High school football coaches eager for new season

The temperature on the Williams-Brice Stadium playing surface had a heat index of over 100 degrees Sunday afternoon, but there was a football feeling in the air.

The High School Sports Report held its annual media day, and several of the top 100 prospects from across the state – along with a handful of coaches – were on hand for the unofficial start to football season. High school programs officially can begin practice on July 31.

But the excitement is building, and everyone is optimistic that the offseason programs have been a boost to their respective programs.

Most teams have been participating in 7-on-7 passing tournaments for the skill position guys, while the lineman have taken part in their own position challenges.

All of that is an appetizer for what lies ahead.

“We just got back from FCA Camp in Spartanburg, and we’re supposed to go to another this week. But I told the guys that we’re going to take the next two weeks off and be ready to go on that Friday,” Westwood coach Rodney Summers said. “It’s been a long summer grind. We’ll lift weights this week and condition, but we’ll put the footballs up this week to give the kids a coaches a bit of a break before it cranks up for real.”

The RedHawks finished 11-2 last season with a second-round loss in the Class 4A, Division II playoffs to Greenwood. Summers must replace eight starters from last season’s defense but he has nine starters returning on offense.

Andrew Plante is back at running back, and Jalen Smith split time at quarterback last season. Those two will lead the charge at the offensive positions, but Westwood will have an offensive line that rivals many college programs. The Red Hawks average 315 pounds across the front, and they will be counted on heavily in a region that includes Blythewood, Dutch Fork, Lugoff-Elgin, Ridge View and Spring Valley.

“We have a big offensive line, and with Andrew being as powerful as he is being a two-time weight lifting champion, he runs hard, and those guys do a good job blocking for him,” Summers said. “That will be our strength, but we know to go deep in the playoffs and make a run at the state championship we’ve got to be able to throw the football better.”

A.C. Flora will face the same challenges as Westwood. The Falcons lost to eventual state champion South Pointe in the Class 3A Upper State final and will be loaded on the offensive and defensive lines. A.C. Flora also returns three-year starter Brendan Greene at quarterback but lost all-everything player Denzel Johnson, who signed with Clemson.

Coach Reggie Shaw hopes he has the program in a position where they reload every year – not rebuild.

“We want to try to continue to build a program,” Shaw said. “That’s our mentality right now. We feel like if the kids embrace that mindset, you don’t have a lot of highs and lows. We want to develop consistency and find guys that can step up and maintain the expectations that have been set. The 2014 team set the bar really high. That senior class is one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”

Spring Valley coach Robin Bacon is looking to bring the Vikings back to the success they had under Miles Aldridge. Bacon was named interim coach after Jerry Brown left earlier this year after a dispute over an off-the-field issue.

The Vikings stumbled to a 6-5 record last season and failed to make the playoffs in the first season after Aldridge left the program. Spring Valley has six starters returning on each side of the ball, with Ryan Lee handing the controls at quarterback. Bacon believes as long as Lee stays healthy and the offensive and defensive lines show continued growth, he likes their chances.

“The expectations are high,” Bacon said. “Miles set the bar high when he got there. We want to continue that. We have a great group of kids that work hard, but we’re in a strong conference. We have to be able to run the ball and, obviously, play very good defense.”

“Our question mark will be the offensive and defensive lines. That is the area right where we have a lot of questions. I feel skill-wise, we’re going to be as fast as we’ve ever been. We just don’t know about the line right now.”