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Last year, on the heels of winning five state championships in different sports, Hilton Head Island High School was awarded the prestigious South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association Directors Cup. Part of that was due to Ron Costello, longtime volunteer and voice of the
Seahawks. Since 1983, Costello has worn a great many of the school’s hats: he’s kept the scorebooks, driven the team bus and served as public address announcer. With another year on deck, Costello gave Monthly his view from the press box.
Q. You’ve been doing this for
such a long time. Do you have a
favorite moment?
A. We won the Lower State
and lost to Camden in 1990 at
Williams-Brice Stadium (in Columbia).
That was a good memory.
Q. Each announcer is different.
Are there rules of etiquette?
A. I don’t like people going on
there and criticizing. I do the public
address announcing just like it’s
done at a professional or college
stadium. We don’t announce
anybody’s birthday or anything
because that opens up a can of
worms. I do say what yard line the
ball is on and what down it is so
you can keep up if you go to the
concession stand.
Q. Did any particular name
give you the most trouble?
A. They make fun of me all the
time. If you don’t say them every
day, the names get slaughtered.
Q. What was your favorite
football team?
A. I have a lot of favorites. When
we moved up to 3-A and won the
region a couple of years ago, we
had some good kids. Probably the
best kid I’ve seen play here was
Raymond Robinson, who went on
North Carolina State. John Snell
was a real good kid, too. That was
the year we beat Summerville
when we were in 4-A. There have
been a lot of ups and downs. I’ve
been there when we go 0-11 and
I’ve been there when we’ve gone
12-2, 13-3 and 11-4.
Q. Some would say it is tough
winning football games in an
area like this. What do you feel is
the team’s biggest challenge?
A. What hurts us is the fourth
quarter. Numbers kill you when
you play a school that has 76 players
on the sideline and you have
35. By the fourth quarter, you’re
kind of worn down.
Q. Everybody likes to think
the quality of football was better
when they played. In your
opinion, what era produced the
best players and teams?
A. Probably the late ’80s to
early ’90s. We went 12-2 in ’87, 12-2
in ’88, then in ’89, we kind of blew
it. We were pretty high in the rankings
then let it slip away. Of course
then in ’90 we weren’t expected
to do much. Jason Frazier was our
quarterback then and he led us
all the way (to the state finals). His
son is now the quarterback over at
Bluffton.
Q. You are a member of the
Hilton Head High Athletic Hall
of Fame. Only 25 people are a
part of that.
A. I’m proud of being a part of
that because I’m the only nonathlete.
I was put in as a little of
everything -- volunteer, whatever
else. That makes me feel pretty
good considering I never went to
high school there.
