Florence 1 high schools return majority of head coaches

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • July 27, 2024

West Florence now AAAAA; South Florence, Wilson remain AAAA

Florence – The run of Florence 1 Schools high schools South Florence, West Florence and

Wilson being members of the same region are over – at least for the next two years – with the South

Carolina High School League’s reclassification and realignment.


West Florence got caught up in the expansion of the AAAAA classification to 55 schools while

South Florence and Wilson remained in AAAA. That means the days of them being a part of Region 6-

AAAA are over.


West Florence will be part of Region 5-AAAAA with Blythewood, Lugoff-Elgin, Ridge View,

Spring Valley, Sumter and Westwood. South Florence and Wilson will be members of Region 5-AAAA

with Crestwood, Darlington, Hartsville, Lakewood and Lower Richland.


South Florence has only one new varsity head coach at this moment. West Florence will have two

new head coaches, and Wilson easily has the most turnover with five new head coaches, two of them in

major sports.


SOUTH FLORENCE


Cody Slaughter returns as the athletic director at South Florence. The only new head coach will

be Herbert Hunter as the boys basketball coach, replacing Dominique Harris.


Drew Marlowe is back as the head football coach. The Bruins went 14-1 last season, losing to

Westside 34-32 in the AAAA state championship game. That meant the Bruins just missed on running off

two consecutive perfect seasons.


Bobby Jones will return as the softball coach after taking the Lady Bruins to the lower state

championship series. Veteran Kenny Gray will again be in charge of the baseball program.


Alexis Morris will coach both the boys and girls cross country teams, Kim

Osborne is the girls tennis coach, Talor Hewitt the girls volleyball coach, Demetric Russell the boys

volleyball coach, Trent Clary will be both the girls and boys golf coach, Marcus Montgomery the boys

wrestling coach, Josh Williams the girls wrestling coach, Kailey Varney the girls soccer coach and

Caitlyn Welch the cheer coach.


Jan Chatlosh returns as the boys and girls swim coach, and she does the same for both South

Florence and Wilson.


Spots that are still open are for boys tennis, boys and girls track and field and boys soccer.


WEST FLORENCE


Greg Johnson returns as the athletic director. The two new head coaches are Dominique

Muldrow for boys basketball and Chris Dale for girls golf.


Jody Jenerette returns as football coach, and Aundres Perkins returns after leading the softball

team to the AAAA state championship series against Catawba Ridge.


Kedral Timmons will be the girls hoops coach, while Warren Coker is back as both the boys

volleyball coach and the boy tennis. coach. L.A. Driggers returns as the girls volleyball coach.


Josh Brown will be the baseball coach, Billy Andrews will be the boys soccer coach, Alex

Shortall the girls soccer coach, Phillip Barr the boys track and field coach, Rich Wideman both the

girls track coach and the boys and girls cross country coach, Andrew Cummings the wrestling coach,

Jason Brewer the boys golf coach, Abby Sullivan the girls tennis coach and Kelsey Cagle the cheer

coach.


WILSON


Derrick McQueen returns as the Wilson athletic director, and he has been a busy man. He

brought back former Wilson head coach Darryl Page to again run the football team. Yusuf English is the new boys basketball head coach, replacing Carlos Powell, who left to become the head coach at Gray Collegiate Academy.


          The other new head coaches are Aquanze Bethea as the boys track and field head coach, Rayvon Rogers as the boys volleyball head coach and Cristy Rabon as the head coach of the bass fishing team.


Frank Williams will be the girls basketball coach, James “Chippa” Smith will be back as the

baseball coach, Robert Sloan will be the girls soccer coach, Brittany Sehnke will be the softball coach, John Davis the girls volleyball coach, Valarie Paul will be the girls track and field coach after doing the boys last year as well, Jackie Foxe Jr. will be the boys and girls cross country coach, Nicholas Yock will be both the boys and girls golf coach, Frederick Davis will be the head coach of both the boys and girls tennis teams, Ernest Barksdale will be the wrestling coach and

Kacie Mangler will be the competitive cheer coach.


McQueen is still looking for a boys soccer coach.

Gators’ Hall has built consistent winner on Redbank Road

By Rob Gantt • July 30, 2025
Blake Hall has coached the Gators since the 2012-13 season and consistently produced winning teams over the years.

Hanahan volleyball program under new leadership

By Rob Gantt • July 30, 2025
Hanahan High School promotes Jamie Kock to head coach of the girls varsity volleyball. Koch, who has moved up from the junior varsity, takes over for former coach Sheena Lanham.

First Baptist Hires New AD and Football Coach

By David Shelton • July 30, 2025
By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston – First Baptist School has new leadership within its football program and athletic department for the coming 2025-26 school year. Kevin Mapp was hired as the new head football coach in the early spring and Jay Godbolt was hired as the new athletic director at the start of the summer. Mapp has extensive coaching experience on both the college and high school levels while also working in law enforcement. First Baptist is his first head coaching position. Mapp last coached defensive linemen at James Island Charter High and has had coaching stints at James Madison, Hampden-Sydney, Georgetown, Marshall, Missouri State and Coastal Carolina. Mapp graduated from James Madison and was a defensive lineman on the 2004 Division I-AAA (now FCS) national championship team. “Coaching has always been my passion,” Mapp said. “Ever since I was playing, I wanted to be a coach. I have always found a way to coach while working in law enforcement. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunities to do both.” Mapp has been with the Charleston County police department for the last 10 years. He took some time away from coaching to start a family. “I felt like First Baptist was the perfect fit for me and my family,” Mapp says. “It’s a great opportunity at a great place. The kids here work hard and there is a lot of support from the administration. I’m excited to be the head football coach at First Baptist.” Mapp has hired coordinators on both sides of the ball. Will McCombs , once the head coach of the program, will call the offensive plays. Chris Hart comes over from James Island as the defensive coordinator. “Our numbers are improving and the kids are working hard,” Mapp said. “I feel like we can be a competitive team. It’s year one of the building process.” Godbolt has been a coach and athletic director in the Charleston area for nearly two decades. As the boys basketball coach at Charleston Collegiate, Godbolt coached three state championship teams. He also has been a coach and athletic director at Lowcountry Leadership Academy. Godbolt has more than 450 career victories as a head basketball coach. Current First Baptist basketball coach Antoine Saunders was Godbolt’s assistant at Charleston Collegiate.

Andrews Volleyball and Softball on solid foundation

By Neill Kirkpatrick • July 30, 2025
Joy Weisner begins her fourth year at Andrews High School and her third as the head coach of both the volleyball and softball teams.

Chesterfield Alum Hired to Football Post

By David Shelton • July 30, 2025
Chesterfield High has hired a former player and alum, Nick Dixon, to head up its football program.

Colleton Prep continues growth in athletics

By David Shelton • July 30, 2025
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Lewis has a seasoned group of Ashley Ridge coaches

By Roger Lee • July 30, 2025
Kelly Lewis is entering his second year as the Ashley Ridge athletic director.

May River’s Bonneville Hopes To Build On Success Of Last Years Football Team

By Billy Baker • July 30, 2025
Richard Bonneville enters his third season as the head coach at May River High.

Christ Church moves up and continues success

By Neill Kirkpatrick • July 30, 2025
Athletic Director Molly Miller has outstanding coaches who believe in the core values of Christ Church and the vision statement for CCE.

New Chapin AD looks to carry on Eagles traditions

By Worthy Evans • July 30, 2025
Chapin high school hires Billie Williams as Athletic Director after retirement of longtime AD Ronnie Wessinger.
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