Every year I sit down with the same ritual. Find the five questions that matter most, then talk myself into and out of the answers until I settle on something. Most seasons the list writes itself. This season I had more options than usual, which tells you something about where the program is right now. New head coach. New quarterback picture. A schedule that reads like somebody in the admin office holds a grudge. Here are the five I landed on.
1. What does a Coach Crane team actually look like?
We might as well start where everyone already is. This is the question hanging over the whole season, and the honest answer is that we do not know yet, and might not by the end of the year, because like anything change takes time. Howver, this team that takes the field on August 21st, and every Friday after, is the first real look at what Coach Crane wants BHP to be.
Though he has told us where to look. He keeps coming back to three words: toughness, discipline, and detail. In his interview with WYFF4 he made a point of saying toughness lives on the mental side as much as the physical. Pair that with the emphasis on discipline and detail and I think the cleanest way to measure a Crane team early is penalties. BHP has been one of the more penalized teams over the last few seasons. We have spent time explaining why those raw numbers can be misleading, so I am not sounding an alarm here. But if the new direction is going to show up anywhere in the box score before the offense and defense fully take shape, it could show up there. I would expect those numbers to trend down as the fall goes on.
Now, the part I want to talk people off of. Crane is an offensive-minded coach visible from his coaching stops previously, so it is tempting to look at last year's numbers and brace for a philosophical overhaul on that side of the ball. I would pump the brakes on that for two reasons.
First, Andrew Jenkins is still calling the offense this fall, and BHP has averaged better than 5,500 offensive yards over the last three seasons with him at the controls. You do not walk into a room putting up those numbers and start rearranging the furniture.
Second, and this is the thing good coaches understand, Crane is not going to install what makes him comfortable just because it makes him comfortable. The job is to fit the scheme to the players, not force the players into a scheme. What that probably means, and we will get deeper into this later, is an offense that puts certain/different guys in spots that they are comfortable in. That is what might look different.
By the end of the year, and I am not putting words in his mouth, Coach Crane is going to want this team to look the way BHP has looked for the better part of twenty-five years. Like it belongs in the championship conversation. The interesting part is watching how a new voice gets it there.
2. Can this offense be even better than the last few years?
Yes, more offense talk. You are probably already picking up that I am high on this offense. I am going to hand you more reasons to feel the same way, but there is a real chance this question gets answered by my own enthusiasm, so read accordingly.
I see three places this group can be dominant.
Start with the backs. You are going to hear plenty about the top two, so let me introduce the pairing. Cam Robinson and Tizere Ware are going to lead the way, and they lead it in different styles. Ware is turning into a punishing, downhill back, which is a type BHP has not really had in a few years. This program built its reputation on speed at tailback. Ware adds a different element, the kind of runner who makes a defense feel each carry by the fourth quarter. Robinson is no afterthought. He is the shiftier of the two, and a backfield that can hand you both looks is a hard week of practice for anybody on the schedule. Not to mention their pass block ability.
Next, the pass catchers. You know where I stand on Nick Sargent. He is a matchup problem in the truest sense. Put a linebacker on him and his athleticism wins. Slide a safety or corner over and his size takes the rep. This is my prediction, and I am labeling it as exactly that: do not be shocked if you look up in November and he has 15 receiving touchdowns. Alongside him, BHP will use Malachi Bohler at receiver and a handful of other spots, because Bohler is the kind of athlete who brings speed the second he is on the perimeter. Add the taller targets BHP can put outside and you have a receiver picture that is difficult to defend with a normal, honest coverage plan.
Then there is the offensive line, which is where a lot of this either comes true or does not. Yes, they are replacing a few key starters. But they are also bringing back some big bodies who saw the field last season. McCray Pruitt, Carter Burgess, and Jonah Barras all played meaningful snaps and look to move into full starting roles. Burgess and Barras are genuinely large humans and can really move people. If this group develops across the season the way BHP lines usually do, it unlocks everything else on this list.
So can the offense be more powerful than in years past? I think yes, but maybe in a different shape. BHP has been a run-first program built on explosive plays, and that explosiveness is not going anywhere. What I think you see more of this year is control. Longer drives that end in points and also end in a defense that is tired and a little demoralized. Huge stats are fun. Long drives that quietly break an opponent's spirit are how you build the kind of season worth remembering.
3. Do we see any Gameday Operation changes inside the stadium this year?
You know me. I will overhaul a gameday atmosphere at the slightest provocation. And I will say up front: no coach is ever going to care about the atmosphere the way we fans do, and that is fine. Their job is to win. Ours is to experience. But with a new Head Man in charge maybe changes could follow? So in that spirit, could we start a new Bear tradition or two this fall? Let me float some ideas. I will do my best to keep the professional wrestling influences to a minimum.
Start with pregame and the Bear Walk. I love the Bear Walk. Players coming through the crowd, kids getting a high five from someone they look up to, parents catching a glimpse of their kid before kickoff. All of it stays. But I think we can crank it a few notches. Instead of coming down the steps at the hill, let the Bears come out from under the stands. Smoke at the under seating entrance, and the team walks out in front of the faithful.
