Rodgers makes move from RS-M to Wardlaw

New Wardlaw Academy football coach Mark Rodgers reflects on his position during news conference. Rodgers spent the past 10 seasons at Ridge Spring-Monetta. Staff photo by By Cam Huffman.

Francis Hugh Wardlaw Academy head of school Stan Whitlock said he was looking at much more than Xs and Os when he started a search for a new football coach in December. That was after Chalmers Carr decided to give up the position. Whitlock said he was looking for somebody to teach his Patriots how to play the game of life and do things the right way.

"I found that guy in Coach Mark Rodgers," Whitlock said Wednesday as he introduced the former Ridge Spring-Monetta head coach as the new Wardlaw leader in front of a group of parents, supporters and players at the school.

A Ridge Spring-Monetta graduate, Rodgers started his coaching career at Ninety Six High School, after graduating from Lander University. He also spent a short stint at King Academy, one of Wardlaw's top rivals, before taking the job as defensive coordinator at Great Falls High School.

From there, Rodgers moved to Strom Thurmond High School, where he served as a defensive assistant, and he returned to his alma mater in 2002 as head coach of the Trojans.

The impact Rodgers had on the program was immediate. In 2004, RS-M got back to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, and the next year it won a playoff game. In 2006, the Trojans won the Class A, Division II Upper State championship, advancing to the state title game for the first time. They went back to the Upper State championship in 2007, falling short against Rodgers' old school, Great Falls.

Rodgers said the cycle of talent that impacts every Class A program caught up to his team the past few years. The Trojans were just 13-30 over the past four seasons, but he was still proud of what he accomplished in his 10 seasons at RS-M.

"The biggest thing is making an influence on people," he reflected. "We made it to a state championship, and we had two guys make North-South. We were in the playoffs eight out of 10 years, and that's what I was trying to get back to. Being from there and seeing the program grow was great. We've had (college) coaches coming through the doors. We had 19 players offered (an opportunity to play college football) in 10 years. That's something I was very pleased with."

That, along with Rodgers' deep ties to the Ridge Spring community - his father, Dale, was a longtime defensive coach at RS-M; his brother, Lang, served as one of his assistants at RS-M and his wife, Josie, was the cheerleading coach and a teacher in the RS-M system - made the decision to leave a difficult one.

"It was not an easy decision, by no means, but it was probably time for a change," said Rodgers. "It was very tough. I still have very close ties to Ridge Spring, but sometimes change is good.

"As a coach, you can stay somewhere too long. I've lost a lot of coaches over the years, and it's hard to get help. You can't do it by yourself. With budget cuts, the money wasn't there."

But the positives with Wardlaw, more than the negatives at RS-M, were the deciding factors in the decision to make the move. Rodgers said Whitlock impressed him by coming to his house to try to sell the Wardlaw program, instead of just picking up the phone, and his persistence eventually paid dividends.

"I liked the community when I was at Thurmond, and the principal was key," said Rodgers, who said he'd been in discussions with Whitlock for two months. "When Coach Carr retired, (Whitlock) came and talked to me. I threw some things out at him, and he met what I asked.

"I'm very pleased to be at Wardlaw. Football coaches aren't here just to teach football. I'm going to try to teach them life, and I'm excited for the new adventure. I can promise you I won't get outworked."

Wardlaw plays in the eight-man football division of the South Carolina Independent School Association and has won three state titles in the last four years. The task for Rodgers, who rebuilt a program at RS-M, will be maintaining that level of excellence, while adjusting to the eight-man game. He'll have to do it without seven seniors, who graduated after this season's undefeated run.

"We're the defending state champs, so the bull's-eye is on our back," said Rodgers. "We've got to be Floyd Mayweather and defend the title. That's what we're going to try to do. "I think you approach it with your hard hat on. Whether you're rebuilding or maintaining, you always have to keep working.

"I told my coaches, one thing is for sure. I'm not going to deviate too far from what I've done all my life. We're going to play fundamental football and we're going to try to out-tackle the other team. You have to be able to throw, but basically eight-man football boils down to inside run. That's what we're going to try to do."