Clover High running back Landon Stone put up record-breaking numbers last season.
The 6-foot senior ran for a school-record 2,254 yards and 21 touchdowns on 278 carries in his junior campaign, earning Region Player of the Year and All-State honors.
Stone hopes his rushing threat will lead to a more diversified offense this season.
“It felt good, but hopefully, we’ll be able to get some other things going,” Stone said. “We’re a running team, and I believe it will help if we’re able to get something in the passing attack this year.”
Stone’s production led Clover to a 9-3 record and an undefeated region championship, as the Blue Eagles advanced to the second round of the playoffs before being eliminated./
It was a great first season for head coach Perry Woolbright, who took over at his alma mater in February 2023 after spending the previous six seasons as the head coach at Lexington.
Last year’s region title was just the Clover’s fifth, but it’s one that Woolbright hopes to build on for next season.
“I think the big thing was we got the culture that we wanted established,” he said. “We had to iron out some things when I first got here in getting things where they need to be. Some kids left, but the kids that stayed really bought into how we want to play and what we want to do, and they really came together as a team.”
However, the season didn’t start out as bright as it ended.
The Blue Eagles dropped their opening two games to Northwestern and Hillcrest by a combined score of 80-19.
Stone called those results “a wake-up call.”
“We thought we had them,” Stone said. “We had a jamboree (game against) Providence Day, and we almost beat them. Northwestern loses to (Providence Day). We thought we had Northwestern, and they came out and beat us pretty bad. Same thing with Hillcrest, we thought we might have had them. They beat us. (After that), we had to get to practice and grind it out.”
Clover found its rhythm after that, ripping off nine straight victories before falling to Gaffney in the playoffs.
Woolbright said that last season’s experience was valuable as it showed what could be accomplished with hard work.
Maintaining this mindset will be crucial for Clover as the team lost quite a bit of experience from last year’s team.
“Not every Friday night were we the most talented team on the field, but we played the hardest,” Woolbright said. “We played physical, we did the disciplined things we had to do to win ball games. I think those guys saw that and they can bring that to our younger guys coming up.”
One of those key areas for Clover is quarterback, where Jaylon Hoover, a two-year starter, graduated this past spring and there is a battle for the starting QB job between freshman Aaron Shealey and sophomore Brody Woolbright.
Perry said that while he’s seen good things from both, neither has separated too far from the other in the competition.
Another key area where Clover lost a lot of production was in its defensive backfield.
Brayden Woolbright (31 tackles, team-leading four interceptions), Zachary Cheatham (18 tackles, four forced fumbles), Deontae Starr (27 tackles, two interceptions), Jo Jo Gonzalez (18 tackles) and Kam Koger (14 tackles, two pass breakups) were all senior contributors in the secondary on last year’s team.
The team is going to rely heavily on its returning veterans like senior middle linebacker Sam Lee (73 tackles) to help keep things in order defensively. Lee said he’s grown into his leadership role in his final year on the team, trying to learn the jobs of everyone on the field so no one is out of place.
“We’re going to start the season off right,” Lee said. “Didn’t do that last year, going to do better with that this year. We’re going to minimize mental errors, and we’re going to play fast. If we play fast, we’re going to play good...We’re young in some places, but I think it’s already coming together, and we’re going to be even better this year.”
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