Triumph and tragedy: How North Central’s football team persevered through challenges
In January, North Central’s football stadium was the scene of devastation from a tornado that ripped through Kershaw County. On Monday, the stadium served as a scene of jubilation and rebirth of the school’s football program.
As the final seconds ticked away in Monday’s game against Cheraw, players celebrated and then dumped two buckets of water over head coach Tyronne Drakeford on a chilly 45-degree evening.
Drakeford and the players tried to soak in the 24-14 victory, the school’s first outright region championship since 1992.
“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. “We are starting to build a program and the kids and community are starting to believe that. We’ve just got to keep it going.”
Drakeford was hired three years ago to try and jump-start the school’s football program. He was a standout at North Central in the late 1980s before going to Virginia Tech and playing eight seasons in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994.
But Drakeford probably never thought he would have to deal with the challenges the school has faced the past 10 months.
It began Jan. 11 when an EF-2 tornado, with speeds of 130 mph. ripped through the Kershaw County school, badly damaging the campus and its football field. The press box at the stadium was gone as well as a good portion of the top of the stands.
“I was driving past it, maybe five minutes after it hit, and I was like, ‘Whoa,’ my school is gone,” said senior Kalab Haven, who ran for a touchdown and returned an interception for a score Monday night.
The home stands, made of cement, were demolished and replaced with metal bleachers, with green ones in the middle for reserved seating. A new press box was installed and a large scoreboard was constructed in the north end zone by the Knights’ locker room. A giant banner that reads “Trust in Us,” the team’s motto, was placed on the front and top of the stands.
North Central played its first home in the stadium Oct. 2 against Andrew Jackson.
It will still be a few years before classes will be held on the campus on Lockhart Road. North Central moved its school operations to the district’s vocational building in Camden.
Like all schools across the country, North Central had to deal with the challenges of playing sports during the coronavirus pandemic. The Knights had to postpone two games last month after a player tested positive for COVID-19. Monday’s game was North Central’s first since beating Buford 47-0 on Oct. 9.
One of North Central’s assistant coaches lost his wife and daughter because of COVID-19 just in the last two weeks, according to Drakeford.
“We talked about that right before the game. 2020 has been a crazy year for us. We had the tornado, the pandemic and then this week one of our coaches lost his daughter and his wife. It has been a little emotional for us,” Drakeford said while fighting back tears. “But the kids and coaches kept things together and we wanted to keep this thing together as a family. Everyone came together and we found a way to win in trying times.
“It is a testament of how well these kids have played and practiced and put the hard work in to make it happen.”
North Central finishes its regular season Friday at home against Great Falls. The Knights host Christ Church in the first round of the Class 2A Upper State playoffs on Nov. 13.
North Central hopes to continue its emotional season with a deep run in the postseason.
“It has been tough, but we came back as a unit and are just a big family now,” Haven said. “We didn’t know what we’re going to do in the offseason and now we won a region championship. …. We made history and now we want to keep going for a state title.”
