Vote now: Who’s the Midlands’ high school football 2024 Coach of the Year?
It’s time to vote for The State’s 2024 high school football Coach of the Year from Midlands-area teams.
Voting ends at noon Monday, Dec. 23, and the winner will be announced with the all-area football team.
Below are the nominees. You can vote as many times as you would like.
Coach of Year Nominees
Aaron Brand, Irmo: In his sixth year with the Yellow Jackets, Brand led the school to its first state championship appearance since 2006. Irmo has won 25 games in past two season, most in a two-year stretch in school history.
Demetrius Davis, Fairfield Central: The longtime Griffins coach led the team to a 12-2 record, its first region title since 2020 and first state semifinal appearance since 2015.
Willie Fox, Swansea: The Tigers went 0-10 a year ago before Fox’s arrival. This season, Swansea snapped its 16-game losing streak and went 7-4, the most wins in a season since 2014.
Blair Hardin, River Bluff: Led the Gators to a school-record 10 wins and made it to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in school history.
Tom Knotts, Dutch Fork: Knotts added to his storied legacy by leading the Silver Foxes to their ninth state championship, all since 2013. Dutch Fork went 13-0, its fourth unbeaten season in the last eight years. The Silver Foxes have played for a state championship in 12 of the last 13 years.
Greg Lawson, Batesburg-Leesville: The Panthers had their first unbeaten regular season since 2000 and finished 12-1, the most wins in a season since 2013.
Jarrett Neely, Keenan: Neely took over as interim coach in the summer and helped the Raiders to an 8-5 record and first trip to the third round of the playoffs since 2014. The eight wins were the program’s most since 2014.
Jon Wheeler, Hammond: Wheeler led the Skyhawks to a 13-0 record and their fourth-straight SCISA championship. He has won a state title in each of his four seasons as Hammond head coach.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 10:44 AM.
