A new era begins for Saluda High football team

SALUDA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Since winning the class 2A state championship in 2019, the Saluda football team has faced some pretty big expectations with each ing season.

Last year’s senior class brought Saluda within one game of going to state.

With that class moving on, the path has been paved for a new group of Tigers to make their presence felt and continue their winning ways.

Of their nine seniors on the roster this year, only two of them are likely to start on Friday.

According to Head Coach Stewart Young, four of those nine seniors have never played football before.

While the majority of this year’s team doesn’t have experience playing on varsity, being able to witness the multiple deep playoff runs Saluda has made in recent years gives them confidence and helps them take a lot of pride in their ability to perform for their community.

“They saw how it’s supposed to be done. So, now they can try to emulate that. We can cut on tape from last year and say, this is how so-and-so did it, this is how it’s supposed to be done, etc. Technique and effort, and all of that stuff. So, they’ve seen an example of it, so hopefully they’ll try to duplicate that,” said Young.

The young Saluda team will have the chance to spark their own legacy when they hit the road to take on Mid-Carolina on Friday.

“We’ve just got to get better, you know? We’re going to tell them every week, this is the worst team we’ll be this year, and next week will be the worst team, and the next week will be the worst team. In other words, we’re getting better every week until we get to the region and hopefully, we can be better,” said Young.

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