SUMMERTON — Clarendon Hall is moving on up in the world.

After having a successful year in SCISA’s 8-man football division, the Saints are looking forward to playing in the 11-man division this year. Although it’s going to take some getting used to, head coach Shawn Thacker feels his team will be fine.

“It’s been different just because, with 16 people, you can’t see a complete offense and defense at one time,” Thacker said. “We’ve had to break it down where we’re going with half of an offensive line. That enables us to put ones against ones a lot and I think that’s going to help us out.”

Having 16 players on a traditional football roster could pose a few problems, but Thacker doesn’t see that as a complete disadvantage.

“We’re hoping that our conditioning and our no-huddle attack will eliminate the numbers problem,” he said. “With the no-huddle, you don’t necessarily have to go so fast. You can dictate the tempo and you can control how many times they can sub during a possession and try to eliminate that.”

Leading that no-huddle attack will be senior quarterback McKenzie Salisbury (5-7, 125). With him, will be senior tailback Zach Sharpe (5-11, 170) and junior running back William Bryant (5-10, 195). Junior tailback Grayson Matthews (6-2, 185) will share time in the backfield with Bryant and Sharpe giving Clarendon Hall a few options for their zone running game.

As the Saints battle for the line of scrimmage, they will be led by senior offensive tackles Bryan Huff (6-0, 223) and Wade Brown (5-10, 178). However, Thacker is looking for one more player to step up and give his offense a chance to be executed.

“We’ve got some older kids, but the lack of experience up front worries me,” Thacker said. “The only bodies that have ever started up front in a game situation on the varsity level on the offensive line is Wade and Bryan and they were part-time starters. Wade was more of a tight end than anything and Huff was a part-time starter. So was J.J. (Joshua Jenkinson), but after that ... that’s it. They haven’t had a lot of experience up front.”

Defensively, Huff and Brown will start as the team’s defensive ends when the Saints put their 4-4 defense on the field. Salisbury will start at defensive back for Clarendon Hall, but there is also a lack of experience in the Saints’ secondary.

“I’m starting a true freshman at corner,” Thacker said, “and a junior who’s never been a varsity starter. So, that worries me. As a coach, you’ve got to realize that those kids are going to make mistakes. You just hope they don’t come at a critical time that’s going to hurt you too bad. You’ve just got to deal with that because it’s part of the growing pains.”

The thing Thacker believes his team will rely on is heart and desire to succeed.

“These 16 kids have been out here,” Thacker said, “and these are dedicated. They’ve made all their lifts during the summer. They’ve made all their running during the summer. They’ve been out here sweating in the heat. They’re dedicated. They believe in each other. When you’ve got that and you’ve got heart ... if you get the right breaks, who knows?”

With that in mind, Clarendon Hall has sights set on making the playoffs and winning the state championship. Last year’s team reached the state semifinals and fell to Laurens Academy after giving up a double-digit lead. That painful memory still lingers, but the Saints are ready to start anew and go a few steps farther.

“We want to be playing on Nov.r 21,” Thacker said. “I still think there are some kids who have a bad taste in their mouths from blowing a lead against Laurens in the state semifinals and having a chance to play for the state title. I think that still sticks in some of their minds. I know it does in mine, but we’ve got to move past that and focus on the task at hand. Granted, we had a great year in 8-man, but we ain’t in 8-man now. The competition’s stepped up.”

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