The Boiling Springs volleyball team continued their hot start to the 2021 season as they defeated Woodruff 2-0 (25-10, 25-10) and Wade Hampton 2-0 (25-14, 25-16) on Tuesday night in front of their home crowd to push their record to 5-0 on the season.
"I felt like we controlled the momentum in both games for the most part and our goal has been to keep getting better which I believe we did tonight," said Bulldogs head coach Allison Elliot. "I was impressed by Woodruff coming over here today to play two 5A teams and believe they'll be a good team in their division. With playing Wade Hampton last week I knew they'd bring a lot of good competition for us again as well. I feel like we were a lot more consistent tonight than we were last week and look forward to continuing that the rest of this week and into our tournament this weekend in Charleston." Boiling Springs got their first victory on Tuesday night defeating Woodruff and got it started in the first set when Charlotte Hutchins spiked the ball to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead. Ansley Hammett followed that up with a four point service run that saw two kills apiece by both Hutchins and Karson Browning to extend their lead to 6-1 over the Generals. After a kill by Savannah Page to put the Bulldogs up 15-6, Bulldogs player Cloe Wood went on a six point service run including two ace serves to extend the Boiling Springs lead to 21-6 over Wade Hampton. Boiling Springs captured the win in set one 25-10 on a kill by Morgan Hammett that fell in the middle of the Wolverines defense. The Bulldogs Emily Pocre put Boiling Springs up 3-0 to start the second set after getting a kill on the first point while following it up with two straight service points. With Boiling Springs up 9-6 the Bulldogs Sydney Henderson went on a six point service run that included an ace serve along with kills from Cloe Wood, Logan Kenny, and Savannah Page to put the Bulldogs ahead 15-6 over the Wolverines. Morgan Hammett mad the Bulldogs lead 18-7 on back-to-back ace serves before senior Savannah Page went on a five point service run to end the set with a 25-10 Boiling Springs victory and a 2-0 victory in the match. Boiling Springs was led in the match against Woodruff by Cloe Wood who recorded ten kills, six digs, and two aces while Gracie Kilgore added eleven digs, three aces, and four assists. Karson Browning also added six kills for the Bulldogs in the match. During the match the Bulldogs along with during the match against Hillcrest Boiling Springs was able to get playing time for a lot of younger players which Elliot says will be good for her team as the season goes along. "We've talked about wanting to get our younger players reps in games at times when it doesn't change the momentum or the outcome of the game which really good teams can do," said Elliot. "I know from doing this long enough that at some point we're going to need those younger players in key situations and we'll need them to keep us going. We actually kept eighteen players this year because we have seven seniors this year so getting a chance to play these younger players varsity experience is good for them and their confidence." Just like in the match against Woodruff the Bulldogs got off to a good start in the first set of game two against Wade Hampton when Boiling Springs' Macy Bagwell picked up a kill to put the Bulldogs ahead 1-0 early. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 6-2 over the Generals with two big kills from Cloe Wood before soon putting the lead at 10-4. Bagwell made the Bulldogs lead 16-8 on a kill before Ansley Hammett went on three point service run to give Boiling Springs a 19-8 lead. With the Bulldogs ahead 23-14 Savannah Page picked up a kill before Cloe Wood picked up an ace serve for the last two points to give Boiling Springs a 25-14 victory in set one. In set two the Bulldogs fell behind for the first time all night trailing as much as 9-4 to the Generals in the second set. After regaining the serve and trailing 9-5, the Bulldogs senior Logan Kenny went on a seven point service run to give the Bulldogs a 12-9 lead. During the run the Bulldogs got three kills from Savannah Page along with kills from Cloe Wood and Karson Browning. The Bulldogs didn't trail again on Tuesday night as Page and her teammates took control of the net including two ace serves from Page while she also picked up the final two kills for the Bulldogs giving Boiling Springs a 25-16 win in the set and a 2-0 victory in the match. Page led the Bulldogs in the second match with seven kills, two blocks, ten assists, and two ace serves. Elliot said the contributions by Page on the court are not just her numbers but her leadership on the court. "The team feeds off Savannah and has played for us for many years which means she has been in a lot of the situations we'll see," said Elliot. "If the team sees her calm and relaxed then they tend to stay that way as well. She's almost like another coach on the court, as she's an encourager and if someone seems a little loss she can guide them while also taking guidance from her teammates when needed. She has a great rapport with her teammates which is great to see as a coach." Boiling Springs also got key contributions in the second match from Karson Browning who had five kills and two blocks while Cloe Wood added seven digs, five kills, two ace serves, and one block. The Bulldogs will return to the court on Thursday when they travel to Byrnes in another non-region contest against a familiar foe before traveling to Charleston this weekend for a tournament at Porter Gaud. The Boiling Springs relay teams stepped up big late at the Oconee Invitational on Saturday grabbing victories in both 400y relay events to secure the Bulldogs second place finish at the event on Saturday afternoon.
