Darlington High School fall sports
As we return from the summer break and begin the 2023 Fall Sports season here at Darlington High, excitement , poten@al and focus are the key words for us this new season. The Falcons will kick-off the 2023 Football season under the helm of our new head coach Jamie Johnson. Johnson is taking over a team that has not experienced much success over the past four years. They will look for leadership from the two team elected captains, #22 Davari Wilson and #6 Marquavis Bacote. Coach Johnson is very optimistic as he had 72 athletes who did not miss a summer workout. New to the Falcons Football Coach Staff this season are, Quen@n
Davis, MaR Rhodes, Derrick Parnell, Brantley JeR, Daniel Knight. They will join coaches Pierre Brown and Jontavious Mack from last season’s team.
Coach Pam Frick is back as the head coach of our girls Varsity Volleyball team aided by her Assistant Coach Shaniqua BenneR. Amanda Richardson is also back for a second season as the Girls JV head volleyball coach. The Lady Falcons are coming fresh off a second-place finish in Region 6-3A from last year and look to repeat that same success this season and go further. Coach Frick is ready to lead the team in what may shape up to be a very competitive region in 3A. They will be gunning for Camden who touts one of Nation’s best all-around athletes, Joyce
Edwards.
New to the Falcon coaching staff is Coach Henry Curry. He is taking over the Girls Tennis team which like volleyball, finished second behind Camden in Region 6-3A. He comes to us from McBee High where he was the assistant head coach for Girls Tennis. Mrs. Ellen Berry will be assisting Coach Curry again this season. They will be leaning heavily on the sole returners, Kayden “KK” Leonard and Kinzley Surawski. Greg Dolce will be back leading our Girls Golf team. He will be in a rebuilding phase this season with the girls as he has only one returning golfer, Kaitlyn O’Donnell. Coach Dolce has a big task ahead, but as always, he is ready for the challenge.
Girls Competitive Cheer is expected to make a comeback this season and is coached by longtime Falcon Cheer Coach Kendre Williamson. Williamson has coached Falcon Cheer in some form or fashion for the past 20 years. She decided that Competitive Cheer was where she needed to be and stepped down last season to make room for one of her very own to take the Cheer program over. Varsity Cheer is again coached by Melissa Marshall and the JV Cheer is again coached by Amber Washington. Both Coach Marshall and Coach Washington cheered for the Falcons and have stayed to usher in that same ‘Spirit’ they brought to the field and courts so many years
ago.
Cross Country will be coached this season again by Rodger Johnson. It will be anchored by the Region 6-3A Runner of the Year Sanne Verkoeijen. The Falcon Cross Country team runs the 3.1-mile course on the campus of Darlington Middle School. I personally recommend the public come out and witness athletes from across the Pee Dee run one of the top ranked Cross-Country courses in South Carolina.
All in all, the fall sports season has “potential” wriRen all over it. I am excited myself to see what fall sports will bring to Darlington High. The Falcon teams are excited and filled with “anticipation.” There are great things happening at Darlington High. We have GREAT KIDS here, not only in athletics, but academics as well. If you are not here to witness it firsthand, then you are missing out on some of the greatest kids Darlington County has to offer. I for one am very grateful that I get to be a part of it as well as be involved in the lives of such great young student athletes. God surely has Blessed me!
So, Darlington High & Darlington County, God bless you and Go Falcons! #OneDARLINGTON
Athletic Director – Jamie Norris
