Familiar dancing partners again set to do-si-do at this year’s CNB Kickoff Classic

The venue may be different, but the 2017 CNB Kickoff Classic will have a familiar theme … at least when it comes to its matchups.

Taking place at Craig E. Wall Stadium on the Conway High School campus, the 28th edition of the annual preseason jamboree will feature each of the same matchups as its predecessor. Scheduled for Aug. 11, festivities are slated to begin at 6 p.m.

For the second straight year, Loris and Socastee are tasked with serving as the event’s opening act. In the CNB Kickoff Classic’s second contest, Shane Fidler takes the field for the first time as Waccamaw coach when it takes on a young Carolina Forest squad.

The third matchup pits a pair of coaches new to the CNB Kickoff Classic — and Palmetto State high school football, for that matter. Donnie Kiefer and Joey Price lead Green Sea Floyds and St. James, respectively, both receiving a first glance at their new teams in game-type situations.

Aynor and Myrtle Beach will take the field in the night’s fourth contest, while host Conway and North Myrtle Beach will match wits in the CNB Kickoff Classic finale — the latter of those featuring coaches new to their respective program’s head chair.

This past winter, Matt Reel replaced former head man Blair Hardin, who left to take the role of athletic director and football coach at River Bluff. Conway’s situation is much more complicated, however, as longtime assistant Carlton Terry takes the reins of the program from embattled coach Chuck Jordan.

One of the state’s winningest all-time coaches, Jordan was placed on administrative leave with pay following an on-campus incident that resulted in him being charged with third-degree assault. He is currently awaiting trial.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Familiar dancing partners again set to do-si-do at this year’s CNB Kickoff Classic."