Whiteville High football coach Mark Little (above, left) puts his team through opening day drills Monday evening at Legion Stadium. Little, who guided the 2006 Wolfpack to its first Waccamaw Conference championship since 1993 last fall, heads into his sixth season as WHS head coach. All four Columbus County high school teams began their pre-season drills on Monday.

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

The ritual began on Monday.

For more than 200 male athletes in Columbus County, the days of summer break came to an early halt and they took to the fields of a physically demanding sport to which they will be dedicated for at least the next three months.

The official opening of pre-season football drills, particularly the first week, serves as an exciting, maybe a little dreaded, time.

The start of school doesn’t arrive until the final week of August, yet the start of the football will arrive two weeks prior to that and inter-squad scrimmages will begin a week earlier than that.

“It sort of comes fast and furious,” said Whiteville High head football coach Mark Little, who heads into his sixth season with the Wolfpack.

Little said prior to Tuesday evening’s practice that 43 varsity players and 52 junior varsity hopefuls reported for opening day drills.

“It’s an encouraging number,” said Little, who heads into his sixth season at the WHS helm. “We just need to work to pull it all together the best we can before the season starts. Most of our kids have come out in pretty good shape.”

South Columbus head coach Joey Price has been putting his team through morning workouts this week. He had 35 varsity players report Monday (junior varsity players will report) next week and just about all of them saw considerable playing time last season.

“I’ve really been impressed by our senior leadership,” said Price, who had guided the Stallions to 104 wins in his 10 seasons as head coach. “We’re going to need it because I think our conference is really going to be strong this year.”

Practices also got underway on Monday at East Columbus and West Columbus high schools.
Vernon Brigman heads into his fifth season as WCHS head coach, and Travis Conner is beginning his third season as ECHS head coach.

All four county teams competed in state playoffs last season.