Class AA outlook

Little did we know that last December’s state title tilt between Central and Dillon could be the end of one of the more scintillating, highly contested rivalries in recent memory.
Avenging two years of falling a point short to their rivals from the Pee Dee, the Eagles rallied from a 10 point fourth quarter deficit to win their first Class AA championship since 2003 with a heart-stopping 21-17 win.
Unfortunately, with the decision to split the classification into separate divisions, another part will not be added to this saga in 2011, with Central headed for Division II and the Wildcats to compete in the Division I tournament.
But just as they have in previous years, the rival programs are again expected to journey deep into November, and quite possibly find themselves playing Dec. 2 at Charles W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia.
Dillon in particular has high hopes for the year, coming up just short last season with a lineup laden with youth. Sixteen starters return from last season’s Lower State championship squad.
At the head of the Wildcats’ youth movement is running back Jabo Lee, the rising junior racking up 2,325 all-purpose yards and 30 touchdowns last season.
Equally as dangerous this season will be Dillon’s passing game, which will be anchored by wide receiver Kwinton Smith, a South Carolina commitment. He caught 42 passes for 809 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2010.
If there is a question for the Wildcats left to answer, it is who will be at the controls of one of the state’s more prolific offenses? Thomas Grossetti and Malique Gregory will compete for the job, the winner finding themselves surrounded by a talented cast.
Central, however, will begin camp with plenty of holes to fill. Keyed to a state title last year on its strong one-two punch of Mardu Smith and Radford Robinson in the backfield, some new faces will have to pick up the slack if the team has any aspirations of making a return trip to Columbia.
“We’re not going to replace those two guys with just two guys but we feel we have six, seven or even eight players that can fill the void for us,” said Central head coach Joey Mangum to the S.C. High School Sports Report. “… We’ll be young but we have some ability.”
Nevertheless, the Eagles will remain quite nasty on defense, returning able starters such up front like Dedrick Shine, Kendrick Baker and Mark Hatten, and linebackers Tevis Funderburke and Renard Price.
Woodruff came within minutes of ending Central’s pursuit of a state title last year, its comeback bid halted in the final minutes of the 2010 Upper State championship game. The Wolverines renowned high octane offense has residents of the Upstate community excited for the upcoming campaign, which some believe can restore the program back to the glory days of famed coach W.L. Varner, who won 10 titles at the school.
Similar to Dillon, Woodruff will be able to dictate to its opponent how the game will be played, equally comfortable running or passing the pigskin. Clemson commit Javarius Leamon will anchor an offensive line whose duty is to protect quarterback Ryan Tribble and open running lanes for running backs Shun Tribble and Hermundre Rutledge.
The Wolverines are expected to pose the biggest threat to Dillon’s path to a state title in Division I, though talent laden squads such as Timberland, Strom Thurmond and Manning have the potential to give the Wildcats a run for their money. In Division II, Columbia, Silver Bluff and Indian Land will aim to shoot down the defending Class AA champs.

CLASS AA DIVISION I
FAVORITE: Dillon
CONTENDERS: Woodruff, Timberland, Strom Thurmond, Manning
LOOK OUT FOR: Cheraw -- A perennial power in Class AA, the Braves have recently fallen on hard times. Finally re-stocking the cupboard to levels reminiscent of past glory, it will be interesting to see of Cheraw can return to the top of Class AA.

CLASS AA DIVISION II
FAVORITE: Central
CONTENDERS: Silver Bluff, Columbia, Indian Land
LOOK OUT FOR: Hanahan -- The Hawks boast one of the state’s best athletes in wide receiver Chris Brown -- a true game breaker. Already receiving a number of offers from upper tier schools, Brown may be able to help Hanahan improve on its 8-4 record in 2010 and make it a legitimate player in Class AA Division II.

A State Steeped in History: High School Football in South Carolina

By JOE L. HUGHES II

Published: The Gaffney Ledger, Aug. 23, 2010

Little has changed about high school football in South Carolina through the decades, yet in towns from the Upstate to the Lowcountry people line up in droves hoping to get a view of their hometown team.

