High School Sports

Lugoff-Elgin is losing its football coach. Here’s what we know

With spring football practice beginning this week for high schools around the state, Lugoff-Elgin is looking for a football coach.

Lugoff-Elgin coach and athletic director Leon Boulware is leaving to become Rock Hill’s next football coach. He will replace Randy Birch, who was with the school for just one season.

Boulware was introduced at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

“We had things rolling at Lugoff-Elgin,” Boulware said Wednesday. “But at the same time the opportunity to come home, you can’t let it slip away.”

Lugoff-Elgin is the 13th Midlands football program that will have a new coach next season. In addition to L-E, Airport is still looking for a football coach and is starting interviews for its vacancy this week.

According to WPUB, defensive coordinator Jarvis Littlejohn will be the interim coach for football while assistant athletic director Katie Ham will be the interim AD.

Boulware leaves Lugoff-Elgin after just one season and has extensive ties to York, Chester and Lancaster counties. Plus, he is a Rock Hill graduate, a factor that played a large part in him leaving Lugoff-Elgin.

In his one year at L-E, the Demons went from 2-9 to a 4-7, the biggest improvement for the school since 2016-17.

“My goal here the whole time was to be here at Rock Hill as a head football coach,” Boulware told WRHI after his press conference. “This has been my dream job since day one. For that to come true was a great moment.”

Boulware was an assistant at Lancaster (2007-11), Nation Ford (2011-14), Indian Land (2014-19) and Northwestern (2019-21). At Indian Land, he also was the school’s wrestling coach and led the program to back-to-back state championships.

Boulware also led Northwestern’s wrestling team to a state semifinal appearance. He left Northwestern to become the North Myrtle Beach wrestling coach for the 2021-22 school year. After one season at NMB, he left to become Lewisville’s head football coach and went 21-4 in his two seasons there. Lewisville won only 11 games in four seasons before Boulware arrived.

SC football coaching openings

School — Former Coach — New Coach

Academic Magnet — Mitch White — Austin Miller

Aiken — Dwayne Garrick — Steve Hibbitts

Airport — Shane Fidler — TBA

Allendale-Fairfax — Tristain Armstrong — Travis Lewis

American Leadership — Robin Bacon — Kemper Amick

Brookland-Cayce — Rusty Charpia — Louis Clyburn

CA Johnson — Scotty Dean — TBA

Cardinal Newman — Cory Helms — Jared Shaw

Daniel — Jeff Fruster — Chris Stone

First Baptist —Jamaal Birch — Kevin Mapp

Gaffney — Dan Jones — Donnie Littlejohn

Greenville — Jaybo Shaw — Steve Watson

JL Mann — Steve Watson — Bryce Smiley

Keenan — Ray McCleod — Jarrett Neely

Kingstree — Brian Smith — TBA

Lamar — Stephen Burris — Tyler Boyd

Landrum — Brent Bridges — TBA

Laurence Manning — Robbie Briggs — Jimmy Noonan

Lexington — Dustin Curtis — Stewart Young

Lugoff-Elgin — Leon Boulware — TBA

Midland Valley — Earl Chaptman — Brent Dorn

Nation Ford — Michael Allen — Jake Bentley

Oceanside Collegiate — John Patterson (interim) — Brent LaPrad

Orangeburg Prep — Don Shelley — Brooks Smith

Pelion — Dann Holland — Cory Helms

Porter-Gaud — Brad Bowles — Matt Neighbors

River Bluff — Blair Hardin — Perry Parks

Rock Hill — Randy Birch — Leon Boulwaure

Saluda — Stewart Young — Greg Woerner

Southside — Roy Ravenell — AJ Millis

Southside Christian — Mike Sonneborn — Jonathan Gess

Spring Valley — Nygel Pearson — Norman Washington

Trinity Collegiate — Jared Amell — Shawn Fagan

Westwood — Rob O’Connell — Stephen Burris

West Ashley — Donnie Kiefer — Rashad Graham

West Florence — Jody Jenerette — Chad Wilkes

Whale Branch — Jerry Hatcher — TBA

Wilson — Daryl Page (interim) — Brian Wilson

Woodmont — Ty Sutherland — Malcolm Boyd

This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 9:09 AM.

Lou Bezjak
The State
Lou Bezjak is the High School Sports Prep Coordinator for The (Columbia) State and (Hilton Head) Island Packet. He previously worked at the Florence Morning News and had covered high school sports in South Carolina since 2002. Lou is a two-time South Carolina Sports Writer of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Support my work with a digital subscription
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