Boiling Springs finished second out of thirteen teams in both the men's and women's standings as well as second in the combined results. "We had a great outing at the Oconee Invitational on Saturday as our men's, women's, and combined teams all finished second place overall," said Bulldogs head coach Lanie Peden. "I am so proud of the kids and the way they stepped it up." With the chance to secure their second place spot at the meet both relay teams knew they had to win their events and the women's 400y relay team (Laney Moore, Reagan Shaw, Camryn Duncan, and Morgan Greenlee) was the first up. With the meet on the line the relay team swam in a time of 4:06.87 finishing over five seconds ahead of second place. As their teammates won the 400y women's relay, the men's 400y relay team (Will Humphreys, Cameron Duggins, Garrett Watson, and Ashton Threadgill) used the momentum from that victory to go out and capture a victory of their own by winning the men's 400y relay in a time of 3:31.39 finishing over twenty-two seconds ahead of second place. "When we were going into the 400y relay events we knew we needed to win both events to secure second place and both teams did just that," said Peden. "The women's relay team swam their hearts out and had a stellar performance. I think the momentum and adrenaline from that win gave our men's team just what they needed to grab the win in their race as well." The Bulldogs picked up the second place finish after just one day of rest, as they also competed on Thursday at Clover, which Peden said made her even proud of her team on how they rebounded. "After a late night region trip to Clover on Thursday night our kids only had one day to recover and get ready for the invitational," said Peden. "All of our kids are continuing to swim best times and I can't complain about that. When we go into swim meets we know that we are at a disadvantage because we have a smaller team so every swim counts for us." The Bulldogs also got wins on the men's side in the 100y breaststroke by Ashton Threadgill, the 200y and 500y freestyle by Will Humphreys, the 100y butterfly by Garrett Watson, and a team win in the 200y medley relay. Boiling Springs will continue their journey on the road when they travel to Fort Mill on Tuesday to compete against Fort Mill, Gaffney, South Pointe, and the Governor's School. On Saturday morning the Boiling Springs softball team held their first ever youth softball camp held for ages 8-12 at the Bulldogs softball complex that included fielding and hitting instruction along with pitching and catching instruction as well.
"We sent the word out to the youth organizations, because we have a great youth organization in this area, that we wanted to introduce the girls to our program," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "We wanted to introduce them to how we do things here with Boiling Springs softball while also getting to work on some fundamentals." The instructors for the Bulldogs consisted of current coaches, players, and former players that have played at the college level. Piazza said that they want to get the kids introduced to the culture at Boiling Springs and let them get to know the current players so they'll have players to look up to as they move closer to getting their own chance at playing for the team. "One reason we had a lot of our current players here is because we wanted these younger girls to see that's where they will be in a few years," said Piazza. "We wanted to give them people to look up to and hopefully inspire the kids to come out to our games once the season starts. It's about building up our culture from a younger age." As part of building that culture the Bulldogs wanted to give the younger kids a chance to play on the field that they hope to be competing on when they get older along with giving them a "This is like the big stage for them because it's where the big girls play," said Piazza. "These girls on our team are the ones they want to become and some of these girls are eight years old and in eight more years will be the ones competing on this field for the high school team." Piazza says that this camp isn't just a one year thing as they want to make it a yearly event that will build the culture with Bulldogs softball program for the years to come. "I absolutely think this will be a yearly event," said Piazza. "It gives us a chance to get to know the players coming up in the community a little more and just build those relationships. We want all these players to keep coming back and to just build this camp into a yearly event for the players. Next year we hope to be able to add even more age groups and just keep building the softball culture in the Boiling Springs community." Boiling Springs was unable to overcome a twenty point run over the last five minutes of the first quarter as they fell to the Dorman Cavaliers 33-0 on Friday night to open the 2021 football season for the Bulldogs.
"We played a real physical game and I'm proud of our team's effort," said Bulldogs head coach Rick Tate. "They hit us and we didn't back down. With the way our offseason has been this was almost like our jamboree because it's our first real game action. As coaches we just want to make sure the kids see the overall picture and not just what's happening now. We're going to have to work hard to get to where we want to be and we've just got to keep fighting." The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and were able to get a first down on their first drive of the season before being forced to punt on the next set of downs after a penalty and a sack. Dorman took over at the eight minute mark and were able to end a thirty-seven yard drive with a score when Hudson Talley found Tyson Rodgers on an outcut at the left side of the endzone for a touchdown to give the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead at the 5:24 mark of the first quarter. After a three and out by the Bulldogs the Cavaliers took back over with just over three minutes to go before extending their lead just twenty seconds later as Talley found Rodgers again on the right side of the field before Rodgers crossed back over to the left side of the field and stopped fifty-one yards later with a diving leap into the endzone for a 13-0 lead in favor of the Cavaliers. On the next Bulldogs drive Dorman's Mitchell Beaty intercepted a Boiling Springs pass at the forty yard line on the second play of the drive. The Cavaliers followed that up with a thirty-five yard rush from quarterback Chamarryus Bomar before he then found AJ Nash for a five yard touchdown pass to put the Cavaliers ahead 20-0 when the first quarter came to an end. Over the final three quarters of the game the Bulldogs defense held the Cavaliers offense to only thirteen points but were unable to find the find the endzone themselves on offense. "We'd get a few things going at time but we just had things that happen in first games kind of ended some drives," said Tate. "Missing out on those opportunities in preseason hurt us some tonight but I don't want to harp on that because it happened to other teams as well. We just couldn't put enough good plays together in a row but we showed some good signs." On defense the Bulldogs were led in tackles by JoJo Barrett and Jaylon Jones who both recorded eight tackles each along with a big game from Brent Fowler who had seven tackles, a sack, and an interception. Boiling Springs was led in rushing by Kam Williams who ran for forty-nine yards along with twenty-eight yards receiving. The Bulldogs will return to action next Friday night when they host rival Chapman who fell to Byrnes 37-27 on Friday night. In front of an electric crowd led by cheers from the student body on Tuesday night the Boiling Springs volleyball team opened their 2021 season with back-to-back victories over Chapman (2-0) and Wade Hampton (2-1).
