 28 yards, and Andrew Clinckscales had a catch for 13 yards and a TD and on defense, Horace Lee Scott and Phillip Shuler led the Barons with 5 tackles apiece.)

Volleyball Cruises to 6th Victory on the Season Sept. 15, 2009

With a 25-18, 25-17, 25-18 3 set sweep over the Florence Christian Eagles, the Wilson Hall Varsity Volleyball team improved to 6-2 on the season. Everyone on the Wilson Hall side played in this game, and there were a lot of players that stood out for the Barons Again, Ansley Ard had a good game. Some of the other players that played well were Emily Turner, Mary Bennet Bracalente, and Victoria Thomas who played great in the middle. Some of the younger players also contributed to the Baron victory, including freshmen Carlee Evans and Ali Hilpisch. It was good for the Barons to take this win coming off their second loss to Richard Winn. Hopefully the Barons can string together a streak of wins as they look to take momentum into the Carolina Challenge and then on into the playoffs. (Picture: Junior Victoria Thomas as she prepares to serve in the second set of the Barons victory.)

B-Team Barons Lose Heartbreaker to LMA Sept. 15, 2009

The B-team Barons football team lost their first game of the season yesterday as the LMA Swampcats came to Spencer field and stole away a victory. In their previous three games, the Barons scored a combined 92 points, while their stout defense had only given up a total of 20 points. The defense did their part for the Barons last night, but the Swampcats also played a solid game on the defensive side of the ball. On their first drive of the game, the Swampcats went no where and the Barons took over. WH then proceeded to march down the field and John Wells Baker caught a 43 yard TD pass from QB James Barnes (who was 3/4 for 62 yards and a touchdwon on the opening drive) as the Barons jumped out to a very early 6-0 lead. The game went to halftime with that same score of 6-0. The teams put up very little offense in the second half, but the game got interesting as the 3rd quarter came to a close and the fourth quarter began. In the third, LMA managed a passing TD and converted on the two point conversion to get the score to 8-6 in favor of LMA. (Which proved extremely important, as the Barons missed their’s.) The next drive, Chase Clark took the kick off for 16 yards and John Ballard caught a thrid down pass for the 1st down, but they then proceeded to turn it over again. WH got the ball down to the 6 yard line after another Ballard grab, and QB Barnes punched it in on a run with 3 seconds left in the game. The Barons were celebrating, jumping up and down, but the game was not over yet. The Barons kicked off, LMA muffed the catch, and then proceeded to take it 75 yards to the house to give the Swampcats a narrow victory over their bitter rivals 14-12.

Hammond Pounds Wilson Hall 35-7 Sept. 12, 2009

Behind absolutely stellar performances from some of the key guys on the Hammond squad, the Skyhawks dominated Wison hall in every aspect of the game. On the opening drive of the game, Dave Nidiffer (who looked like Drew Brees out there picking apart the defense) completed a TD pass to SCISA standout wide reciever Aaron Walters to put Hammond up 7-0, and they would not relinquish that led at all the entire game. WH went three and out on their first drive, and Hammond drove down the field, but Blane Russel intercepted Nidiffer and took it to the 34 yard line. Wilson Hall did nothing and on the next Hammond drive, B.J. Bennet caught a beautiful look off pass from Nidiffer that ran the score to 14-0. Hammond would continue to pour it on offensively, while only allowing one passing touchdown pass from Glenn to Chris Sharp. The Barons showed a little life, constructing two nice drives in the second quarter, but only got the one TD. At the half, the score read 28-7 Barons. The Barons were completely overmatched in this game, and even though Hammond only managed one touchdown in the second half, the Barons could not get anything going at any time during the game. Wilson Hall was definately undermaned in this game as well, being without Blake Graham, Tyler Sutton, Turner Brogdon, and many other players were under the weather. The Wilson Hall Barons were definately deflated in this contest, but they look to bounce back in their first region game next week at Porter Goud to take on the Cyclones. (Stats for last night’s game: Wilson Hall- Glenn was 15/30 for a TD and 168 yards, Chris Sharp had 8 grabs for 73 yards and a TD. Hammond- Dave Nidiffer went 17/19 for 161 and 4 TDs, and Aaron Walters caught 3 TDS. BJ Bennet had his way on the ground, going for 141 yards and a TD on 18 carries.)

