Lewisville football player collapses during scrimmage, dies

Lewisville's Brian Colvin collapses; Tom Knotts to make South Carolina debut; Pat Martin chooses Tennessee.

Tragedy struck high school football in South Carolina over the weekend.

Lewisville running back Brian Colvin collapsed on the field Friday night during the Chester County Jamboree and  died later in the evening. An autopsy was performed Saturday morning, but the results were inconclusive, according to the Rock Hill Herald.

Colvin, a senior, was a multi-sport athlete at the 1A school. He finished second in the spring in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the state championship meet.

Former Lewisville coach Floyd Drum told the Rock Hill Herald that Colvin was "the type of guy that was disappointed in himself if he didn't score every time he touched the ball. He felt he could outrun everyone."

The Lions were scheduled to open the season Friday against York, but the game has been postponed and will be played on Sept. 24, a date that both schools had open on the calendar. York athletic director Steve Boyd called Lewisville officials and they decided to change the game.

"They need time to grieve and to heal," Boyd told the Rock Hill Herald. "I know they are devastated by this tragedy. It makes you realize how small the game is."

More top stories going into the first week of football action in South Carolina:

2. South Carolina football fans will get to witness Tom Knotts’ coaching ability as an in-state coach for the first time on Friday. Knotts, the coach who led Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) to a 109-game winning streak, is now the coach at Dutch Fork.

Last season, the Silver Foxes were 2-9. They open the season against Irmo, another school in Lexington School District 5, and the teams will end the season with another game.

3. The Central Eagles have played in the past two 2A state championships (losing twice to Dillon) and football coach Joey Mangum believes his team will be in the hunt again.

They have eight starters back on each side of the ball, including quarterback Jowan Henderson, defensive lineman Josh Covington, running backs Mardu Smith and Radford Robinson and wide receiver Jiwan Funderburk.

"I don't know if we've got the talent we've had (in the past), but we have the experience," Mangum said. "I'm not going to say we're going to be a favorite, but I think we'll be one of several in the upper state that has a chance."

Mangum mentioned Woodruff, Chesnee, Broome, Strom Thurmond, and Batesburg-Leesville as some of the other top upper state teams.

4. Gaffney coach Dan Jones will lead his alma mater for the first time as the head coach on Friday when the Indians travel to Boiling Springs.

Jones took over as the interim head coach during spring practice after Phil Strickland, who had won three state titles at the helm, left for the coaching job at Newberry. Strickland moved from a 4A school to a 2A school, but isn't the athletic director at his new job like he was at Gaffney.

Jones wasn't looking to be a head coach anywhere when the opportunity arose.

"I could have moved on, but that wasn't my desire," Jones said. "I didn't stay here looking for this head coaching job."

It just happened and he and the assistant coaches are happy with the decision.

"They were for me getting it," Jones said of the assistants. "If I got the job it would be our team. If someone else was brought in, it would have been their team."

5. In the battle of the Boyd coaching brothers, it was J.R.'s Lamar team that bettered Dean's Marlboro County squad on Saturday night in the Pee Dee Classic Jamboree. Lamar, a 1A team, won 6-0 over Marlboro County, a 3A team. J.R. said last week that is was always "fun" going against his brother.

On Deck this week:
In South Carolina the first official week of football is called Week zero and there are 44 games on tap for Friday night. Some of the best matchups are:
  
 -    Strom Thurmond at Williston-Elko: Last season the Williston-Elko Blue Devils won the Class 1A Div. II state championship, while Strom Thurmond went 10-3 and advanced to the third round of the 2A playoffs.
   
-    Gaffney at Boiling Springs: These teams haven’t played in two years due to region realignment but are back for a non-region contest. Boiling Springs hasn't fared well in recent years against the Indians, having lost the last three games by a combined score of 115-0. The Bulldogs have been much improved the last two seasons (going 16-7).

Goose Creek lineman Brandon Shell.

Photo by Tom Lemming

-   Carvers Bay at Timberland: This is another good battle of teams that had big years last season. Carvers Bay finished 10-2, while Timberland was 12-1, losing in the third round to Dillon, the eventual 2A champions.

Recruiting news
Mann defensive back Pat Martin (6-0,192) committed to Tennessee on Sunday, according to Palmettosports.com. He had 92 tackles last season with two interceptions. He chose Tennessee over South Carolina and LSU ... Blythewood running back Brandon Wilds (6-1, 220) will announce his college choice on Thursday, the day before his team’s first game. He ran for 1,551 yards and 17 scores last season and has offers from South Carolina, East Carolina, Illinois and Maryland ... Goose Creek offensive lineman Brandon Shell has decided not to worry about his recruitment until after the season. He has South Carolina and Georgia on the top of his list.

Jason Gilmer is an award-winning writer who has covered football in South Carolina for more than a decade. He does a statewide high school football blog on GoUpstate.com. You can reach him at palmettofootballtalkblog@gmail.com.