An Article Written by Brady Henderson for Game 4 against Pelion on Friday, September 11th, 2026

For the 24th time in School history (102 seasons), Swansea has started the season 0-3, losing to Keenan, Aiken, and Lexington. All at home. But for the first time this season, the Tigers get a chance to prove who they are on the road as they travel 12 miles (19 minutes) to Pelion High School. Coach Fox and his staff came into this season knowing that the schedule would be a challenge. As Coach Fox has expressed on the weekly Tiger Den Coaches show several times, ‘We made this schedule on purpose to elevate the program’. To elevate the program means elevating the level of competition in the non-conference schedule. While some may look at this start and say ‘the season is lost’ or ‘there is no hope’, history has something to say about that. Before this season, Swansea has started 0-3 twenty-three times. On three of those occasions, they’ve righted the ship and ended the season with a winning record, and in one of those instances, won the region and made it to the second round of the playoffs. In my personal opinion, in covering this team, I feel that looking at the remainder of the schedule, this team has the clear opportunity and maybe even probability to end this season with either a winning record or .500 and be a strong contender in the 3A playoffs. As one of my coaches used to say growing up, ‘it ain’t over till it’s over’. Don’t count the Tigers out now, or ever.

Last week, Lexington got their first win of the season as they beat the Tigers 47-13 at Doug Bennett Stadium. The game lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes, with well over 1,200 fans in attendance, and it was 94 degrees at kickoff in Swansea. In the first quarter, the Tigers stayed in the game, leading 14-7 at the end of the half and in Wildcat territory on a drive heading into the 2nd quarter. But as the game progressed, the Wildcat offense behind Sophomore Quarterback Easton Crocker (#11) proved to be too much for the Tiger defense. The Lexington passing attack had 204 passing yards. But their running game behind Noah Dunn (#22) and Shannon Lytes (#10) also proved to be superior with 238 yards on the ground. In total, the Tigers gave up 442 yards on defense and 47 points. Lexington will play Spring Valley this week.

The Tigers lost to a strong 5A opponent who, coming into the game, had led in the 4th quarter in the previous two games, even though they (Lexington) came up short. But the Tigers still did some good things to build on heading into rivalry week against Pelion. For example, the Tiger offense had over 300 total yards for the 3rd consecutive game (303 to be exact). The Swansea rushing attack had 251 rushing yards off of 42 rushing attempts (5.98 YPC). There were costly penalties that held back the passing attack, though Senior QB #12 Tarez James still went 4/18 with 52 passing yards and 1 TD (no turnovers). On the ground, Senior Dual-threat Quarterback Tarez James carried the ball 16-times for 116 rushing yards and 1 TD. Tarez accounted for 168 of the Tigers’ total 303 yards. Junior Running Back #6 Deandre Caldwell was right behind him with 101 rushing yards off of 18 carries. Wingback and Wide Receiver Senior Trace Selfridge #13 had 2 catches for 35 yards and a TD. I get it; anytime that you lose 47-13, you can wonder what good can come from it. But the fact that the Tigers still had 303 yards of total offense and several really good drives against a strong 5A Lexington defense shows there is a lot to build on and keep improving. That’s the motto for this team, according to Coach Fox (from last week’s Tiger Den Coaches show): ‘We’ve got to focus on us, and getting better and improving each week.’ The Tiger defense also had positives, forcing 2 fumbles and recovering 3. Junior DB #8 Jayron Heartwell had 5 tackles and forced 2 fumbles. Junior DB #6 Deandre Caldwell recovered both of those fumbles and had 4 tackles on the night. Junior Linebacker #23 Carder Young had his first sack of the season and had 3 tackles and 2 QB hurries. Even though sophomore Wildcat gunslinger Easton Crocker threw for 200+ yards, he was still under pressure all night as the Tiger defense had 16 QB hurries. Nick Riley (#44) and Jeremyah Waymyers (#50) had 4 QB hurries each, while Kevin Sightler (#55) and Trace Selfridge (#13) had 3 each. The Tigers now have 4 takeaways on the season, with just 3 coming from this game. Alijah Waymyers (#14), the freshman, had 3 tackles on the night. What do all of these numbers mean? There is hope, potential, and the Tigers will bounce back. The pieces are there.

For the first time this season, the Tigers are going on the road. They’ll be taking a 12-mile bus ride to local rival, the Pelion Panthers. The 2026 season is the first time since 1993 that the Tigers have had a schedule that began with 3 straight home games. That season ended pretty well, didn’t it? Including this season, the Tigers have started the season with 3 home games 6 different times in 102 seasons of playing football in Swansea (1959, 1982, 1984, 1991, 1993, 2026). Historically, when the Tigers have started the season with three consecutive home games, they have an overall record of 43-13-1.

So, for the fourth game of the 2026 season, Swansea will head to Pelion for a 7:30 PM kickoff this coming Friday night. While Pelion High School was founded in 1917, it has fielded a football team only since 1980 (46 seasons). This is the 12th time in history that Swansea has traveled to Pelion for a football game. In their history, they’ve had 6 winning seasons and 1 .500 season, all coming under Head Coach Ben Freeman except for the 2020 season under Coach Dann Holland (current Pelion AD), when they lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to Andrews High. Speaking of Coach Freeman, I personally believe that you can’t talk about Pelion Football or Pelion Athletics without mentioning Coach Freeman. He came to Pelion High School in 1989 as head football Coach and athletic director. He retired from Pelion in 2014, finishing with an overall record of 118-150 at Pelion and a career record of 142-180, including stops at Fairfield Central and Denmark Olar. Coach Freeman was inducted into the Pelion Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. Coach Freeman led the Panthers to their only undefeated regular season in School history in 2000, when the Panthers lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to Carvers Bay, 28-22. Guess who was on that team? Willie Fox, current Head Football Coach at Swansea. Freeman’s son, Dalton Freeman, is the only NFL player to have ever come out of Pelion High School. After leaving Pelion, he went to Clemson University and was a first-team All-American in 2012 and a 2x first-team All-ACC selection in 2011 and 2012. Freeman played in the NFL for the Jets, Bills, and Texans.

