Iron Horse football program grows, stresses discipline and academics

If you are a Lowcountry high school football fan and need a pigskin fix, here is a score from Thursday, May 25: The Philip Simmons White team beat the Philip Simmons Purple team 17-13.

 

OK, so it was only a spring game that concluded a two-week session for Coach Eric Bendig’s program. The spring game was more of a relaxed affair as Bendig turned the head coaching duties over to his assistants for the exhibition while he was able to sit back and make

mental notes of what he saw and sensed.

 

Bendig noted who “played” until the play was over and the whistle blew. He noted which of his players were there to offer encouragement to teammates when something didn’t go right. The bottom line was he saw who wanted it the most as the Iron Horses completed spring

ball in preparation for the 2023 season.

 

The roster numbers continue to be impressive as the football team begins its second season at the Class AAA level. The roster numbers reflect the growth on Daniel Island and up the Clements Ferry corridor.

 

Bendig has built a program from the foundation and about 165 student-athletes could play at the varsity, junior varsity and B-Team levels this fall.

 

Like his mentor, the late Bob Hayes, who hired Bendig at Wando, Bendig is a no-nonsense guy who stresses discipline and academics. His players know they won’t hit the field if they don’t hit the books.

 

The Iron Horses fielded a varsity team in time for the 2018 season and have a 27-24 all-time record. The team experienced the typical growing pains the first few seasons, but owns an impressive 18-6 record the past two seasons. The Iron Horses were 7-4 last fall, finishing

second in the ultra-competitive Region 8-AAA standings behind Beaufort, which was crowned state champion.

 

On offense, the running game should be as good and deep as any RB room in the state as Sharod Williams, Markellis Asbury and Isaac Schimpf combined for 179.3 yards per game while scoring 21 touchdowns.

 

The ground game took some pressure off first-year QB Tavien Orellana, who improved every week. He finished the season with 100 completions in 164 attempts for 1,472 yards and 17 touchdown passes, including six to Troy Stevenson, who should be the biggest football

recruit in the school’s brief history. Max Stafford could challenge Orellana for playing time.

 

Stevenson also plays in the secondary for the Iron Horses and intercepted two passes in 2022. He would have more picks, but opposing coaches chose to go away from Stevenson when it came time to pass.

 

He is being recruited by numerous schools including Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Miami and Georgia Tech, Penn State and Maryland. Clemson would be at the top of his list if Dabo Swinney offered. Georgia Tech coaches were at the spring game on May 25.

 

Of course, football games are won in the trenches and Bendig is counting on Russell Dickerson, Michael Garnett, Quamaine Vaughn and Devontay McNeil to man the trenches.