"It's an exciting way to start the season especially because we won," said Bulldogs head coach Allyson Elliot. "I'm proud of our team. During a timeout when we were down to Wade Hampton I told the girls we just had to get back to basics and told them if it was going to work out in our favor it would work out." The final set of the night saw the Bulldogs facing off against Wade Hampton with both teams having won a set, Boiling Springs winning set one 25-12 and Wade Hampton winning set two 25-16, in an exciting set that saw the Bulldogs battle back to claim the match. Boiling Springs fell behind 7-1 to start the set but slowly worked their way back narrowing the Wade Hampton lead to 19-15 on a kill by the Bulldogs Cloe Wood. The Generals were able to make their lead 23-17 but a kill by Savannah Page put the fate of the Bulldogs back in their own hands as they reclaimed the serve. With the Bulldogs trailing by four points, Boiling Springs saw another senior step up when Logan Kenny went on a seven point service run that not only allowed them to tie the Generals but take the 25-23 victory in the set and capture the match 2-1 as an excited student body celebrated with the team after the final point was scored. "Logan stepped in big when we needed it tonight," said Elliot. "We talked to all the girls and told them that at some point they're all going to get an opportunity to step up and help us out at some point and tonight it was Logan's turn. She's a solid kid and served well tonight but her defense really came up big on the backline." Elliot said it was great having an energetic crowd at the game to start the season especially with the energy they were getting from the student section. "It was nice having that hometown crowd tonight," said Elliot. "We're certainly trying to change the vibe at the school with getting more kids back to the games after people stayed away a lot last year with Covid. I'm excited we had all the students here tonight as they really helped us push through in some tough spots tonight and I hope they'll keep coming out for some more good volleyball." Savannah Page had a solid night against Wade Hampton as she had eight kills, thirteen assists, ten digs, two blocks, and two aces. Macy Bagwell also had a solid night as well with eight kills and three blocks while Gracie Kilgore added eighteen digs and an ace serve. One standout play on the night came against Wade Hampton in the second set when the Bulldogs Ansley Hammett hit a shot facing away from the net on the Bulldogs backline that dropped just inside the net on the Wade Hampton side for a point. In the first match of the night against Chapman the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set behind a service run from senior Savannah Page. With the Bulldogs up 8-3, Grace Shepherd went on a four point service run of her own to extend the Boiling Springs lead to 12-3 over Chapman before Page went on another three point service run to give the Bulldogs an 18-8 lead and the Panthers were unable to get any closer than nine points the rest of the set. Gracie Kilgore and Shepherd picked up the last two kills of the set for the Bulldogs as they captured the first set 25-13 over Chapman, as every time the Panthers tried to get closer the Bulldogs came up with a big kill or block from their frontline. In the second set Chapman jumped out to a 7-4 lead but a nice 3-0 service run by the Bulldogs Charlotte Hutchins tied the set at 7-7. After back and forth points saw the two teams tied at 9-9, Grace Shepherd went on a nine point service run that put the Boiling Springs lead at 17-9 and was soon followed by a five point service run from Cloe Wood that gave the Bulldogs a 23-10 lead on their way to a 25-14 point victory in the second set. "Chapman is always good competition for us because a lot of these kids know each other," said Elliot. "A lot of the kids play club volleyball with each other and being able to pick up a win against a fellow Spartanburg County school is always big for our kids." Savannah Page ended the first match with seven kills, six assists, and three aces while Cloe Wood added five kills, two aces, and two blocks. They also got a strong match from Karson Browning who had four blocks and three kills. Boiling Springs will return to action on Thursday night when they host Spartanburg in an out of region matchup. On Saturday afternoon the Boiling Springs girls tennis team accomplished a feat that has alluded them the past three years when they captured the 2021 Highway 221 Season Opener tennis tournament at Dorman High School.
