Blue Devil pride

The smoke from the grills rose up over the baseball field, which had been turned into tailgating central. The stands were full of blue-clad fans discussing touchdowns, defensive hits and a run to a state title. Former players told stories of their days on the gridiron, while young fans dreamed of one day wearing the uniform and running out on the green grass.

Still more than an hour before kickoff of last Friday's Class A Division II Upper State championship game between Williston-Elko High School and Ware Shoals High School, it was clear that "The Devils Den" at WEHS was the only place to be.

The buzz in the air on Friday wasn't unique to the title game. Football Friday nights at Williston-Elko have rivaled scenes from the movie "Friday Night Lights" all season long, as Blue Devils fans have shown a passion for their local gridiron stars. Now, just one win away from bringing home a state title, the Blue Devils are ready to award their fans for all of the support if they can knock off Scott's Branch in Friday afternoon's Class A Division II championship game.

"It's fun," said Williston-Elko head coach Dwayne Garrick. "This week will be fun, and it will be like a circus around here. It is fun for the kids, coaches and community, and that's why we play this game."

Garrick must feel as though he is living in a dream. When he took over for Parris Mason prior to the 2007 football season, Williston-Elko had some memorable history - having won state championships in 1979 and 1980 - but not much of it was recent. The Blue Devils were coming off a 3-8 campaign in 2006, the same record they had produced in both 2004 and 2005. To say that the atmosphere at a Williston-Elko football game was "a little different" at that time would be like saying that this year's team has "a little talent."

"It wasn't even close to the same," said Garrick.

Success, though, quickly brought the small Barnwell County communities of Williston and Elko together. Garrick's team sent a message that things were about to change with a 7-5 season in his first year, a slate that included exciting wins over Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, a Ridge Spring-Monetta team that was coming off a trip to the Class A Division II title game and a Blackville-Hilda squad that was considered the class of the region.

The team took another step in 2008, flirting with an undefeated season before losing 21-0 to Blackville-Hilda in the regular season finale. The crowds grew every Friday night, and the Blue Devils almost went all the way. A 14-6 loss to Scott's Branch in the championship game was one of only a couple bad memories that season.

This year, the team has been doing everything in its power to avoid a similar feeling. Three weeks into the playoffs, the Blue Devils (13-0) haven't experienced a loss, and they really haven't even come close. A 40-22 win over H-K-T on Oct. 2 was as close as they came to tasting defeat, and that one wasn't as tight as the score indicated.

"I've been doing this about 23 years, and there have been a lot of tough ones," said Garrick. "So it's always nice to not have that high stress. But it's always fun, and it's always going to be a test. We've played some good football teams this year, so I think that shows what type of program we have."

One of the side effects of all of the winning has been great support. Fans like to be associated with a winner, and supporters are coming from everywhere to back the Blue Devils.

"It's a great environment, and it does so much for these people," said Garrick. "They get a chance to give back to the program a little bit, and it builds a lot of excitement. It honestly makes a big difference in the way our school functions. Our kids have a lot of pride in their school, and when you are playing football almost until Christmas, it makes that

first semester go by pretty fast.

"Around town, we get a lot of people who support us," he continued. "The stands are always packed, and there is a lot of noise. There is trash talk on the message boards and stuff like that. Our fans have a lot of fun, and they will be expecting us to win a state championship, you can bet on that."

As they have all year, the Blue Devils intend to give those supporters exactly what they want.

"Our kids are a little more hungry this year than they were last year," said Garrick. "Last year, we were glad to be there. This year we have to do whatever it is going to take to win the football game.

"I think we have more weapons offensively, and I think we are playing better offensively. We will have an idea of what we are going to face, because we saw them last year. Hopefully we will have the edge by being a little more diverse on offense."

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