‘Pretty amazing, right?’ 3 Rock Hill youth football teams heading to SC championships
Lawrence Brown towers above his huddle, looking all the kids in their bulbous helmets and bulky shoulder pads in the eye.
It’s Monday evening at Hargett Park. The grass turned from luscious green to dead brown long ago, sometime in November. Practically everyone else in the state of South Carolina has moved on from football season — including the titans from South Pointe High School, who delivered the city of Rock Hill its 17th state championship since 1945 the week before.
But Brown isn’t done coaching.
His All-Star team of players, at 9 and 10 years old, aren’t done playing.
And that’s because Football City USA has one more mission.
Three youth All-Star football teams from Rock Hill are playing for state championships at Easley High School on Saturday. The Small Fry team (7- and 8-year-olds) will play at 11 a.m. The Pee Wee team (9- and 10-year olds) will play at 2:30 p.m. And the Gra-Y team (11- and 12-year-olds) will play at 6 p.m. These All-Star teams were selected about a month ago, and after weeks of practice and wins in the Upper State finals, they’re a game away from showing South Carolina what makes Rock Hill football special — again.
“Pretty amazing, right?” Jimmy Wallace said.
Wallace is a former state-championship-winning high school football coach in Rock Hill who helped deliver the city the reputation it has. In retirement, he’s spent his days doing what he can to ensure that the “greatest game God ever made” is sustained — from making football safer, to assisting local coaches with equipment needs, to growing community support and more.
And youth football? Well, that’s Wallace’s jam.
“It’s the foundation,” Wallace told The Herald on Monday night, watching the three practices at Hargett Park from the sideline. He added, “There are kids out there who want to play this game. The success in football, in this town over an extended period of time — I mean, it’s unreal. … Kids need it. They do. There are so many things beyond a scoreboard. People look at a scoreboard to evaluate a game. No. Be on time. Be here every day with the right attitude. Do what you’re asked to do. Contribute to what we’re doing — that’s all great.”
Brown couldn’t agree more.
Brown is the volunteer head coach of the Pee Wee All-Stars and has gone by “Coach Snoop” for the last 11 years on the gridiron. He’s “a football guy” from “a football family,” he said — a Rock Hill High grad and Shrine Bowl selection in 2003 before going to the University of South Carolina on an academic full scholarship.
He had no visions of ever being a coach. He had no idea he’d spend all of his free time mentoring young children and teaching them life lessons through football. But during the 2011 season, he was asked to do so, and now, he says, “I couldn’t imagine myself not doing it.”
“It’s amazing,” Brown said. He pointed to the coaches on the fields as he spoke: “All of us came up through these leagues, and I’ve been coaching for 10 years now. This is my 11th year. And it’s just amazing to come out and give back. And then when people see South Pointe win seven state championships, and Rock Hill with a few state championships and Northwestern with theirs — they’re like, ‘Man, Rock Hill Schools are so good.’
“And it’s like, ‘Yeah, this is where it starts.’”
‘Sky’s the limit’ for Rock Hill football
Brown, 34, had mentors across the field at that practice on Monday night. A stone’s throw away was Perry Sutton, the head coach of this year’s Gra-Y team.
“Every other high school wants what we have in Rock Hill,” Sutton said. “And it’s a strong program. You got an 8U team that’s probably one of the best 8U teams that I’ve ever seen. And I mean they’re just super. Our 10U team is second to none. Our 12U team, they’re not as strong as they’ve been, but they’re so tenacious that they’re playing for a state championship, so we’ve been blessed.”
Sutton, 58, is a Rock Hill High alum who spent decades in the Coast Guard before returning home and coaching his way into local legend. He has coached 15 of the 30-plus NFL players to grow up in Rock Hill, including current NFL vets like Stephon Gilmore and Jadeveon Clowney.
“The support we get from the high schools is (great) because they know that these are their kids,” he said. “All we’re doing is getting them ready for them. We’re teaching them basic football, getting them ready. And so when they get to high school, the sky’s the limit.”
A smile under Small Fry head coach Nat Baker’s mustache poked out when he heard that Sutton said his team is special this year.
Because he agreed.
“We’re really stacked this year, offense and defense,” Baker said.
The 57-year-old and Rock Hill native started coaching nine years ago, when his grandsons were 7 and 8. Like all the other coaches here, he hasn’t stopped since.
“We’re loaded on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We sorta hand-picked this whole team, and they’re unique. Disciplined. Attitudes are great. They’re just great kids all across the board.”
And these great kids have a chance to build on a great legacy this weekend.
Small Fry, Pee Wee, Gra-Y rosters
Small Fry (8U)
#1 Thailand Gayton, #2 Zaeden Howze, #3 Ikeden Stevenson, #4 Antoine West, #5 Chaz Patterson, #6 Luca Martinez, #7 Darius Erby, Jr., #8 Camden Daniels, #9 Azion Hart, #10 Allen Thompson, #11 Caleb Thomas, #12 Zy’mir Hinton, #13 Caiden Walls, #21 Kylin Hemphill, #25 Paycen Allen, #40 James Wolff, #44 Kayden Chisholm, #45 Clinton Foote, #70 Hudson White, #71 Devin Dixon, #72 Conner Carpenter, #74, Cash Summerlin, #75 Kayden Scruggs, #77 Braylen Baxter, #78 Braxton Jollie
Pee Wee (10U)
#1 Alfonzso (AJ) Peterson, #2 Clayton Durham, #3 Jeremiah Martin, #4 Jamon Jeter, #5 Darnell Davis, #6 Kiantre Neely, #7 Landon Williams, #8 Tyler Walmsley, #9 Jaquan Hoyles, #10 Jace Allen, #11 Jhace Johnson, #12 Carson Burgess, #13 Briggs Talbert, #21 Zay Hemphill, #24 Jayden Joseph, #44 Terrel Jackson, #45 Clint “CJ” Wallace, #70 Ayan Orr, #71 Branden Carter, #72 Braylon Gaither, #74 Devar Richmond, #75 Cassius Radford, #76 Parker Marshall, #77 Zach Price, #78 Entre EJ Irvin.
Gra-Y (12U)
#2 Corinthian Bowser, #3 Ja’darion Carter-Simpson, #4 Timothy Brannon, #5 Amos Patton Jr., #6 Herbert Knox III, #8 Jai’den White, #9 Bohde Rawdon, #11 Amaren Neely, #12 Calvin Rocheleau, #13 Jamir Stewart, #15 Dontavious Cousar, #19 Kylen Murray, #21 Zachary Grissom, #22 Aubrie “Jo” Schmidt, #25 Ja’Zarie Lindsay, #43 Mario Watson, #44 Jordan Hines, #70 Nyomiah Rose, #71 Zenian Charles, #72 Henry Martin, #73 Breontae Neely, #75 Braeden Myers, #76 Damien Navarre, #77 Marceis Cunningham Jr., #78 Wuestin Smith
2021 S.C. state championships
Where: Easley High School
When: Saturday
8U: 11 a.m.
10U: 2:30 p.m.
12U: 6 p.m.
Each Rock Hill All-Star team will take on Florence.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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