Boiling Springs coach Jill Cooke said being able to bring the championship back to Boiling Springs again is a great feeling. "It feels amazing to have that trophy back in our hands and going back in our trophy case," said Cooke. "Our girls have worked hard all summer long and their hard work has paid off." The Bulldogs secured the championship by defeating Dorman 4-2 in the final match of the day after defeating Woodruff 5-1 and Southside Christian 4-2 earlier in the day. Coach Cooke said she couldn't measure how proud she was of her team's effort to win the championship. "It's unmeasurable how proud I am of this team," said Cooke. "They were tired and hot but they dug deep to win that championship. We lost a lot of players a few years ago but this team has stayed together and worked hard to get back to this point." Cooke said winning the championship on Saturday gives herself and her team a lot of confidence as they head into the regular season. "It gives me great confidence going into the season," said Cooke. "I'm very confident that we're going to have a great season. I know we're going to have some tough matches this season but to be able to beat Dorman for the championship is a pretty significant victory. It just boosts our whole team confidence because they know they accomplished something significant. They know if we can win that there's not any other games we can't win if we play our best." Boiling Springs will kick off their 2021 regular season in a home match against fellow district school Chesnee on August 31st. Young Bulldogs Look To Compete In 2021 SeasonLast season the Boiling Springs football team graduated over thirty senior players that the team will be looking to replace this season but they believe they have the talent to be a competitive group especially after getting a full offseason this year. ”Having such a young group can be both exciting and scary,” said Boiling Springs head coach Rick Tate. “We’ve had big senior classes before but probably not one with as many starters as we did last year. That’s the hard part because we don’t have a lot of kids coming back with that experience on Friday nights. It’s exciting seeing these young kids running around though and hopefully the ones that have looked impressive this summer will carry that over to the fall when the lights come on for Friday night football. We’re going to be patient with these kids and it’s going to be fun seeing them grow and seeing who this team becomes this season.” Heading into the 2021 season there are many new changes for the Bulldogs and the first major change is that the team was able to have a normal offseason unlike last year when the team, like all others around the country, had to comply to stricter Covid-19 policies. The chance to get back to some normalcy was big for Coach Tate and his team. ”This time last year we were worried about dividing kids into groups of nine or fifteen,” said Tate. “Now you can get back to some normalcy by shaking people’s hands or putting your arm around a kid. It’s nice to get back to some kind of normalcy and we hope that it stays that way where we can have a normal football season.” While the Bulldogs graduated a lot of seniors from last year’s team and will be seeing a lot of new faces on the field there will also be two new faces leading the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Curtis Nash takes over as offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs and George Pierson will take over as the defensive coordinator. Nash takes over after spending last season as the Bulldogs quarterbacks coach and Pierson joins the Bulldogs after spending last season with Eastside High School. Coach Tate is very excited about what each coordinator is going to bring to the Bulldogs program. ”Both those guys bring a lot of knowledge,” said Tate. “I knew last year I might be needing a new offensive coordinator eventually so I moved Coach Nash to that side of the ball and he has been a part of a lot of good offenses as both a player and a coach. Coach Pierson has been at a lot of places and ran great defenses at all of them. We knew with our personnel we’d probably be switching back to a 3-4 defense and that’s his specialty. I feel real confident about having both those guys leading each side of the ball.” On the offensive side of the ball the Bulldogs will be looking to replace two year starting quarterback Jalen Dodd along with their starting running back duo of Cam Mills and Charles McFadden in the offensive backfield. At the running back position the Bulldogs feel like they have a very deep group of players that includes a junior and three sophomores that will be led by Cam Williams and Calvin Jackson. ”We feel really good about our running backs as we got four quality guys and that doesn’t even include our rising ninth grader,” said Tate. “Our oldest guy will be a junior and they’re just a real physical group of guys and we feel like we may be deeper at running back than we have ever been. We don’t have anyone with the experience of Cam Mills but we think we got a group that can be special and at the end of the day being successful at football is being able to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense.” The Bulldogs have a battle at the quarterback position, one that Tate says is very close and probably won’t be decided until they see them under the pressure of real game action, but the two front runners currently for the job are Kairon Hines and Jacob James. ”The quarterback job is still up for grabs as all of them have shined well at different times,” said Tate. “We won’t know who will be our quarterback until we see them in live action and see who is the one that leads our football team. They’re all hungry and each one feels like they have a shot of leading the team.” At the wide receiver position the Bulldogs will be returning an experienced group that should help whoever takes over at quarterback. The wide receiver group will be led by Jaiquez Thompson, Keondre Keenon, and Zach Watson as the position is one that the Bulldogs think will be able to help their young group on offense. ”We have guys like Jaiquez and Keondre coming back,” said Tate. “We also have Zach Watson whose had a phenomenal offseason and turned himself into a very good football player. He may be the heart and soul of our football team with the way that he works. We feel like we got a really good group there at wide receiver.” On the offensive line the Bulldogs saw a lot of players graduate as well and Coach Tate believes that while they may be a smaller group on the line than fans have been used to seeing, that they will be a quicker bunch which should help the team with their goals of running the ball. ”We’re a little thinner on the line than we’re used to as we tend to make up our differences from tackle to tackle,” said Tate. “While we may be thinner they’re a more athletic group and we’re actually ahead with our feet placement.” On the defensive side of the ball the Bulldogs will be replacing a group that saw four players sign or walk on with Division I programs including both their starting safeties from the last three seasons. The defensive side of the ball will be the youngest side of the ball for the team but the Bulldogs will be counting on a senior group of Malik Harper, Brent Fowler, and Mon’tavias Perry-Dillard to lead that side of the ball. Tate said that while Harper played defensive end last season they are working to move him around the defense to see where he helps the team best this season. ”Malik will be