Published: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 11:36 PM

Stallions begin defense of Class AAAA Div. II crown

Bobby Carroll and his South Pointe football team didn't want to leave Memorial Stadium in Clemson last year after they beat Northwestern 35-14 in the Class AAAA Division II state championship game.

There were hundreds of hugs and pats on the back. The players were touching the medals hanging around their necks. All of them had to touch the trophy. Carroll was running around the field hugging anyone he could grab, kind of like the late Jim Valvano after he led N.C. State to the NCAA men's basketball national championship in 1983.

In just three years of varsity football, South Pointe had reached the top. The Stallions finished 15-0 and had reached every goal: A winning season, winning the region title, making the playoffs and winning the state championship.

It was a team made up of players that would have gone to Northwestern or Rock Hill if South Pointe hadn't been built.

“Before we opened, you were a Trojan or Bearcat,'' said Carroll, who spent 22 seasons as an assistant coach at Northwestern. “We have Stallions now, players who have been here since they were in the ninth grade.

“It doesn't matter what high school you go to. Rock Hill is a football town. Our teams will always be competitive. We have kids in this town who play hard and want to win and be a part of what's going on. I'm glad to be a part of it.''

The Stallions begin the defense of their title at 7:30 p.m. today at home against the Richland Northeast Cavaliers. It will be the first step for the Stallions to show they set a tradition their first three years.

Some people went as far as to say last year's South Pointe squad might have been one of the best team ever in the history of South Carolina football. Ten players signed scholarships, including Stephon Gilmore, DeVonte Holloman and Charles Holmes with South Carolina. Gilmore and Holloman are impact players in the Gamecocks' secondary. Holmes had some school work to take care of and is reportedly enrolling for the second semester.

Those first three seasons are full of fond memories for Carroll. He and his staff built a state champion from the ground up. But last year's seniors, who went 10-0 the first year on the 9th grade team, graduated last spring.

After the thrill had ratcheted down a few notches last year at Clemson, Carroll looked around and saw he had 15 of his 22 starters graduating. He lost a kicker, Graham Tuttle, who set the state record for most extra points in a season, 84.

The Stallions are 8-3. Losses to Charlotte's Independence and Clover came early in the non-region schedule. Last Friday, Rock Hill let a big lead slip away, but came back in the fourth quarter and beat the Stallions 34-29 in their battle for the Region 4-AAAA championship.

“In athletics and sports, you learn just as much about yourself, your team and your coaching philosophies when you lose a game,'' Carroll said. “This year, we lost two (games) early and had to go back and see what we did wrong and fix it.

“We came up short to Rock Hill, but coach (Joe) Montgomery has done a good job with his kids and they have a tremendous team. It's nice to win the city and region championships, but we didn't do either. We have to focus and remember how good it felt last year at Clemson to walk across the field and get the big trophy.''

Carroll had a luxury last year that only comes to the stronger teams. His was efficient at quickly scoring on offense, defense and special teams, the score was usually lopsided by halftime and Carroll could put in his backups.

The reserves got so much playing time that they were as close to returning starters as you could get.

“That situation was a tremendous plus,'' Carroll said. “With starters like we had last year, it gave us an opportunity to get the backups ready for this season. There is no such thing as travel football. We look for opportunities where we can get playing time for the kids we'll depend on in the future.

“We will probably dress 85 kids against Northeast. We want our young kids to get the experience of seeing what its like at the varsity level. We are trying to build a program and tradition. I think we're doing it.''

Since South Pointe opened, its ninth-grade team is 48-1 (the loss was to Dorman). This year's JV team was undefeated. So was Saluda Trail Middle School, South Pointe's major feeder school.

“I'm not a stats man,'' Carroll said. “The only numbers I care about are on the scoreboard. But when you consider what our young kids are doing, it looks good for our future.''