JOHNSTON – The Fighting Rebels of Strom Thurmond return home Friday night for a showdown with Silver Bluff, who has become their biggest rival of the last few years.  

Last season is still fresh in the minds of Strom Thurmond players and fans.  

Thurmond led 21-3 with under 3:00 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter when a floodgate of penalties, turnovers and bad fortune opened on the Rebels.  Rebel standout linebacker Nick Clark was knocked out of the game on a blindside hit, an errant snap led to a Silver Bluff touchdown, the Dogs had a 90-plus yard touchdown drive aided by three 15 yard penalties and then freshman Darius Hammond fumbled inside the five yard line which would have put the game out of reach for the Rebels.   

“Believe me, that game from last season has been mentioned 10-12 times this week,” said Strom Thurmond head coach Lee Sawyer. “It’s eaten away at all of us; coaches and players. We know we had our chances last season but didn’t finish. Give Silver Bluff credit though, they fought hard and never quit.”

Thurmond and Silver Bluff, off to strong starts again this season, are favorites to make significant runs in their respective playoff divisions.  Thurmond is 4-0 and Silver Bluff is 3-1 after suffering their first loss last week to Midland Valley.  Both have played strong pre-region competition in preparation for region play, but no other game comes close to the magnitude of this one.  

Last season these two met with identical records.   

“We have to approach it as another week for our preparation, but it’s very exciting because we are playing Silver Bluff,” Sawyer said. “We always enjoy playing them and have a lot of respect for their program, players and coaches. Win or lose, for both schools, it’s a great test before going into region play.”

The Rebels haven’t played at home since beating Williston-Elko in the season opener back on August 19th.  Playing on the road hasn’t seemed to slow down the potent Rowdy Rebels as they’ve outscored their opponents 135-37 thus far.  

Thurmond secured its 399th win last week against South Aiken and will look to become a part of history this Friday night. Only 15 schools have 400 or more wins in South Carolina high school football history and the next victory will bolt Strom Thurmond into that honorary category.  

“I told my players, and they understand, that win 400 is just not about them,” Sawyer added. “We need to win game 400 for all the players and coaches that have been a part of Strom Thurmond football throughout the 51 years of our history.”

The task will not be easy with such a worthy opponent standing across the field.  

The Bulldogs have a rich tradition of their own and have long prided themselves in beating larger schools with twice as many players on the roster.  This season the Dogs only dress 26 varsity players, but they’ve battled and beaten two 4A schools in Aiken High and South Aiken.  Silver Bluffs defense will probably be the strongest Thurmond will face in the regular season.  They are only allowing 11 points per game after playing a very strong schedule to date.

Silver Bluffs offense has sputtered this season, but the defense has kept them in every game.  Historically, the Bluff is known for having strong defenses as they have only allowed 40+ points on three occasions and never 50 or more in their history.

“This is the best defense we’ve seen this year and probably will see all year,” Sawyer said. “They are searching some on offense right now, switching from the shotgun back to the wing, but they have a lot of scoring potential with Cordrea Tankersley. It will be a challenge for our defense and we don’t know what to expect. Our first team offense works against the first team defense (something we started after the two game skid last season) and I think that is a big help for us. But they will bring something totally different than what we’ve seen so far this season with Tankersley and a mixture of shotgun and Wing -T”

Former Rebel head Coaches Keith McAlister and Dusty Triplett will be on hand for this game.  

“That’s a lot of pressure knowing that Coach McAlister is going to be here watching over my shoulder. I told my boys, they better play hard knowing that Coach Mac is here to watch them and I best be on top of my game also.”  Lee Sawyer.  

McAlister and Sawyer have combined for 167 of the 399 wins, which is 42% of Thurmond’s all time wins.

March towards 400:  Strom Thurmond accrued its 399 win in school history last week over South Aiken.  Come out and support the Rebels as they march towards the prestigious 400th win during this momentous season.

Key’s to Victory:
“We have to win turnover battle. It was our downfall last year.  Against South Aiken we played good defense, but didn’t force any turnovers and that was disappointing. Limit their big plays; can’t play defense for three series and then let Tankersley have a big play. Offensively, we have to keep their defense off balance by mixing the throw and run. We have to account for Jimmy Holmes; he is probably the best football player we’ll play against and we can’t let him dominate the game.  When we have the ball, we must keep it up tempo and try to wear them down.” – Lee Sawyer  

By the Numbers:
Offensively:  ST 34 ppg  SB 8 ppg
Defensively: ST 9  ppg  SB 11 ppg

All time series:
Thurmond leads 7-6.

Last Game:
Thurmond 31 South Aiken 13
Midland Valley 13 Silver Bluff 0

Previous Meeting:
SB 24 ST 21

Players to Watch:

Silver Bluff
Condrea Tankersley (QB) Clemson commit is a dual threat and one of the fastest players in the area. 82-388 yards rushing, 15-36-236 yards passing.      
Jimmy Holmes (LB) 44 tackles
Shaquez Wright (WR) 7-124 yards
Rakeem McCorkle (LB) 47 tackles
Pedro Zambrano (K/P) avg 25 yards per punt.

Strom Thurmond
Raleigh Yeldell (QB) 24-42-417 yards 3 touchdowns passing, 38-358 yards 3 touchdowns rushing
Hykeem Brooks (DB) 2 interceptions
Darrius Hammond (RB). 47-364 yards 6 touchdowns rushing, 9-188 yards 3 touchdowns receiving
Marquez Mathis (WR) 9-179 yards receiving
Malcom Watkins (RB) 43-345 yards 5 touchdowns rushing
Jeremy Johnson (LB) 40 tackles
Nick Clark (LB) 33 tackles
Aaron Cook (LB) 28 tackles
James Bates 2 sacks
Cullen Rhoden (LB/P) 37 yards per punt
Trent Miller (K) 18-18 p.a.t’s, 3-4 field goals

Matchup:  Silver Bluff’s stingy defense trying to contain the offensive firepower of Strom Thurmond in a hostile and pumped home crowd with win 400 on the line.