How former Gamecocks QB Syvelle Newton aims to reignite Great Falls football program

Complete the year.

That’s the expectation Syvelle Newton set for his first season as the head football coach at Great Falls High School.

Great Falls was 1-7 in 2023 before player safety concerns led the team to shut down the season with two games left.

There are additional goals that Newton would like to hit, but the former University of South Carolina quarterback said a successful season would be one where the Red Devils play all 10 of their regular season games.

“The school has only won three games in the past two years,” Newton said. “We definitely want to try to win (at least) three games this year and just be competitive each week. Give the community something, a reason to come out of their homes and come support what we’re building.”

Ending Great Falls’s football season early was not an easy decision for then first-year athletic director Josh Jennings — nor was it a popular one.

However, Jennings said, it was a necessary one.

The team was down to 13 eligible players ahead of its rivalry game against top-ranked Lewisville. Several players would have been forced to play out of position just for the Red Devils to put 11 players on the field.

So Jennings shut it down.

With head coach Brian Kane leaving the program following the season, Jennings knew whoever he brought in next was going to have an uphill battle.

Newton last coached football in 2015 as the offensive coordinator at Keenan High School. Since then, he’s worked in Columbia as a sports broadcaster, trainer and mentor.

Jennings believes Newton is the right person for the current landscape of Great Falls football.

“We were very honest (about where we were at),” Jennings said. “Priority number one is going to be we had to reenergize this place. We’ve got to get kids excited about playing football, we got to get more kids out there to play football, and he’s done a very good job of that. He brought a very good energy, and the kids are extremely excited. I love hearing kids talk about football in such a positive way in the hallways and in their classes. We’ve been missing that.”

One of those players who felt the energy shift from Newton’s arrival is starting quarterback Tremaine Caldwell, a senior.

Caldwell has played for three head coaches in his high school career and said Newton brought a completely different vibe to the team. Before the team has played its first game, Newton has already made a lasting impression on his senior signal-caller that previous coaches did not.

“He showed he cared a lot,” Caldwell said. “He cares, about anything. He wants to know what you’re doing. He seems more interested in us than all the other coaches did. It’s hard to explain...Knowing somebody cares for you, especially another man, they want to know what you’re doing in life and how you’re doing — that really hits different.”

Newton’s presence has also made a mark on players who are new to the program as well.

Sophomore defensive back Jakoby Coffey moved to Great Falls in the spring from Wade Hampton High School in Greenville.

Coffey said that Newton has commanded the respect of the players on the team, instilling a culture of hard work from the starters to the reserves.

“He’s been a good coach,” Coffey said. “He’s showed us a lot, helped us a lot. Feels like we’ll be better than we were last year.”

Newton played quarterback and receiver at the University of South Carolina from 2003-2006.

Following college, he spent five years in the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League before returning to the Gamecocks as a graduate assistant coach in 2012. Newton believes that his background in football makes him a little more advanced than other coaches in his position.

Offensively, Newton plans to establish the run to open up big plays for Caldwell and the passing attack. Newton played under a similar system when he was the starting quarterback at Marlboro County High School, winning a state championship in 2001.

Defensive coordinator Tyler Hicks and Newton have the same mindset on that side of the ball: be aggressive. Great Falls is going to use blitz-heavy packages, giving the Red Devils’ four returning starters in the defensive backfield of not allowing anything downfield passes.

Newton said while it would be amazing to win every game, he understands that’s not the most realistic outcome for his team this season. It’s part of the honesty that he’s cultivated with his players to have them understand where they are — and where they want to be.

The growth and competitiveness Great Falls shows week to week will be the most important metric for the first year of Newton’s tenure.

“We make sure each kid is a priority, whether it’s a star player or a player who just wants to be a part of what we’re doing, we’re going to treat them all the same,” Newton said. “Teach them about greatness as a young man instead of greatness just as a player. You may never be the greatest of the greatest, but you can be your best, and that’s what I teach them. Just be your best. As long as you’re being your best, great things are going to come from it.”

Great Falls opens its regular season at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 23 on the road against 2A North Central.