By John Devlin 8/7/2008

Ridge View enters the 2008 football season with a lot of questions, but that was the case a year ago and the Blazers did just fine, thank you. RV entered the Class 4A Division II state playoffs with a tepid 6-5 regular season record but advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated by title-bound Clover, 20-10.

So, Raymond Jennings is facing another rebuilding task with just nine returning starters in tow, and there is a pronounced lack of size up front. But don't jump to hasty conclusions. The Blazers have proven they can adapt and reload during Jennings' four years in command.

The new quarterback is junior Jalen Perry, who passed for 266 yards and three touchdowns behind departed starter Cheston Hickman. He has perhaps the prime target in the Midlands in returning senior receiver Greg Adams, who caught 69 passes for 1212 yards and 12 TDs last season. Senior Bucky Kennedy returns for his third season as the starting running back. Kennedy has 2297 rushing yards and seven scoring runs on the books. Junior Kenneth Dreher (5-10, 270) is the one proven veteran on the offensive line.

Ridge View will be relatively small, but very fast on defense. It's a unit that has  

 
By John Devlin 8/7/2008

Heathwood Hall enters a new football era in 2008 with the retirement of Midlands coaching fixture John Daye. But the Highlanders will not need to make a radical adjustment to the new head man. Rip Blackstone, a long-time assistant under Daye, is now the boss and his first HH team features 17 returning lettermen, 12 starters, off last season's 8-4 squad.

The plan is to close the gap on SCISA Region 1-3A powers Hammond and Augusta Christian this season in the wake of two consecutive third-place finishes behind the independent school heavyweights.

The big question is at quarterback where junior Mac Whalen is taking over for graduated brother, Brett. Mac Whalen has a chance to be a big-play man, just like his brother, but he may do it more with his legs than his right arm. Mac hit 18 of 28 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns when Brett was hurt last season, and he ran for 278 yards (6.5 average) and six scores. The rest of the time he was a receiver and finished with 28 catches for 459 yards and seven TDs.

Whalen has some proven receivers to work with, including veterans Davis Ray and Morgan Whalen. Ray caught 40  

 
By John Devlin 8/6/2008

A slew of injuries made life miserable for the Saluda Tigers last season. The one that hurt the most was a jamboree mishap that cost promising freshman quarterback Drey Mitchell most of the season. In the end, Saluda never was able to generate much offense and had a season-long lack of chemistry due to a revolving-door lineup. The result was a 2-8 overall record and a 0-5 report card in Region 3-2A.

Mitchell returns, as do a large number of underclassmen that gained unexpected varsity playing time, so hopes are high that things will be dramatically better in 2008. The injury plague was so bad a year ago and that 15 different returning players started at least one game on offense, and 13 did the same on defense.

The most tested men back on offense are wide receiver Cassius Bosket, and guard Keegan Miller. Bosket started all 10 games last year, while Miller, who moves over a pot after starting at center for the past two seasons, is hoping to avoid the injury bug this season. But the real key on offense is how well Miller does in his first full shot at running the spread offense.

The defense will form around junior lineman  

 
By John Devlin 8/6/2008

Ben Lippen is looking for a little stability, thank you very much. Reggie Shaw is the new head coach, and he is the third head coach of the Falcons in the last three years. The Falcons went 6-5 a year ago under Jake Sawyer, and made the SCISA Class 3A playoff cut.

Ben Lippen has a lot of holes to fill with the loss of 12 starters and 17 lettermen. The most pressing concerns are on offense where the key operatives in last season's explosive attack unit have graduated. Junior Joey Carter is tabbed to replace departed Kyle Williamson at quarterback. Senior Robert Keen hopes to stay healthy enough to give the Falcons decent production at running back. Mitch Deter is in line to be a big-play receiver. Nathan Parrish and Chris Mura will be the anchors up front, perhaps on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, the Falcons are looking to make a dramatic improvement, but that will require a lot of new hands stepping up big in a varsity setting. Veteran linebackers Mick Shoemaker and Gabe Smith will have to supply a lot of leadership.

Ben Lippen finished fourth in SCISA Region 1-3A a year ago, and the pecking order is not  

 
By John Devlin 8/7/2008

Spring Valley hopes to turn things around in 2008 after suffering through the first winless football season in school history a year ago under new coach Quay Farr. But a dramatic reversal might be asking too much. After all, the Vikings welcome just three returning starters back to the fold.

Some players to watch include wide receiver Jordan Giles (16 catches for 257 yards