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S.A. coach staying positive about move to Class AAA
5/23/2008 12:53 AM   0 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend



By CAM HUFFMAN

Sports Editor

High school football in South Carolina will take on a decidedly different look when the teams take the field this fall, thanks to the realignment put forth by the South Carolina High School League.

Aiken High School and North Augusta High School will be competing for a region title with teams like Dutch Fork, Orangeburg-Wilkinson and Richland Northeast for the first time in the new eight-team Class AAAA Region V. Midland Valley will see new opponents like Dreher Class AAA Region V and Strom Thurmond will see a completely new set of region foes as it drops from Class AAA in to Class AA's Region III with teams like Saluda, Newberry and Batesburg-Leesville. Class AA Region V, where Silver Bluff's Bulldogs compete, will see the addition of Ridgeland and Pelion, while all of the area's Class A teams will be grouped into one region with Ridge Spring-Monetta, Fox Creek, Wagener-Salley and Williston-Elko all doing battle in Class A Region IV along with Blackville-Hilda, CA Johnson, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler and North.

Nowhere, though, will the realignment have as big an impact as at South Aiken High School, where the Thoroughbreds will be making the move from Class AAAA Region IV into Class AAA Region V.

A simple comparison of schedules tells the bulk of the story. Just three of the teams from South Aiken's 2007 slate found a place on the 2008 schedule in Aiken, North Augusta and Strom Thurmond. Gone are Class AAAA powers like Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Greenwood, South Pointe, Westside, Lexington and White Knoll. In their place are Class AAA teams foreign to many T-Bred supporters such as Dreher, Airport and Swansea.

"Our region is Dreher, Brookland-Cayce, Airport, Swansea and Midland Valley," said SAHS head coach Robert Wrightenberry. "I have never seen Dreher play a football game, so I have no idea. Brookland-Cayce, I have never seen them play a football game. Airport, I know the last two years they have gone deep in the playoffs. The last two years they haven't lost but three or four football games. They have been really successful, and everybody tells me they are going to be the team to beat.

"When I was the coach at Bamberg, we played Swansea every year, and they used to be tough, hard-nosed, physical kids that would hit you square in the mouth," he continued. "But the last time I saw them play was 1996. Midland Valley, we played them every year up until three or four years ago and we scrimmage them every year. Coach Knight does a great job, and they have physical kids. So region-wise I don't know anything about a lot of the schools."

The redesigned schedule, though, is not necessarily a negative. Making the move allowed South Aiken to schedule many more local teams, and the nonregion slate should include a number of contests that peak fans' interest.

"We are going to open up with Aiken, we have North Augusta second, we are going to play Silver Bluff third, we are going to play Strom Thurmond fourth and then Barnwell fifth," said Wrightenberry. "I am going to miss playing Rock Hill, I am going to miss playing South Pointe and I am going to miss playing Westside. But when you are talking about budgets and making money, unless you have a kid playing you are not going to drive three hours to watch a high school football game. So gate-wise, those nonregion games are going to help us a whole lot."

And with a move down one class, the T-Breds should dominate the competition and cruise to a state championship, right? According to Wrightenberry, it probably won't be quite that easy.

"When you are talking about single-A, double-A, triple-A and four-A, football is a game of blocking and tackling," explained the veteran coach. "The only difference between single-A and four-A is the number of kids on each team. People get hooked up on these classifications, but as an example Clemson University will probably start two kids that came from single-A football in (defensive end Ricky) Sapp and (defensive end) DeQuan Bowers (both products of single-A Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School). So I don't think it is going to be any easier.

"I don't care if it is AAA or AAAA. I want to play the best people we can possibly play. That nonregion schedule is as good as we have ever seen. I have always wanted to line up and play the best. That is the way it has been for 28 years, and it won't change now."

How will the realignment impact the Aiken-South Aiken rivalry on the gridiron? Find out in Sunday's Aiken Standard.





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