South Carolina High School League football practice in full swing
Week Zero is August 15 with Week 1 set for August 21-22
Sumter – Fall football practice for South Carolina High School League schools is now in full swing. There is now a week in the books with scrimmages under way and jamborees waiting in the wings. In all honesty, Week Zero is next Friday, August 15, with everyone else scheduled to start up on either Thursday, August 21, or Friday, August 22.
Needless to say, coaches are zeroed in on what needs to be accomplished before that first kickoff. Veteran Lee Central head coach Justin Danner said fall practice has been an extension of what the Stallions did over the summer, only they’re getting to do it in pads after the completion of the first three practices.
“We knew we really needed to develop this summer,” said Danner, who will begin his ninth season as head coach in Bishopville at home against Timberland on August 22. “We’re breaking in two new quarterbacks and trying to gel offensively, something you trying to do any tme you’re bringing in new quarterbacks. We’re just kind of getting back to work, a lot more of what we were doing this summer. It’s gone pretty good.”
Lee Central is coming off a 7-5 season in its first year at the Class A level after having been a AA school since its creation. The Stallions, who reached the second round of the state playoffs, have five starters back on both sides of the football, so there is a mix of experience and youth on the squad.
Senior Shadrach Williams is one who will start on both sides of the football. He will be a fullback on offense and a linebacker on defense. He started on defense last year and was the primary back in Lee Central’s heavy packages. He likes what he’s seen of the team’s performance thus far.
“I feel pretty good. I feel like we should have a winning season,” Williams said. “There’s a lot for us to learn still, knowing that we still have some young players coming to the team since we lost a lot of seniors.”
Like Danner, Kingstree head coach Brandon Cantrell is a veteran of many fall practices. However, this is his first one where he is in charge of the program.
“I feel really good about the summer we had,” said Cantrell, who comes to Kingstree after spending the last two years as quarterbacks coach at Fort Dorchester. “I’m hoping to get more detailed, start implementing all of our schemes on offense and defense, trying to get the basics and fundamentals down pat.”
While the first three days of fall practice are limited to players being in helmets and shorts, Cantrell said he actually enjoys those practices.
“We tried our best to get a lot of things done those first three practices,” he said. “We did a lot of special teams work during that time.”
The Blazers went 5-7 last year, advancing to the second round of the AA state playoffs.
While Jamison Estep has been the leader of the Lake City football program the past two years, this will be his first season as the official head coach. Ronnie Baker, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident in the summer of 2023, recently resigned from the post.
The Panthers went 4-7 last season, but four of those losses were by seven points or less. They lost to Timberland 20-15 in the first round of the AA state playoffs. Lake City has to replace a lot of players, but that doesn’t dampen Estep’s enthusiasm.
‘We’re excited,” said Estep, whose team plays host to AAAAA Myrte Beach on August 22. “We know what we have, we know what we don’t have. We just have to work to get ready.”