our leader on defense but we’re not exactly sure where that will be yet,” said Tate. “You could see him at multiple positions whether it’s at inside or outside linebacker or even back at defensive end. We’ve spent a lot of time this summer finding out where he can be the most dangerous to the opposing team and hopefully by kickoff we’ll have pinpointed exactly where that is going to be.” Harper said that while the defense will be a younger group that the expectations are still the same for the defensive group as they were last year. ”We always have high expectations,” said Bulldogs defender Malik Harper. “We expect greatness on both sides of the ball at Boiling Springs and with Brent and I being the leaders we expect effort along with getting to the ball every snap.” Fowler echoed the sentiments of Harper saying that their expectations haven’t changed. ”Like Malik said the expectations are really high,” said Bulldogs linebacker and H-back Brent Fowler. “Everybody is going to be hungry and everyday in practice it’s always eleven helmets going to the football.” The most experienced group for the Bulldogs will be on the special teams unit where they return kicker Kaillou Touch who was a weapon for the Bulldogs offense last season. ”If you’re not consistent in the kicking game it’s going to cost you, so to have someone like Kaillou is a huge plus,” said Tate. “Knowing you have someone like that you can trust, especially from forty yards in, takes some pressure off your offense because you know that as long as you get to a certain point you have a shot at three points.” Coach Tate said that for the first time this season he has named his captains before the season starts with Fowler, Harper, and Zach Watson all getting the honor and as a group they said it’s their job to get the young team ready for the experience of playing on Friday nights. ”We have to teach them what to expect when you play on Friday night,” said Fowler. “Wednesday night and Thursday night games in middle school and junior varsity is completely different than the experience on Friday nights.” Watson said that the change in atmosphere to Friday night football is a hard transition and he said that he only just got a taste of it last season with the smaller crowds because of Covid-19. ”It’s going to definitely be hard because I know it was hard for me not completely understanding what the atmosphere was going to be like,” said Watson. “With Covid I got a little different view of it but this year it should be bigger with full crowds and it’s hard to show them that atmosphere until you’re there. If we practice hard and execute like we’re supposed to, along with listening to our coaches, and as the captains leading them in the right direction I feel like we will be good.” Coach Tate said that the opportunity to get to play in scrimmages and jamborees for his young team will be vital to their success as it’s the only way for them to gain the experience while it’s also better for the depth of the team. ”It’s big every year to get in the scrimmages and jamborees but for this team this year it’s vital,” said Tate. “We can’t afford to miss the opportunity at competition and we can take care of our players better by scrimmaging other teams than we can scrimmaging each other.” The 2021 season will also mark the ninth season with Coach Tate leading the Bulldogs program where he has secured his place as the second winningest coach in the history of the program just twenty-five wins behind the legendary Tom McIntyre, who has 77 wins. Tate said that being a life long Boiling Springs guy it’s a honor to just be the coach of the Bulldogs program and his only regret was never being able to play for the man that sits just ahead of him on the wins list. ”It has been a honor to just be the coach at Boiling Springs,” said Tate. “When I first started coaching as a volunteer coach it was just a honor that Coach Andy Jones even gave me the opportunity to put the title coach in front of my name. To be able to play here, grow up here, coach here, and finish my career here that’s a honor in itself. My only regret, with all that I’ve gotten to do at Boiling Springs, was not getting the opportunity to play for Coach McIntyre because I hear stories about how great of a man and coach that he was and I wish I could of had that opportunity.” Boiling Springs will kick off the 2021 season when they travel to Dorman on August 27th before a big home matchup the next week on September 3rd against long time rival Chapman. Bulldogs Celebrating 25th Anniversary Of 1996 TeamWhen the new season rolls around for the Boiling Springs football team it will mark the 25th anniversary of one of the most successful teams in school history, the 1996 Bulldogs, a team that set many firsts in the program and were close to setting many more. The 1996 team finished their season with an 8-5 record becoming the winningest Boiling Springs football team since the 1965 team, who finished the year with a 9-2 record, and were also the first Boiling Springs team to defeat Byrnes since the two teams started playing each other in 1972, with a 28-12 victory. They also were the first team to host a playoff game at Boiling Springs while also picking up the first playoff win since 1986 by defeating Walterboro 42-40. Boiling Springs was led by head coach Mac Bryan, who is now the head coach at Avery County High School in North Carolina, and a large senior class that wanted to prove themselves. "I tell kids now that athletic ability is great but that team unity is still the difference maker," said current Bulldogs head coach Rick Tate, who was a defensive assistant on the 1996 team. "That 1996 team was one of the first I was part of that just had a special unity about them. They were a big senior class that had grown up playing little league ball with one another and even after our playoff loss that year you could see that unity amongst the team." Tate added that Coach Bryan was a perfect coach for that team with his ability to relate to his players. "Mac Bryan for me was a perfect coach for that team and a coach that I learned a lot from," said Tate. "One thing I never got to thank him for, but I'll take the opportunity now, was that he taught me how to try and treat players. He was a great players coach that done a great job of relating with both players and coaches." James Davis, the current defensive coordinator at Chesnee High School, was a starter on the 1996 team and said that the closeness of that group was a closeness that they were basically family. "The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of that team is brotherhood and family," said Davis. "We all started playing football together in middle school and that's where we first all came together under Coach Carroll Green. It only continued as we got older because we'd have clinics and football camps under Coach Bryan but we'd have to spend a lot of time at the school in the offseason where we would just bond as a team." With the success of that team there was also a lot of support that came from the community and Davis said that the atmosphere in the community helped in the success of that team. "We were the first team to play over at Gibbs Stadium and I remember seeing that stadium packed, it's probably the biggest high school game atmosphere I've ever been a part of," said Davis. "I can also remember we used to have these tunnels of kids giving us high fives and handshakes on the way to the field and it was big because we didn't want to let the kids down because we all remembered