FRIDAY NIGHT, NO LIGHTS: The Road Beckons The Rebels

Thurmond Football Faces Four Straight Away Games After The Bye

Darkness has descended on the hill between Edgefield and Johnston where, on most Friday nights in the fall, a warm glow paints the sky for all who might cast their eyes that way.

There are no stadium lights, no “Sandstorm” and no cheering throng this first football Friday night in September at the home field of the Strom Thurmond High School football team, and this home turf will remain shrouded in darkness on game nights until the second Friday in October. For now, the road is calling the Rebels, who have a bye on their schedule tonight.

In their first two games of the 2025-26 season, the Rebels have outscored their opponents 105-6 and bring a perfect 2-0 record into this off-week. Strom Thurmond hammered McCormick 55-6 in their opener, and added the exclamation mark last Friday night in a 50-0 shutout of Silver Bluff.

After last week’s win, Coach Andrew Webb was understandably elated and praised the leadership of his senior Rebels through the first two games. “This group of seniors is special,” he said during the postgame conversation with the Rebels broadcast team on Timeless Jukebox Radio. “They’re great leaders. They set the tone in practice every day, and they work to get better. They compete, they compete, they compete – and it carries out.”

On the offensive side of the ball, senior quarterback Bri’Shaun Lee connected on five of nine passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns through the air against the Chiefs. Shaheed Williams, also a senior, hauled in two touchdowns and 100 yards receiving, while Kaleb Simpkins had a 29-yard scoring catch.

But it was the sophomore backup quarterback Zy Rouse who turned heads late in the opener against McCormick. He picked up two touchdowns and 111 yards in six carries to join seniors Deonte Phillips and Trenquilis Mathis with their touchdown runs. Kaden Wigfall, also a sophomore, also tacked on a touchdown.

In the Silver Bluff game, the air attack continued as Lee connected on 10 of 13 passes for 138 yards and four touchdowns. Junior receivers Dakota Padgett and Bralen Searles joined Williams and Simpkins with touchdown catches on the night.

Phillips had two touchdown runs against the Bulldogs, while sophomore Preston Holmes added a touchdown run.

Defensively, the Rebels’ stinginess was reflected on the scoreboard. “Our guys fought really hard to keep them out of the endzone,” Webb said.

While the 105-6 domination of the Rebels’ first two opponents might have shocked some observers, especially the shutout of Silver Bluff, Coach Webb said Thurmond went into both games with the mindset to win. That was especially true in the Silver Bluff game, which was punctuated by 20th-anniversary celebrations featuring players and coaches from the squad that brought a state title home to Edgefield County.

“In this locker room, we always have a goal to go 1-0 each week,” he said. “We made a very big deal of honoring the 2005 state championship team when they came back, and we wanted to play our best. We didn’t play perfect, but we competed really, really, really hard. To walk out of here with a 50-0 win when the 2005 state championship is down here watching – man, that is awesome.”

With a perfect mark going into tonight’s bye week, the Rebels now have to focus on staying at their best even as they navigate four straight road games starting next Friday night at North Augusta. After that trek, Thurmond is set to play at Emerald in Greenwood on Sept. 19; at Lincoln County (Ga.) on Sept. 26; and at Batesburg-Leesville to begin Region play on Oct. 3.

The glow in the night sky over Edgefield is scheduled to reappear Oct. 10 against American Leadership Academy. Until then, Rebel faithful, drive safely through the darkness.