Rock Hill High football is chasing ‘revenge’ in 2021. Why it might be within reach
“What was the problem?”
The question lingered in the months after the Rock Hill High School football team’s final snap in 2020 — the punctuation mark of the school’s first winless season in at least 16 years.
It echoed off the walls in the Bearcat weight room through the winter and spring. It confounded a veteran coaching staff all summer long.
And it still irks some of the team’s now-rising seniors, particularly because of how Rock Hill’s losses came: In five of the team’s six total contests, the Bearcats had the ball in the last four minutes with a chance to take the lead.
“Our kids,” head coach Bubba Pittman told The Herald last week, “they competed their tails off last year.”
At the football team’s picture day last week, though, there wasn’t much talk of last year. There was excitement about the team’s impressive showings in a few 7-on-7 camps this summer. There were mentions of “windshield-wiper mentalities” and other sports clichés that crop up in offseasons and stick around as long as they’re helpful.
But oddly enough — in an understated but palpable way — there was belief.
Spend enough time around this 2021 Bearcat team, and you might start believing, too.
“This is a revenge season,” senior leader Luke Bracey said. “We’ve been in every situation possible. We know what to do, and we’ll execute this time. So I believe we’ll be ready for it.”
Here’s an early look at how Rock Hill is chasing its revenge in 2021 — and why it appears it might be within its reach.
3 ROCK HILL HIGH STRENGTHS
1. Defensive line. It’s tough to talk much about Rock Hill’s aspirations without mentioning its defensive line. Two leaders in particular — Luke Bracey and Maurice Bonneau Jr. — stand out.
Bracey (6-foot-6, 220 pounds), a rising senior, “can rush the passer like nobody can,” Pittman said. The defensive end (and tight end) will be a third-year starter in 2021, hoping to build off a 2020 season where he notched 45 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks in six games. The big man, who moonlights as a basketball player, has received interest on the recruiting trail from a number of Power 5 football schools — including from App State, Coastal Carolina, Virginia Tech and others.
On the other side of the line, there’s Bonneau. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound defensive end (who will likely also play some outside linebacker this year) is considered the “heart and soul” of this Rock Hill team, per his coach and Bracey. Bonneau — after a junior season that saw three forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles, 42 tackles and six sacks — will start for a third-straight year in 2021, too.
Here’s Bonneau on what Bracey means to the team: “He’s definitely going to be a big part of this season, playing both sides of the ball,” Bonneau said. He then laughed: “I don’t want to put too much pressure, but the ball is in his hands. He’s the biggest person on offense, so he’s going to be a big target, but I believe in him. He’ll do well. I’ve seen what he’s done before, and he’ll do it again.”
And here’s Bracey on what Bonneau means to the team: “He does everything he’s asked to do and more all the time,” Bracey said. “He’s always been a great leader and has always led in the right way, in the weight room, in the classroom and on the field. So I would 100% say that ‘heart and soul’ is right.”
2. A returning QB. The Bearcats didn’t enter camp searching for a quarterback. They knew who their offensive leader would be.
Rising sophomore Matthew Wilson — who started a few games last season as a freshman, including the team’s season-opener — will be the starter in 2021. The 6-foot, 180-pound signal-caller is creative and athletic with a strong right arm. The game was understandably “really fast” for Wilson last year, but he’s improved nicely and worked on learning the system this summer to perhaps slow the game down and “show a little bit more what he can do as a quarterback,” Pittman said.
It’ll also help that Wilson will be surrounded by players poised for good years: He’ll be protected by a senior-laden offensive line, including returning contributors Garrett Pfirman, Jake Mozingo and Andrew Beuch (pronounced “bike”) to name a few. He’ll be getting the ball to senior receivers Bracey, Chase Gibson and Nathan Bruce and handing it off to a committee of running backs featuring Chandler Hayes (12) and Damion Fee (10).
And he’ll be assisted by a stout defense — headlined by its D-Line and a group of seniors in its secondary, including Isaac Gilmore and Buck Peay (who notched an offer from North Carolina A&T earlier this summer).
3. Connection. What’s the final piece that has emerged from this year’s summer, which may be the most important factor of all?
“This team’s connected,” Pittman said.
After a year of COVID disruptions and being separated (physically and figuratively), this program — which had 115 guys between its JV and varsity rosters, a total up from last year — has gelled this offseason, Pittman said.
It’s led to program accountability and leadership. And players think it could lead to tangible success, too.
“It’s the very little things that we’ve been working on all offseason,” Bracey said. “We’d be down by a touchdown, and be so close to winning, but we’d have a flag. We’d beat ourselves. The other team wouldn’t be us by themselves. We’d beat ourselves.
“So if we take care of ourselves, it’ll show in the end.”
ROCK HILL FOOTBALL AT A GLANCE
Head coach: Bubba Pittman (entering his eighth season)
Last year: 0-6 (0-4), missed playoffs
Competes in: Region 4-5A
Offensive philosophy: Balanced. (It’s an Air Raid scheme, but the team runs about as much as it throws. Pittman said he’s more focused on being able to “attack a defense in any part of the field” than on what his team’s pass-run ratio yields.)
Base defense: 4-3
All-Region returners: None. (Three All-Region players from last year’s team graduated, and each of them signed to play football in college: DL Ravion Cunningham signed to Union College in Kentucky, TE Robbie Ouzts headed to Alabama and WR Cam Walker went to North Greenville.)
2021 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Check The Herald’s website for a comprehensive look at all the football schedules for high schools in York, Chester and Lancaster counties.
Aug. 20 Greenville
Aug. 27 at South Pointe
Sept. 3 Gaffney
Sept. 10 at Indian Land
Sept. 17 York
Sept. 24 at Clover
Oct. 1 at Spring Valley
Oct. 8 BYE
Oct. 15 Blythewood
Oct. 22 at Ridge View
Oct. 29 Northwestern
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 8:52 AM.
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