Easley head football Coach Chad Smith instructs his players on the sidelines during Friday night's game against West-Oak.
Easley coachs are now 12-4-1 in opening games of their tenure. J.C. Brice served Easley as head coach from 1929-1938, winning the state title in 1937. But Brice has one of those four losses, falling to Parker 6-0 in his debut game.
After taking three years off as football coach so he could concentrate on his duties as the head of Easley schools, Brice returned to the sidelines in 1942 and coached through the1948 season. This time Brice won his debut, defeating Central 6-0.
The winning tradition goes back to the first Easley High School coach, who led the Green Wave to a 7-6 win over Pickens in the school’s first football game in 1923. The next season, W.M. Holcombe took over the Easley football program, and the Green Wave opened with a 18-6 loss to Hartwell. W.L. Rickard coached Easley for the 1925 season, and opened with a 0-0 tie against Anderson.
Frankie Myers returned Easley to the winning tradition by opening his three-year stay as head coach by defeating Spartanburg 13-0.
Earl Gregory coached for three years in between the stints with Brice as the Green Wave coach. Gregory led Easley to a 6-3 win over Greenville in his opening game.
When Brice stepped away from coaching for the second time, Clarence Lowery became the Easley head coach. The Green Wave defeated Welcome 37-6 in his 1949 debut.
Harvey Stewart only coached the Green Wave for one year – 1952. His team defeated Pelzer-Williamston 38-6 in its opening game.
Jim Hughes began his four-year stay in Easley in 1953. The Green wave topped Daniel 15-6 in Hughes’ opening game.
Legendary Coach Bill Carr came to Easley from Liberty in 1957. In his opening game, Carr led Easley to a 25-0 win over Greer.
When Carr left Easley after the 1966 season, a young assistant name Larry Bagwell took over as head coach. Bagwell led the Green Wave to a 13-7 win in his first game in 1967, on their way to earning Easley’s third state title.
When Bagwell retired in 1992, Mike Anthony replaced him. Although Anthony would later win a state championship at Union High School, he had a terrible time at Easley. Anthony’s Green Wave lost to Daniel 31-13 in his debut.
Mike Barnes replaced Anthony in 1994, and had a rough first season, winning only two of 11 games. But one was the opening game against Pickens, which Easley won 7-0. Interestingly, the other win for the Green Wave that season also came against the Blue Flame, as Easley defeated Pickens 28-21 in the final game of the season.
Donnie Woolsey replaced Barnes in 2002, and Easley lost to Pickens 30-0 in his debut. Woolsey would have to wait two more years for the opening game of 2004 to earn his first win as Green Wave coach, with Easley edging Pickens 13-10 in overtime.
In 2005, Jabo Burgess got off to a good start as the new Easley coach, leading Easley to a 27-21 win over Pickens.
Now, in 2010, Chad Smith has opened his career as Easley’s head coach by leading the Green Wave to a 35-13 win over West-Oak.
Friday Smith will try to become the first Easley head coach to earn a win against Daniel since Barnes’ 1997 team featuring Eric Meekins defeated Daniel 27-9 in 1997.
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