South-Carolina
No. 23 South Carolina’s charge powered by Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina tailback Raheim Sanders has proven the past few weeks why he’s got the well-earned nickname, “Rocket.”
When he gets going, Sanders is nearly impossible to catch.
“When I see that green grass, I think, ‘Man, lovely,’” Sanders said after gaining 126 yards and scoring two touchdowns in a 28-7 win at then-No. 24 Vanderbilt.
The newly ranked No. 23 Gamecocks (6-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) hope Sanders’ jet-propelled showings continue down the stretch, starting against No. 24 Missouri (7-2, 5-2).
Sanders averaged 8.2 yards a rush against the improved Commodores. He had scoring runs of 33 and 1 yard, plus he added a 43-yard TD catch from LaNorris Sellers for a Gamecocks squad almost no one in the SEC wants to face right now.
It was the latest of several significant performances for the Arkansas transfer, who finished second in Southeastern Conference rushing with 1,443 yards and with 10 touchdowns for the Razorbacks two years ago.
Sanders has run for five of his 10 touchdowns this season in South Carolina’s past three victories at Oklahoma (35-9) and against ranked opponents in then-No. 10 Texas A&M (44-20) and the Commodores.
He had a season best 144 yards rushing against the Aggies.
“The key thing is trusting it, on the field, trusting it and being very coachable has helped me out a lot,” Sanders said.
The game, Sanders believes, is coming back to him after he struggled to reach the field in 2023. He was looking to build on his All-SEC season, but played just six games as injuries kept on the sidelines. When the season ended and Sanders sought a fresh start, he connected with South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who held a similar role for the Razorbacks when Sanders was there.
What Sanders found is a rising, young, dual-threat quarterback in Sellers who can keep defenses guessing and an offensive line that has been largely healthy and cohesive.
“I feel like the key thing is talking to them every day,” Sanders said. “I feel more comfortable talking to them every day outside of football as well. That’s what’s making us a better unit.
“When you work as a unit,” Sanders continued, “the sky’s the limit.”
Loggains said in the offseason that Sanders may have put on too much weight, getting to more than 240 pounds, and that may have led to some injury issues. These days, Sanders is at a speedy 230 pounds.
“If I hadn’t had the year away from him the two years we spent together at Arkansas, it feels and looks like that same player that has juice, that has size, that is a professional,” Loggains said.
The work significantly has improved South Carolina’s rushing profile. The Gamecocks are fifth overall in the SEC at more than 180 yards rushing a game — nearly 100 more than a year ago when they were last in the league at 85.1 yards a game.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said that improvement comes from many areas of growth, including Sellers’ versatility, the maturing of the offensive line and the offensive staff coming up with niftier schemes to take advantage of Sanders’ strengths.
Sanders appeared to take off in September when he had 143 yards and two touchdowns in a heart-breaking 36-33 loss to then-No. 14 LSU after the Gamecocks led 17-0. But Sanders hurt an ankle in that game and had only nine carries in the next two contests, which included a 27-3 loss to Mississippi.
Steadily, Sanders called on his offseason work ethic to get himself back on the field and playing like he and his coaches knew he could.
“He’s just been very convicted and driven to do the things that he needed to do to be a great player,” Beamer said. “It’s good to see him having the success that he’s having right now.”
New details have emerged in an officer-involved shooting that left one dead and a deputy injured in Anderson County on Monday.
A deputy with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) initiated a traffic stop outside of Townville, SC, on I-85 Northbound near Mile Marker 11 for a traffic violation, according to a release from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
The deputy requested back-up and spoke to 32-year-old Austin Derrell Robertson, of Pennsylvania, in his patrol vehicle. Once the other deputy arrived, Robertson got out of the vehicle and “a physical altercation involving him and the two deputies” occured, according to SLED.
SC deputy critically injured after shooting during traffic stop, suspect killed
While deputies attempted to tase Robertson, officials said he grabbed a firearm from his vehicle and shot one of the deputies.
Both deputies then shot back at Roberston, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
SLED said the deputy was airlifted to the hospital and remains there for treatment at this time.
The incident remains under investigation by SLED, as requested by the ACSO.
NOTE: The above video is a livestream of WIS featuring current newscasts, Soda City Living and Gray Media’s Local News Live.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer has been nominated for a position in foreign diplomacy.
The White House on Tuesday listed Bauer as a nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Belize, a Central American country bordering Guatemala.
It’s unclear when a confirmation hearing will take place. WIS has reached out to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee for more information.
Bauer was South Carolina’s lieutenant governor from 2003-2011, serving under then-Gov. Mark Sanford. Before that, he served terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate.
More recently, Bauer entered the race for U.S. Senate in July 2025, looking to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary. He ended his campaign the following month.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
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