Bears looking for new talent
Published on 5/15/2008
By R.G. Greene
rgreene@gtowntimes.com
There will be a different look for the Carvers Bay High football this fall.
A talented core of players who helped the Bears reach the Class A Division I state championship game in 2006 and '07 will have graduated and both offensive coordinator Craig Stone and defensive coordinator Tyrone Davis - now head coach at Georgetown High - will be gone as well.
With spring practice beginning earlier this week, coach Nate Thompson's plan is to introduce things gradually, giving returning players and new coordinators Binky Rankin (offense) and Quinton McCollum (defense) time to start making adjustments.
"We have some big holes to fill," Thompson said. "We're a younger team and with all the (offseason) changes we've had, we want to take things slowly."
Some things won't change, including philosophies that have made the Bears a perennial contender and led to a pair of state championships.
On both sides of the ball, they'll continue to go right at opponents.
As it had been in past years, that strategy was again effective last season as Carvers Bay won 11 of 14 games and finished as state runners up - Chesterfield scored a 13-6 win over the Bears to claim the state title.
Offensively, Carvers Bay averaged more than 30 points per game. Its defense set school records in both total points allowed (97) and scoring average (6.9 points per game).
But 18 seniors from that squad are set to graduate, including standouts like running back Johnathan Holmes (2, 129 yards rushing, 31 touchdowns) defensive lineman Dyrell Porcha (103 tackles, 12 sacks) and linebacker Carlos Britton (113 tackles).
The search for replacements is underway and new South Carolina High School League rules that govern the 10-day spring practice period should help with the decision-making process.
Approved last month, the regulations allow full-pad, full-contact workouts to be held the last seven days of spring practice - in prior years, full-contact, full-pad practices were not allowed during the spring.
"I don't know what kind of impact (the new rules) are going to have," Thompson said. "When we have the pads on, what we'll mainly be doing is teaching technique.
"You tend to use spring practice more for evaluation than anything else. You move people around, look at some different things and try to get ideas on what the best fits are for your team."
On 5/27/2008, said...· (Report Comment)
How About those Bears!!
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