Abbeville is a regular participant in state championship games. Oceanside Collegiate is a newcomer. Friday afternoon at Benedict College, it was the veteran Panthers claiming their 12th state title, second most all-time with Summerville, with a 35-20 win over the Landsharks. For Abbeville coach Jamie Nickles, it’s his eighth state championship.
The Panthers led 21-0 at the half on touchdown runs of 61 and 22 yards and a 31-yard pass. The half ended with Oceanside stopped at the Abbeville one after a pass completion but with no timeouts.
The teams alternated touchdowns in the second half with Abbeville answering the first two scores by Oceanside. The Landsharks added a long touchdown pass in the final 90 seconds for the final scoring in the game.
Abbeville had 334 yards, 283 coming on the ground. The work was spread out with six different ball carriers rushing for at least 27 yards, and four scored touchdowns. Quarterback Edward Reidenbach led Oceanside with 322 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.
