NEWBERRY — Newberry County varsity football coaches shared insights into their seasons Monday night at the kickoff of this year’s Newberry County Touchdown Club.
Mid-Carolina High School Coach Louie Alexander said the Rebels had a solid preseason and were getting stronger in the summer and competing well in passing league.
“I was really excited about going into the preseason and then we started practice,” Alexander said.
While in the first week of practice, Alexander said the team lost nine players, one of them being their kicker.
Alexander said the injuries meant they had to develop more depth.
The depth as a team has not been the best over the last 11 years, he said, but having to use players who normally don’t play has helped them improve.
Alexander said he was looking forward to Friday’s game at Chapin and hopes the community comes out in support.
Coach Phil Strickland said Newberry High School developed a lot of depth in the preseason, much like Mid-Carolina High School.
“The kids have really worked hard,” Strickland said. “We will probably have more kids with their name on the back of their jerseys than we ever have.”
Strickland said the team is stronger and faster and he is pleased with the preseason, despite a jamboree loss to Abbeville High School on the road.
“We weren’t ready,” Strickland said.
Strickland said the team’s performance against Strom Thurmond was better and the team had a good scrimmage.
“The kids are getting a whole lot better, they’re learning,” Strickland said.
Also in the preseason, the Bulldogs beat Greenwood High 21-7 in a long quarter. Strickland said he was pleased with the effort.
“The kids came out and were ready to compete,” Strickland said. “They didn’t care if it was a 5A school or a 1A school, we had a lot of good things happen in that scrimmage.”
Newberry High travels to Union County High School on Friday.
With a new varsity team this season, Coach Benji Sease shared that Newberry Academy had 12 players for the eight-man football games this season.
“Last year we had a JV team and learned a little from the first year,” Sease said. “We won six games, lost two.”
Sease said he figured out they needed to spread it out a little bit.
Last week, the Eagles came away with a huge 48-26 win against Blackville and a boost of confidence in their first varsity game since 1998.
Sease said they were able to get a dynamic quarterback, Tyrese Taylor, who just transferred to Newberry Academy from NHS. Running back Daniel Bannister also has done a good job for the team.
Landon York is the team’s wide receiver and Sease said he is quick.
“We’re looking for some good things this year,” Sease said.
The Eagles are off this Friday, but will play at King Academy on Sept. 4.
Whitmire Community School’s Charlie Jenkins was unable to attend. The Wolverines travel to Calhoun Falls Friday night to start their season.
“Good luck to Coach Jenkins and the Whitmire Wolverines this Friday,” said Jimmie Coggins of WKDK.
Wolves coming together
Todd Knight, who is entering his seventh season at Newberry College, said he planned to come to Newberry for one season and then move on.
“I guess that was not God’s plan,” Knight said. “His plan was better than my plan. I’m home and I’m happy and I like His plan a whole lot more than mine.”
Knight, the guest speaker Monday, said their staff and team are working great together this year and he is looking forward to the upcoming season.
Knight said he wants the players to understand that if they do the right things, good things will come to them.
“Our kids are buying into that philosophy,” Knight said.
Knight said they also strive to instill the “I will, I can and I want” attitude and encourage the players to give their extra 2 percent.
“I will do what you want me to do, I can do it and I want to do it coach,” Knight said. “Most people are not successful because they think they are so far away from greatness that they can’t reach it, but really they’re not very far way, they just don’t realize it.”
Knight said it starts by sitting at the front of the classroom, asking a question. If you’re overweight, that extra two percent, he said, is a salad. If you are underweight, the two percent is taking two or three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when leaving the cafeteria.
“At the end of the week, you’re really close to greatness,” he said.
The final thing the Wolves have worked on is not only being accountable for their individual actions, but for the team’s action as a whole. Knight said he encourages the players to think about their choices to keep themselves out of harm’s way and keep the program out of harm.
“I think you’ll see a team that’s going to play together and be successful,” Knight said about this season.
The next meeting of the Newberry County Touchdown Club will be at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at Community Hall. The guest speaker will be Jet Turner, coach of Broome High School.