South Florence has stability with Drew Marlowe as football head coach
Chad Wilkes new West Florence head coach, Brian Wilson takes over at Wilson
Florence – West Florence and Wilson high schools will have new looks to their football programs this fall. South Florence, on the other hand, will return with what has become a daunting, towering presence.
Veteran head coach Chad Wilkes will begin his first season as the head coach at West Florence, while former Sumter assistant Brian Wilson will be in his first head coaching gig at Wilson.
As for South Florence, Drew Marlowe is back for his sixth season. He led the Bruins to their second AAAA state title in three seasons last year. They are 41-4 during that stretch and were just three points shy of having consecutive 15-0 seasons when they fell to Westside 34-32 in the 2023 championship game.
South Florence went undefeated in 2022 with current University of South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers leading the way.
Marlowe said the secret to the success has been a team effort among the coaching staff.
:We have had great consistency with our staff over the past six years, particularly in regard to the coordinator positions,” Marlowe said. “That consistency has allowed us to build trust with our players and their families, which has led to great success both on and off the field.”
Returning this season are defensive coordinator Cannon Jordan and offensive coordinator Casey Ward. Back to help Jordan with the defense are defensive backs coach Jalen Barr, inside linebackers coach Tony Moore and defensive line coach and junior varsity head coach Tony Biddy. Newcomers to the defensive staff are Rashad Myers, who will work with the defensive backs, and defensive line coach Deshaun Carroway.
Of Ward’s six assistants working with the offense, five are returning coaches. They are offensive line coach Kody Varn, tight end/H back coach Joah Nelson, quarterbacks coach John Gathings, running backs coach Shawn Armstrong and wide receivers coach JT Varn. Mike McManus is the lone newcomer, and he will coach wide receivers.
With the hiring of Coach Wilson, the Wilson football team will have a West Florence flavor to it. Wilson’s two new coordinators, defensive coordinator Jerran Devlin and offensive coordinator Braxton Ivery, have served in the same positions at West Florence.
The rest of the staff includes offensive line coach Harrison Terry, defensive line coach Maliek Samuel, linebackers coach Andrew Bethea, defensive backs coach Lindsey Robertson, wide receivers coach Jalin Dixon and running backs coach Justin Evans. Dixon and Robertson are the only holdovers.
“Our staff is a strong mix of youthful energy and veteran experience,” Coach Wilson said. “While we are mostly a young coaching staff, we also have a few older coaches who bring valuable experience and leadership to the team. Impressively, all but one member of our staff has collegiate playing experience, and one coach has even played at the NFL (National Football League) level.
“We are excited about what this diverse and talented group brings to Wilson football, and we look forward to a successful season of development and competition.”
The Tigers went 1-9 last season under interim head coach Darryl Page.
Wilkes has been a head coach at C.E. Murray, Lamar and Oceanside Collegiate Academy prior to coming to West Florence. He guided OCA to the 2023 AA state championship before resigning his post early in the ’24 season.
He takes over for Jody Jenerette, who announced his retirement following last season’s 5-6 campaign.
Davd Moore will be the Knights’ offensive coordinator while Mike Jones will be the defensive coordinator. Andrew Neimeyer will be the junior varsity head coach and will work with running backs on the varsity level.
The other assistants will be Layton Ricker, JD Rice and Ty Sutherland.
