Whether it’s a quest to repeat, secure a winning season or plant seeds for future success, high school football teams in and around Mount Pleasant are looking to make 2024 a banner season.
Here is a look at the five head coaches of the top-five East Cooper teams — Wando, Lucy Beckham, Bishop England, Philip Simmons and Oceanside. Some are new and others are veterans, but they all have one singular objective: win at all costs.
Editor’s Note: The following coaching profiles and team previews took place before the 2024 season kicked off.
Isaiah Perrin – Wando Warriors
Although Isaiah Perrin got his schooling and early football experience at Timberland High in St. Stephen, he could soon become a permanent, honorary Warrior if everything goes according to plan. And Perrin has his plan mapped out for the foreseeable future.
“This is my first foray into head coaching,” said Perrin, who came to Wando after serving three seasons as offensive coordinator for Stratford in nearby Goose Creek. “I came in knowing the football program, having seen Wando firsthand each season when I was with Stratford. And at some point, I want us to reach and win a state title.”
The first step toward Perrin’s goal is to create a strong defensive front. To this end, he returns seven veteran starters: middle linebacker Brock Feinberg; inside linebacker Brayden Berry; safety Cole Fletcher; cornerback Mikey Jenkins; defensive ends Loren Whitehurst and Nick Flood; and defensive tackle Trenton Moore.
“I am looking for them to anchor us in the beginning, before we can get going into other areas the way I want,” Perrin said.
Part of Perrin’s plan is to at least improve on last season and show signs of a hopeful future: Wando went 1-9 in 2023, capping four straight losing seasons. And the new coach is rolling up his sleeves for the long challenge.
“I’ve always preached championship habits – such as being on time, putting in the effort, pulling together as one – things you do every day to prepare as if you’re expecting to reach a championship game,” Perrin said. “And this is an opportunity to build something that will pay off in three, four or five years.”
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Jamel Smith – Beckham Bengals
One thing about Jamel Smith: Since becoming the first head football coach at Lucy Beckham in 2020, he has adopted a win-now philosophy – no matter what kind of team he fields in any given year.
“We’re returning only three returning starters on offense and three on defense for this season,” Smith said. “So we’re rebuilding, starting from scratch.”
But when asked about his team’s chances of making the postseason as the Bengals did in 2023, Smith stated, “Pretty good, despite having younger guys.”
“We’re going to have a lot of sophomores and we’re very green right now,” Smith said. “But we have a solid foundation and a lot of room to grow. And my mentality is that we will be alright if we can stick through the early part of this season.”
Against this tide of experience, the Bengals will field three-year starting senior quarterback Chalmers Ballard and three-year starting senior offensive lineman Sawyer Hearne, whom Smith said have “really taken the younger guys under their wings.”
Rounding out the Bengals’ total veteran experience are senior wide receiver Trevor Reynolds, defensive tackle Jackson Edwards and linebacker Hank Aeppli.
“We have a lot of positions to fill,” Smith said. “But our goal is to have our kids maximize their talents and play as a team and come through uninjured. And if we can get through our first five games, we could still make the playoffs again this year.”
Logan Hall – Bishop England Battling Bishops
Never mind that Bishop England’s new head football coach Logan Hall started as a student assistant in 2012 under Steve Spurrier at the University of South Carolina. Or that he helped lead Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville to a No. 1 seed in the 2023 state 3A playoffs. Hall intends to rebuild the Battling Bishops into a perennial state contender.
“This team has struggled the last couple of years, going 2-8 last season,” Hall said. “But they posted back-to-back state titles in 2011-12. And I want to help lead them back to those days.”
The road won’t be easy. Bishop England was reclassified early this year to Region 6 in AAAA, two class notches higher than in previous years. The new classification will lead to longer travel for away games. It also means that whether home or away, the Bishops aren’t experienced with any of the teams in Region 6.
“Our strongest competition could be anybody because we don’t have any familiarity with the teams,” Hall said.
Despite these challenges and any adjustments his players will have to make, Hall is expecting the team “to be able to play with anybody on our schedule.”
“A lot of players will have to step up and play a lot of positions at any given moment on both offense and defense,” Hall said. “But we have a chance even in my first year to have a winning season. And we are on the verge of taking that next stride to become a Lowcounty powerhouse.”
