Gray Collegiate embraces move up in SC class. Will new 4A foes embrace them back?

To say the last year for Gray Collegiate Academy athletics was turbulent might be an understatement.

The War Eagles’ teams had to scramble to find games to fill up their schedules when the other teams in their Class 2A region refused to play them in any sport.

The athletic success of Gray and some of its charter and private school counterparts became the catalyst for sweeping change in how the S.C. High School League groups its members by classification. The more a school accepts students from outside its assigned attendance zone, the higher the classification it will be placed in for athletics.

Now, on the eve of the 2024 football season and the start to the overall sports calendar, Gray Collegiate is confident in how it will compete in Class 4A — the state’s second-largest athletics classification. How much success it has and how it is received by its new 4A counterparts remain to be seen.

“I couldn’t imagine what these young men had to go through, what the administration had to go through and what coaches had to go through in order to piece together games,” first-year Gray football coach De’Angelo Bryant said Monday after a scrimmage with Hammond and Dreher.

Gray’s football team got through the 2023 regular season and reached its second Class 2A championship game, falling to Oceanside Collegiate, 35-28, on a touchdown with less than two minutes left.

“They did a great job,” Bryant said. “Being able to keep your team together and then to hit the run in the playoffs, they did a good job of keeping their eyes forward so they can reach the state championship.”

SC shuffles how it handles classifications

Bryant recently got a little taste of what’s happened to Gray when new region opponents Airport and Brookland-Cayce said they won’t be playing the War Eagles in any junior varsity games in any sport.

The moves by Airport and B-C do not apply to varsity games. Forfeiting a varsity game now comes with penalties and a fine.

Bryant was asked in July at SC PrepRedzone media day about teams possibly not wanting to play Gray.

“I hope we have moved past that phase,” he said.

Bryant came over from Silver Bluff and took over for Adam Holmes, who stepped down after the 2023 season. He had been the school’s only football coach since it opened. Holmes led Gray to two championship appearances, including beating Bryant’s Silver Bluff squad for the 2021 Class 2A crown. Holmes will still be at Gray games because his son plays football for the War Eagles, but will be helping out at White Knoll as an offensive analyst.

Charter schools like Gray in West Columbia and Oceanside Collegiate in Mount Pleasant have faced a lot of scrutiny in recent years. Critics say the charters that are sports-focused are able to build powerful teams and have an advantage with what amounts to a statewide attendance zone. Since its inception, Gray capped enrollment and competed for state championships against the smaller high schools in Class 2A.

Since 2021, Gray won state championships in boys basketball (3) competitive cheer (2), softball (2), girls track and field, football and played for championships in boys soccer (3) and baseball (2).

The S.C. High School League addressed those concerns by adding an out-of-attendance-zone multiplier for the first time to its formula for determining athletic classifications and addressing competitive balance. Gray and other private and charter schools were moved up in class during the league’s realignment for 2024-26.

The War Eagles moved up two classes from 2A to 4A.

Gray was placed in a region with Brookland-Cayce and Airport, which should add to the rivalry among the three schools, all located within the Lexington 2 district. Gilbert, which is moving up from Class 3A, also is in the region along with Aiken, South Aiken, North Augusta and Midland Valley.

Gray’s student population is 81% from outside its designated attendance zone, according to a records request made by The State.

By comparison, Airport’s student makeup is 92% from within its designated zone. Brookland-Cayce’s population is 95% from its assigned attendance zone.

The State talked to some of the region’s head football coaches to get their thoughts about Gray’s move up and into the region with them.

”They are on the schedule, so be done with it,” North Augusta coach Richard Bush said. “Playing Gray will be a tough challenge but we will be looking forward to it.”

”I think it is awesome,” Gilbert coach Ozzie Exume said. “Coach Bryant is a great coach. He has won a lot of games and the team is going to be good. We will be, too. That is another fun challenge. But we aren’t going to shy away from playing really good teams. ...

”This kind of started in college with kids changing schools. High school is the same way now,” Exume continued. “We are going to coach the guys in our house. ... We are focused on what is happening at Gilbert.”

Second-year Airport coach Shane Fidler was the most outspoken on the matter.

“We are the school of our community,” Fidler said. “There is no school bus that takes kids to that school. They aren’t a community school. They are an academy school and have kids from our area and kids from all over the state.

“We have kids from Airport community. We are West Columbia. We are Cayce, Gaston, South Congaree, West Metro. We love our area and represent our area every day. That is who we play for and fight for.”

There is obvious frustration from Airport and B-C coaches who have lost their share of players to Gray over the years. Anton Ford, one of B-C’s top offensive linemen, transferred to Gray this year.

Other additions to the War Eagles’ roster include Hiszari Grant, who followed Bryant from Silver Bluff and is expected to start at receiver. Caleb Berry (Dreher) and Quinton Stroman (Irmo) also will see time at receiver. Royal and Royce Williamson, sons of former Gamecocks receiver Troy Williamson, have transferred from Blythewood, but it’s unclear whether they will play on varsity this year.

Gray lost a few players this year as well. Running back Caleb Ford transferred to Cardinal Newman. Dre Dopson, who saw time last year as Gray’s starting quarterback, transferred to Brookland-Cayce in the spring.

Gray embracing the move to 4A

Critics and fans around the Midlands and South Carolina are eager to see how teams like Gray Collegiate, Oceanside and Christ Church (a private school in Greenville) fare moving up in classes after dominating at the Class A and 2A levels. There have been conversations on social media over the last few months debating the topic.

“Guys, they understand and see everything that is out there. It is definitely a little bit of talk among the locker room,” Bryant said last month. “That is something we have reiterated to them, playing with a little chip on their shoulder. We certainly are embracing it.”

The players said they are ready for the challenge.

“We are Gray. There is always a target on our back,” defensive lineman Zeb Taylor said. “Nothing is changed. It is still football, 2A, 5A, 4A, Class A. I don’t care. We know what we got. We know who we play. I like our odds.”

Gray plays a tough non-region schedule with games against James Island and a trip to Tennessee to face the Baylor School, led by Erik Kimrey, the same coach who built Hammond into a powerhouse and played at South Carolina. The War Eagles finish the three-game stretch before region play by facing Class 5A champ Dutch Fork.

“Our goal is to win to get to December and then win in December. The expectation isn’t going to change,” Bryant said. “(Gray) are an established program and they are accustomed to winning. My job is to come in and elevate the program even more.

“We know we have a tough task ahead of it. We will gain a lot more experience playing at the 4A level.”