The Edisto Cougars kicked off the 2008 football season at midnight Friday with head coach Andy Palmer preaching to his team that Bamberg-Ehrhardt, their first opponent, was still in the bed.
In St. Matthews, the Calhoun County Saints kicked off football season at midnight as well.
It’s here folks. In three weeks, Week Zero begins and high school football season kicks off with real, meaningful games. Heading into the season, each team has a few questions to answer. With 23 teams in the region, it’s hard to address all of those questions in one sitting. But, there’s nothing like a little football talk, so below is a look at each team’s most pressing question heading into the 2008 season. Of course, some of these have more than one question...just work with me.
1. Allendale-Fairfax -- Who’s going to replace “Superman?” Lennel Elmore was the home run hitter a season ago. Head coach Wayne Farmer thinks he has a trio or runners that can do the trick in fullback Tim Myers and tailbacks Emmanuel Ochotukpo and Jerrell Priester.
2. Andrew Jackson Academy -- Some people think head coach Greg Langdale’s team will be good in the 8-man ranks. HSSR evens ranks them as the top 8-man team in their preseason poll. Can Langdale’s team live up to the lofty expectations?
3. Bamberg-Ehrhardt -- How are they going to make up for the loss of the “Predator?” ESPN seems to think there wasn’t a better high school football player in the nation last season than the Red Raiders Da’Quan Bowers. He was special and now he’s gone off to Clemson. Who, if anyone, can fill his shoes? Justin Henderson?
4. Bethune-Bowman -- The Mohawks have a big offensive line. Can first-year head coach Glynn Darby get those big boys up front blocking?
5. Blackville-Hilda -- Can David Berry do it again? Blackville-Hilda lost some athletes, but they return Elite 11 tailback/defensive lineman Joe Thomas. Can they fill the holes and return to a state title?
6. Bowman Academy -- Who is going to replace quarterback Tripp Looper for the Bulldogs?
7. Branchville -- It’s the Yellow Jackets first year of varsity football in over a decade. Coach Dan Reynolds and his team will have more than one question to answer. Trust that. The biggest question for a new school with a small roster would have to be, when is the first win coming? Reynolds thinks his team could surprise some people, and if he’s right, maybe that question gets answered early in the season.
8. Calhoun Academy -- Can the Cavaliers follow up on the success of their baseball state championship with a football state title? Maybe. Head coach Adam Jarecki has some talent coming back led by quarterback Andrew Robinson.
9. Calhoun County -- Can the Saints live up to the expectations? Calhoun County has a number of talented players -- Alshon Jeffery, Shamier Jeffery, David Sims, Eric Mack, Blair Fekel, Romell Davis, Tajh Cheeseboro, etc. -- but they play in the same region as Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Allendale-Fairfax. Can all the talent lead them past those two tough Class A teams and on to a Thanksgiving Day practice?
10. Clarendon Hall -- Can the Saints turn the corner? Clarendon Hall was racking up yards and offense last year until it made a trip to Holly Hill. From there, it was downhill. Can head coach Shawn Thacker and his team put it together for an entire season?
11. Denmark-Olar -- Can the mentality of the community be changed? I’ve never heard a group of fans turn out to put their football team like the Denmark fans did in the team’s first game last season. One player, who actually had a good game, was driven to tears. Head coach Andrae Rice is putting in the work. He’s recruited the hallways and the team’s numbers have more than doubled. They lose Willie Carter, but there is talent coming back in quarterback Anthony Holman and receiver Kenneth Jennings. A little community support could go a long way.
12. Dorchester Academy -- How are you doing Stanley Gruber? Forget last year’s worst-ever season under the long time Raiders coach. After a tumultuous offseason that almost saw his relationship severed with the school...how’s Stanley Gruber doing?
13. Edisto -- Forget the 5-AA schedule and the fact that Andy Palmer thinks his team could be pretty good this year. Can they beat Bamberg-Ehrhardt in Bamberg Aug. 22?
14. Holly Hill Academy -- After winning the SCISA 8-man title last year can they replace guys like Clint Westbury and Lanier Cason and be successful while moving up to the 11-man ranks?
15. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler -- It’s head coach Jermaine Derricott’s third year. He was impressed with his team’s performance in summer 7-on-7s. Now, can the Trojans translate that to the 11-man game and start to show signs of turning the corner?
16. Jefferson Davis Academy -- Can Joey Lott get JDA turned around? It wasn’t that long ago that JDA was an 8-man powerhouse. Last year, that was far from the case. Lott’s back to try to right the ship.
17. Lake Marion -- Can Corey Wright get the Gators going? Wright enters his third year at the school, and to be honest, not much seems to be expected from the Gators this year. Wright seems to have the right kind of ideas. He works hard. Can he get that to translate onto on-the-field success this season?
18. North -- How are they going to use Terry McFadden? New head coach Ernest Logan is spreading things on offense, but the real question is how North will use its best player, McFadden, an Elite 11 prospect.
19. Orangeburg Prep -- It’s Adam Holmes’ year one, and in that year one, the former South Carolina long-snapper turned OPS head coach is going to attempt to take his team from the “wing” to the spread. How will the Indians take to the new offense?
20. Orangeburg-Wilkinson -- Will Tommy Brown get the support he needs? It’s that simple. Reggie Kennedy didn’t get it. If folks in the O-W system don’t get with the program and support Brown’s system, his second tenure will, like Kennedy’s first tenure, be a short one. But, if the O-W program gets rolling from the recreation leagues, through the middle schools and into the high school then maybe the Bruins can begin to catch up.
21. Pelion -- Can Sean Davis do it again? Pelion lost starting offensive linemen Dalton Freeman (Clemson) and Erick Mobley (Carson-Newman) to college. Davis rushed for a state-leading 2,130 yards and 27 touchdowns on 274 carries, but with the two big guys gone in front of him the holes might not be there this year.
22. Swansea -- Taylor Wyndham is gone to Kentucky. Who’s going to step in for him and lead the defense?
23. Woodland -- Can Robert Smith keep up the pace? The freshman was 170-of-294 passing for 2,528 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. He also rushed 144 times for 617 yards and seven touchdowns.
n T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.