Eric Bendig – Philip Simmons Iron Horses
One advantage for the Philip Simmons football program is longtime head coach Eric Bendig. Entering his seventh season, Bendig has been with the Ironhorses since the school opened in 2017. He started from scratch when there was no equipment, uniforms or players.
Since then, Bendig has overseen the birth and growth of a team that has so far made the state playoffs every year since 2019, posted a school-best record of 11-2 in 2021 and which is now poised to become a top-level program in AA Region 6.
“We’re returning 17 seniors, 29 juniors and a few really good sophomores and freshmen,” said Bendig, who led the team to a 10-2 mark in 2023. “So I feel pretty good about making the playoffs again.”
Veteran senior leadership will come from quarterback Tavien Orellana; wide receiver Kolten Kellermann; cornerback Darriel Porcher; running back T.J. Walker and offensive lineman Daniel Scarth – especially during several challenging road games.
When asked how close the Iron Horses are to winning a state title of their own this season, Bendig said it will come down to how they respond to a loss; how they play against tough teams; how they come back from a deficit and “how well they can lead themselves.”
“One thing we tell them is that no matter what game we’re in, something is going to go wrong,” Bendig said. “Sometimes you win games you shouldn’t, sometimes you lose when you should have won. But maybe a year here and a year there, we can hang the big banner by running a state championship program.”
Oceanside Landsharks
Editor’s Note: This story does not contain a coaching profile due to the recent resignation of head coach Chad Wilkes that occurred on Aug. 27.
Winning a football championship two years running is the goal of every player and coach, yet one of the rarest things for a team on any level to achieve. But now the Oceanside Collegiate Academy Landsharks are on a quest to change that and solidify themselves as a football power.
In South Carolina high school Division 1 football, repeating as state champions on any class level is one of the most soughtafter achievements – and one of the rarest for Lowcountry schools. While a host of Upstate teams such as Dutch Fork, Spartanburg, Byrnes and Woodruff have had multiple back-to-back runs since 1944, only AAAA Summerville has managed the feat in the Lowcountry.
Depth will be needed to get the Landsharks through a gauntlet of a schedule, especially after being reclassified to AAA Region 6. They will face perennial contenders Irmo (4A), Ashley Ridge (5A), Calvary Day and Savannah Christian (both 3A) and the defending 5A state champion Dutch Fork – all in non-region play. In-conference opponents include the always tough Dillon, Belton- Honea Path and nearby Hanahan.
The coaching staff’s main focus is keeping everyone healthy; the Landsharks were so injury-laden last season, they were forced to enter the state title game with a freshman quarterback.
Aside from potential injuries and tough opponents, the biggest factor for the Landsharks could come down to simple experience in both winning and losing. For example, in the 2022 state title game, Abbeville defeated Oceanside 35-20.
In 2023, the Landsharks posted a 12-2 mark en route to beating Gray Collegiate Academy 35-28 in a huge state title nailbiter that saw them trailing by 14 early, rallying to keep the game close with three ties and then holding on for dear life after scoring the winning points with just over 1 minute left in regulation.
Seniors Will Virgilio and Grayson Freeling both said that even with a state title now in hand, lessons learned from the 2022 loss are still present. “It’s a different kind of pressure than what we were feeling last year, or in 2022,” said Freeling, a third year returning starter.
Virgilio, who already has collegiate offers from Army and Navy, added that the chance to repeat is as much a motivator as the 2022 loss. “Now that we’ve experienced losing and winning in the title game, we’re as focused as last year, only this time to win it all again,” Virgilio said.
Alongside them will be seniors Gavin Gaspar, who had two touchdown catches against Gray; right tackle Carson Lee, who kept many opposing defenders from getting to the quarterback; and linebacker Max Moorman, who can play multiple positions on both sides of the ball.
Following the resignation of two-year head coach Chad Wilkes, who cited “personal reasons” in a letter to the school explaining his abrupt departure, former James Island head coach John Patterson will serve as Oceanside’s interim head coach for the foreseeable future.
The question now is: Can Oceanside recreate another magical season and recapture that lightning in a bottle? Only time will tell.
By L. C. Leach III
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