By Thomas Grant Jr.
Cory Helms is coaching again in Lexington County.
This time, the former University of South Carolina offensive lineman will lead his own program. On Wednesday, he was introduced as the new head football coach at Pelion High School.
Helms replaces Dann Holland, who will remain at the school as athletics director. He spent 10 seasons as head coach with the Panthers, leading them to their last region title in 2020.
The coaching change was made to satisfy Lexington School District One’s decision to split the coaching and AD duties at all five schools. White Knoll is the lone remaining school with a vacancy as it looks to fill the AD position.
After graduating from South Carolina, Helms became the offensive line and strength coach at Gray Collegiate. The program won the 2021 Class 2A title and produced the Palmetto State’s first-ever single-season 3,000-yard rusher in K.Z. Adams.
Helms left the War Eagles to become head coach at Cardinal Newman. He posted a 16-18 record in three seasons, with last year’s 9-3 mark and SCISA Class 4A semifinal appearance as the high point.
In returning to public school, Helms sees the school as a fit to his coaching personality.
“Having a chance to work with Coach Holland, who’s been in my shoes, he’s obviously a football guy and kind of have him lead me and guide me through the process is huge. I really enjoyed my conversations with Principal (Sean) Bishton. The direction he wants to go with the program and I think there’s a lot of alignment. And to me, that was huge.”
In keeping with Helms’ “brand, he expects the Panthers to be active and physical on both sides of the football. They will be a “high energy”, “disciplined” and “organized” program that will also “play loose” and have “fun”.
At the same time, he realizes the competitive nature of Region 2-2A. It was won by Batesburg-Leesville, which went undefeated during the regular season, and also had Top 10 teams in Saluda and Strom Thurmond.
Ironically, Stewart Young was also introduced as the new head coach at fellow District 1 school Lexington. He spent 18 seasons at Saluda, the last 11 as head coach.
“That’s a big draw to coming here,” Helms said. “You get to play against some of the better 2A schools in the entire state. It’s a tough region. I think if you don’t want to play against those guys, then you probably shouldn’t be playing. That’s a huge draw for me.
“There’s no secret. The region’s tough and there’s a lot of good football. A lot of good football coaches in this region and it’s going to be exciting.”
Feature photo: New Pelion head football coach Cory Helms
Photos by Thomas Grant Jr.
