For the first time since 2011, the Brookland Cayce Bearcats will enter a football season with a new head coach. After 14 years at the helm, longtime head coach Rusty Charpia left the Bearcats. During his time, Charpia won a program-best 92 games, five region titles, and made three Lower State championship appearances.
Louis Clyburn was hired to replace Charpia. Despite being on campus only a few months, Clyburn has been really busy.
Along with leading the football program, Clyburn is also Brookland-Cayce’s athletic director. In his first four months on the job, Clyburn has hired a football staff, boys and girls basketball coaches, and he had to face the South Carolina High School League because of a player’s eligibility.
During the initial meeting with the high school league, Clyburn was suspended for half the season and the entire postseason. The football program faced a $1,500 fine and the loss of three practices in August. The Bearcats appealed to the appellate panel and had their punishment reduced to a $500 fine, the loss of three August practices, losing half of the ten available summer competitions, and having Clyburn unavailable to coach in any of the summer competitions Brookland-Cayce does participate in. Clyburn will not be suspended for any games during the 2025 season.
Brookland-Cayce head coach Louis Clyburn
“I believe the situation with the high school league was navigated about as well as it could have been,” Clyburn said. “We didn’t do anything intentional. We appreciate the high school league and the appellate panel. Our plan is to keep building the program with the objective of doing things the right way. We have standards and we are putting things in place so this doesn’t happen again.
“The biggest thing with the football team is to incorporate standards, and they have done a good job with that during the spring and summer. Anytime there is a transition there is always a different way of doing things. The team has been responsive to the staff, the procedures, and the way we do things.
“Our objective is to get a little better every day. If we do that and we are consistent with our work, by the time we get to the season, we should be successful.”
Clyburn doesn’t feel the sanctions will have much impact in his ability to develop the 2025 Brookland-Cayce team.
Transitioning might be a good way to describe the Bearcats’ offense in 2025. There are some key returners like quarterbacks My’son Jones and Brogan Sox, athlete Isaiah Oree, and wide receiver Tyree Johnson from an offense that averaged 27.5 points per game.
There are also some new players to add to the mix like running backs Avery King and Mekhi Pringle and quarterback Andrew Frick.
They will play behind an offensive line anchored by Andrew Coggins, Franklin Lykes, and DeAndre Carmichael.
While those players find a way to mesh as a unit, they will do so while learning under new offensive coordinator G. A. Mangus.
Clyburn said both Jones and Sox will most likely see time at quarterback, though both will also play linebacker. Frick, who enrolled in the spring, is the quarterback of the future.
The Bearcats’ defense is also undergoing a lot of changes under first year defensive coordinator Scotty Dean. It’s a unit that gave up an average of 34.7 points per game.
Jabori Corbett had a strong year last year and Clyburn expects similar results this season. Bennett Plane could see playing time on both sides of the ball, but will be a valuable player on defense. Johnson will have an impact on both sides of the ball as well. Barry Dixon, a newcomer, had an impressive spring and might get some playing time on offense.
Transitions can often be difficult times and that may be the case for Brookland Cayce especially considering the Bearcats start the season with 5A heavyweights River Bluff and White Knoll. May River travels to Brookland-Cayce to end the non-region slate. Then the Region 4-4A schedule begins with a trip to South Aiken before the Bearcats host Midland Valley and Gray Collegiate. Three of the final four regular season games are on the road at Aiken, Gilbert, and Airport. The lone home game is against defending region champion North Augusta.
“There are no easy games on our schedule,” Clyburn said. “ We play against good teams, and it’s possible to come up short. That’s the way the game is. It’s how you handle that and move on with your season that is going to be important. We’re going to have to do a good job with that. We have to understand this is a process. We have to grow as a team.”
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