GAME CHANGED: Due to threat of heavy rains, Friday's Byrnes at Dorman game has been rescheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. See story.
By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Quick, name the only state besides Texas that has three of the top 13 ranked high school football teams in the country.
Florida? California? Ohio?
Gong.
If you said South Carolina you would not only be correct, but you’d likely be peaking at our MaxPreps/National Guard rankings.
The Palmetto state isn’t often associated as a prep football hotbed, but according to those who have seen and been involved with it over the years, that’s only because the masses haven’t moseyed on down to the home of Joe Frazier, Jesse Jackson and Stephen Colbert.
With the growth of the Internet, video footage and general popularity of high school sports, South Carolina has simply been exposed.
And those doing the exposing evidently like what they see.
“I feel South Carolina has always been good,” Byrnes (Duncan) coach Chris Miller said. “I guess now we’re just starting to get noticed.”
Third-ranked Byrnes (8-0) is the state’s latest craze, and are ranked No. 3 by MaxPreps, No. 2 by PrepNation and No. 1 by USA Today.
The Rebels are the defending State 4A-I champion, have won 23 straight games overall and have been on the national scene largely since 2003.
On Friday, they travel to their arch-rival and 13th-ranked Dorman (Roebuck) in what some believe is Dorman’s biggest game in school history, one which is supposed to draw upwards of 17,000 fans.
It’s the second South Carolina showdown that has gained national notoriety this season as No. 4 South Pointe upended 23rd-ranked Northwestern 28-7 in a battle of Rock Hill squads on Oct. 2.
At no time has the state boasted four top 25 teams, but with better, in some cases state-of-the-art facilities, extensive weight programs, reinforced coaching staffs and just more blue-chip athletes, South Carolina is bursting onto a wider scope.
At no time since 2000 has more than one South Carolina team been ranked among the nation’s top 25 in all national polls. This year there’s a legitimate shot at least two will make the cut. The four powerhouses thus far have a combined record of 23-1 with the one loss coming to one of the four – South Pointe.
“I think it’s been good for a long time, but now rather than four or five top programs, now every week you can get beat,” Summerville coach John McKissick said.
McKissick isn’t just the senior state authority on high school football. At 82 and 561 victories (against just 132 losses), he’s the winningest and most senior coach in high school football history.
His teams have won a record 10 state crowns, but last year lost in the finals to Byrnes 48-9.
“They definitely got it going on up there at Byrnes and Dorman,” McKissick said. “These things run in cycles normally but with the coaches, athletes and facilities they have up there it might go on for a while.
“You know what we call Dorman around these parts don’t you? The University of Dorman.”
Indeed the Cavaliers have spanking new facilites to match many colleges. Their $4-million stadium seats 17,000 but that only begins to paint the extravagant picture.
“You drive past the school on the highway for a mile and take the next exit and the school never stops,” Spartanburg Herald staff writer Jason Gilmer said. “It looks like a college.”
The work and attention to detail inside the confines Dorman and all the premier schools can’t be overstated, said Rock Hill Herald assistant sports editor Barry Byers, a scribe in the area for 29 years.
“These coaches are hell-bent on conditioning and weight lifting,” he said. “And most of programs have 15-16 assistant coaches (in the program) so they can specialize.”
Gilmer said the work of assistant coach Mike Srock, a former Olympic weight lifter, is a big reason – no pun intended – why Byrnes has emerged over the last decade.
Srock is the program’s strength and conditioning coach and combine that with the foundation laid by former coach Bobby Bentley (now at Presbyterian College) and continued by Miller and it’s no wonder why Byrnes is the class of South Carolina.
“(Srock) is a military guy and he’s got them into Olympic-type lifting,” Gilmer said. “He’s given them a base and then made them faster and stronger. All these details make a big difference.”
Another big detail is that Byrnes, the only high school in Duncan, benefits from youth programs that has future players on the same page from – get this – the first grade.
