Midlands football team loses its head coach days before start of preseason practice
With high school football practice beginning next week across South Carolina, one Midlands program is losing its head coach.
Tyronne Drakeford is leaving North Central High School in Kershaw County to become the Dorchester District 2 athletic director. Dorchester 2 announced the hire on its website.
Dorchester 2 includes Summerville, Fort Dorchester and Ashley Ridge high schools, as well as the middle schools.
Assistant coach Ryan McDonnell has been named North Central’s interim coach.
The first high school football games of the 2022 season are less than a month away on Aug. 18-19. North Central opens its season Aug. 19 at Johnsonville.
“It is bad timing,” Drakeford told The State. “I was given the opportunity to coach the team this season, but we came to a mutual agreement that I would move forward and they (North Central administration) would move forward.
“I’m very excited about the new opportunity, but I’m going to miss the people, players and coaches. They are blue-collar community. It was good the success we had and I hope they can continue it. We have a good team coming back and some good coaches there as well.”
Drakeford has been the coach at North Central, his alma mater, since 2017. He led the Knights to an eight-win season in 2018 and a region championship in 2020.
It was North Central’s first region title since 1992 and came in the COVID-shortened season and a few months after a tornado ripped through the Kershaw County school, badly damaging the campus and its football field.
“It is really, really big. It has been over 20 years, 25 years whatever it may be. I don’t think we are just a team,” Drakeford said after the team defeated Cheraw for region title in 2020. “We are starting to build a program and the kids and community are starting to believe that.”
Drakeford was a standout at North Central before going to play at Virginia Tech and then on in the NFL for eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints. He was a member of the 49ers’ Super Bowl XXIX title team in 1995.
SC high school football coaching changes
Midlands-area schools in bold.
School — Former Coach — New Coach
AC Flora — Dustin Curtis — Ken Floyd
Airport — Kirk Burnett — Andre Cook
Bamberg-Ehrhardt — Robert Williams — Corey Crosby
Batesburg-Leesville — Gary Adams — Gene Cathcart — Greg Lawson
Ben Lippen — Stephen Cagle — Bennett Weigle
Bethune Bowman — Glen Darby — Cody McNeal
Blackville-Hilda — Brandon Isaac — Kevin Jones
Bluffton — John Houpt— Hayden Gregory
Boiling Springs — Rick Tate — Matt Reel
Burke — Anthony Sterling — Earl Brown Jr.
Cardinal Newman — Doug Dutton — Cory Helms
Dorman — Dave Guttshall — Dustin Curtis
Dreher — Treigh Sullivan — Corey Jenkins
Hemingway — Charlie Richards — Byron Abram
Hilton Head Prep — Dave Adams — Dustin Etheridge
Lamar — Chad Wilkes — Josh Pierce
Lewisville — Will Mitchell — Leon Boulware
Marlboro County — Bobby Collins — Quin McCollum
Newberry — Phil Strickland — Cedrick Jeter
North Augusta — Jim Bob Bryant — Matt Quinn
North Central — Tyronne Drakeford — Ryan McDonnell
North Myrtle Beach — Matt Reel — Greg Hill
Oceanside Collegiate — Joe Call — Chad Wilkes
South Pointe — DeVonte Holloman — Bobby Collins
Stall — Joe Bessinger — Benjamin Lailson
Strom Thurmond — Antwaun Hillary — Andrew Webb
Travelers Rest — Ray Gould — Michael Lancaster
Westwood — Matt Quinn — Robert O’Connell
Whitmire — Charlie Jenkins — Andrew Miller
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 12:55 PM.
