Forestview to face national football power Byrnes

Forestview is trading Burns for Byrnes, S.C., in the area’s biggest football scheduling move for this fall.

The Jaguars this week reached an agreement to visit the South Carolina power in Duncan, S.C., on Sept. 10. The schools agreed to a one-year contract, Forestview athletic director Alan Stewart said.

The game will pit a Forestview team coming off its best season in school history against a program with national recognition. Byrnes won four straight South Carolina championships from 2002 to 2005, two more in 2007 and 2008 and several of its games have been televised by ESPN.

“One, I think it’s a great opportunity and I think the kids will enjoy the experience,” Forestview coach Chris Medlin said. “Two, we needed a game.”

Dorman beat Byrnes 28-17 in last year’s S.C. Division I AAAA championship game, ending the Rebels’ state title streak. The Rebels lost several key seniors from that team, including running back Marcus Lattimore, who signed with South Carolina.

Byrnes plays at Nixon Field, which seats upwards of 10,000 and features a $328,000 scoreboard.

Forestview will return 11 starters from a team that went 10-3, setting a school record for wins while sharing the Big South 3A Conference championship with South Point. The Jaguars also notched their first playoff victory in nine tries.

The Jaguars had played Burns from nearby Cleveland County since Forestview opened in 1998. And it was a competitive series, with Forestview leading 7-5 after last year’s 30-14 victory. But the latest contract expired last season and the schools did not sign a new contract.

Forestview didn’t realize until about three weeks ago that the schools hadn’t signed a new contract, and Medlin scrambled to find an 11th game on short notice.

“I tried everywhere from Asheville to Monroe and couldn’t find anybody,” Medlin said.

Medlin eventually learned that Byrnes was looking for a game during the first of Forestview’s two open weeks. Had Forestview not scheduled an 11th game, the Jaguars would have been off two of the three weeks immediately before conference action.

The North Carolina high school regular season opens on Aug. 20.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.