Boiling Springs coach walks with his players on senior night

Boiling Springs (Spartanburg) football coach Bruce Clark made a promise to his seniors and he kept it. On Senior Night, Clark walked onto the field with them.

Clark has been coaching from a wheelchair this season after a freak spinal injury following a surgery in 2009. He spent two months recovering after a neck surgery that caused him to lose his ability to walk.

"I promised those boys a year ago that I'd walk with them on this field on Senior Night," Clark told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "That's what we did."

Clark used a walker, with his players and assistant coaches surrounding him, to walk onto the field. The Bulldogs later beat Hillcrest 34-0 after Clark's emotional entry into the stadium.

"He told us he would walk again before the season was over. It was a big night, and it was a big moment, him standing up for us like that," senior Hunter Cummins told the paper.

Here are some more tidbits concerning South Carolina football:

2. South Pointe (Rock Hill) coach Bobby Carroll spent last week concocting ways to get after York's quarterback — his son.

York's sophomore quarterback Spencer Carroll couldn't lead the Cougars to the upset over his father's Stallions, though, as South Pointe rolled 56-7.

"It's not going to be tough playing against my dad and his team. Blood is thicker than water, but not for about two hours on Friday night," Spencer told the Rock Hill Herald before the game.

He ended up throwing for 134 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Tony Thomasson for York's only points.

3. For much of the season, it has been all-purpose player Shaq Roland leading the Lexington Wildcats' offensive attack. On Friday, though, Kevin Miller became the catalyst. He rushed for 407 yards and five touchdowns in a 69-20 win over Orangeburg-Wilkinson. And he did it in less than three quarters.

4. There was a quarterback battle during the Region II-1A championship game last week. Christ Church Episcopal (Greenville) and Landrum were both undefeated in region play going into the game and for a while it looked to be a close contest. It didn't end that way, as Christ Church won 57-26.

Christ Church quarterback Hunter Townes had the better night, as he threw for more than 400 yards and for seven scores. Landrum quarterback Brandon Cannon threw for 335 yards and two scores and also ran for two scores.

5. Playoffs begin this week for teams in the 3A, 2A and 1A classifications. Teams in the 4A classification have one more week of regular season play before seedings take place for next week's playoff openers. (Click here to view Maxpreps' South Carolina football playoff brackets)

On Friday, Chesterfield begins its quest for a fourth straight 1A Div. I state title. No 1A team has ever won four straight titles and the last program to pull it off was 4A power Byrnes (which won titles from 2002 to 2005).
Dillon is trying to win its third straight 2A state championship. Dillon has rattled off 20 straight victories.

STARS FROM LAST WEEK
Blacksburg's Chase Hames broke the school's single-season rushing record with his 212-yard performance in a 26-14 win over Southside Christian. He has 2,155 rushing yards this season ... Indian Land (Fort Mill) quarterback Rondreas Truesdale ran for two touchdowns and threw a scoring pass in a 41-13 win over Buford. He rushed for 214 yards on 14 carries ... Myrtle Beach running back Daiquone Ford accounted for five touchdowns in a 70-6 win over North Myrtle Beach. He rushed 10 times for 199 yards with four scores and returned a kickoff 85 yards for a score.

RECRUITING NEWS
Goose Creek offensive lineman Brandon Shell verbally committed to the South Carolina Gamecocks over the weekend, according to the Charleston Post and Courier. Shell, the great nephew of Hall of Famer Art Shell, chose the Gamecocks over Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Miami.

"He's such a dominant blocker. We, as coaches, watch him on tape and we're in awe," Goose Creek coach Chuck Reedy told the newspaper. "We lead the state in scoring and rushing and a lot of that is attributed to Brandon."

ON DECK THIS WEEK
* Beaufort (9-1) at Goose Creek (10-0): The Beaufort Eagles are coming off a last-second win over region foe Summerville last week that earned them a Region VII-4A championship. Goose Creek won its conference title earlier and is trying to pull off a perfect regular season for the first time since 2004.

* Berkeley (Moncks Corner) (7-3) at Camden (9-1): The Stags won the 4A Division II state championship last season before reclassification sent them down to 3A. A loss last week pushed them to the No. 3 seed in their region and a first-round road game against Camden. The two teams have never played.

* Landrum (7-3) at Calhoun County (St. Matthews) (8-2): With a win last week, the Cardinals were likely the No. 1 seed in the upper state for the 1A Div. I playoffs. They lost and fell to No. 5 and have to travel to Calhoun County. Landrum has lost its last three playoff games - all on the road. Last season Calhoun County advanced to the state semifinals.

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.