How York County councilman Bump Roddey became South Pointe football’s new PA announcer

A familiar voice greeted South Pointe football fans as they filed in to District Three Stadium South on Friday night to watch the Stallions take on the Spartanburg Vikings in their season opener .

York County councilman William “Bump” Roddey is the new PA announcer for South Pointe’s varsity football team this season. The councilmember represents York County’s District 4, where the school is located.

Roddey’s spotter will be friend William McCrorey, who helps run Fresh Vibes Juice Bar on Ebenezer Road.

Despite the new position, the two Northwestern High School graduates are not new to the job, nor the location.

“It’s actually coming full circle because (McCrorey and I) opened South Pointe as their first PA announcers when they only had junior varsity (in 2005),” Roddey said. “The following year, when they went to varsity, we didn’t come back to do that part, but we’re not strangers to calling games. Even last year, I came and did the JV games, so I’ve kind of had a year of practice before being elevated to the varsity guy on Friday night.”

McCrorey, whose job is to keep an eye on the action and quickly assess and relay information on the field back to Roddey, said that it felt good to be back up in the press box. It’s an added sense of pride that it’s with the school from which all of his kids graduated.

“The energy of football, you feel it,” McCrorey said. “You feel it before you get dressed because football is what we live for here in Rock Hill, South Carolina. I graduated in ‘84, but I still feel it though. I feel good, just being out here.”

South Pointe fell to Spartanburg, 26-25, on a last-minute field goal, but Roddey still felt like he had a solid debut in the press box, from coordinating a bell toll sound to ring on every third down to hyping up the crowd in big spots.

And he’s not the only one who feels that way.

“I wish we could have finished on the win for his first game, but he did a great job,” South Pointe athletic director Carlos Richardson said. “He kept the crowd engaged, and he knows the community and knows the heartbeat. I only look forward to him getting better.”

Roddey’s next game will be on September 13 when South Pointe hosts in-town rival Northwestern.