JV Improves to 2-0 on the Season Sept. 11, 2009

In a game that pitted the Wilson Hall Barons against the ever competitive Hammond Skyhawks, the Barons came out on top this year as they defeated the Skyhawks 13-0. There was no score at the half, as the two teams were entangled in a dogfight. The Barons would get ahead with all the scoring they would need in the third quarter when Truett Burns scored on a 65 yard fake punt. That ran the score to 6-0 as the snap of the extra point went over his head. In the final stanza, Truett Burns again accounted for another touchdown as he caught a pass from Tyler Pannel to make the score 13-0. The Barons looked good in the second half of this game and will look to continue their success in the next game versus Laurence Manning. (Other state: William Kinney had 2 INTs, Adam Smith had  1 INT, and Andrew Kinney blocked a punt.)

B-Team Barons Best Hammond 28-8 Sept. 10, 2009

After getting off to a sluggish start while allowing Hammond to march down the field and score a TD on the opening drive, The B-Team Barons picked it up in the second quarter. QB James Barnes punched in a rushing touchdown from 1 yard out that brought the Barons back even with Hammond 8-8. The next drive resulted in a beautiful 30 yard TD catch by Sam Watford off of a gorgeoous across the body throw from Barnes, who was rolling to the left. That put the Barons up 14-8 after a failed conversion and that was all that they would need, but they continued their scoring in the third stanza. John Wells Baker, who finished with 12 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown, ran from thirteen yards out to allow the Barons to go up 20-8 and Walker Patrick helped pad the score with his 20 yard TD catch from Barnes. The defense was also very stellar, with DT Brandon Harbour having a monster game leading the way with 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and also adding three more tackles. The Barons improved to 3-0 on the season and look to be very strong as the season progresses. James finished at 4/8 for 95 yards and a TD as well as having 18 yards on three carries for a touchdown. Brent Carraway had 19 yards on three carries and Chase Clark also had 19 yards on 5 carries. On the receiving end, John Ballard had one catch for 50 yards and Charlie Dallery had two grabs for 16 yards.

Lady Barons Varsity Volleyball Dominates Heathwood Sept. 9, 2009

With a 3 games to none sweep over the Heathwood Hall Highlanders, the Wilson Hall varsity Lady Barons volleyball team has gotten off to a quick start with a 5-1 record to start the season. Sophomore Ansley Ard had 14 service points, four aces, and two kills and Dorinda Barnes and Emily Turner had 11 and 8 service points respectively. Victoria Thomas also added five kills as the Barons defeated the Highlanders 25-19, 25-15 and 25-17 in a 3-0 sweep. The team looked very strong, as they have all season, and look to extend their win total Thursday at home versus Richard Winn. (Come out and support your Barons!) In JV action, WH defeated HH 2-1 to remian unbeaten, with a record of 4-0 on the season.

WH Defense Stymmies Cardinals Sept 4, 2009

Defensive player of the game Chase Breeden led the Barons defense as they stifled the flexbone offense that the Cardinal Newman Cardinals ran. The Wilson Hall D had a heck of a game, only allowing 184 total yards of offense and forcing 4 fumbles on the night as well as puting up a big fat goose egg on the scoreboard. Breeden and sophomore QB Gibson Klapthor (5 tackles), as well as Zack Hubbard (3 tackles) led the way on the defensive side of the ball for WH. On the offensive side of the ball, Wilson Hall dominated again for the third time in as many ways. Starting QB Josh Glenn had another solid game (although he did not play much in the second half), going a perfect 5-5 for 98 yards, and Gibson Klapthor was also a perfect 2-2 for 24 yards, but most of the damage was done on the ground. Daniel Drakeford, Blake Graham,(who was injured in the second half) and Cole Connor combined for most of the carries, but James Lowery, and Logan Weiland were also peppered into the Barons running game. There was a lot of scoring that went on in this game, particularly in the first quarter. CN went no-where on their first drive and WH got the ball and capped off a 2 play drive with a Blake Grahm 1 yard touchdown run. Then on the next Cardinal punt, the snap was very low and the punter caught it, but his knee hit the ground and the Barons took over at the Cards 18. Josh Glenn then proceeded to scamper into the endzone for a five yard score and a 14-0 advantage. The fireworks continued on the very next Baron drive, as Chris Sharp caught a beautifully thrown 46 yard pass from Glenn and took  it to the house for a 21-0 halftime lead. There was not much action in the second half, as Graham scored his 2nd TD on a 61 yard up the gut run and Glenn punched in another score in the third quarter, and the score would remain that way as Wilson Hall cruised to a 35- 0 win and a 3-0 record this season.

