No offense to the South Carolina High School League, but we want a State Championship trophy that’s old school. So, the Pride of Clinton Legacy Group bought us one. It’s the trophy being held aloft at right, signifying Clinton Football’s 2024 AA State Championship, which was celebrated “in-house” Friday evening at Wilder Stadium, where so much of Red Devil lore has been written over the years. These players and coaches added to that lore on Dec. 2 when they left no doubt over the Barnwell Warhorses. The Red Devils got a trophy that day, but CHS Athletics felt that it just didn’t have the feel of the other EIGHT football state championship trophies in the CHS trophy cases.
So, CHS Athletics turned to the Pride of Clinton Legacy Group, many of whom are state champions in football themselves, for the funds to produce a replacement trophy – a classic silver one, with a football runner on top, and SC on the base. It will fit right in with the other football trophies that Clinton High School has earned.
At Friday night’s State Championship celebration, on Richardson Field in Wilder Stadium, JV honors and players’ recognitions came first. This program is 58-2 over the past 6 seasons - 8-1 overall and 4-0 region this past season (the season’s only loss, to AAA Chapman, was the team’s first defeat in 4 years).
Then, Clinton Varsity Football highlighted it 46-8 record over the past 4 seasons, with 3 region championships and now 1 state championship. The Big Red Machine accounted for 311 yards rushing vs Barnwell, the lower state champion, in the title game and 4,732 yards rushing on the season. The offense was led by Tushawan Richardson’s 786 rushing yards, 1,201 passing and 23 touchdowns, the 222 rushing attempts and 1,876 yards and 21 touchdowns earned by Javen “Zoom” Cook, and 635 yards and 10 touchdowns produced by Rhett Gilliam.
The Devil D produced its finest game of the season when it mattered most, against the Barnwell Warhorses, with 5 stops on 4th down. This was Clinton’s first football state championship since 2009.
Head Coach Corey Fountain’s statement said, “We are proud and grateful for the recognition that the football players have brought to our school and community, and we look forward to seeing their accomplishments on the field and in the fields of life.”
Fountain expressed “my deepest gratitude to everyone who made this season possible” – his wife Lauren and family, the coaches and their families, school administration and especially Jennifer Howard who runs the team’s RDR program, the parents, nutrition department staff, athletic training staff, district administration, booster club, and those who make game day and game night unforgettable. He thanked WPCC radio and the worldwide-through-the-web Large Time Network for broadcasting Red Devil Athletics – “I am honored to be part of The Wolfpack” -- and he honored “our incredible fans,” saying they turn every home game into an unforgettable experience.
“There’s nothing like the roar of Wilder Stadium on a Friday night.”
Fountain said the players – their focus in the weight room and on the field and disciple in the classroom -- made this a successful season. “You bought into the process and now you reap the reward.”
To his seniors, Fountain said, “You will be missed. You have set the standard. You learned from heartbreaks and turned them into a reward.”
Fountain reminded his team, “The most important success happens in the process.”
He said at the May 23 celebration, “we honor a journey” that has produced life-long memories and friendships.
“I want to thank almighty God,” Fountain said, “for the blessing of being a football coach and allowing me the opportunity to walk alongside these young men during such a formative time in their lives. It is an honor that I don’t take lightly.”
This is Fountain’s third state championship and first with Clinton.
In addition to team awards and presenting SC High School League medals and District-sponsored championship rings to each player and coach, the Red Devils honored each of the athletic trainers and varsity cheerleaders and their staffs, and the chain crew for their roles in this championship season.
Carolina Stitches had commemorative footballs for sale, and the players and coaches were anxious to autograph these for the fans. Finally, at the end of about an hour, fans came onto the field – as they do after each home game – to share the moment with their 2024 State Champion Clinton Red Devils.
They couldn’t do it at the state championship game, because that environment was controlled by someone else, so they had to stand in the filled-to-capacity visitors’ bleachers of Dawson Stadium watching their boys celebrate on the field. But they could do it now, in their home environment, because nobody but Red Devil Nation controls this stadium.
