By MONTE DUTTON

In telling his own story, Steve Englehart delivered an important message to young people in general, not just the ones who play football.

Englehart, the second-year head coach at Presbyterian College, told the Laurens County Touchdown Club on Thursday how he rose through the coaching ranks by being a relentless volunteer.

Many kids go to college, spend a lot of money doing it, and find that even then, their first job doesn’t pay a salary that lives up to their expectations. It’s disillusioning and brings with it a certain bitterness.

You don’t pay me enough to do anything extra.

What they don’t realize is that the early days of a career are a time to get while the getting’s good. When an employee goes the extra mile at the beginning, it fuels his eventual rise. An employee who starts out doing the minimum is one who finds his career almost immediately stalled.

When Englehart took over at PC, he had a roster considerably depleted after, get this, a  2-9 record in Kevin Kelley’s sad season. His first Blue Hose team went 1-10. On Saturday at 1 p.m., PC faces the only team it defeated last season, Virginia University of Lynchburg. It will be hard to prove much by defeating the Dragons at Bailey Memorial Stadium.

Murray State, which offers scholarships, defeated Presbyterian, which does not, by a score of 41-10, but the Blue Hose kept it close for a half. The Blue Hose have a shot in most of their games, which are against schools that also do not award football grants, but Virginia of Lynchburg, a private HBCU with 750 students and only one home game, is a member of neither the NCAA nor the NAIA. It is in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association).

Carson-Newman defeated VUL, 35-3, in the Dragons’ opener. They had only five first downs and 75 yards of total offense. Last season VUL was 0-10, and PC’s margin (21-13) was the closest the Dragons came to a victory.

Only Cinderella was more familiar with a Cinderella Story than Englehart is. His record at Presbyterian is 1-10, but his overall record at Rose-Hulman, Florida Tech and PC is 71-59.

He coached quarterbacks at Rose-Hulman for $8,000, and $8,000 wasn’t much money, even in 2002.

Whenever a head coach or an athletics director asked for volunteers, Englehart raised his hand. His team slogan at PC is “Pull the Rope,” an analogy to a tug of war. He started the team at Florida Tech, compiled a 44-35 record in seven years, and had the team cut out from under him because the school, also private, dropped football during the COVID pandemic.

He is the ultimate team guy because, simply, he coaches a team. It can’t be proven yet, but PC is getting better. Englehart arrived in Presbyterian football’s darkest hour after the most disastrous experiment since a kid tried to propel a spaceship with bottle rockets.

That’s been a while.

Presbyterian didn’t give up on football, and its coach never does. In Englehart’s first spring practice, the Blue Hose had barely enough linemen to form a line.

When he talked to the Laurens County Touchdown Club, Englehart was more earnest than eloquent. He stood up straight. I’ve never seen him stand up any way but straight, though, admittedly, I’ve never seen him asleep.

What Englehart said Monday about VUL wasn’t too different from what he’s going to say every week. The Blue Hose are, by necessity, all about constantly getting better. It may be a bit more true about the Dragons because they are a mystery, though probably not a particularly threatening one.

“You know, you really just focus on your basic stuff and try to be better,” he said. “Just try to be better at them than your opponent and put some pressure on them.”

Run. Pass. Kick. Block. Tackle. Never stop trying. Pull the rope.

Now on to the high schools.

Aiken (0-1) visits Clinton (0-3). The Green Hornets fell, 48-12, to Strom Thurmond while the Red Devils were polishing off Newberry, 42-7. Georgia teams defeated Aiken in its first two games. Clinton is ranked third in Class 3A. Aiken is off the map in Class 4A. It’s homecoming at CHS. The game will be broadcast on WPCC (FM 96.5, AM 1410) and replayed after Saturday Morning Rewind (9-10:30 a.m.).

Laurens (0-3) visits Chapman (2-1). The Panthers have a victory over 5A Byrnes but lost to another such school, Boiling Springs, by a score of 29-7 last week. Chapman is pass-oriented, something of a contrast to Laurens’ previous opponents. WLBG (FM 104.1, AM 860) will provide broadcast coverage.

Thornwell (0-2) visits McCormick (0-3). At least the Saints aren’t going to Calhoun Falls, where they not only had to play on the road twice but lost by a combined total of 94-19. The Chiefs have lessened the point spread in each game since falling to reigning 2A state champ Abbeville, 65-12, in the opener. Lincoln County (Ga.) thumped McCormick, 49-6, but Silver Creek (North Augusta) only won, 21-14.

Oakbrook Prep (2-0) visits Laurens Academy (1-2). Jolly Doolittle, who puts his 14 players on the field eight at a time, won for the first time at Laurens Academy, though the Crusaders’ 58-0 victory actually took place at Newberry Academy. Garrett Murphy’s performance earned county Player of the Week honors for his performance. The Spartanburg-based Knights only defeated NA, 36-12.

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