By Thomas Grant Jr.
After two decades coaching Saluda High School football, Stewart Young was seeking another challenge.
Having led the Tigers to their first state title since 1963 five years earlier, the 41-year-old had established himself as a town legend.
Yet the opportunity to take over a Class 5A Division I football 33 miles down Highway 378 was a challenge Young could not turn down. After giving the news to the Saluda players, Young headed to Lexington High School Wednesday afternoon to be introduced as the new head football coach.
“This rejuvenated me as a competitor to think about the challenge,” Young said. “I think sometimes you come in rejuvenated, then I rejuvenate hopefully the players, the coaches. You’ve got to believe. You’ve got to believe. I told them today why not us? Why not Lexington? Who’s say we can’t win big and that’s our goal.”
Young replaced Lexington alumnus Dustin Curtis. He will remain at the school as athletics director going 12-10 in two seasons.
“If (District Athletics Director) Chad Leaphart thinks he is a good fit, then that is good enough for me,” Curtis said. “I think Coach Young will mean a lot for this program and community. … I think Coach Young is the complete package and ultimately came out as the best candidate and right fit for Lexington.”
The coaching change was the result of Lexington School District One’s decision to split the coach and AD positions at all five schools. White Knoll is the one remaining school with a vacancy at AD as Nick Pelham will remain as head football coach.
A Presbyterian College graduate, Young spent seven seasons as a Saluda assistant coach. He took over the program in 2014 and compiled a 93-37 record.
This past season, Saluda finished 9-2 and reached the second round of the playoffs. It finished second to Batesburg-Leesville in the Region 2-2A standings.
Young goes from one competitive region to arguably the toughest in Class 5A last season. Region 4-5A produced five teams which finished with winning records, two state finalists (Division I champion Dutch Fork and Division II runner-up Irmo), three semifinalists (White Knoll was the third school) and had a 13-5 post-season record.
“I’ve been at that different level of ball,” Young said. “But football’s football and when you’re playing really tough teams, really good coaches, I think the experience of being in those scenarios will definitely help me as a football coach to get into that.”
Having helped end Saluda’s 56-year championship drought, Young now looks to do the same for Lexington. The Wildcats’ last state title win was in 1950 and their last appearance was in 2014.
“That would be an ultimate, ultimate accomplishment,” Young said. “Ultimately, that’s what you want to do. It drives me. It drives me. That’ll be something that’s going to be in the back of my mind. Yes sir. Can we do it? And if we do it, what a feeling that will be.”
Photo by Thomas Grant Jr.
