Gaffney High fans cheer the Indians to victory over Lancaster on Saturday in the Upper State title game. The Indians advance toColumbia to face Marlboro County for the Class 4A state crown.

No 4A team has ever won

three straight state titles

By LARRY HILLIARD

Ledger Sports Editor

Move over Irmo, Sumter, Eau Claire and Lower Richland. You have a new member in the House of South Carolina Prep Basketball Dynasties.

By beating Marlboro County on Friday, the Gaffney Indians can become the first Class 4A school to capture three straight state championships.

Since the creation of Class 4A in 1969, Sumter, Lower Richland, Eau Claire and Irmo have each won two straight state championships.

Irmo came the closest to the rare three-peat. After claiming state titles in 1994 and 1995 with former University of South Carolina standout B.J. McKie, the Yellow Jackets were beaten in the 1996 state title game by rival Lexington.

Lower Richland has the most Class 4A state titles with four. Eau Claire, Irmo and Sumter have each won three.

In the modern era, only two schools in any classification have strung together three consecutive state titles. Class A Great Falls won state titles from 1996-’98. After dropping from Class 4A to 3A in the early 1990s, Eau Claire won three state crowns from 1993-’95.

The Indians moved closer to the exclusive company in an impressive fashion Saturday.

“The kids deserve all the credit,” said Gaffney Head Coach Mark Huff following the Indians’ 63-53 victory over Lancaster in the Upper State final. “The kids are good.”

Make that very good.

The Indians finished a perfect 28-0 to capture the 2002-’03 state title. Last season, they won 26 games and claimed their second straight title against a challenging schedule, which included an appearance in the legendary Beach Ball Classic.

This year, they’ve rolled to a 26-1 mark, including a season sweep over highly-regarded Lancaster and winning the national Frank Spencer Tournament championship in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Huff is also stamping his ticket to the coaches Hall of Fame.

With a victory Friday, Huff would join Middleton’s Jerry Waters, Lower Richland’s Jim Childers and Tim Whipple of Irmo as the only Class 4A coaches to win three state titles.

Huff would also close in on legendary George Glymph, who won five overall state titles as coach of Eau Claire. Huff guided his alma mater, Southside, to the Class 2A 1992 state title. He also led Class 3A J.L. Mann to the 1996 title game.

And the frightening part is that the 45-year-old Huff and the Indians might not be done yet. The Indians will return three starters and several key reserves next season.

Three straight non-4A state titles:

Lower Richland (4)

Eau Claire (3)

Irmo (3)

Sumter (3)

Total 4A state championships:

Gaffney

Sumter

Lower Richland

Eau Claire

Irmo

Teams that have won two straight 4A state basketball championships: