What areas in SC, still truly care about HS football?

[vasago]

It seems as the metro areas and suburban sprawl continues to eat up a lot of areas in our state, we see a correlation with an apathy towards high school football. I see this a good bit in the Upstate but was wondering what your opinions are with respect to which communities still love their Friday nights.

With my experience being in the Upstate, places that come to mind are Abbeville, Woodruff, Gaffney, Clinton and BHP, that still seem to really get into it.

If you had a top 5 or so from the area you are familiar with, what would it be?

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

I honestly can't make a long list, but I will say there are a lot of communities that care, but in a growing number of those communities, there's a lot of administrative brass that does not.

 

[dacoach]

Pee Dee
Hartsville, Dillon, Lake View, Myrtle Beach, Lamar and Marlboro County

Midlands
Batesburg-Leesville, Dutch Fork, Chapin, Brookland Cayce and Newberry/Fairfield Central (midlands?)

Upstate
South Pointe, Gaffney, Byrnes, Spartanburg, and BHP

Lowcountry
Blackville-Hilda, Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Bluffton, Fort Dorchester, and Cane Bay

Its really hard to make a Top 5, because what is the criteria? Wins? Just community support? Program status? Coaching? What makes it a Top 5 program?

I would have a hard time picking on community support alone, because I haven't been to a lot of these schools on a Friday night.

Let the debates begin....

 

[CITYSLICKER]

STAGS

 

[BulldogZ91]

We care about it in our small community, Powdersville, SC. Up until this past season IMO Pville was kind of looked upon as the little brother or step child to Wren. I guess that's fairly common when one school is split up to make another but we held our own and are doing ok to only be a few years old.

 

[CITYSLICKER]

 

[OLGuy]

Football still rules the roost at places like Barnwell, Williston-Elko, and Bamberg. Go to a game on Friday night and you will see.

 

[ShivaBlast]

Defending the Lakelands: Greenwood, Abbeville, Ninety-Six, Saluda, Ware Shoals, Laurens. I know Saluda, Ninety-Six, and Abbeville are standing room only every Friday night.

 

[vasago]

Defending the Lakelands: Greenwood, Abbeville, Ninety-Six, Saluda, Ware Shoals, Laurens. I know Saluda, Ninety-Six, and Abbeville are standing room only every Friday night.

I agree about the Lakelands area except for Emerald. They can be 8-0 and playing a big game at home and Greenwood can be 2-6 and still draw a much larger crowd than Emerald. Just no following at all. 96 is a great town for football and Ware Shoals has one of the best stadiums in the state for a game due to the history.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

I agree about the Lakelands area except for Emerald. They can be 8-0 and playing a big game at home and Greenwood can be 2-6 and still draw a much larger crowd than Emerald. Just no following at all. 96 is a great town for football and Ware Shoals has one of the best stadiums in the state for a game due to the history.

Very underrated statement, right here!

 

[ShivaBlast]

Yeah, notably, I left Emerald off that list for just that reason. But that small-town feeling in the Lakelands makes Friday night football amazing. I mean, I know that I'm only talking about 2A football here, but the weekly wars that go on between Abbeville, 96, Saluda, and B-L... GREAT football.

 

[Eagleguy]

Abbeville is the only place that a football team takes the field to Rick the Nature boy Flares to be the man you have to beat the man with AC-DC as back ground music. What a great atmosphere. Greenwood fan but Abbeville is a bucket List must.

 

[tnorris4795]

Im going to put Anderson in here just look at the money they're dumping into facilities and coaches.