FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. (WSPA) – On a hot summer day in mid-June, at the newly formed Fountain Inn High School, the inaugural Fury football team breaks in the practice field.
“I’m excited. Just coming ready to work,” said sophomore running back, defensive back and kicker Jeffrey Hall.
“[You] couldn’t find a better community to start a school [and] start a program and really create that excitement with,” added head coach Brett Nichols, who played football for Hillcrest High School.
Fountain Inn High School began classes in the 2021-2022 school year, but the football team will begin play for the first time this fall. It’s an opportunity most high school athletes never get to experience: building a program from the ground up.
“We hold ourselves accountable to be leaders out here,” said sophomore lineman Jackson Njoku. “Especially being [the] first class, you know we’re going to have a bunch of camps ready for little kids and I’m excited to just make an impact.”
The community has rallied around the group as well. The Fury logo can be seen on full display as you enter the town that now has a team to call its own.
“We represent them and we take ownership in that,” Nichols said. “We want to obviously make them proud. We want to be the best that we can be. And every single bit of work that we’re putting in for it is how we do that.”
“They’re going to enjoy it,” said Njoku. “It’s going to be fun. They can come watch us and honestly I think it makes them happy because a lot of [the players] were raised here.”
This is the first startup Greenville County high school in nearly fifty years. With that comes some challenges, though, as the Fury will be fielding a team made up solely of freshmen and sophomores. They’ll have juniors next year, and seniors the year after that.
“We’re going to look a little different than most teams we play,” said Nichols. “But we’re going to line up and go play. And we’re not going to use that as an excuse or crutch. Let’s go fight it out and see what we can do.”
“I think it’s great that everyone can come out here as freshmen and sophomore and just play on varsity already and have that much more experience,” said Hall.
The Fury will compete in Region 2-3A with the likes of Powdersville, Belton-Honea Path, Wren, Palmetto and Southside. Donning the navy, maroon and gray, they now set their sights on writing the team’s first chapter at Fury stadium this fall.