Former South Carolina football QB helping turn around local HS program
Corey Jenkins has memories of Dreher football’s last playoff victory.
Jenkins scored three touchdowns as the Blue Devils held on to a 21-14 win over Cheraw in the first round of the 1994 playoffs. The future South Carolina quarterback broke his leg during that game with Dreher up 21-0 and watched as they had to hold off a Braves comeback attempt.
Jenkins missed Dreher’s next playoff game the following week as the Blue Devils lost to St. Andrews, 21-14. Since then, Dreher hasn’t won a playoff game in 13 tries.
The school gets another crack to end that playoff streak on Friday when it travels to Camden in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. It is the Blue Devils’ first playoff appearance since 2018 when they lost to Myrtle Beach.
“At this point last year, we were taking up practice gear and trying to put a plan for next year together,” Jenkins said Wednesday. “Last year’s team had the potential to be practicing for the playoffs but unfortunately we didn’t. I think the guys on the team learned a lot from it. When the new guys came this year, they bought right along. And the record and where we are shows the difference from last year to this year.”
Jenkins is in his second season as head coach of his alma mater, Dreher, where he was a three-sport standout and was a first-round pick in the 1995 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox.
After his baseball career ended, Jenkins went back to football and played two seasons at South Carolina where he was the starting quarterback in 2002. He had almost 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns as a senior.
Dreher went 2-8 in Jenkins’ first season as head coach. Two of Dreher’s eight losses came in region play by fewer than eight points.
But the Blue Devils have turned things around in Year Two with five wins, their most since 2018. Dreher clinched a playoff spot last week with a 21-20 win over Lower Richland. Running back Willie Smith had two touchdown runs, including the go-ahead score with 7:25 left.
“That’s a long time,” Dreher senior lineman Charles Jeffcoat said of the school’s playoff drought. “We are trying to make history, make our coach proud and see if we can make it to the next round.”
Jeffcoat said Jenkins has talked a little about his playoff experience to the team and wants his team to take pride in what they have accomplished but not be nervous.
The Blue Devils have shown that with wins over playoff teams Keenan and Lakewood. They also took region champion Brookland-Cayce into overtime before losing, 41-35.
“Nobody expected us to make the playoffs in Year Two or get this staff going the way we are,” Jenkins said. “For us, we got to go out and play, enjoy the moment and the whole scenery of it. Just go have fun and play football.”
Biggest turnarounds in Midlands
A look at some of the biggest improvements (in alphabetical order) from area high school football programs from last year to this year.
Cardinal Newman: 8-2 (5-6 last year)
Chapin: 6-4 (3-8 last year)
Dreher: 5-5 (2-8 last year)
Irmo: 10-0 (7-5 last year)
Richland Northeast: 6-4 (2-9 last year)
White Knoll: 10-0 (7-4 last year)
Midlands Playoff Schedule
First round games
SCHSL
Class 5A
Boiling Springs at Dutch Fork
Lexington at Gaffney
Blythewood at JL Mann
Cane Bay at White Knoll
Chapin at Stratford
Class 4A
Airport at Westside
Lugoff-Elgin at South Florence
Richland Northeast at Bluffton
Lancaster at Ridge View
Colleton County at Irmo
AC Flora at Hartsville
Class 3A
Dreher at Camden
Darlington at Gilbert
Lake City at Brookland-Cayce
Class 2A
Columbia at Abbeville
Saluda at Newberry
Mid-Carolina at Silver Bluff
Liberty at Fairfield Central
Keenan at Ninety Six
Pelion at Gray Collegiate
Chesnee at Batesburg-Leesville
North Central at Andrews
Class A
CA Johnson at Wagner-Salley
SCISA
Class 4A
Trinity Collegiate at Hammond
Augusta Christian at Cardinal Newman
Heathwood Hall at Laurence Manning
Ben Lippen at Porter-Gaud
Class 2A
Northside Christian at Colleton Prep
8-man
Holy Trinity at Richard Winn
WW King at Jefferson Davis