Before they emerge, though, we need to set the stage. The new LED lights that can flash and change color were a major upgrade last season, so let's start the show early. With fifteen minutes to kickoff, we play the monologue from last season's Championship hype video. I know we put that together ourselves, and I promise this is not me fishing for a compliment. The response to it was overwhelming, and I think it does something real for this community. It can set a stage. As it plays, the team gets into position under the stands. When the monologue lands on "We Are BHP," the Bears come out to Grove St. Party by Waka Flocka Flame and keep coming until they are set in the end zone.
Then the band hits that opening trumpet note from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the team runs through the cheerleaders' banner as the band swells to the peak, and we roll straight into the fight song. As the special teams unit lines up, we drop a "Gentlemen, start your engines," and we are off.
Another one. BHP has been playing Sweet Caroline late in the third or fourth quarter. I would swap it for Song of the South by Alabama. Just as fun, just as easy for the whole stadium to sing, and it keeps our own kind of energy rolling as the game wears on.
Here is the one I care about most, the seam between the third and fourth quarters, which is exactly where an okay atmosphere and a great one separate. I think each quarter should get its own song, building toward that fourth-quarter turn. First quarter, the Free Bird remix by Moonlght. Second quarter, American Nights by Zach Bryan. Third quarter, Levels by Avicii. Fourth quarter, Right Above It by Lil Wayne. Then, when it is over and we have the win, hit me with Country Roads by John Denver. Yes, I was influnced by watching too much soccer this year. I am aware. I regret nothing.
All of this is in service of turning BHP Stadium into a genuine, rowdy football party. Just, please, whatever we do, we do not need a bus ride around the school. I will name no orange names. You know exactly what I mean.
Links of Suggested Audio:
- Championship hype video
- Grove St. Party by Waka Flocka Flame
- "Gentlemen, start your engines,"
- Song of the South by Alabama
- Free Bird remix by Moonlght
- American Nights by Zach Bryan
- Levels by Avicii
- Right Above It by Lil Wayne
- Country Roads by John Denver
4. Who are the leaders you are not talking about yet?
This is my favorite section to write every year, because it is the one where I get to point at names before they become THE names. I can give you numbers on a player all day. I am decent on the eye test. What I am not equipped to judge from the stands is who leads, who sets a tone, who the room actually follows. So this year I did the reasonable thing and asked. I reached out to coaches and people close to the program and asked which players have stood out over the summer, not just physically but in the way they are with the team. Keep these names close.
Cam Robinson, RB. A senior who has waited his turn and looked explosive doing the waiting. He knows this offense inside out and is ready to break out.
Tizere Ware, RB. Another senior who bided his time and looks ready to make a statement. Strong summer, and possibly the strongest pound-for-pound player on the roster. Watch him in pass protection as much as with the ball.
Malachi Bohler, WR. We are going to mention Malachi at a lot of spots this year, and receiver might be where he does the most damage. Every touch brings juice.
Jud Lowie, WR. Jud is back on a football field for the first time since eighth grade, and that is a real influx of talent. A tall target with good hands and easy athleticism. Put him and Sargent's size on the field together and Rylan Crooks has two problems for a defense to solve at once.
Kamarion Glenn, DL. A name you already know, which does not make him any less important. His work in the weight room is turning him into an anchor up front. And I saw a flash of it last year, so I will ask out loud: can we get Kamarion dropping into coverage now and then? Big man rumblin', bumblin'?
Charlie Haynie, DL. Charlie contributed as a situational piece and spot starter last season and steps into a bigger role now. He looks the part, long and lean off the edge, and should hold up against the run while getting after the passer.
Adrian McGlotten, LB. Versatile enough to line up in several spots and productive in all of them. He plays with energy and finds the ball, and he is going to be all over the field this fall.
Kendrell Cowan, LB. A rising sophomore who has mostly worked at Sam and Will. One quote from inside the program stuck with me: "He has a chance to be one of the next good ones at the LB position." From a place that keeps producing college linebackers, that is a sentence worth sitting with.
Christian Brown, DB. Got his taste of Friday nights in the secondary and on special teams last year and is ready for more. As the only senior in the group, he has grown into a leadership role, and that has started to spread through the whole defense.
Jai Harling, DB. Jai spent the summer chasing details, reworking himself into a better version of the player he was. That kind of drive tends to pay off across a long season.
That is a partial list, not a complete one. The point is that the cupboard is not close to empty. There is talent all over this roster and more of it on the way.
5. How far can this team actually go?
Don't shoot the messenger. When the schedule dropped, the first thing a lot of people said was some version of, what if this team starts 0-5? What would the fans even do with that? BHP has not lost five games combined over the last three seasons, so I understand why the number and strenght of schedule is jarring. And I know this is the question you scrolled down here for.
