Nothing raises the level of excitement around a program like winning a state championship, but with great enthusiasm comes great expectations. Such is life at Beaufort Academy, where the Eagles are preparing to embark on their SCISA 8-man state title defense.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” second-year BA coach Mark Clifford said. “Everybody knows who we are now. We realize that, and we realize that we can’t mistakes and we’ve got to be twice as good as we were last year.”

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The Eagles’ offense will have a slightly different look after the departure of star running back De’Shaun Epps, but BA returns an experienced quarterback in Dawson Coleman, who has the benefit of a year playing in Clifford’s offense.

“We’re way ahead of where we were last year,” Coleman said. “This time last year I was still learning the plays, but now we can start doing different reads at the line. It will change the game a lot.” 

BA also hopes to benefit from an influx of players who were already walking the hallways but had not shown an interest in playing football until the Eagles’ unexpected run to the state title last fall.

“Everybody wants to be a part of it now,” Coleman said. “It’s definitely a different atmosphere.”  

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Coach: Mark CliffordRecord at BA: