Dutch Fork assistant headed to Florence for first head coaching job
Scott Braswell is going from one state championship program to another. This time, he will be calling the shots.
The Dutch Fork defensive coordinator will be the next head coach at South Florence. Braswell replaces Drew Marlowe, who resigned last week to become new coach at Sumter.
Braswell was introduced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“It was so incredibly hard to leave Dutch Fork,” Braswell told The State. “The entire community had just become like a family and I feel like I had such great relationships with the faculty, staff and coaches. ... We are so excited to be at South Florence but very sad to be leaving the Dutch Fork community.”
Under Marlowe, the Bruins have had the best run in school history with four straight state championship appearances from 2022-25, winning it all 2022 and 2024. The 2022 championship featured future South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and was the first title in program history.
The 36-year-old Braswell has been a hot name in the coaching hiring cycle in the state over the last few seasons. He was a candidate for a few jobs, most recently at North Myrtle Beach, who hired Perry Woolbright earlier this month.
Braswell said Tuesday he got discouraged after being passed over for other jobs and was a little hesitant when he was approached by South Florence athletic director Cody Slaughter.
“By default, I was a little hesitant to get too excited because of those close calls,” Braswell said. “But once we got into the process, spoke more with coach Slaughter, principal Josey, superintendent O’Malley, they kind of swept me and my family off our feet and made us feel wanted. I just became enamored and impressed with the South Florence High School community.”
Braswell has been at Dutch Fork since 2021 and was part of the Silver Foxes’ four straight state championship squads from 2022-25. The Silver Foxes’ 2024 defense had a school record for shutouts (6) and tied a school record for fewest points allowed in a season with 94.
This year’s Dutch Fork defense allowed 12.4 points a game.
“Coach Braswell works so hard and works so diligently,” Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts said after the team set the record for shutouts against Spartanburg in 2024. “He puts this before everything, so I wanted the guys to know how important it was to get the shutout for him.”
Braswell talked about Knotts’ influence on him and what he can take from him at his first coaching job.
“Coach Knotts is great at attention to detail and accountibility,” Braswell said. “Holding all players, coaches and staff members to a high standard both in and out of the school building.”
Braswell comes from a coaching family. His father, Scott Sr., was a head coach in North Carolina and an assistant coach under Knotts at West Charlotte in the 1990s. The stadium at Hoggard High in Wilmington is named after the elder Braswell.
In 2013 interview with the Wilmington Star News, the younger Braswell credited his dad for wanting to be involved in coaching football. He was his father’s special teams coach at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia.
Braswell spent time as a defensive assistant at Methodist College and also did an internship at UNC Charlotte and coached at Ava Maria University in Florida.
Braswell Sr. and his wife was in attendance at the press conference and Braswell Jr. said his father will have a role on the Bruins staff. The younger Braswell said he plans on keeping several members of the current South Florence staff and likely will start at the school sometime in early March.
SC Football Coaching Openings
School — Former Coach — New Coach
AC Flora — Ken Floyd — TBA
Andrews — Scott Durham — TBA
Belton-Honea Path — Russell Blackston — TBA
Chapin — Ryan Cole — Cory Helms
Chester — Victor Floyd — TBA
Clover — Perry Woolright — Bennett Swygert
Colleton County — Adam Kinloch — Bradley Adams
Conway — Josh Pierce — Jody Jenerette
Goose Creek — Jason Winstead — TBA
Green Sea Floyds — Patrick Martin — TBA
Hillcrest — Bennett Swygert — TBA
Lake Wylie — (School opens in 2026) — N/A — Nick Pelham
Liberty — Paul Sutherland — Bobby Ruff
McCormick — Leroy Collier — TBA
Marion — Brian Hennecy — TBA
May River — Richard Bonneville — TBA
Ninety-Six — Matthew Bennett — Austin Sargent
North Myrtle Beach — Greg Hill — Perry Woolbright
Pelion — Cory Helms — TBA
South Florence — Drew Marlowe — Scott Braswell
St. James — Tommy Norwood — Stephen Cagle
Sumter — Mark Barnes — Drew Marlowe
Union County — Quinnon Isom — Bryan Robinson
Wagener-Salley — Blaze Gillespie — TBA
Whale Branch — Willie White (interim) — Dee Delaney
White Knoll — Nick Pelham — Victor Floyd
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 8:45 AM.
