COLUMBIA — Saturday’s high school football state championships will feature a lot of fresh faces on the sidelines — and one very familiar one.
After 15 seasons at the helm of Wilson, coach Darryl Page and his Tigers are finally getting ready to play in the state championship game.
This is the Tigers first state championship game appearance since integration. Wilson also won the state title in 1953 and was state runner-up in 1957.
“It’s great, not only for myself personally, but for our program and our school,” Page said. “I’ve had a lot of guys who stayed in my corner and supported the program even after they went on, so this is for them, too.
“It’s kind of a family affair here.”
The Tigers’ opponent is another team that hasn’t been to the state finals in quite some time.
The Chester Cyclones are in their first state title game since 1963, and have only lost twice all season — once to a Class 4A team and once to Blythewood, last season’s Class 3A champions.
In Class 2A, the Cheraw Braves are back for their fourth go-round under coach Johnny White.
The Braves, winners of four straight lower state titles, are defending state champs, and are looking for their fourth title in school history. The others came in 1979, 1993 and 2006.
“Feels good to be back,” White said. “We’ve been fortunate to be here four years in a row now.
“We had kind of a slow start to the season and dropped a couple of early games, but we steadily improved as the season progressed and we’re playing pretty well right now.”
The Braves will also face their fourth different opponent in as many years, this time Chapman.
The Panthers are making their first ever trip to the state title game, and they did it by shocking a lot of teams along the way.
A region win against Woodruff gave Chapman a No. 1 seed, and they knocked off two more top seeds along the way.
In back-to-back weeks, Chapman handed both Abbeville and Columbia their only losses of the season.
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Title game dry spells end for Wilson, Chester
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Published: November 26, 2007
Published: November 26, 2007
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