By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Louis Clyburn era begins Friday at Brookland-Cayce High School.
The Bearcats open the season at home against River Bluff. It’s the first of two straight games against Lexington County teams from Region 4-5A.
Clyburn takes over a program coming off a 3-7 season under former head coach Reed Charpia. It was a season which saw Brookland-Cayce play five games in 19 days due to Hurricane Helene.
The Bearcats also have to replace quarterback Dre’von Dopson, who’s now at Irmo. Andrew Frick brings a 6-foot 4, 235-pound frame and a strong arm to the position.
Senior Tyree Johnson and sophomore Mekhi Pringle are expected as his top targets at wide receiver. At running back, Avery King moves up from the junior varsity level and will pair with junior Bennett Plane in the backfield.
Senior My’son Jones provides versatility at tight end and backup quarterback. Center Franklin Lykes and tackle Jordan Browning will lead on both the offensive and defensive lines.
To help with implementing the offense, Clyburn has brought in G.A. Mangus as offensive coordinator. An assistant at in-state colleges the University of South Carolina, Florida and South Carolina State, Mangus shares a similar offensive philosophy as Clyburn.
River Bluff is coming off a 31-18 loss at Rock Hill. The Gators outscored the Bearcats 15-0 in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Christopher Thompson threw two touchdown passes to Evans Herndon and Zach Caldwell had a 2-point conversion run.
Airport heads on road
The Eagles (0-1) head on the road to face Aiken.
Airport fell 37-8 to May River in the home debut of new head coach Chris Napier. It looks to snap a 7-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Ironically, the Eagles’ last on-field victory (it was credited with a forfeit win on Oct. 11, 2024 over Gray Collegiate Academy) came against the Hornets.
Both Brookland-Cayce and Airport games can be streamed at the Palmetto State Sports Network. It’s available on the app or by logging on to https://network1sports.com/station/pssn2.
War Eagles drop opener
Bad weather resulted in Gray Collegiate opening its season three days later on the road.
The War Eagles faced James Island Monday in a non-region contest. They were held scoreless for most of the game until a touchdown from Kaleb Berry with 10:10 left in the game made it 24-8 for the final score.
Gray Collegiate has a bye this week. It returns to action Sept. 5 at Marlboro County.
WEEK 0 SCORES
May River 37, Airport 8
James Island 24, Gray Collegiate 8
WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
Airport at Aiken
River Bluff at Brookland-Cayce
(Photo by GoFlashwin.com) – Brookland-Cayce