Yes, this schedule is tough. It might be the toughest in program history. And yes, there is change everywhere you look. But let me walk through it, because I think there is a real argument that the question should be flipped. What happens if BHP starts 5-0?
Game one, T.L. Hanna. I have been digging into this team and I will be straight with you: they are very, very good. Even with everything else on this schedule, Hanna is the best defense BHP will see all year, postseason included. Several publications have them top ten in 4A coming in. That sounds like a wall, but there are places BHP is elite enough to create problems. If the offense leans into the tight end and outside targets the way I think it will, Hanna has to answer for it, and the matchup tilts toward the Bears. Hanna graduates most of its linebacker corps, and Sargent is exactly the sort of player who punishes a group still sorting itself out. There is also a timing edge. Hanna runs a style of offense you see less and less at any level, and defenses genuinely struggle to prepare for it on a normal week. Opening the season against it means BHP gets extra time and reps to get ready, and Hanna is breaking in a lot of new pieces on the offensive side as well.
Game two, at Daniel. A lot of Bear fans feel this rivalry more than Palmetto, at least on the field, and I get it. BHP and Daniel spent years trading haymakers in Western 3A. The play styles has changed. The pedigree has not. Daniel will be talented, and they have one of the best defensive players in the Upstate in Christian Chancellor Jr., a Clemson commit. Even so, a couple of things favor BHP. Daniel is in year two under Chris Stone, and BHP handled Stone-coached Walhalla teams in both 2023 and 2024. Daniel also comes into this one after facing a Wren team built to pound the ball, which is a good way to arrive with tired legs before your defense is in true regular-season shape. I like the Bears to do something special up in Central that night.
Game three, JL Mann. The consensus "easier" game in the non-region slate. In the words of a certain mascot-head-wearing analyst, not so fast, my friend. Yes, the Patriots have had a couple of down years, and yes, they are in year two under Bryce Smiley. But we all know a Greenville County program is only ever a few transfers away from being dangerous. Get them at home, though, and I think the Bears keep the momentum rolling.
Game four, at Abbeville. We already borrowed from Coach Corso, so let's channel our inner Keith Jackson for this one. Whoa, Nellie. What we would have given for this matchup the last couple of years, and now we finally get it. Weird things happen when you travel to A-Town, anyone who has done it will tell you. But this Panther team may not carry quite the same juice as recent editions. Read into this what you will: in the first jamboree of the season, Emerald led Abbeville 21-7 at the end of the half-game format. I like the Bears to out-man the Panthers.
Game five, Greenwood. The headline here is that quarterback Triston Lewis graduated and is now a Gamecock. Last year Lewis was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the state, and now Greenwood has to find a replacement for that kind of talent while he works against SEC athletes in Columbia. This is also, somehow, the first time these programs have ever met. Thirty-five minutes apart and they have never played. Get them at home and I think BHP gets the win over the bigger Greenwood team heading into region play.
Are these non-conference games formidable? Absolutely. Insurmountable? No. And here is the thing worth remembering: when we look at names like Abbeville and Greenwood, their fans are looking back at BHP the same way. So instead of the doomsday version, sit with the other one. What if BHP starts 5-0?
Then comes region play, starting with the team BHP has faced more than any other. This will be the 62nd meeting between these two, and I think this one goes the way the last 18 straight have, with a Bears win.
After that it is three straight weeks that function as region championship games, because all three of these opponents can win the thing. First up, Powdersville. BHP handed Powdersville its final loss of 2025 in the Upper State Championship, and plenty of those players have this one circled in red for revenge. Then a trip to Wren, which drops down from 4A and brings one of the most powerful backs in the Upstate, looking to put an early grip on the region. BHP closes the regular season at Emerald in Greenwood, and as noted, Emerald may field one of the most explosive offenses BHP sees all year. Who knows what that final night is playing for. Seeding, or the region title outright.
So yes, I look at schedules through BHP-colored glasses, and I am telling you there is a path here to something special. Every playoff game will be on the road this year. But if BHP wins the region, the road to a third straight Upper State Championship, or more, is not some fantasy. It is right there.
The season starts soon. Do not read these opponents by name and flinch. Trust that BHP is going to be in the best possible position to take each one, one Friday at a time.
There is a version of this preview I could have written that hedged every answer. New coach, new quarterback, a schedule with teeth, so let's all be reasonable and cautious. But that is not how I watch this team, and I do not think it is how you do either. The questions this year are real ones, and I am not pretending otherwise. I just happen to believe the answers break the Bears' way more often than not.
What I keep coming back to is that none of this is starting from scratch. Coach Crane inherited a program that already knows how to win, an offense that already puts up numbers, and a roster with talent stacked at the spots that matter and more of it coming behind. His job is to add to that, not rebuild it. So when the lights come on August 21st, I will not be watching to see whether BHP is still BHP. I will be watching to see how good the next version can get. Five questions, one ritual, and a season I cannot wait to see answer them.
Make sure to check back in next week as we drop the first Bear Tracks of the season as BHP gears up to take on the T.L. Hanna Yellow Jackets to kick off the season!