Not much will change as Stags move down to AAA
By David Shelton
Staff Writer
Moncks Corner – After a long run as a AAAA athletic program, Berkeley High ventures into unchartered waters as they drop down a classification to AAA this fall.
Due to a drop in student enrollment, largely because of Cane Bay High opening up in the county, Berkeley will compete the next four years as a AAA program. Athletic director Jerry Brown says the stay in AAA may be short-lived but he plans to make the most of the new alignment.
“I think we might be back in AAAA when the next realignment comes around but for now we will do the best we can to compete for championships in every sport,” said Brown, who doubles as the school’s football coach. “I think the move has allowed us some flexibility in our scheduling, especially in football. Being in AAA , and not having to worry about the points system, allows us a chance to play some rivalry games that we could not play in the past.”
Brown said the football scheduling process has been somewhat simple with the realignment. Berkeley maintained its rival games with Stratford and Summerville, and added games with Timberland, Hanahan and Manning – all AA schools but rivals nonetheless.
“Manning and Berkeley used to be a rivalry years ago and certainly Timberland and Hanahan, being in our county, are rivalries that we could not play because they were AA schools,” said Brown. “I think it’s going to create a lot of excitement for our fans and community and actually playing those schools is better for us than some of the teams we were playing in AAAA, as far as attendance goes.”
From a competition perspective, some may see Berkeley’s conference competition in AAA as relatively weak compared to the AAAA region that included the likes of Goose Creek and Stratford. Brown, however, says once the post-season rolls around, there will be plenty of competition.
“I think once you get to the second round or so of the playoffs, the teams will be very good,” he said. “If you look at the teams that are playing at the end or in the last two rounds or so, they are pretty good. In comparison, there may not be as many teams overall that are of the same quality as Division II AAAA but the top teams are really good teams.”
Brown is beginning his 18th season at Berkeley and has the program riding high after winning the Class AAAA Division II state championship last December. The title was Brown’s third at Berkeley, joining titles in 1994 and 1996. Brown also won a state title at Spring Valley in 1988.
Brown enters this season with a 228-99 record as a head coach, dating back to his first year as a head coach in 1985. He has compiled a 165-60 record at Berkeley, a tenure that began in 1993.
In 1970, while still in college and only 19 years old, Brown was hired as an assistant coach at Spring Valley High School. He had two years of coaching experience by the time he graduated from South Carolina and was set to coach.
“I was fortunate to get an early opportunity in coaching and once I got the bug, I was in it for good,” jokes Brown.
Brown has had only three losing seasons in 27 years as a head coach and all three came at Fairfield-Central in the three years prior to him accepting the Berkeley job. There have been rumors over the years that Brown was leaving Berkeley for other positions but the coach has remained.
“It’s a good place to live and work,” he says of Moncks Corner. “People here love their football and they support us well. It’s hard to leave a place like this.”
As the 2010 season approaches, Brown has done some re-shuffling of the football staff. Berkeley lost defensive coordinator Eddie Moore when he accepted a head coaching job at Barnwell High, his alma mater. Brown says he will oversee the defense this fall, with the help of assistant Barry Avant, who is moving from the offensive line to the defensive line and secondary this fall.
“Barry has a lot of expertise on that side of the ball and with the 4-3 defense so he will play a major role in helping us be a good defense,” said Brown.
Ernest Houston will coach the linebackers and John Bush has been hired to coach the defensive linemen. Secondary coach Landy Cox returns as well.
Eric Gambrell, who coached the defensive linemen last year but was the offensive line coach for several years, will move back to the offensive side of the ball this fall. Robert Bouknight will coach running backs and kickers.
In other coaching positions, Brown announced that Kevin Tye will be the new varsity soccer coach next spring. Will Chassereau will return to coach girl’s soccer and Charlie Harrison will coach the boy’s basketball team again this winter.
Returning as the volleyball and girl’s basketball coach is Jewel Larson and Houston will take over the wrestling program.
Cox is set to return as the head baseball coach and Joe Harnage will coach girl’s tennis. Twon Williams will be the head coach of the cross country and track teams and Mike Jolly coaches the softball team.
Returning to coach golf is Jay Burnsworth and Charles Sweeney is the boy’s tennis coach. Rob Roth returns as the team’s athletic trainer and Trista Wilcox heads up the cheerleading program.