The state’s love for the gridiron was a subject John Boyanoski was quite acquainted with when he relocated to the Palmetto State from Scranton, Pa., to begin a new chapter in his journalism career. Yet, he wanted to delve further, find out more about what makes Friday nights under the lights such a time honored tradition in South Carolina.

“I had written two books and was wondering what should I do next,” Boyanoski said. “Then it hit me — I should look into South Carolina’s rich football tradition. After all, I always wanted to know where this all started, and where did this come from?”

An award-winning journalist who through the years has written for The Greenville News and the Spartanburg Herald- Journal, and contributed to the likes of the Associated Press and Sports Business Journal, Boyanoski tries to capture more than a century’s worth of history in his latest work, “High School Football in South Carolina: Palmetto Pigskin History.” The 208-page book jumps headfirst into the state’s tradition on the gridiron, getting state residents acquainted with Florence High School — sometimes dubbed the Yellow Jackets or the Golden Tornadoes — winners of the first four state football titles, a mark that has been tied, yet never broken.

He also discusses key events on and off the field, including the aftermath of a 1922 contest between teams from Columbia and Charleston in which fans from the state’s capital city sent their friends from the Lowcountry home with egg on their faces — literally. “After the game, violent Columbia fans hurled eggs at the Charleston train as the players left for home,” Boyanoski said.

The longtime journalist began his search for answers in Columbia, making several treks around the state to libraries, schools and sometimes homes in locales such as Charleston, Florence and Summerville, looking through any publication he could get his hands on, whether it be a newspaper or a yearbook stashed away in a high school’s media center.

“The biggest thing I wanted to do was chronicle some of the past stories and careers that make the state unique, and hunt down some of those stories and characters that somehow fell through the cracks due to the passing of time,” Boyanoski said. “I pulled from some of the major dailies covering particular areas of the state as well as publications serving communities looking for clues as to what that newspaper said about a certain year or era. I really wanted to go directly to the source and see what was being said in these local papers.”

While some would consider the current batch of athletes as the best era ever collected by the Palmetto State, Boyanoski begs to differ.

“Those that played in the early 1970s, the likes of Harry Carson and Mike O’ Cain, in my opinion that era has to top the list,” he said. “There have been many really talented eras, but when you break everything down, nothing compares to that era.”

According to the author, Carson’s case was quite intriguing.

“For a Pro Football Hall of Famer, you do not see too many articles or mentions of him in publications or for that matter the S.C. high school football history books,” Boyanoski said. “He wasn’t a superstar in high school, and did not play in either the Shrine Bowl or the North — South (All-Star) game. Yet, he went on to have one of the more dazzling careers in NFL history, and was recognized by being inducted into the hall of fame.”

A number of names recognized by the masses also turn up in the book, including Cale Yarbrough, the NASCAR legend who was once a standout at Timmonsville High School; former chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Hootie Johnson, who earned a football scholarship at the University of South Carolina due to his performance on the gridiron at Greenwood High in the late 1940s; and Anderson’s Jim Rice, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Of course, Gaffney makes quite a few appearances in the book, according to Boyanoski.

“According to some research I conducted, when Gaffney won its first state football championship in the 1920s, an estimated 5,000 people waited into the wee hours of the morning at train station awaiting the team’s return from Columbia. ... Gaffney’s been a football power for forever and a day, the fans are so in love with the Indians and how they perform on the field,” he said.

The book, which was published by History Press, also contains all-time win-loss records for schools, in addition to the state’s long line of All-State performers on the gridiron. It is currently available at www.historypress.net for $19.99.

It's a question of where...

Former Gaffney and current S.C. State quarterback Malcolm Long leaps across the goal line during the Indians' drubbing of Irmo in the 2006 S.C. Class 4A "Big 16" title game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Programs in the state's highest classification discussed the possibility of moving its two championship contests from the venue earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of Larry B. Littlejohn/ The Gaffney Ledger)

Published : Aug. 13, 2010 — The Gaffney Ledger

By Joe L. Hughes II

Some summers are best spent inside.

This year happens to be one of them, with temperatures near or surpassing 100-degrees, the easy stroll to the mailbox has become somewhat laborious. I almost feel sorry for those who must make a living in the sun — construction workers, street crews and especially the mailman who must deal with both the afternoon heat and a pit bull nipping at his heels.

