Weather doesn’t dampen spirits at Clover’s Midnight Madness

A threat of inclement weather that included a few raindrops and a brief lightning delay failed to dampen the spirits of players, cheerleaders and fans attending the Clover High School football team’s annual “Midnight Madness.”

The much-anticipated event, which began at 12:01 a.m. July 31 at the Clover High lighted campus practice field, drew an enthusiastic throng of Blue Eagles supporters.

The football team entered the field with much fanfare, including a large gathering of cheerleaders and students.

There were fireworks and lively music permeating the scene through loud speakers in the school’s baseball press box.

Some of the adult Blue Eagles followers brought folding chairs to watch the proceedings from grassy areas behind the track. Others occupied bleachers on both sides of the field, while many of the students spent time walking around the track.

School Athletic Director Carroll Hester was all smiles while greeting many in attendance. “We have a great crowd tonight, considering the threatening weather,” he said.

Carroll has said on many occasions that the beginning of the fall sports season is a special time at Clover High.

“We are excited about the kickoff to the preseason and the number of fall sports participants,” he said.

Blue Eagles head football coach Chad Smith, who said he embraced his own Midnight Madness while serving as head coach at Easley, was pleased with the response to the event this year.

“The Clover community really comes out and supports us and last night was no different,” Smith said the following afternoon.

“It was a good time,” he said. “A lot of people stayed to the end, which was surprising.

“We began Midnight Madness at 12:01 a.m. and concluded the first official practice of the season at 2:45 a.m.”

Smith also praised the players for the manner in which they responded to the much-anticipated event. “Not only was it late, it was kind of humid, but the players pushed through,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to get in three hours of quality practice, but our players did a really good job of that last night,”

Blue Eagles senior Elijah Plummer, who contributes at defensive end and outside linebacker, is optimistic about the coming season.

“It’s good to start the preseason,” Plummer said during a break in the Midnight Madness activity. “I feel the defense is pretty good. We’ve been really aggressive off the ball. I don’t think opponents will find it easy running on us this season.”

Plummer said he feels positive about how things are going in the preseason. “The whole team is playing with confidence,” he said. “We’re really starting to read each other on how to get better.”

Plummer has assumed a leadership role for some of the less-experienced players. “I try to help them as much as I can,” he said.

Plummer said he likes what he sees on both sides of the ball.

“Last year, we had a hard time moving the ball some games,” he said. “This year, we’re good to go.”

Plummer said that it takes a special effort on the part of the players to reach the level of success the coaches strive for.

“If you can’t trust the guy next to you and you don’t have a bond with the others, you can’t play this game,” he said. “It’s not gonna work.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Weather doesn’t dampen spirits at Clover’s Midnight Madness."