The high school football season has finally returned to the Aiken Standard’s broadcast area.
The Aiken County and Strom Thurmond Jamborees last week marked the arrival of the lights Friday night, and the South Carolina High School League regular season officially begins this week.
Local action begins Thursday with Barnwell’s clash with county rivals Blackville-Hilda and state championship hopefuls, with eight games scheduled for Friday.
The sprint to December’s Weekend of Champions begins now, and here are five things you should know for the local football season:
1. New coaches
In the 2024 season, four regional teams will compete under the leadership of new head coaches.
Silver Bluff graduate and longtime former assistant Matt Hayes takes over at his alma mater for former Bulldog colleague De’Angelo Bryant, who is moving to Gray Collegiate after six seasons as head coach of Silver Bluff.
Blaze Gillespie is the new head coach at Wagener-Salley, which was led by Willie Fox for the past nine seasons. Fox is now the head coach at Swansea. Gillespie most recently served as special teams coordinator and co-defensive back for AAA heavyweight Camden.
Heath Corley takes over the Aiken High program after Dwayne Garrick resigned in July following one season at the helm. Corley was named interim coach and has more than two decades of coaching experience, including a stint as head coach at Ridge Spring-Monetta from 2012-14 that included three playoff appearances and a state championship semifinal appearance.
Brent Dorn will lead Midland Valley as interim coach as the Mustangs look to build on their most successful season in program history. Dorn, a Midland Valley alumnus, served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past three seasons under Earl Chaptman. Chaptman was placed on leave from coaching in July after being arrested twice this summer, according to the Aiken County Public School District. Charges against Chaptman were dropped, but he was not reinstated as head coach.
2. New regions
The realignment of the South Carolina High School League created new regional groupings across the state for the 2024-2026 school years, including within the Aiken Standard’s service area.
Aiken, Midland Valley, North Augusta, South Aiken and Airport are still Region 4-AAAA rivals, but now they are joined by newcomers Gray Collegiate, Gilbert and Brookland-Cayce. The region has moved from Upper State to Lower State to balance Class AAAA.
Fox Creek and Silver Bluff both moved up to Class AAA and will face their new regional rivals Keenan, Newberry and Swansea in the Lower State Region 4-AAA.
Barnwell and Strom Thurmond remained in Class AA. Barnwell is a member of Lower State Region 5-AA with Edisto, Hampton County, Lake Marion, Whale Branch and non-football member Bridges Preparatory, while Strom Thurmond is a member of Upper State Region 2-AA with American Leadership, Batesburg-Leesville, Ninety Six, Pelion and Saluda.
Blackville-Hilda, Ridge Spring-Monetta, Wagener-Salley and Williston-Elko still make up Upper State Region 3-A, along with Calhoun County, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler and North, with the last two combining during football season. Horse Creek Academy joins as a new full-time, non-football member.
3. Super seniors receive national recognition
The football class of 2024 is one of the best this area has ever seen, but that doesn’t mean the class of 2025 is empty. Six seniors were recently named to the 75-member candidate list for the state’s top football player.
Barnwell quarterback Cameron Austin, South Aiken running back Jevon Edwards, Blackville-Hilda running back/linebacker Jaquel Holman, Strom Thurmond defensive lineman Josh Merriweather, Midland Valley running back Preston McNair and North Augusta quarterback Corey Tillman are all in the running for the annual award for the state’s top senior. Dillon offensive lineman Josiah Thompson, now a freshman at the University of South Carolina, was last year’s honoree.
Austin and Holman have both joined the Gamecocks, Austin for baseball and Holman for football, while the rest of the area players to watch are set to have busy recruiting seasons ahead.
4. Changes to local venues
Fox Creek begins its 20th football season in program history for the first time in its own on-campus home, while South Aiken begins its 25th season in its current home under a new name.
Fox Creek will finally play on home soil this year, as a new facility opened on campus after last season. The Predators have previously played their home games at Lions Memorial Field in North Augusta, which is about a 20-minute drive from campus. The Predators have the first week off, followed by two away games. Their first real home game is scheduled for Sept. 13 against McCormick.
South Aiken opens the season Friday at home against Silver Bluff, and at halftime the T-Breds’ home stadium will be dedicated in the name of James Dawsey. Dawsey was the school’s first principal when it began operations in the 1980-81 school year and served there until his retirement in the 1994-95 school year. The T-Breds shared Aiken High’s Hagood Stadium for their first 20 seasons before opening their own home stadium for the season opener in 2000.
5. Change in print reporting
It won’t be a huge change, but there will be a difference between this year’s print program and last year’s. The local player of the week, which previously appeared in the Thursday edition, will now appear in the print edition on Fridays. Previews for all local games will be brought forward from Friday to Thursday, so those who receive their mail later in the day will not receive game previews just before or after kickoff.
Otherwise, everything is business as usual. The Wednesday edition will feature the Game Ball winners for the previous week’s statistically most outstanding games, and the Tuesday print edition will now include a brief summary of the previous Friday night’s games with a look ahead to the games scheduled for the following Friday.
