PSHS coach Bendig sees sports rivalries as important for success

Eric Bendig moved to South Carolina when he was 2 years old. He was born in Pennsylvania and moved south when opportunity knocked for his father, who worked for IBM.

 

Once in the Palmetto State, he forged an alliance that is still in place today. His neighbors next door happened to be fans of the University of South Carolina, and they just happened to have an extra ticket any time the Gamecocks played at home.

 

The highlight of the season was the Clemson game, and Bendig got caught up in the pomp, circumstance and bragging rights when the two Palmetto State teams collided.

 

Today, Bendig is the head football coach of Philip Simmons High School, and rivalries remain important. Today, he focuses on building rivalries and that’s why he will continue to schedule contests with Bishop England and Hanahan, even though the schools are

Class AAA while PSHS is Class AA. He also plans to build a rivalry with the new Lucy Beckham High School, which is located in Mount Pleasant. The Iron Horses junior varsity team will play Lucy Beckham’s junior varsity team on Sept. 10.

 

“Rivalries are a great part of sports,” Bendig said. “At the college level, you have guys who played against each other in high school or were part of the same recruiting class. In high school, you play against people who you grew up with, people who lived on your street or neighborhood. Sometimes, it’s family against family.

 

“The second aspect of that rivalry is the financial end,” Bendig said. “You have ticket sales, concessions and merchandise. When you have a game against your rivals at home, that’s huge. As an administrator, you don’t want to think about not having a team like Bishop England or Hanahan on the schedule.”

 

Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has affected high school football, and this season will be different. The first practice has been pushed back to Aug. 17, and most schools will play an abbreviated schedule, with regional games to open the season and rivalry games to conclude the season.

 

The varsity Iron Horses will open the season on the road with a Sept. 11 regional game against Burke. Then, there’s a trip to Lake Marion the following week before the home opener against regional Woodland. The other regional games will be against Timberland and Ridgeland-Hardeeville.

 

The Bishop England game is a rivalry game that will divide his house. His wife, Colleen, graduated from Bishop England.

 

“I played at Wando, and we didn’t play Bishop England,” Bendig said. “We did scrimmage them my senior year, and it was one of the most intense experiences. As I grew older, it was still part of my life because I had a Catholic education and my wife graduated from BE. So it was definitely houses divided. I love Bishop England. It’s a top-notch school.”

 

Hanahan, of course, was the high school Daniel Island students attended before Philip Simmons opened. Bendig feels this rivalry will be intense as well, especially since Art Craig is the football coach at Hanahan. Craig is one of the top coaches in the state and won two state titles in 19 years at Timberland before taking the Hanahan job in January.