With success, Conway trades chip on shoulder for target on back

All last season, despite bounce-back wins and a return to the state playoffs, Conway football had a big old chip on its shoulder.

The Tigers were fighting off the angst from some very bad years, and they scraped together nine wins.

But if 2015 was a season to prove the program was on solid ground, this fall is about something so much more. Chuck Jordan returns a loaded team that – in all likelihood – will be considered the favorite in the vast majority of the games on its schedule, if not all of them. Instead of a chip on the shoulder, then, Conway is now donning a target on its back.

“You’re always battling one of two things with high school kids. You’re either trying to instill confidence or trying to tell them they aren’t at the top of the mountain. There is no in-between,” Jordan said. “The thing is to make them a very confident team but not let them overlook any of their opponents. We’ve always tried to have that mindset, whether we were real good or not.”

Few believe the Tigers will be anything but pretty darn good this season.

With eight starters returning on each side of the ball, Jordan has a squad that is as experienced as about anyone else it will face. All those players coming back, including 12 juniors, are also ones that had a significant impact.

Quarterback Peyton Derrick threw for 2,650 yards and 30 touchdowns. Receivers Darren Stanley, Juwon Moody and Malachi Miller combined for nearly 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. There’s also an offensive line led by junior Gunner Britton, a Toast of the Coast selection who allowed only two sacks all season.

Defensively, guys like safety Antonio Long, linebacker Malik Morant and linemen Juwaun Brown and Jaylen Moody are among a group that made major strides last year, allowing 22 points per game.

Altogether, this could have the makings of some of the Tigers’ better seasons.

“We’re coming in with a new confidence,” Derrick said. “Last year, we proved to everyone that we were a real threat. This year, we can reclaim the tradition of Conway being a powerhouse in this area. We have the expectation of every game, we can win.”

The schedule is one that could also play into Conway’s advantage. Should everything go to plan, the season will continue to build toward the final three games of the region slate, contests against South Florence, Sumter and Carolina Forest.

By the time that stretch run begins, Jordan and his staff should have a pretty good idea just how good this year’s team will be.

“There is no replacement for experience. When we’ve had experienced teams, it’s paid off for us,” Jordan said. “The key to this team is to let them relax and slowly improve. Hopefully they will. That’s the best improvement – that slow, methodical improvement.”

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 6:47 PM with the headline "With success, Conway trades chip on shoulder for target on back."