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With no professional or college football teams in this little corner of the world, high school football reigns supreme each fall in the Lowcountry. Thousands of people pack stadiums at Hilton Head High, Bluffton, Hilton Head Christian and Hilton Head Preparatory each week for our own version of Friday night lights.
Of course, our version doesn’t always include the lights.
In line with the island’s quirky style, Hilton Head Prep has no stadium lights and plays its home games in the middle of the day under the burning Carolina sun, usually on Fridays, but occasionally on Saturdays.
“We’re hoping that’s to our advantage,” said first-year Hilton Head Prep coach Kevin Orford. “We practice out in that every day so the kids are used to it.”
Games are more than just sporting events — they’re social gatherings. The hottest ticket in town last season was certainly Bluffton High School. The crowd continued to grow each week as the Bobcats piled up win after win, breaking almost every school record on their way to a 12-2 season. By the time the team reached the Class 3-A Lower State championship game, the crowd had swelled to 4,500 fans from all over Beaufort and Jasper counties. “The entire community got behind us,” Bluffton coach Ken Cribb said. “It was overwhelming.”
There are parades, pep rallies and lots of barbecue. There are also intense rivalries. But simply calling them rivalries is a bit of an understatement — these are of the blood-on-the-moon variety. Hilton Head High and Bluffton High, for instance, battle for bragging rights and an interesting-looking trophy each year in the Bridge Bowl. After years of humbling defeats, the Bobcats finally earned their first win over the Seahawks last season.
The Bobcats look to retain the Bridge Bowl trophy this year and add an even more prestigious one: the Class 3-A state title.
“We’re hoping that for our first game the stands are as full as they were for the Lower State championship game,” Cribb said.
Hilton Head High is also jazzed about the upcoming season. After finishing with a 4-7 record and being booted out of the first round of the Class 3-A playoffs, the Seahawks expect dramatic improvement in 2011.
Hilton Head Island’s private schools are also huge rivals. Hilton Head Prep and Hilton Head Christian battle it out at least once a year and often meet in the South Carolina Independent School Association playoffs. Both programs are considered among the state’s best private school teams.
Without playmakers like quarterback Luke Sirgo and running back JaBrook Tucker, Christian will rely heavily on an experienced line led by Kyle Weaver, Cole Malphrus, Alec Westmark and Nick Borghi.
“Because of our line, I really feel good about the year coming up,” Hilton Head Christian coach Tommy Lewis said. “On paper, that’s the only place where we have a strength, and it’s a good place to have a strength. If you don’t have a line, you don’t have much of a chance competing in football. We may be doing some things differently but I do think we’ll be competitive.”
Over at Hilton Head Prep, almost everything is new. After spending two years as the junior varsity coach and last season as the strength and conditioning coach, Orford hopes to make the most of his opportunity. Several players were lost to graduation, most notably quarterback Matt Layman. His replacement is rising junior Jeremy Haidon, the team’s leading defensive player last season.
Orford’s plan is to make the Dolphins’ pass-happy attack more balanced this season, utilizing promising running backs Scott D’Amico, LJ Orage and Teron Daley. Rising senior Dylan Powell will anchor the offensive and defensive lines.
“The juniors and seniors I’m coaching this year are the guys I had coaching the JV program,” Orford said. “Our program went undefeated two years ago and I’ve got pretty much the same group of kids that have moved up. They’ve gotten bigger, faster and stronger.”
Let the games begin.
Photo / Mike Ritterbeck, hhisportshots.com
