SJC Football Adds Gray Collegiate to schedule

[DCSportsFan.com]

Adam Holmes’ demeanor changed in a week’s time.

The Gray Collegiate football coach was calmer and more relaxed as he took questions from reporters following the War Eagles’ 30-12 win over Camden on Friday night. Gray is 4-0 on the season and likely will be ranked No. 1 in Class 2A when the new statewide polls are released Monday.

A week earlier, Holmes gave a passionate defense of his program that’s been under a spotlight this season as Region 4-2A teams said they’re not willing to play the War Eagles in football and other sports. Video of his Sept. 2 response had 127,000 views on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter.

But a lot has changed for the program in a week. Instead of possibly not playing for six weeks and being off until the playoffs, Holmes and the Gray administration have been busy trying to fill the dates left open by region opponents that have confirmed they will forfeit football games: Eau Claire, Columbia, Keenan, Fairfield Central, Newberry and Mid-Carolina high schools.

Newberry is the lone school yet to make its intentions known, according to Gray leaders. The Bulldogs are only in the region for football.

Last month, the S.C. High School League executive committee voted 10-2 in favor of allowing any team facing a region-game forfeiture in any sport to replace it with another opponent — if one could be found — and without penalty.

The schools view the forfeits against Gray as their way of taking a stand on fair play and competitive balance concerns regarding charter and private schools that are SCHSL members and have dominated the 1A and 2A state championships in recent years.

NEW GRAY SCHEDULE
The first one of Gray’s replacement games will be next week. Instead of traveling to Eau Claire as scheduled, the War Eagles will head to Washington, D.C., and face St. John’s College High School. The Cadets are part of the Washington Catholic League and play a tough out-of-state schedule in addition to their league games.

St. John’s has been around since 1861. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank is a graduate and big supporter of the school. Plank gave the school a $16 million gift in 2015, according to the Washington Post.

Read more here: https://amp.thestate.com/sports/high-school/article279131229.html

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