Bentley helped start and organize flag football for 6-and-7 year olds and he made sure all the future youth tackle leagues all ran his spread attack.
“They also run the same defenses and use the same terminology,” Byrnes athletic director Billy Young said. “By the time these boys get to varsity it’s all second nature.”
Beyond the details, community support and outstanding coaching, there’s just flat out talent in the state. There always has been said CBS College Sports and MaxPreps recruiting expert Tom Lemming, who began the recruiting services 30 years ago.
“Per capita, South Carolina and Mississippi are two of the best that few know about,” Lemming said. “Everyone recruits in South Carolina. It’s just that you’d have to go through the little towns to find these kids. Now everything is expanding and the kids are easier to get to.
“Overall though, the state is fantastic for a lot of impact players.”
McKissick said South Carolina prep football began emerging 10 to 15 years ago when college coaches like Tommy Bowden, Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier emerged on the scene.
“Those guys got people excited around here,” he said. “It caused a lot of excitement in high school football and raised the bar.”
Though the class of 2009 for the state is just average, Lemming said, watch out for the years to come. Consider some of these blue chippers.
* Byrnes’ Marcus Lattimore (6-1, 204) might very well be the top junior running back in the country. “There’s some good ones in California,” Lemming said. “But right now he looks like No. 1 to me.”
* Lattimore is just one of at least six juniors from Byrnes who should score Division I interest. Others include quarterback Chas Dodd (6-0, 181) and defensive lineman Brandon Willis (6-3, 240). Of the seniors, wide receiver Ricco Sanders (5-11, 191) and defensive back Justin Bright (6-3, 173), who has committed to Florida State, are among top prospects.
* Dorman’s Charon Peake is considered the top sophomore receiver in the country and its trio of Taylor Sowell (Duke), Walt Canty and A.J. McLean lead perhaps the top secondary in the state. The Cavs are also blessed with a massive offensive line led by Clemson-bound Brandon Thomas (6-5, 280), who plays tight end and h-back.
* From Lemming’s top 100 recruits nationally, South Pointe defensive back Stephon Gilmore (6-2, 189) is No. 17, Richland Northeast (Columbia) defensive lineman Chris Bonds (6-4, 265) is No. 41, Timberland (St. Stephens) offensive lineman Quinton Washington (6-4, 320) is No. 91 and Christ (Greenville) offensive lineman J.K. Jay (6-6, 275) is No. 99.
Such an influx of players and top teams here gives high school football experts something to ponder, said MaxPreps National Football Editor Steve Spiewak.
“South Carolina is not one of the traditional powerhouses that you associate with national rankings,” he said. “I think this just shows there might be a lot of shifting and broadening of how we look at high school football. A lot of people just want to talk about Texas and California and Florida, but this is an example that there’s a lot of places were football is strong.”
South Carolina Exposed
S.C. schools ranked nationally over the years
2008
MaxPreps
#3 Byrnes (Duncan) 8-0
#4 South Pointe (Rock Hill) 8-0
#13 Dorman (Roebuck) 8-0
#23 Northwestern (Rock Hill) 7-1
USA Today
#1 Byrnes (Duncan) 8-0
PrepNation
#2 Byrnes (Duncan) 8-0
2007
MaxPreps
#34 Byrnes 15-0.
USA Today
#13 Byrnes 15-0
PrepNation
#10 Byrnes
2006
MaxPreps
#30 Gaffney 15-0
USA Today
#11 Gaffney 15-0
PrepNation
#14 Gaffney 15-0
2005
MaxPreps
#8 Byrnes 15-0
USA Today
#7 Byrnes 15-0
PrepNation
#5 Byrnes 15-0
Dorman-Byrnes getting huge hype: See Spartanburg Herald story.
Mitch Stephens is in South Carolina to expose the state even further. Look for more stories and video leading up to and including Friday’s game between Dorman and Byrnes. You can reach him at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
