Jimmy Noonan new Laurence Maning football head coach

       Jimmy Noonan new Laurence Maning football head coach

By Dennis Brunson

           hssr.com Associate Editor

           Manning – Laurence Manning Academy has hired veteran coach Jimmy Noonan as its new football head coach.

           Noonan, who has been a head coach for a total of 23 years at four different schools, began working at the Clarendon County school on March 3. He is excited about the new opportunity.

           “The LMA folks love their athletics and they love football,” said Noonan, who grew up in Sumter, about 20 miles from Manning. “They are very supportive and the folks here have been absolutely wonderful to me. There are some great people here, and the kids are solid, hard-working young men.

           “The school here is certainly a focal point of the parents who have children attending LMA. These are some of the nicest people I have worked around for sure. They are truly invested in the school for sure.”

           Noonan was hired to replace interim head coach Patrick Anderson. He led Laurence Manning to a 1-5 record in its final six games after first-year head coach Robbie Briggs resigned after five games in his second tenure at LMA.

The Swampcats finished the season with a 3-8 record, closing out the year with a 49-20 loss to Northwood Academy in the first round of the SCISA AAAA state playoffs. 

This will not be Noonan’s first foray into SCISA football. He was the head coach at Wilson Hall for one season in 2007. He led the Barons to an 11-1 record, the only loss coming to Augusta Christian School in the AAA state semifinals.

Noonan likes what he has seen of the returning talent.

Overall, the kids are working hard in the weight room,” he said. “The intangibles are all there. They look you right in the eyes and ask you what they need to be doing to become better players. They have a strong work ethic. Overall the team size might be an issue, but me being in AAAAA ball as the head coach at Wando and also my time at (then AAAA, now AAAAA) Spring Valley, I might be used to being around bigger players, and it can be a numbers game at any level of the game of football.

“I have bene looking at film from last season and studying the players who are coming back. We have a good group coming back. One major positive is our quarterback is back (Grainger Powell), and he has experience and the quarterback position is so important to the game of football. He has a lot of tools to work with. He has a quick release of his arm also.”

 Powell, a rising junior, completed 145 of 249 passes for 2,242 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Noonan’s most recent tenure as a head coach was for three years from 2020 to 2022 at Georgetown He won only two of 27 games.

“I was a head football coach and athletic director at Georgetown during the Covid(-19) years,” Noonan said. “That was a tough time. It was tough on the town and tough on football in general.

“After that I retired from coaching for a short while. My former defensive coordinator (at Wando), Jamel Smith, had become the head coach at Lucy Beckham so I went and helped him out for a year.”

Before going to Georgetown, Noonan was the head coach at Wando from 2009 through 2019. He posted a 60-65 record.

Noonan, who was a Shrine Bowl fullback on the 1987 AAAA Division I state championship team at Sumter, began his coaching career at Spring Valley He was an assistant for six seasons before becoming the head coach in 1999. He posted a 58-42 record in eight seasons.

Noonan has a career record of 131-133

““We are going to start out with structure and discipline,” Noonan said. “The players are going to believe in each other, and they are going to invest in the program and invest in the school.  Football will take care of itself. I am still working on putting together a solid football staff, and that will be important to success also.”

           DENNIS BROTHERS BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-REGION PICKS

           Brothers Scoop Dennis and Zy Dennis were selected to the All-Region 3-AAAA boys basketball team.

           Laurence Manning was led in scoring, rebounding and steals by Scoop Dennis, a freshman. He averaged 15.2 points per game to go with a 5.8 rebounding average and a 2.5 steals average. He also averaged 1.9 assists.

Leading the Swampcats in assists was junior Zy Dennis at 3.4. He also averaged 7.0 points to go with 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

           Laurence Manning finished with a 13-15 overall record and was 6-4 in region play, tying for third with John Paul II. The Swampcats earned a berth in the AAAA state tournament but lost to Northside Christian Academy 68-54 in the first round.

           First-year head coach Patrick Anderson rates the season as a successful one.

           “It was a pretty good first year,” said Anderson, who won a state championship as a player for the Swampcats and had been an assistant coach for the last several years. “We’re losing just two seniors (in Brenston Rembert and Peyton Price). I feel like this year was a good learning experience for us. I think it will pay off for us in the building of the program.”

           PRICKLEMYER, HODGE GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-REGION PICKS

           Junior Lyza Pricklemyer and junior Ashley Rae Hodge were selected to the All-Region 3 girls basketball team.

           Pricklemyer averaged 10 points, five rebounds four assists and three steals or the Lady ‘Cats, who finished the year with a 14-13 record in their first season under veteran head coach Lisa Ard. Hodge led the team in scoring at 12.0 to go with 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.0 steals.

           Ard is hoping to build on what was accomplished this season.

           “We started strong this season but between the weather, injuries ad sickness, we did not finish as strong,” she said. “We’re looking to get some summer work in around their softball schedules.”