Cardinals Crumble as WH B-Team Cruises to 42 point Win Sept. 3, 2009

In a game where Cardinal Newman could not tackle anyone, 7th grader John Wells Baker led the way on the ground as he shed tackles left and right on his way to scoring three touchdwons in the game! James Barnes also had a great game at quarterback with his two passing touchdowns; one a 32 yarder to 6th grader Sam Watford and the other an 18 yard grab by John Wells Baker. There was a tremendous amount of offense by the Barons, with Brent Carraway also adding a 22 yd TD scamper and John Ballard also had a very nice 30 yard catch that set up one of John Well’s touchdowns, but the frontline of the Wilson Hall Barons defensive did another great job with Thomas McGinnis, Brandon Harbour, Tillman Tumbleston, and Will Watson reaking major havoc on the Cardinals offensive line, helping to push back the Cards on a punt that allowed Clayton Lowder to convert a safety and also pitched a shutout not allowing the Cards to get into the endzone. All in all, the B team Barons played another solid, all around game this week as they beat Cardinal Newman by a score of 42-0 and cruised to a record of 2-0 to start the season.

Results of WH Quad Meet Sept. 2, 2009

At yesterday’s meet the Wilson Hall Girl’s swim team placed first over the other four schools. The Wilson Hall Boys placed second in the meet with Ben Lippen coming in first. Both of the teams did very well. One of the notable swimmers on the Wilson Hall boy’s side was Mike Schneider. He had three second place finishes and a third place finish. On the girl’s side, there is, of course, Katelyn McFaddin. She had two first place finishes and two relay teams that she was on finshed first. Wilson Hall swimmers did a great job in this meet, and I can not wait to see what they can accomplish in their next meet.

WH Solid in Quad Meet Sept. 1, 2009

In the fourth meet on this young swimming season, Who looked pretty good as they did battle with with Ben Lippen, St. Francis Xavier, Thomas Sumter, and Trinity Collegiate at the Sumter YMCA. As far as the individual events for Wilson Hall go, Katelyn McFaddin dominated in many of the events that she was entered in, including the 500Y freestyle, the 200Y freestyle, and the girls 200Y medely race. On the boys side, some of the standouts included Curt Brown and new student Mike Scheinder in the 400Y freestyle and the boys 100Y freestyle. But as far as the overall meet went, Ben Lippen dominated in many of the events. Ben Lippen won a good percentage of the events that they entered, but Wilson Hall was inches away from winning heats of the girls 400Y freestyle where Katelyn brought her team back to within a stroke of the win. It was also very close in the fourth heat of the girls 100Y freestyle, where Ainslee Hefferman was just fingertips away from stealing the win in her heat. Overall, it was a great meet and I was very impressed seeing that this was the first ever swim meet that I have ever attended. (Photo: Katelyn McFaddin as she gears up for the girls 500Y freestyle race.)

Sophomores Making Major Contributions to Varsity Team Aug 29, 2009

Last year, the junior vasity Baron’s football team had an undefeated record and dominated the field of play as they went 8-0 and won the region. This year, some of the players that were on last year’s undefeated JV team are making a major impact and contributing to the Varsity team this year. Some of these players include promising young QB Gibson Klapthor, OL/DL Turner Brogdon and Chase Breeden, (who are starting on varsity this year), LB/RB Logan Weiland, WR Matthew McMillan, and RBs Daniel Drakeford, James Lowery, and Blake Graham. (Graham was on the varsity team last year.) These players have come up from the JV ranks and have been major contributors to the 2009 varsity team. Last night, McMillan had five tackles, and Brogdon + Breeden have played great on the offensive line. I also would like to give a shout out to RBs Drakeford and Lowery and Graham. They combined for the bulk of the carries and most of WH’s rushing yards last night, and Drakeford also had a short touchdown run. These are all good young player that are doing great in their first year at the varsity level and we look forward to seeing what they are all capable of accomplishing this season.

Talley’s 2 TD Catches lead the Barons past REL 42-20 Aug. 29, 2009

As the Wilson Hall offense and the Robert E. Lee defense lined up for the first snap of the game, you kind of got the feeling that this might be another good offensive night for the Barons and boy was it ever. Led by senior Quarterback Josh Glenn and senior wideout Wesely Talley, the Barons put up major offensive fireworks and scored three touchdowns in the 1st quarter and two in the second to give them a commanding 35-12 lead going into the half. (REL also had two rushing TDs in the 1st half) Each team got very sloppy in the late stages of the first half and second half with penalties and fumbles popping up all over the field. (the Barons had 8 penalties and two fumbles) Never-the-less, the Barons managed a touchdown in the third on a Talley 85 yard TD catch after REL’s punter Jozwiak pinned them on their own 1 yard line. Robert E. Lee would score once in the final stanza but it was much to little, much to late as the Barons cruised past the Cavaliers 42-20 for their second consecutive win on the season. (Stats-Glenn finished 13-19 for 285 yads and 4 TDs, and Wesley Talley finished with over 115 recieving yards and two touchdowns in his "coming out party." Cole Connor and  Daniel Drakeford also had rushing touchdowns of six and two yards, respectively.) While the Barons won the football game, they did have a loss in the game. Early on in the game, as Max Stroebel hauled in a 28 yard catch to set up Talley’s 1st TD, he went down hard after the catch. It did not appear to be serious at first, but now WH has lost of of it’s great wideouts, and it appears he wil be out for awhile. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family and I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

