By Thomas Grant Jr.
There’s a reason for optimism for Chapin High School football.
It’s a new season and the Eagle players have spent the summer under new head coach Corey Helms looking to put last year’s winless campaign behind them.
They get an opportunity to snap the 11-game losing streak this Friday at Lugoff-Elgin.
This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2021. The Eagles have won four straight games over the Demons dating back to 2009.
“They’re very hungry,” Helms said. “They have worked really hard. We are going to need to try and slow down some of their star power and play our brand of football.”
A “great” training camp and an opportunity to go out of state provided a confidence boost, according to Helms. Aside from a couple of injuries, Helms was encouraged by the team bonding.
Quarterback Tyler Black will get the starting nod. The Eagles will have Charlie Howell and Harper Ellerbee out of the backfield and expect Nyshawn Palmore to provide a deep field threat.
Lineman Clint Gentry leads the defensive front. Parker Collins will man the middle of the field at linebacker and defensive backs Charlie Todd and Zauren “Ziggy” Mack will provide leadership in the secondary.
Lugoff-Elgin returns senior Eric Richardson, who accounted for 14 touchdowns at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. On defense, head coach Jarvis Littlejohn returns three leading tacklers in defensive end Jace Coleman (117 tackles, 11 sacks), Tristan Young (105 tackles) and Logan Hinton (93 tackles).
Brink promoted to girls’ lacrosse HC
Chapin High School announced the promotion of girls’ lacrosse assistant coach Tim Brink to the head position.
He replaces Melissa Semkiw, who led the Lady Eagles to a 13-4 overall record, second place in Region 4-5A and the Class 5A Division II playoffs.
“I am excited to continue building on the tradition of Chapin girls’ lacrosse and to work alongside our players, families, coaches and community,” Brink said. “We will represent Chapin with pride and strive to become the best teammates, athletes and people we can be.”
A former Division I player at Hofstra University, Brink led the Chapin junior varsity girls’ lacrosse team to a 51-9-3 record. This included two undefeated seasons.
He was also on former head coach Raven Thomas’ staff when Chapin won the 2024 Class 5A title.
