Woodruff Fall Sports Off to a Great Start

By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com

Less than a month into the 2026 fall sports season, it has already been an exciting time for Wolverine fans.

With football playing at a high level, volleyball roaring to a fast start, and cross-country and tennis making strong strides, it has been a terrific start to the school year and season for Woodruff High School athletes.

Here is a look at what has happened recently for the Wolverines’ fall sports teams.

Airing It Out

The Woodruff football team has started the season 2-1, with their only loss to powerful 3A Emerald, and the hallmark of the offense so far has been quarterback Connor Davis and his plethora of talented receivers.

Davis is completing almost 70 percent of his passes through three games and has racked up 847 yards through the air to go along with nine touchdowns. That is good for an average of 282.3 passing yards and three passing touchdowns per game.

Junior wide receiver Curtis Bell has been electric, with 27 catches for 353 yards and four touchdowns so far, averaging 117.6 receiving yards per game.

Senior MiCah McClintock has been as advertised, too, and racked up 183 yards in the season-opener along with touchdown receptions against Fountain Inn and Emerald as well.

Volleyball Surpasses 2025 Win Total

The Lady Wolverine volleyball team has been dynamite to start the season. Over the first three weeks of the schedule, Woodruff has a 9-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play.

Their only region setback came in four sets to traditional 2A powerhouse Chesnee. Before dropping their match to the Lady Eagles last Thursday, the Lady Wolverines had reeled off five consecutive wins over Broome, Laurens, Greer Middle College, and twice over Southside Christian.

Woodruff is just four wins shy of their total all of last season and are getting it done with a great group of seniors and freshmen.

Harrison Rhodes, Alexis Baldwin, and Natalee Simmons are among the senior leaders while freshmen Audrey Crain, Bella Westmoreland, and Heidi West are great additions to the varsity rotation and are making an early impact on the court.

Cross-Country Races Out of the Gate

It has been a fantastic start to the season for both the Woodruff girls’ and boys’ cross-country teams.

So far, Wolverine runners have participated in the Hokum Karem Relay race at Fountain Inn, a scrimmage race versus Clinton and Laurens, and the Eye Opener race which features thousands of runners from across the Southeast.

Both the girls and boys dominated their scrimmage race, and in the Eye Opener, it was perhaps the strongest performance ever by the Wolverines in that event.

Competing in the Championship Series race, the Woodruff boys placed 20th out of 50 teams, and the girls placed 16th out of 44 teams.

According to head coach Hayley Lawson, each squad has a solid top four runners. For the boy’s team, Jayden Day, Sam Ringold, Aidan Lawson, and Wes Newsome are running very well.

For the girls, Sydnee Cothran, Reese Abrams, ZJ Lawson, and Mattie Rhodes are holding down the top spots.

Lawson also added that junior varsity runners Clay Skinner, Mario Orellana, and Arlin Eaddy are pushing closer to varsity times, too.

Girls Tennis Battling the Elements

The Lady Wolverine tennis team has been battling Mother Nature as they attempt to get the season i