It is hard to believe that in a few short months the temperature will go from the 90s to near freezing.

Being a football fan, each week sitting among the crowd at the nearest high school football stadium yields the opportunity to see nature at work. During the first few weeks of the season, it seems the sun does not go down until the second half, fans typically getting a glimpse of the sunset — the makings of a perfect date in my opinion.

My wife may tend to differ — yet she still winds up in the crowd with me every Friday night. Now, back to the subject.

With every week, it seems the weather gets a bit more nippy, with a torrential downpour every ruining the plans of those wanting to see the home team play.

Then just like that, it's the playoffs and a state champion has been crowned.

With the exception of a few years in which the games were held in Clemson and Orangeburg (Class 1A held state title games at S.C. State University for the past several years), Columbia and the University of South Carolina's Williams- Brice Stadium has been the goal of high schools throughout the Palmetto State. Providing the opportunity for some athletes to achieve the dream of walking onto the venue's hallowed turf, it is quite a reward for players and coaches alike — win or lose.

However, with each passing year it seems the debate of whether to move the event, aptly named the "Weekend of Champions", from the capital city.

Following last year's Weekend of Champions, the Class 4A football committee consisting of a representative from each of the classification's eight regions toyed with the idea of moving the Division I and II games to separate venues, with expenses from the event being at the heart of the issue.

Under the current format, the schools involved in a title game receive an equal amount of revenue from ticket sales despite the number of tickets sold.

In an effort to cut costs, the Class 4A football committee proposed the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) move its Division II title tilt to Saturday, being played the same afternoon as the Class 2A and Class 3A championship games. The committee went as far as to solicit bids from other venues including Clemson, Furman and Spring Valley High School in Columbia to host the games.

The Class 4A football committee later wound up keeping the state title game in Williams-Brice Stadium, deciding not to bail on their peers in Classes 2A and 3A, who would have had to find a way to come up with $62,000 for use of the venue and the fact it would not bring the savings once perceived by the governing body.

With school districts scrambling to stay afloat in today's unstable economic climate, I can definitely understand why Class 4A football officials at least looked into moving the game. After all, what should take preference — making sure every student has a book or how much money the school and school district should commit should it be lucky enough to advance to Columbia?

Speaking of Columbia, my hometown really is the one which benefits most from the weekend, bringing in a large amount of money from visitors lodging at the city's hotels and eating at the municipality's many restaurants.

Two years ago, the SCHSL tinkered with the idea of moving the Weekend of Champions to Clemson, which offered a change of pace for all involved. According to friends who went to games during the two-day event it was a resounding success, not to say if it were in Columbia it would not do well.

In my opinion, the state's high school athletic commission ought to follow the blueprint of its contemporaries in Alabama, which chose to alternate between Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Auburn, Ala., as hosts for its high school title games. The championship games were previously held in Birmingham, Ala., the home of the Super 6 Championships for more than a decade.

The school not hosting the annual Iron Bowl matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers would a week or so later welcome the 12 schools advancing to their respective classification's championship game. For example, with the Iron Bowl being held in Tuscaloosa this year the Super 6 Championships will take place in Auburn this year, alternating each year.

If the SCHSL adopted this measure, it would have little bearing on this year's games as Williams-Brice Stadium would host the Weekend of Champions, with Death Valley being the site of the 2010 renewal of the Carolina-Clemson game.

While the plan would not necessarily ease all complaints or ever will, rotating the site of the Weekend of Champions would ease the burden of Upstate schools one year and those from the Midlands down the following season. It would also offer some student-athletes the opportunity to walk the same field Frank Howard, Woody Dantzler and more recently C.J. Spiller walked, instead of only being offered the chance to see where Gaffney product Sidney Rice spent four years.

It would offer the total experience for them — if they cared. These kids are only concerned with making their dreams of a championship come true.

However, if money is the issue, there is nothing wrong with looking at other options. When sports and athletic success becomes more important than the hard work necessary in the classroom, that's when I have a problem.

After all, that's why the word student comes before athlete when referring to athletes (student-athlete) in high school and college, right?