After a 5-6 season last year under 1-year Head Coach Cory Helms, the 13th-best finish in Pelion Football history, the Panthers lost in the first round of the Playoffs at Liberty, 35-14. Last season’s 5-6 record for the Panthers was their best record since 2014. Much to the surprise of many Pelion fans and community members, Cory Helms left Pelion after just 1-season and took teh head coaching job at Chapin. The Eagles, who went 0-10 last year, are now 2-1 under Helms to begin 2026. So, who’s at the helm at Pelion now? Matthew Bennett. Coach Bennett was named Pelion’s 6th Head Football Coach on April 17th of this year. Bennett previously served as head coach at Ninety Six, a position he held for the last 3 seasons. At Ninety Six, he had an overall record of 14-19, but in his first season with the Wildcats, he led them to an 8-3 season. Coach Bennett played the Panthers in all 3 seasons he was head coach at Ninety Six and went 2-1 against them, including a 35-28 loss to Pelion last season. Matthew Bennett is a 2009 graduate of Gaffney High School and has spent time as an assistant Coach at Clinton, Boling Springs, and Woodmont.

So what does Matthew Bennett have to work with in year one at Pelion? Last year the Panthers offense averaged 25.8 points per game with 318 yards per game (134 rushing and 184 yards passing). The Pelion Panthers' defense allowed 31.4 points per game, had 43 total TFLs, 48 QB hurries, 11 Sacks, and 23 PBUs during the 2026 season. They also recovered 14 fumbles and had 8 INTs for a total of 22 takeaways in 11 games.

What about this year? Well, the Panthers look drastically different than last season, schematically, especially on offense. But they have many of the same playmakers. Through three games this season, Pelion has allowed only 22 points per game, and on offense they have scored 26 points per game, averaging 334 total yards (85 passing yards per game and 249.7 rushing yards per game) per game. So far this season, the Panthers have 7 players who have carried the ball, but Senior three-sport athlete Brady Cottingham leads teh team in carries with 48 for 264 yards and 4 TDs. Junior RB #1 Tre Jackson (who many Swansea fans remember last season from his 178-yard game against the Tigers) has 30 carries for 276 yards and 2 TDs. Senior Will Green #0 has carried the ball three times less than Jackson (27 times) for 158 yards and 2 TDs. Pelion's three-year starting QB, #7 Alan Moore, has gone 14/44 for 254 yards, 2 TDs, and 4 INTs. Last season, Moore went 125/226 for 1,860 yards and 20 TDs and 12 INTs. Last year, Alan Moore broke former Pelion QB and current Cincinnati TE Coach Josh Stepp’s single-game passing record when Alan Moore threw for 5 TDs against Columbia on August 29th. Senior QB Alan Moore is no stranger to Swansea, as he has faced them twice in his career already. Moore is 0-2 and has thrown 29 completions for 266 yards for 4 TDs and 1 INT against the Tigers. Last year Alan Moore was ranked #3 in the 2A classification for passing yards with 1,860.

Under Coach Bennett, Schematically, runs a Wing-T offense. Like Coach Fox and the Tiger offense, it is a hybrid form of the Wing-T. Coach Bennett’s offense is mostly comprised of Pistol and shotgun formations. Every blue moon, he will get under center and run a double wing, and also every blue moon, he will add elements of the spread to his offense. Based on film, Coach Bennett almost always has someone in the backfield with the quarterback. Which is what ‘oldschoolers’ would call a fullback. Today, this is often called a B back.

Both Swansea and Pelion run very similar offenses this year. So, to me, this is a rivalry matchup from back in time. Both teams run the Wing-T offense, but both run hybrids of the Wing-T. Both on different spectrums schematically. What’s the difference between these two hybrid Wing-T offenses? Schematically, Swansea usually plays with two wingbacks and two receivers and is willing to go in the spread and throw the ball a little bit more than Pelion, at least this season.

So far this season, Pelion’s only loss was the season opener at Airport, 34-7. They defeated Barnwell 17-7 at home the next week and Ridge Spring-Monetta on the road last week, 56-26, giving the Trojans their first loss of the season. Last season, the Tigers defeated Pelion 28-27 for Coach Fox’s closest win in his history as a Head Coach. Will this rivalry, with schematic offenses from back in time, prove to be a close ballgame or a blowout? Like history, only time will tell.

Go Tigers, and as always,

It’s all about the ‘S’, baby!

Sincerely,

The Voice of the Tigers,

Brady Henderson

2026 Swansea Tiger Football Schedule

For the first time in school history, all 10-regular season football games will be broadcasted (audio & visual) by the Swansea Tiger Sports Network! This season you don’t have to miss a tackle, catch or touchdown! Each Friday night whether the Tigers are on the road or at home you can begin tuning in at 6:50 PM on our YouTube channel for the Accurate Manufacturing and Pound Automotive Pregame Show! Brady (play-by-play) and Matt (color) will be calling the action, live! We can’t wait for the season to officially begin on August 21st at the Historic Doug Bennett Stadium. Go Tigers!