Football at top of best high school stories of 2011

On the first day of 2012, here's a look back at the top 10 high school sports stories of 2011:

1. Gridiron glory

It was the biggest year for high school football in the Lowcountry in some time. Need proof?

When Goose Creek (Division II-AAAA), Timberland (Division I-AA) and Bishop England (Division II-AA) won state titles in December, it marked the first time that three Lowcountry teams from the High School League won state titles since 1955. That's 56 years.

To put it in perspective, Summerville coach John McKissick was only 29 years old. The teams that won state titles that year included McKissick's Summerville team, St. John's and St. Andrews.

2. 700 club

When the basketball season began, only two boys coaches in state history had 700 career victories: John Smith at Great Falls and Taft Watson at Terrell's Bay.

But on Dec. 16, Burke's Earl Brown joined the exclusive fraternity when his team beat Lincoln. Two weeks later, Pinewood's Pat Eidson reached the mark when his team beat Manning on Dec. 30.

3. Bishops best

Bishop England always seems to be winning state championships. But two titles in 2011 stand out.

The boys soccer team won its 15th state title, which tied Irmo for the most in state history.

The Bishops' volleyball team won a state record 12th title in a row. The Bishops have 22 state titles in volleyball, which gives them a share of the national record with Burris High School of Muncie, Ind.

The football state title gave the school 100 state titles overall.

4. Man for fall season

An athlete is considered outstanding if he or she wins one individual state championship. Porter-Gaud's Brent Demarest won two -- both in the fall season. He is believed to be the first athlete in state history to accomplish that feat.

In September, he won SCISA state swimming titles in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle. He won the state cross country title with a time of 15:45, the fastest time by a tri-country runner at the state-meet level since at least 2000. And he's only a sophomore.

5. Triplet threat

What are the odds? Triplets Cody, Tanner and Scott Cope play football for Colleton Prep. The odds of having triplets is about 1 in 8,000. The odds of having triplets who are boys is about 1 in 30,000.

The odds of what happened in a game against Charleston Collegiate are almost infinitesimal. All three of the Copes intercepted passes and returned them for touchdowns. According to coach Neil Minton, and a Google search, there is only one other set of triplets who each intercepted a pass in the same game. That happened in Tennessee in 2009. But the triplets in that game didn't score touchdowns.

6. Cashion's kick

Charleston County School of the Arts student Caroline Cashion has a 4.1 GPA and plays violin in the school's orchestra. In high school football circles, she'll forever be known as the girl who beat Summerville.

Cashion turned 16 on Sept. 30 and celebrated in a big way. The sophomore kicker for West Ashley High booted a 20-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half to provide the winning margin in the Wildcats' 10-7 victory over Summerville. It marked the first time a girl provided the winning points in a Class AAAA football game in the Lowcountry.

7. Fired, rehired

On July 19, Earl Brown was reinstated as the boys basketball coach at Burke High School just six days after being relieved of his duties. Many people were outraged by Brown's dismissal and State Sen. Robert Ford was a main force in the push to have the school district reinstate Brown.

Brown's return marked a week of twists and turns. The school's athletic director, Carlton Rice, told Brown on July 13 that he was being replaced. Four days later, the district admitted that it was having second thoughts on the decision to dismiss Brown, who has been at Burke since 1982.

8. Malori's magnificent

Malori Myers, a senior pitcher for the Summerville softball team, concluded her six-year varsity career with 125 victories, the most in state history, according to Palmetto's Finest.

Myers won 12 games as a seventh-grader in 2006, and then won 20 games or more for five straight seasons. She was 24-5 as a senior with an 0.87 ERA and 196 strikeouts. She finished her career with a 125-39 record and an 0.91 ERA. She struck out 883.

9. Eric the great

In February, Summerville's Eric Hansen became only the second Class AAAA wrestler to win four state titles. Hansen joined Robby Bell of Hillcrest as the only wrestlers to win four Class AAAA state titles.

Hansen won his first state championship at 103 pounds, and won at 112 as a sophomore. He claimed the 125-pound title the past two years. He went 37-2 this year to improve his career record to 154-11.

10. Brown is golden

Chris Brown of Hanahan was named the Gatorade track and field performer of the year for good reason. Brown won the Class AA state championship in the triple jump with a national best 51 feet, 2 1/2 inches. He also won the state title with a leap of 23-9, which ranked as the nation's 25th-best effort. He also was a member of the gold-medal winning 4x100-meter relay team and placed second in the 200 meters.

Follow Phil Bowman on Twitter: @pandcphil. Reach him at pbowman@postandcourier.com or at 937-5592.

Source: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2012/jan/01/football-at-top-of-best-high-school-stories-of/

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