B-Team Coasts to Win over Robert E. Lee Aug. 27, 2009

The Wilson Hall B football team opened their season with a solid 22-12 win over the visiting Robert E. Lee Cavaliers. The Wilson Hall defense pitched a shut out in the first half, led by Tillman Tumbleston, (who had 6 tackles and 3.5 sacks) which opened the door for the offense to put 14 points on the board behind 8 yard touchdowns from John Wells Baker and Walker Patrick. In the third quarter, neither offense could get anything going, and the teams headed into the fourth quarter with still the same score. That is when the light was turned on for both offenses, and to begin the fourth quarter, RELs Nick Martin sped past the WH defense for a 30 yard touchdwon run. The Barons then countered with a John Wells’ 73 yard scamper to run the score to 22-6. REL then scored another rushing touchdown coming from Tee Outlaw, but to no avail as the Barons cruised past the Cavaliers for their first win on this young season. (Closing Stats- QB James Barnes was 4 for 8 for 39 yards, John Wells Baker rushed for 132 yards and two TDs, and Barnes also added 48 rushing yds. WR John Ballard also caught two balls for 28 yards. On the defense side, Jim Mayes had 4 tackles, and Thomas McGinnis, Brandon Harbour, Edward McMillan and Chase Clark each had two tackles as well.

Wilson Hall Dominates Hilton Head Christian Aug. 22, 2009

It was another Friday night under the lights at Spencer Field and as the bag pipes played and the balloons were let go, the Wilson Hall Barons took the field for their first game of the 2009 high school football season. They knew they would have a tough challenge, because Hilton Head returns 17 starters from a very good team last year and were hungry for their first win versus a 3A school. The Barons wasted no time scoring the first points of the game, as Josh Glenn hooked up with Chris Sharp on a 19 yard TD catch to cap a 9 play, 51 yard drive. The Eagles then answered right back on the next play from scrimmage with QB Luke Sirgo connecting with Zac Lenns on a 67 yard catch and run touchdown. WH led 7-6 after a missed point after and then amassed another scoring drive with Glenn again going to Sharp for a 66 yard TD catch. In the second quarter, Glenn continued the steady flow of touchdowns with his 3 yd QB dive good for a 21-6 halftime lead. In the second half, the Barons opened with another Glenn rushing touchdown set up by Max Stroebel’s 43 yard scamper. Blane Russel also grabbed a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 35 yard fade route to the endzone. Wilson Hall played good defense, especially the young sophomores Blake Graham, Daniel Drakeford, and Gibson Klapthor, en route to a 35-20 over HHCA to open up the season. QB Josh Glenn was 11-19 on the night with 299 yards and three touchdowns. (and rushed for two more) Senior Chris Sharp also had a big night, with 8 catches for 145 yds and 2 TDs. WH travels to Robert E. Lee next week seeking another  win and a great start to the ‘09 season.

J.V. Opens with Impressive Win Aug. 20, 2009

The junior varsity Barons wrapped up their preseason with an impressive 21-0 win over the Pinewood Prep Panthers in the Orangeburg Prep J.V. Jamboree at Indian Field. The team looked very good as they gave the Panther defense a heavy dosage of running on their way to three rushing touchdowns and a 21 point victory.  The defense played a stellar game, not allowing a touchdown or a score in a half of football and the offense did it’s job with Jay Goodson opening the first offensive series with a 54 yard score, and Paris Tindale also contributed an impressive rushing touchdown as the Barons breezed bast Pinewood to start off the season on a positive note as they move toward the first game against Cardinal Newman September 3rd. In other football news, the "B" football team looked strong in their scrimmages against Pinewood and the OP Indians.

Wilson Hall Looks Good in Preseason Opener Aug. 14, 2009

Football Fever builds as First Games Approach Aug. 12, 2009

It’s that time again! The first high school football games are just around the corner and teams all over the state and the country are gearing up for what looks like another exciting year. All summer long, teams everywhere, including Wilson Hall, have been lifting weights and conditioning to get ready for the upcoming season of football. And now, teams have also begun their spring practice schedule as they prep for the upcoming season. The varsity team (as well as JV and B teams) has been working out over the summer and just started to begin practice as they prepare for the first game against Hilton Head Christian at home. It is going to be a very exciting year of football, so come out and support your team when they come under the lights to begin the season Aug. 21.