The Ware Shoals Hornets enter the 2023 season with just three seniors on the roster. A team that is clearly building from within, the Hornets have lots of room to grow under first-year head coach Christopher Dodson.
Dodson, who was the long-time offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Chester, is in the process of bringing Ware Shoals football back to its glory days.
“I know what Ware Shoals football was 15-20 years ago,” said Dodson. “This community is yearning for that. These kids are yearning for that.”
When Dodson was appointed as head coach, he was very vocal about his “power spread” offense. Just a few short days before the season kicks off, his unique style is coming to fruition.
“The kids have really bought into spreading the field out and sitting in the open holes,” Dodson said. “The linemen have bought into our splits up front, getting on the ball, pressing the tempo, and getting to the block.”
Star running back Justice Lomax returns for his senior season. Last year, Lomax was phenomenal, just 47 yards shy of 1,000 total with 11 touchdowns on the ground. Lomax, who is super shifty and tough to tackle, will be the main focal point of the Hornets’ offense. Getting Lomax the ball in space will be crucial for the success of Ware Shoals in 2023.
The air-attack will be manned by sophomore QB, Jayden Johnson, who is learning the offense on the fly, but has a plentiful amount of speedy receivers on the perimeter. Jayce Medlin, Jasir Farhan, Jace Stewart, Tyrell Cunningham, Braden Medlin, and Brandon Rash will all see reps at WR this season.
Even with the bright future of the program, they had to deal with their fair share of turmoil during the offseason. In May, South Carolina High School League issued sanctions due to practice violations committed by the Hornets. The program was fined $1,000, lost five days of practice to begin the season, and could not participate in the 2023 postseason.
In June, the SCHSL reduced the penalty. They lifted the postseason ban, allowing the Hornets to compete in the playoffs, and the five day practice halt was changed to just three.
However, the SCHSL decision didn’t affect the mindset of the Ware Shoals program.
“The team really responded no different with it being lifted than when we found out about it,” Dodson stated. “When we found out about it, I met with all the kids and took ownership of what was done. I apologized to them and told them the biggest goal that we have set forth was to win more games than they had won last year and have a better single-season than they’ve had the past 10 years.”
2023 Prediction: The Hornets have a ceiling of 5-5 and a floor of 2-8. It will be nearly impossible for Ware Shoals to compete for a region title, having to battle the Greenville private schools (who recruit), but have their biggest games of the season versus Calhoun Falls, Dixie, and McCormick. Another postseason run for Ware Shoals will cap off a successful season under a first year head coach.