being one of those kids ourselves." With all of the success of that team there were two games that season that Davis says the 1996 team will still discuss when they get together for team reunions. A close loss to Spartanburg, in the first ever game at Gibbs Stadium, and the final game of the year a 28-26 playoff loss at Darlington, which some in the Boiling Springs community still question because of a punt return for a touchdown by Darlington that was believed to be a fair catch. "People forget that while we were playing against Darlington the number one seed Laurens was losing which was opening up that whole side of the bracket," said Tate. Many players off that team have went on to success in many areas including quarterback Phil Petty, who became the first quarterback at the University of South Carolina to win back-to-back bowl games, and others who have gone into coaching like Davis and Shelby (NC) head football coach Michael Wilbanks, who was an offensive lineman on that team. Tate and Davis both believe that the success of that football team has helped lay the foundation for teams that have come along since them. "We had some success under Coach Stubbs prior to that team but I think the 1996 team was the first one to get us over the hump of believing we could start winning in the playoffs and not just getting there," said Tate. "I believe our team had a lot to do with the future success because a lot of what those coaches instilled in me I passed on to those kids," said Davis, who was a defensive assistant on the 2016 Boiling Springs Upper State championship team. "They knew about our team and knew the foundation we set. The 2016 team reminded me a lot of our team because they were always together and while they may have fussed and fought, like family does, when it came time to play the game they were ready to go." The 1996 Bulldogs team is still the fourth winning team is school history behind the 1967 team (9 wins), the 2011 team (10 wins), and the 2016 team (13 wins). Bulldogs Playing College FootballAfter a year of confusion due to the pandemic on when or if teams would be playing their season, the 2021 football season brings back a little bit of normalcy at least for the college football landscape. So that you can keep up with the location of former Bulldogs we've included the below list with their known colleges so that you can follow their progress throughout the upcoming season. Najee Thompson – Georgia Southern Chris Evans – Coastal Carolina Dre Pinckney - Coastal Carolina Will Brown – Clemson Grayson Atkins – North Carolina Storm Duck – North Carolina Michael Bollinger – Liberty Caden Sullivan - Appalachian St Chad Gardner – Wofford Donovan Anderson – Wofford Wyatt Bartkowiak - Wofford KJ Rodgers – Walsh University Jalen Dodd – Carson Newman Kylick Lynch – Carson Newman Cameron Mills – Carson Newman Ethan Rennels - Campbell Justin Corbitt – North Greenville Joseph Gregory – Limestone Caden Peeler – Limestone Shamar Wilson – Limestone Tanner Robbins – Limestone Carter Sloand - Limestone Ethan Ray – Charleston Southern Patrick Smith – Charleston Southern Trayson Fowler – Charleston Southern Marquise Graves – Ramah Academy *If anyone has been missed please e-mail me at [email protected] and let me know the player and the school they are attending Bulldogs Moving To Digital Ticketing In New SeasonA new change that the Boiling Springs community will see this year is the change from paper ticketing at events to digital ticketing for all sports. The new change is for two reasons: one reason is to keep up with the modern trends of ticketing while the other extends from dealing with Covid to keep contact between people at games to a minimum.
“We’ve decided to go to a digital platform with tickets for multiple reasons,” said Boiling Springs athletic director Evan Moxie. “One reason is because it’s what everyone else seems to be doing and we want to stay up to date with other places. The second reason is for Covid reasons as we don’t just want to cut down on hand-to-hand transmission but it also cuts down on lines and the number of people needed for each game to handle tickets.” While the process will be new to people in the community it should make it an easier process for them overall as they will have plenty time to purchase tickets in advance and will even be able to purchase tickets through the end of the event. They’re will also be options for people to purchase individual game tickets or purchase an All-Season pass that will allow fans access to all sporting events. “To purchase a ticket it’s a pretty simple process as you will go online and select an individual ticket or All-Season pass,” said Moxie. “When you go to purchase your option you’ll just have to put it your name, email, and a phone number before it takes it to you a page to purchase your selection. The reason it asks for email and phone number is because the email is where your ticket will be sent to, while the phone number will be used, if you opt in for notifications, to send you texts to notify you if the game has to be postponed or moved for some reason.” With the online purchasing there will be a small service fee which is why Moxie suggests that Bulldogs fans purchase the All-Season pass because it will only be a one-time fee for a whole season of athletics. “There will be a small service fee as there is with any online purchases which is why I suggest all Bulldogs fans buy the All-Season pass,” said Moxie. “It’s a one-time service fee and you’re then able to get into any game. You can take a picture of it and constantly have it on your phone or if you have a grandparent you can print it out and laminate it for them so they’ll have it at all times.” Moxie also suggests that Bulldogs students buy All-Season passes because they have lowered the cost of that this season for students so that more students will be able to attend more athletic events. “Our student passes, which is any student with a Spartanburg District Two email address, the cost is only $50 for a student All-Season pass,” said Moxie. “It’s cheaper than it has been in years past and that’s because we really want to drive our students to the games. If I’m a parent of a student I’m buying them one of those passes.” Single game tickets for football will be the same price ($7) plus the service fee while other events like volleyball will be $5 plus the service fee. An All-Season pass for the normal fan will be $135 which will also give you access to the Bulldog Nation sponsorship club which fans can find out more information about on the athletics website. There will also be reserved ticket and parking options available but fans that buy the All-Sports pass will have the first option to these especially on Friday night. Moxie also adds that if fans decide to attend an event at the last minute there won’t be a cutoff on ticket sales until the event is over. “There are no cutoffs as those tickets will be available to the end of the event,” said Moxie. “So if someone is sitting at home on Friday night and decides at the last minute they want to go see the game they can just go to the webpage, buy a ticket, scan it, and then walk right into the game.” One thing Moxie wanted to make sure everyone knew is that they will still be accepting district issued passes at the gate as well. The Boiling Springs swim team opened the 2021 season with a 173-148 overall victory over Woodmont behind a strong performance from their girl's team on Wednesday afternoon and sets them up for some key region meets coming up next week.
