Here’s why Clover football has every reason to be ‘hopeful’ in 2021
Before he dismissed everyone from practice one night last week, Clover head football coach Brian Lane called one of his players up to stand in front of the team.
The charade that then took place was simple and fun: At the end of each Clover practice this summer, Lane quizzes his players on their teammates’ names — and if the players fail, their unit (offense or defense) has to clean up the practice field and hear about their slip-up via playful coaching staff taunts all week.
Here’s the cool thing about this end-of-practice tradition: The fact that it is a challenge at all is a luxury.
Clover now holds 190 kids in its football program (including ninth grade). Increasing program size has been one of the ways in which Lane has helped Clover rise in prestige since taking over the Blue Eagle mantle in 2017. (In four years as coach, Lane has won as many games (22) as the program had won in the seven years before Lane took over — and that mark is even more impressive when you consider that last year’s season was effectively cut in half because of COVID-19.)
But it’s more than the program’s amount of participants that has Lane thinking Clover could make a splash in 2021.
Here’s a close look at the Clover football team ahead of the 2021 season, which begins Friday.
3 notes on Clover
The Blue Eagles have size. If the old aphorism is true — that football games are still won and lost at the line of scrimmage — then Clover is in good shape this year.
The offensive line is made up of a whole bunch of Clover leaders: There’s Hagan Smith (6-foot-6, 315 pounds) and Isaac Franklin (6-foot-4, 255). There’s newcomer and left tackle Jackson McMullen (6-foot-6, 240), who is “a basketball guy, but I had to get him because he has great feet,” Lane said. The O-Line even boasts the school’s student body president, El Dickey, who is poised for a good year, too.
These guys will be paving the way for a talented trio of running backs: sophomore Demarco Evans, junior Elijah Farmer and senior Kaevon Gardner.
The defensive line, led by junior Omari Davis (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and senior All-Region returner Brice Harris (6-foot-1, 210 pounds), is also expected to be a strength at Clover. It’s expected to be the highlight of the Blue Eagle defense, even — and that’s saying something, considering the talent the defense boasts, from junior linebacker Cooper Zohner (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) to senior defensive back Jy Martin (5-foot-11, 170).
“I feel like our defense as a whole is fast and strong, and that’s what you want them to be,” Lane said. “Even though they played during the COVID year, they got to play. I would say that is a strength for us this year.”
Clover believes in its returning quarterback. It’s not a secret that Lane — one of the most aggressive play-callers in S.C. — wants to throw the ball every down. It’s also not a secret that he thinks he has the quarterback to command that kind of offense.
Joe Boyd, who was tasked with filling the big shoes left behind by Class of 2019 slinger QB Gabe Carroll in 2020, is returning as the starter in 2021. The junior has grown this offseason — both physically (he’s 6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and in other ways: “Joe is a phenomenal leader, man,” Lane said, adding, “It doesn’t hurt that he can throw it 70 yards, either.”
Boyd will be charged with getting the ball to a few talented Clover senior wideouts, including Chance Sanders, All-Region returner Darius Bowser and others. (Bowser has already elicited offers to play college football from Army, Navy, Newberry and a few other schools.)
All this said, Clover’s talent will have to grow up fast. Why? Because the team’s schedule requires it. The Blue Eagles open their season against Dorman — always a 5A power — before playing archrival York and Spartanburg and the trinity of Rock Hill schools in non-region play. That should prepare them for a tough region slate, too, where they will likely be battling with Boiling Springs and Nation Ford for the region’s second and third spots to make the 2021 playoffs. (Gaffney, like last year, is returning a lot of experience and is expected to be the Region 3-5A champion again.)
“We’re hopeful,” Lane told The Herald in an interview last week, when asked about his team’s outlook in 2021. “There’s a lot of great competition out there. We just wanna be in the game in the fourth quarter.”
Clover at a glance
Head coach: Brian Lane. (Lane arrived at Clover High School in 2016. The veteran coach, who will be an assistant coach on Team South Carolina in the 2021 Shrine Bowl, has made an impact across the state: He was the first head coach at South Florence before spending six seasons at Woodruff High, where he won an Upper State Championship in 2011. He then spent the next three years at his alma mater, Byrnes High School, before coming to Clover and revolutionizing the program’s offense, which for decades had run an iteration of the run-first, run-only Wing T. His best year since coming to Clover was in 2019 — when the Blue Eagles put together an undefeated regular season (first time that’s ever happened), won a region championship (first one since 2006) and fell three heartbreaking points short of an Upper State title appearance.)
Last year: 2-3 (1-2 Region 3-5A). The Blue Eagles finished third in a stacked region, just missing the 2020 playoffs. (The playoff field was condensed last year — only two region teams were allowed in instead of three — because of COVID-19 concerns.)
Base defense: 3-4.
Offensive philosophy: Air Raid. Pass-first.
All-Region returners: Brice Harris (junior DL); Darius Bowser (junior WR/ATH).
Key departures: Chance Mackey (DB, All-Region 2020); Trey Brown (OL, All-Region 2020).
A special staff addition: Orlando Smith was brought on as the Blue Eagles’ head strength and conditioning coach in February. The former University of Cincinnati running back has over 20 years of experience working as a strength coach at several college programs, including ones in the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
Clover 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 at Dorman
Aug. 27 York
Sept. 3 Northwestern
Sept. 10 at South Pointe
Sept. 17 at Spartanburg
Sept. 24 Rock Hill
Oct. 1 BYE
Oct. 8 Fort Mill
Oct. 15 at Boiling Springs
Oct. 22 Gaffney
Oct. 29 at Nation Ford
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that Brian Lane would be the head coach of the 2021 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star game. He would be an assistant.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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