Today’s interviewee is Lou Bezjak, the high school sports coordinator for The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., and the Island Packet of Hilton Head, S.C. Bezjak had covered high school sports in South Carolina since 2002. Lou is a two-time South Carolina Sports Writer of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Three of South Carolina’s best teams are playing Saturday in the Cam Newton Classic at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta. The schedule features Gray Collegiate against South Atlanta at 2 p.m., Dutch Fork against Creekside at 5 and Fort Dorchester against Grayson at 8.
1. What do these games mean to high school football in South Carolina, and are you curious how they’ll play out? “I am very curious about all three games, and I think it is a good test for the three South Carolina teams. Dutch Fork has been asked to play in this event I think three different times, but this is the first time they will be able to because of COVID, etc. There always is a sense of pride of testing your team against out-of-state competition, and that will be the case this week. It is almost like a bowl game for these teams. You get to travel, stay in a hotel and prepare for a big-time matchup. Having Cam Newton associated with this is also a big deal.”
2. How do fans and teams and coaches view Georgia football? “That is a tough question. I think they do view Georgia football in high regard because of the amount of college and NFL players the state turns out each season. So that is why getting to play against top teams from Georgia is a big deal.”
3. Tell us about Dutch Fork. What would you tell people over here, who don’t know, about what they’ve done the past few years and how they’re viewed in your state? And is this a typical Dutch Fork team this year, or are there question marks? “Dutch Fork has been the standard in South Carolina for the past decade or so since Tom Knotts moved from North Carolina and took over the program. Knotts was part of a 100-plus game winning streak at Charlotte Independence. Knotts has won six state titles at Dutch Fork. They won five straight Class 5A championships and had a 61-game unbeaten streak snapped against Gaffney in last year’s state championship game.
“The schedule Dutch Fork put together is the toughest Knotts has had in his 11 seasons at the school. They already played two tough teams in Hough of North Carolina and Spartanburg. They get Creekside this week and nationally ranked St. Frances of Maryland in a few weeks. The schedule is partly because many South Carolina teams won’t play them and partly for Knotts to challenge his team. This might not be a typical Knotts offensive team that usually had some big names. They’ve got a great running back in James Madison commit Jarvis Green, who rushed for 306 yards last week. Their offensive line is very underrated. They have questions at quarterback, especially after starter Aliam Appler went out last week, so you might see a run-dominated style from them with a lot of Green and Landon Danley in the wildcat. The backup, Jonathan Hunt, moved down from Vermont this year and has some talent. Defensively, they do a great job of putting pressure on the quarterback and are aggressive.”
4. What’s the skinny on the other two teams – Fort Dorchester and Gray Collegiate? “Fort Dorchester has been a strong program as well with Steve LaPrad as coach. They won the state championship in 2015 but have lost to Dutch Fork I believe three times in the playoffs since then. They have a good quarterback in Zolten Osborne who can throw it and run it. It is going to be a tough task facing such a strong program as Grayson. Gray Collegiate is a charter school that plays in Class 2A and is coming off its first state championship last season after a deep playoff runs before that. They graduated a lot, including K.Z. Adams, who rushed for more than 3,000 yards last season and more than 8,000 in his career. He is a freshman at Georgia State. Gray has a strong offensive line and up-and-coming quarterback in Riley Staton. They are off to a tough 0-2 start against some tough competition and will have their hands full on Saturday.
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