Cavaliers on a mission: Richland Northeast reflects on football title 25 years later

It’s a moment Ryan Kendall never will forget and one that almost didn’t happen.

Kendall had the game-clinching interception in double overtime to seal Richland Northeast’s 30-24 victory against Hartsville to win the 1993 Class 4A Division II championship.

But Kendall, a sophomore linebacker that year, probably shouldn’t have been on the field for the game. He tore his ACL against Laurens in the first round of the playoffs and didn’t play in the Cavs’ semifinal and lower state championship games.

Kendall was scheduled to have surgery the week of the championship game but asked his doctor to postpone it so he could at least suit up and be on the sidelines with his teammates. But as the week went along, he practiced and was good enough to play in the title game.

The game didn’t start off well for Kendall, who was carted off early in the game when he was kicked in the knee. But after tightening his knee brace and fighting through the pain, he returned to the game. He was in the game during the second overtime in the Cavs’ 4-4 “Bones package” on the final series.

On the interception, the play was designed to be a slant to receiver Neal Brown, but Kendall said he dropped back into coverage and picked off Hartsville’s Jacob Shumate, a future Atlanta Braves first-round selection.

“I never would imagine I would get that interception. Hit me in the gut and the rest is history.” Kendall said. “After the game, I had it (ball) in my arms and one of the officials asked, ‘Son are you going to keep it?’ I said, ‘yes, sir.’ It didn’t leave my side for about 24 hours. It is sitting in my bookshelf with other trophies, and it is signed by all of the players. Just one of those prized possessions.

“That season was just magical. Those players, those coaches. Was a very special bond, when you go from nothing to champs. It was an emotional season to this day.”

Kendall almost brought the football from the title game when some members from the team got together for a little reunion and spoke to this year’s RNE team. The 1993 team, the only one to win a football title in school history, will be honored Friday night when the Cavs host River Bluff in a rare on-campus home game. This year’s RNE team will wear ‘93’ decal on their helmets to honor the championship team.

Kendall, the defensive coordinator at White Knoll, won’t be able to make it, and others, including assistants Jay Frye (Hammond), Barry Mizzell (Blythewood), Jay Thier (James Island) and Tri Heard (Cardinal Newman), also will be with their teams Friday night. Thier was RNE’s Shrine Bowl linebacker who went on to play at Furman.

Still, there should be plenty of players in attendance. Many got together on a somber occasion when Jay Sharper, a defensive back on the team, died in March.

“The stories get better. Some change every year,” said Heard, the quarterback on the championship team. “We won a state championship and something … I take pride in to be the only group that has won a state championship at Northeast. And our guys take a lot of pride in to be the only ones.”

Winning a state championship probably wasn’t on the Cavs’ radar to start the season. RNE went 1-9 the year before and battled injuries and everything possible the season before in coach Joe Wingard’s fourth season at the school.

In the preseason, the team had T-shirts made that read “Cavaliers on a Mission” and had that crossed off with “Mission Accomplished” following the season. Kendall said there was more dedication in the offseason conditioning, and he remembers Wingard, who is a teacher at Columbus State Community College, and Frye, the team’s defensive coordinator, running right with the players.

RNE also benefited when some guys who didn’t play the previous season came out for their senior years.

RNE started the season by losing to Dreher, which had future Gamecock Cory Jenkins on roster, and was 4-3 with three games left in the regular season. The Cavs finished with four straight wins by a combined 10 points. Winning close games was a common theme for the Cavs that season with eight of the 12 victories coming by 10 points or less, including three playoff games.

“We were a second-half team. Third and fourth quarter was something we definitely thrived on,” Kendall said.

RNE was the underdog in the title game against Hartsville, which had lost just one game in two years going into the title game. The Red Foxes were up 17-0 before a field goal cut the margin to 17-3.

At halftime, RNE made changes and opened things up a little in the passing game. Heard threw three second-half touchdowns, two to Leon Terry and one to Thomas Williams, who had a TD run in overtime. The RNE defense shut out Hartsville over the final two quarters. Marion Martin picked off a pair of passes.

In the second overtime, RNE scored on Heard’s pass to Terry to make it 30-24. Kendall’s interception sealed the win and started a massive celebration.

“We shocked the state that year. Hartsville was really good,” Frye said. “We were just a blue-collar team with a bunch of hard-nose guys and we never quit. It was a special group to be a part of.”

Championship Season

Game-by-game results of Richland Northeast’ 1993 season

Regular season

Dreher: Lost, 21-17

Orangeburg-Wilkinson: Won, 28-0

Airport: Won, 16-7

Midland Valley: Won, 31-7

Hillcrest: Lost, 14-7

Fairfield Central: Won, 50-20

Lancaster: Lost, 24-8

Irmo: Won, 10-7

Lower Richland: Won, 13-6

Sumter: Won, 15-13

Spring Valley: Won, 28-27

Playoffs

Laurens: Won, 34-7

Aiken: Won, 14-12

Lancaster: Won, 17-14

Hartsville: Won, 30-24 (2 OT)

This story was originally published August 22, 2018 at 7:40 PM.