"It's always great to come out of the first meet with a combined team victory," said Bulldogs head coach Lanie Peden. "This first meet is always is always a good indicator of things that we need to work on. We have some tough region competition coming up next week and have a lot of work to do to get ready." The Boiling Springs girls team defeated Woodmont 98-69 in impressive fashion as their relay teams were key in that victory. "It was awesome to see some ladies step up and fill some big spots in our relays," said Peden. "The ladies were able to put some good times on the board and came out with a women's team victory." The girl's 200y relay team (Camryn Duncan, Laney Moore, Morgan Greenlee, and Reagan Shaw) won the event with a time of 2:06.91 and two seconds of the second place team. They also picked up a second victory in the 400y freestyle event with a time of 4:16.30. Laney Moore got her third victory in the 200y freestyle with a time of 2:14.29 finishing sixteen seconds ahead of her next closest opponent. She captured her fourth victory of the meet in the 100y breaststroke with a time of 1:18.63 finishing seven seconds ahead of second place. Morgan Greenlee picked up her third victory in 200y individual medley with a time of 2:26.35 finishing just over a second ahead of second place. She also picked up her fourth victory of the afternoon in the 500y freestyle with a time of 5:52.23. Camryn Duncan picked up her second victory of the afternoon in the 100y butterfly with a time of 1:14.21 finishing over six seconds ahead of the second place finisher. The Boiling Springs boys team fell just short of Woodmont 79-75 but had three different swimmers all make the automatic state cuts on Wednesday night. "We had three swimmers the automatic state cuts on the men's team," said Peden. "Will Humphreys in the 200y individual medley and 100y backstroke, Ashton Threadgill in the 100y breaststroke, and Garrett Watson in the 200y freestyle. These guys have worked extremely hard all year." Garrett Watson won the 200y freestyle in a time of 1:53.68 finishing twenty-three seconds ahead of the second place finisher. He also came away with an individual victory in the 500y freestyle with a fast time of 5:09.03. Ashton Threadgill won the 100y breaststroke with a time of 1:03.86, eighteen seconds ahead of second place, while also coming away with a victory in the 100y butterfly with a time of 57.24. Will Humphreys won the 200y individual medley with a time of 2:04.58 and the 100y backstroke with a time of 56.49, over five seconds ahead of second place. The Bulldogs boys relay team (Will Humphreys, Ashton Threadgill, Cameron Duggins, and Garrett Watson) also had a good meet as they won the 200y medley relay with a time of 1:46.23. The 400y freestyle relay (Humphreys, Threadgill, Watson, and Miles Humphreys) also came away with a victory with a time of 3:31.58. Boiling Springs will next compete on August 26th when they travel to the Clover YMCA in a meet against both Clover and Nation Ford. On Wednesday afternoon the Boiling Springs girl's golf team kicked off their 2021 season in a match against Byrnes at River Falls Golf Club as Bulldogs junior golfer Madison Dixon earned the tournament medalist honors with a score of 35 over nine holes.
"It feels good to start off the season like this," said Dixon. "I really amped up my confidence today and I'm excited to get this season going and seeing where it goes. Being able to get medalist honors feels really good because it feels like all my work this summer has paid off and it's showing." Dixon finished the match seven shots ahead of the next closest player on Wednesday night as she finished her last three holes going birdie, birdie, par after bogeying the first hole of the match. Dixon said having a good day on Wednesday gives her a lot of confidence heading into the eighteen hole Lady Rebel Invitational at River Falls next Thursday. "My round here today gives me a lot of confidence knowing I play really well here," said Dixon. "I'm just ready to get it going next week." In the match play the Bulldogs fell to the Rebels 192-172 as Byrnes had four different players shoot 44 or lower on Wednesday afternoon. Boiling Springs will return to action on Monday at the Lady Bengal Invitational at Columbia Country Club before returning to River Falls on Thursday for the Lady Rebel Invitational. Boiling Springs VolleyballThe Boiling Springs volleyball team has had a very competitive summer and are looking to build on that success heading into the 2021 season. "It was awesome having summer volleyball and the camp experience where we had over fifty-six kids involved in our summer workout program," said Boiling Springs head coach Allyson Elliot. "The girls are hungry for success. This team is working to win region and get into playoff position as they expect to win. The enthusiasm of this team is contagious." The Bulldogs finished last season 6-8 overall and just outside of the playoffs as only two teams were taken out of each region but the 2021 season will see each region take their normal four teams this year. Boiling Springs will return four starters from last year's team and will be led by a group of seven seniors. All-Region player Savannah Page and fellow senior Logan Kelly will look to lead the Bulldogs offense while they have been very impressed by the energy on the defensive side of the ball from both Cloe Wood and Gracie Kilgore. Elliot also expects to get strong senior leadership from seniors Amelia Gregg, Ansley Hammett, Sydney Henderson and Taylor Crosby. "It's great to have seven seniors who are all talented, hard workers, and committed to the program," said Elliot. The Bulldogs are also looking to get key contributions from sophomores Karson Browning and Grace Shepherd who have made major impacts this summer for the team. In region play the Bulldogs will be returning to Region III-5A where they will play in a very competitive volleyball region that includes Nation Ford, Fort Mill, Clover, and Gaffney. "The region is very balanced in talent," said Elliot. "We will