Upstate high schools win most football state titles. How do other SC regions stack up?
High schools in the Upstate counties of South Carolina know a thing or two about winning football state championships.
Their counterparts in the Midlands and Pee Dee regions have experienced plenty of success lately as well. High schools in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, meanwhile, have some catching up to do.
That’s according to a review of S.C. High School League football state championship game data since the year 2000 in the Palmetto State.
The Pee Dee region, since 2000, produced the most championship appearances (86). The Upstate is No. 1 in state titles won (53).
A caveat for these findings: Schools were placed in one of the four geographic regions as defined by the S.C. government. Those are the Upstate, Midlands, Pee Dee or Lowcountry. Each region features 11 or 12 counties.
The state government’s geographic Midlands region includes the Rock Hill and Aiken areas, and Horry and Georgetown counties are considered to be in the Pee Dee. We’ll touch on that below, and the county-by-county breakdown is at the bottom of this article.
Of the 224 schools that compete in the S.C. High School League, 58 have won state championships since 2000, while 37 others have played for a title.
This year’s state title games are Thursday to Saturday at Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg. The SCHSL will crown six state champions, with Class 5A split into two divisions for the first time.
All four regions are represented in this week’s championship games.
SC region football success at a glance
▪ Appearances by region (includes 2024 teams)
- Pee Dee: 86
- Upstate: 82
- Midlands: 82
- Lowcountry: 32
▪ State championships by region
- Upstate: 53
- Pee Dee: 36
- Midlands: 34
- Lowcountry: 12
▪ Runners-up by region
- Pee Dee: 49
- Midlands: 44
- Upstate: 25
- Lowcountry: 17
A closer look at the Upstate
The Upstate region has been the leader in S.C. football championships since 2000 with 53.
Byrnes and Abbeville lead the way with eight titles apiece. Abbeville can add to its haul on Thursday by defeating Cross in the Class A championship. Byrnes had a great run, under coaches Bobby Bentley and Chris Miller, and won its titles all between 2002 and 2011. The Rebels haven’t played for a title since 2011.
Christ Church, a private school in Greenville that competes in the S.C. High School League, has won six state titles in football, including back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. They moved up from Class A to 3A this year and lost in the second round of the playoffs.
Gaffney, the state’s leader in all-time championships with 18, has five titles since 2000.
Other multiple-title winners include Daniel, Dorman, Greenwood, Ninety-Six, Southside Christian, Spartanburg and Union County high schools.
TL Hanna has the most championship appearances (2) during the period without a title win.
A closer look at the Midlands
The Midlands area is third in state championships (34) since 2000 and second in runners-up with 44. The success from Dutch Fork in Richland County and South Pointe in York County combined for almost half of those championships.
Led by coach Tom Knotts, Dutch Fork has won eight titles, all since 2013, and can add to it this weekend if it defeats Summerville for the Class 5A Division I title. The Silver Foxes have appeared in 12 state championships in the past 13 years.
South Pointe has seven state titles since 2000, including four straight from 2014 to 2017.
Since 2000, there have been 15 titles won by schools in Richland, Lexington, Kershaw and Saluda counties, and 14 from schools in York County and the Rock Hill area. Northwestern and Rock Hill high schools both have multiple championships.
Other multi-time champs from the region are Batesburg-Leesville, Blackville-Hilda and Silver Bluff high schools.
A.C. Flora (2020) is the lone champion from the Columbia area since 2000. Blythewood, located in northern Richland County, has won a title (2006), while Richland County schools Keenan and Richland Northeast have one appearance apiece.
Irmo, Newberry and Barnwell have the most title appearances (3) without a championship in the span. Both Irmo and Barnwell are playing for titles this weekend.
A closer look at the Pee Dee
The Pee Dee region leads the way with 86 appearances and has the most second-place finishes (49) to go along with 36 championships.
Dillon and Lamar have had the most success in the region. Dillon High, located in Dillon County, won seven titles and appeared in 11 finals from 2008 to 2019. Lamar, located in Darlington County, won five championships, including three straight from 2002 to 2004.
Myrtle Beach High has four championships and made six title game appearances from 2008 to 2018.
Conway made four championship appearances from 2001 to 2006 but finished second each time. Sumter has three championship appearances without a title in the span.
A closer look at the Lowcountry
The Lowcountry has 12 state championships and 17 runners-up since 2000.
The titles are divided among nine different winners, with Bishop England, Hunter-Kinard Tyler and Timberland each winning twice. Cross and Oceanside Collegiate can give the region two more multiple title winners with victories this weekend.
Summerville has the most tradition of any program in the region under legendary coach John McKissick but hasn’t won a title since 1998. The Green Wave can end the drought this weekend by defeating Dutch Fork. Summerville is making its third championship appearance since 2000.
Beaufort High (2022) is the lone high school in Beaufort County to win a state title in this time frame. Bluffton competed for a title in 2011.
Bamberg-Ehrhardt has the most runners-up finishes (4) in the region without a championship during the span.
Methodology, region-county breakdown
We grouped high school teams based on the four regions as defined by the South Carolina government.
▪ Upstate: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg and Union counties
▪ Midlands: Aiken, Barnwell, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Newberry, Richland, Saluda and York counties
▪ Pee Dee: Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Sumter and Williamsburg counties
▪ Lowcountry: Allendale, Bamberg, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton, Jasper and Orangeburg counties
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Upstate high schools win most football state titles. How do other SC regions stack up?."
