Home News RIDGE VIEW BECOMES HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS POWERHOUSE WITH FOURTH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

RIDGE VIEW BECOMES HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS POWERHOUSE WITH FOURTH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

3/3/2022

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Winning its fourth State Championship, the Ridge View High School boys’ basketball team is becoming a high school hoops powerhouse in South Carolina. For the first time in school history, the Ridge View Blazers won the 2022 Class 5A Boys State Basketball Championship last night by defeating the Fort Dorchester Patriots 65-57 at the University of South Carolina Convocation Center in Aiken, SC. This victory follows a historic run of three consecutive State Championships in Class 4A in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Head Basketball Coach Yerrick Stoneman came to Ridge View six years ago after serving 11 seasons in Virginia as an assistant coach at Oak Hill Academy, a national program that attracts top basketball talent from across the country. The championship game was Stoneman’s last coaching at Ridge View as he is leaving at the end of the school year to return to his home state of Virginia to take over head coaching duties at Oak Hill from the retiring, legendary head coach Steve Smith.

Stoneman reflects on his time at Ridge View saying, “I am eternally grateful for the time I spent at Ridge View and for the relationships I built while here. Our basketball program is truly a family rather than just a team. Even though I won’t be at Ridge View after this school year, a piece of my heart will also remain here. I am a better person and coach because I am a part of the Blazer Family.”

Principal Dr. Brenda Mack-Foxworth says her student-athletes have been working overtime in the classroom and on the court. “I am so proud of the accomplishments of our players and coaches. They have stayed focused and worked hard to achieve some hefty goals and strengthened the spirit and culture of Blazer Nation in the process. I cannot thank Coach Stoneman enough for what he has done to make our basketball program one of the best, if not the best in South Carolina,” said Dr. Mack-Foxworth.

The Blazers are the only boys’ basketball team in Richland School District Two to win three consecutive State Championships in Class 4A and one in Class 5A. Athletics Director Brian Rosefield says realignment by the South Carolina High School League moved Ridge View to Class 5A in the 2020-2021 school year and more changes are coming. “Next school year, the Blazers will return to Class 4A because of a recent realignment. With our Athletic Core Values of Ownership, Unity, Service, Continuous Improvement and Truth at the center of our work, I’m confident Ridge View will be competitive in any class to which we are assigned,” Rosefield said.

Ridge View High School is located at 4801 Hard Scrabble Road in Columbia. It is one of five high schools in Richland Two.