Stampede coming

Stallions poised to make run for title

By Barry Byers - Barry Byers

When South Pointe opened four years ago, getting players to and from football practice was described by coach Bobby Carroll as a huge job.

Carroll joked that he was looking for assistant coaches and anyone interested in applying was required to have a pickup truck.

The high school was Rock Hill's third, and the doors swung open to greet freshmen and sophomores that first year. The Stallions started with junior varsity and 9th-grade teams that season.

There weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot during preseason conditioning and practice because not that many of the players were old enough to drive.

Carroll and his coaches picked up players. Some begged rides. Some rode bikes. Others walked. But they came and South Pointe has been on an upward journey since.

"This is the year we've been working for,'' Carroll said.

South Pointe is a candidate to win this year's Class AAAA Division II state championship and the Stallions are showing up in national preseason rankings.

"We basically have the same group of kids we started with," Carroll said, "so they know each other well and have grown as a team.

"We've come a long way since our first year because of the kids and their work habits, and the good assistant coaches on our staff. It was tough when we first started, but it's all been worth it.''

This year's senior class went 9-0 on the 9th-grade team and the talk started. This group, many said, was destined for good things by the time they were seniors.

The Stallions played varsity football their second year, moving into Region 3-AAAA with numbers that fit those of a small Class AAA or big Class AA school. It was a tough 3-8 season. But Carroll and his coaches accomplished their goal for the team to take its lumps while getting experience for the future.

"This is the year we've been waiting for,'' said senior Jibrille Fewell, a 6-foot-1, 270-pound defensive lineman. "Most of us have played together since youth ball, some at Finley Road, some at Oakdale and some at Sylvia Circle before we got to Saluda Trail Middle School.

"We were all stars in youth football and played in two straight state championships. We lost the first year we went, but we beat Dillon the next year. I have pictures of the teams at home. There are at least 20 guys in them that are here at South Pointe.''

Last year as juniors, the group went 9-4 overall, 4-2 in the region. The Stallions made the playoffs for the first time, losing to Berkeley in the second round, and moved into Class AAAA's top 10 in two polls.

South Pointe became the talk of the state and college coaches by the boatloads began stopping by the school to check out the buzz.

They knew all about quarterback Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina's No. 1 player in several preseason polls.

Gilmore broke some hearts recently by announcing his final five (in alphabetical order): Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, South Carolina and Tennessee. He cut out LSU, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State, but could still change his mind.

Carroll said the college coaches didn't want to see video of Gilmore, saying they knew enough about him. They wanted to check on other players -- wide receiver Charles Holmes, a recent USC commitment, running back Devin Wherry, defensive end Kaytron Peoples, defensive back Pat Burris, linebacker Pete Roseboro, center Sam Mallard and tight end Ryan Heitkamp.

Devonte Holloman, a senior defensive back who transferred from Charlotte's Independence, has been added to the list. Holloman was the No. 1 player in North Carolina and has committed to Clemson.

Fewell has offers from Presbyterian and South Carolina State and is waiting for a call from Marshall. He said thank God for Stephon, that because of him a lot of Stallions are drawing interest. Heitkamp, a 6-6, 225-pounder agreed and hopes offers will start coming his way.

After catching six passes in the loss to Berkeley last season, the coaches told Heitkamp he would become a bigger part of the offense this season.

"They saw what I can do and put in more tight end passes this year,'' Heitkamp said. "We moved here from Fort Mill before my freshman year and I could tell right away this team was something special, that I was part of a good situation.

"It was exciting back then, just like now. We were the first football team at the school that started off as freshmen. The hype is there. Our job is to live up to it on game day.''

Carroll said most of his players don't know the Stallions are ranked among the country's best.

"What does it mean anyway since the people ranking the teams have never seen us play?" he said. "The only number that counts is No. 1, and that's where all teams want to be at the end of the season.''

• NOTE: Carroll said there has been some confusion regarding South Pointe's schedule. The South Pointe at Northwestern game was left off when schedules were sent to the S.C. High School League.

The information supplied to The Herald and recently printed said it would be played Oct. 3 at District Three Stadium. It will be played Oct. 2, a Thursday night game, because Rock Hill is home the following night against York.

Aug. 29 J.L. MANN, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 5 at Fairfield Central, 8 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Clover, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 19 FORT MILL, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 26 at York, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 2 at Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Lancaster, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 RIDGE VIEW, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 BLYTHEWOOD, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 31 SPRING VALLEY, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 ROCK HILL, 7:30 p.m.

*Home games in bold and capped.