Former Airport Hall of Fame football coach Les Evans dies
Longtime Airport football coach and athletic director Les Evans died on Thursday.
Evans, who was in his late 70s, died if heart failure, according to Airport football coach and athletic director Kirk Burnett.
“He was as competitive as they come,” Burnett said.
Evans, who played baseball at South Carolina, coached for 35 years with stops at Eau Claire, Orangeburg-Wilkinson and, for 25 years, Airport.
Evans retired from coaching after 2000 football season and was selected to the S.C. Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004. Evans led Eau Claire to the 1973 Class 3A basketball championship.
Evans led Airport to the 1981 Class 4A championship game, but the Eagles lost on the final play to Hartsville.
Evans won 175 games as a football coach. His teams made 18 playoff appearances. Almost 40 of Evans’ players went on to play college football, including Duce Staley. He also was head coach in the Shrine Bowl.
.Staley went on to play at South Carolina and then in the NFL. He is currently the offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 7:00 PM.
