State champion Midlands football coach leaving for powerhouse program in Upstate
One of the top coaches in the Midlands is headed to the Upstate to take over one of the biggest high school football programs in the state.
Dustin Curtis is leaving A.C. Flora to become the new coach at Dorman. Curtis informed his players of the move on Thursday morning and was introduced at a press conference at Dorman in the afternoon. He met with his new players before the press conference.
“Everything is right here to be successful,” Curtis said during his press conference. “I’m looking forward the journey and all the challenges that it is going to bring. This is certainly, professionally, a dream come true.”
Curtis replaces Dave Gutshall, who announced last month he was retiring after 29 years at Dorman. Gutshall turned the Cavaliers into one of the state’s top programs, appearing in eight championship games and winning two in 2000 and 2009.
“I just told the kids, most smart kids don’t follow a legend but here I am before you,” Curtis said. “What a special place and what a special opportunity. The facilities here. When any football driving up and down I-26 in SC, it puts the twinkle in your eye, knowing what is here, the people that are here and commitment that is here is outstanding.”
Curtis said he reached out to Dorman basketball coach Thomas Ryan about the job during the process. Both Curtis and Ryan graduated from Lexington High School. He said Ryan did a great job, selling the place to him.
Curtis was a player on Jimmy Satterfield’s Lexington team that lost to Dorman in the 2000 Class 4A Division I state championship game. Dorman now competes in Class 5A, the state’s largest classification and has the largest enrollment of any high school in the state.
Curtis is the second Flora coach to leave for the Upstate. Reggie Shaw left in 2017 to take the job at Byrnes, another powerhouse program.
Curtis went 28-4 in three seasons as Flora’s head coach and led the Falcons to a 2020 Class 4A state championship win over North Myrtle Beach. It was Flora’s first state championship in football and the first by a Columbia city school since Lower Richland in 1970.
“This is a place I wanted to be for a long time,” Curtis said after defeating North Myrtle Beach in the championship game. “It is a very special place I came to in 2009 and left for three years, but I am so excited to be back. This community is special and the support the administration has put in the program in the last 10 years and to culminate with this is special. … We want to be a program competing for state titles every year.”
A.C. Flora posted a thank you message to Curtis for his time at the school.
“During his tenure, our football program achieved unprecedented success,” the school posted on his athletics department website. “... His leadership also provided an immeasurable impact on the character development of all student-athletes in our program. We wish Dustin, Jessica, and Grant the best of luck in their future endeavors.”
A.C. Flora offensive coordinator Ken Floyd and defensive coordinator Bennett Weigle will be co-interim coaches as the school begins search for his Curtis’ replacement.
The Falcons went 9-2 this season, finished in three-way tie for Region 4-4A title and lost to Greenville in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. Dorman will open the 2022 season against Greenville.
After starting his career as an assistant at Spring Valley, Curtis spent seven seasons as an A.C. Flora assistant, including three years as offensive coordinator, before taking his first head coach job at Westwood in 2016. He was the second coach in Westwood history and replaced Rodney Summers, who left to start the May River program. Curtis went 15-19 in three seasons with the Redhawks and made it to the second round of the playoffs his final two years.
Curtis will begin the process about putting together a staff. He said he plans to current coaches but also said there is a chance he could bring some from AC Flora.
Curtis’ last coaching duty in the area will be Friday as one of the head coaches for the I-20 Palmetto Classic, which features some of the top area senior football players. The game will be at Zemp Stadium in Camden.
A.C. Flora becomes the third Midlands school looking for a head coach this offseason, joining Newberry and Batesburg-Leesville.
SC High School Football Openings
School — Former Coach — New Coach
AC Flora — Dustin Curtis— TBA
Batesburg-Leesville — Gary Adams — TBA
Bluffton — John Haupt— TBA
Boiling Springs — Rick Tate — TBA
Dorman — Dave Guttshall — Dustin Curtis
Hilton Head Prep — Dave Adams — TBA
Lewisville — Will Mitchell — TBA
Newberry — Phil Strickland — TBA
Oceanside Collegiate — Joe Call — TBA
Stall — Joe Bessinger — TBA
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 11:16 AM.
