Bamberg-Ehrhardt celebrates first state football title since 1990 with championship rings

The new championship rings gave Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School’s 2025 football run a permanent shine, but they also locked in a milestone that means more than a trophy case entry. For Bamberg and Ehrhardt, the Red Raiders’ 35-21 win over Lamar ended a 35-year state-title drought and capped the school’s first perfect season since 1990.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt won the South Carolina Class A state championship on Dec. 5, 2025, at Willie Jeffries Field in Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. Lamar struck first and led 14-13 at halftime, but the Red Raiders answered with a 21-8 second half to finish 15-0. Jalen McGraw scored a rushing touchdown in the second quarter, and quarterback Brian McMillan added two rushing touchdowns, including a 13-yard scramble that helped push the lead to 28-13.

Head coach Corey Crosby said the title mattered “big for our town,” and said the community deserved it. That message fits a Bamberg-Ehrhardt program that serves Bamberg, Ehrhardt and surrounding rural areas, where the football team has long carried local identity well beyond Friday nights. The rings now give families, alumni and students a symbol of a season that turned into a lasting piece of county memory.

The championship also quickly reached beyond school walls. On March 3, 2026, the South Carolina House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 5289 to formally recognize the team, coaches and school officials for the title. The resolution says a copy is to be presented to Principal Jordan D. Smith and Crosby, a public acknowledgment that the program’s victory resonated at the statehouse as well as on the field.

The celebration comes with added weight because Bamberg-Ehrhardt is still being recognized as one of the state’s top small-school programs after the title run. MaxPreps ranked the Red Raiders No. 1 in South Carolina Division A and listed a 2025-26 roster that included Jason Youmans, Rocky Walker, Jordan Logan, Jamarius Jenkins and Marcus Cann Jr. For a county program that waited more than three decades for another crown, the rings are more than jewelry. They are a reminder that the 2025 team restored a legacy the community can point to for years to come.