work to stay healthy and keep growing through the season. This team's goal is to win this region and make the playoffs." Outside of region play the Bulldogs will travel to tournaments at Porter Gaud in Charleston, Hillcrest, and Eastside while also playing against local teams Byrnes, Spartanburg, Spartanburg Christian Academy, Landrum, Woodruff, Chapman, and Wade Hampton. "We're looking forward to the tournaments at Porter Gaud, Hillcrest, and Eastside along with our JV team hosting an end of the season tournament with many of the top teams on October 16th," said Elliot. "We're also playing a lot of local teams that always make for great volleyball. One of those games is a home game against rival Byrnes on October 13th, which is the date planned for our yearly Pink Game." The Bulldogs will have a very experienced group of assistant coaches with them again this season as they return Haley Nussman and Rachel Hyatt as coaches from last season while adding coaches Kendall Davis and Anna Kelly, a former Bulldogs player. "This staff is an awesome group," said Elliot. "Our girls are so fortunate to have a group with this type of talent and expertise." Boiling Springs will kick off their season on August 24th at home in a tri-match against Wade Hampton and Chapman. Boiling Springs Girls GolfThe Boiling Springs girls golf team is looking to the 2021 season with a lot of promise to continue their high level of success this year while also working on building to keep that success going into the future. Boiling Springs finished last season, their first in the new Region III-5A, winning a region championship while finishing third at the 5A Upper State along with closing out the season with a sixth place finish at the state championship. The Bulldogs will be returning two All-Region performers from last year’s team as they bring back both Madison Dixon and Sarah Wentz to help lead a young Bulldogs team. With the graduation of a lot of players the Bulldogs team will be leaning on a lot of newcomers as Bulldogs head coach Macy Tate said the team had a good turnout of new golfers interested in being a part of the team this season. ”We return a few of our starters from last year, including two All-Region players, and are excited to have some young golfers join our team,” said Tate. “We’ve got a fun schedule for this season and are looking forward to competing with other teams around the state.” The Bulldogs will kick off their season with a match play against Byrnes at River Falls on August 18th before playing in their first tournament on August 23rd in the Lady Bengal Tournament at Columbia Country Club. Boiling Springs Girls TennisThe Boiling Springs girls tennis team is looking to build on their momentum from last season, where they fell just one spot short of the playoffs last season because of a change in the playoff format. They will look to return to the 5A playoffs coming out of a very tough region for tennis. "We are super excited about this team," said Bulldogs head tennis coach Jill Cooke. "We will definitely be very competitive in a tough region." The Bulldogs come into the 2021 season with a lot of confidence as they return six starters from last year's team. Madison Ball, an All-Region and All-State player, will return to the number one singles position for the Bulldogs this season. Ball will be joined by fellow All-Region selection Sydney Braswell along with Emily Krechko, Anna Lynn Faile, Kaden Price, and Victoria Leonard to round all six starters from last year. Along with having six returners from last year's team the Bulldogs will have four seniors to help lead the team this year as Ball, Braswell, and Krechko will be joined by fellow senior Lydia Sparks. "We have a great group of seniors," said Cooke. "Madison Ball, Sydney Braswell, Emily Krechko, and Lydia Sparks are seasoned and ready to lead us to a great season." The Bulldogs will kick off their season on August 31st in a home match against fellow district school Chesnee. Boiling Springs Swim TeamThe Boiling Springs swim team is heading into the 2021 season looking to keep building the program and will be leaning on some upperclassmen this year to lead the young Bulldogs team. "I'm looking to continue to build the swimming program at Boiling Springs," said Bulldogs head coach Lanie Peden. "We are significantly small compared to most teams in our region, so building the program has been a priority and this season we're excited to be bringing in eight new athletes to the sport who have never competed at the high school level." Last season both the boy's and girl's teams finished with 5-4 records during the regular season and saw fourteen swimmers qualify and compete at the state championship meet. Overall the swim team will be returning seventeen starters from last year's team with All-Region selections Will Humphreys, Garrett Watson, Ashton Threadgill, and Morgan Greenlee along with Camryn Duncan and Laney Moore leading the way for the Bulldogs. "I will be leaning on a couple of my juniors and seniors to help mentor these guys," said Peden. "On the men's team Will Humphreys is expected to lead the team and on the ladies side I am expecting big things from Morgan Greenlee." On such a young team the Bulldogs are looking forward to see what kind of contributions they can get from the new athletes which will consist of a group led by Jacob Mitchell, Zain Nanoua, Aaron Sprouse, Diya Channa, Bevin Hardy, Anne Hauser, Kylie McGinnis, and Ava Rookstool. Peden said that one major focus will be replacing her women's A relay team where she graduated most of the team but thinks the group she has now is up for the challenge. "The majority of my women's A relays graduated last year," said Peden. "I will be looking to field a very young but a very hard working group of swimmers that I am confident are up for the challenge." The 2021 Boiling Springs swim team will kick off their season on August 18th in a home meet against Woodmont that will be held at Middle Tyger River. Boiling Springs Cross Country |
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