10 Midlands storylines for the 2018 high school football season

Here are 10 storylines locally to keep an eye on as high school football practices begin this week across South Carolina:

Swansea turmoil

It has been a wild last month for the Swansea High football program.

The school fired coach Greg Wright at the end of June, and the Lexington school board upheld that decision a few weeks later. Wright has countered with a $300,000 lawsuit against the district and other parties.

Eric Park, the school’s wrestling coach, has been given the task of leading the program this year. The Tigers have plenty of talent returning, including Clemson commit Greg Williams and Keenan Coats, among others.

New faces on sidelines

Park will be one of six new faces leading Midlands teams this season, with other new coaches being Jason Seidel (Blythewood), Danny Lewis (Heathwood Hall), James Reynolds (Ben Lippen), Michael Kelly (Eau Claire) and Chris Arnoult (Mid-Carolina).

Chapin making jump to Class 5A

Chapin will be making the jump to the state’s top classification for the first time in school history.

The Eagles, who were in Class 2A only 15 years ago, will be in Region 4-5A with Lexington County schools Dutch Fork, White Knoll, Lexington and River Bluff.

The other Class 5A region with Midlands teams will be Region 8-5A with Lugoff-Elgin, Blythewood, Spring Valley, Irmo and Sumter. L-E also is making a move back in state’s top classification after being in Class 4A the past two years.

Brookland-Cayce and Keenan also will be jumping up in classes, with B-C going to 4A and Keenan to 3A.

Will SCHSL lawsuit be decided before season?

There is yet to be a verdict or decision reached in five Upstate schools’ lawsuit against the S.C. High School League and Union County.

Speaking with the SCHSL attorney last week, a decision won’t happen before the start of practice this week, but the sides are trying to work together on a resolution or see if it will have to go before a judge. If nothing is resolved in next few weeks, it would keep Union County in Class 3A for the upcoming season.

Stadiums get much-needed renovations in Richland 1

Richland 1 football teams will have new or renovated new stadiums to play in this season.

There will be a new, on-campus district stadium at Keenan this year. The Raiders and Eau Claire will play their home games there. Memorial Stadium, the home field for Dreher and A.C. Flora, is putting the finishing touches on $6.7 million in renovations. Lower Richland is finishing phase two of its renovation at the school.

Bolden Stadium also is getting a facelift and won’t be used this year, meaning Columbia and C.A. Johnson will play home games at either Memorial or Keenan.

Can Dutch Fork make it three straight?

Dutch Fork has been the most dominant public school football program in the Midlands and is coming off back-to-back Class 5A championships to give coach Tom Knotts’ 10 for his coaching career.

The Silver Foxes, who have won 28 of their last 29 games, should be the favorite again in Class 5A. Dutch Fork has a lot of key players coming back, with quarterback Ty Olenchuk, running back Ron Hoff and receiver Jalin Hyatt among them.

Dutch Fork opens the season with N.C. powerhouse Mallard Creek in matchup of two teams in MaxPreps’ Top 100 poll. The Silver Foxes also have nonregion games with Northwestern and Boiling Springs.

Hammond eyes another title

Hammond won its ninth SCISA 3A football championship since 2004 and will open as the favorite to add another trophy to its case.

The Skyhawks’ roster includes Jordan Burch and Alex Huntley, two of the state’s top prospects for the class of 2020 who have racked up a large share of Division I college offers.

Hammond will have to replace record-setting quarterback Corbett Glick with Jackson Muschamp, son of USC coach Will Muschamp. Jackson Muschamp started on defense last year and backed up Glick at QB.

Newberry moving on without Abrams

Newberry will have a new face as the focus of its power running game with the graduation of Amir Abrams.

Abrams rushed for 2,124 yards and 38 total touchdowns last year and finished with 6,140 yards and 100 total touchdowns for his career.

Lamarcus Moore was expected to be the guy to replace Abrams but he moved and will be at North Augusta. Coach Phil Strickland said he has three or four people in mind to replace Abrams.

What school will Cam Smith pick?

Westwood High defensive back Cam Smith narrowed his schools to South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. He will make his college choice following the Redhawks’ opener against Lugoff-Elgin on Aug. 17.

Smith went from unknown to four-star recruit in the matter of months.

The senior grew up in Columbia before moving with his family to Maryland. He returned to Westwood in January, and his recruiting has taken off after a strong showing in various camps in the spring.

Under-the-radar teams

Last year, Lower Richland came out of nowhere as one of the surprise teams in the Midlands, winning a playoff game for the first time in 26 years.

What teams might be poised for breakout years this season?

The ones that come to mind are Gray Collegiate, Blythewood, River Bluff and A.C. Flora.

The War Eagles have potential for a big year with several key returnees and having Saluda moving out of their region. First-year coach Jason Seidel hopes to bring back winning ways to Blythewood after a disappointing 2-8 season last year for Bengals.

Second-year coach Blair Hardin has made changes on coaching staff and also is trying to change culture and mindset coming off a 2-8 year. Flora went 0-10 in Collin Drafts’ first season but returns 17 starters so a turnaround might could happen in year two.

This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 5:47 PM.