Blackville – While he still may be just as busy, if not more so, Anthony Reitenour thinks he is
finally hitting his rhythm as the athletic director/football head coach/boys basketball coach at Jefferson
Davis Academy.
“I feel like I'm keeping the wheels on the track,” Reitenour said about completing his first year at
Jefferson Davis and his first time ever as an athletic director. “I didn't come in not knowing anything and
completely blind. Ritchie Way (the former athletic director at Clarendon Hall School in Summerton,
where Reitenour was at for several years) showed me a lot of things and he had me doing some things as
well.
“Now doing this while I’m coaching is a struggle. You’re trying to put out fires while you’re
trying to work with your team. Also, it had been a few years since Jefferson Davis had had an athletic
director, so I didn’t have a lot laid out for me. There was a lot of trial and error.”
As far as where the football and boys basketball programs stand, Reitenour the athletic director is
happy with his football and boys basketball coaches.
“I feel good about where we are in football,” he said. “We knew coming in that we had some
issues we were going to have to get over as a program. Year 1 was a really good turnaround year.”
The Raiders finished with a 7-5 overall record after winning just two games in each of the two
previous seasons. They reached the SCISA 8-man state playoffs where they lost to Richard Winn
Academy in the first round.
What has Reitenour excited is all of the excitement he detects in the 15 players returning from
last year’s squad and the six freshmen who are moving up from the junior varsity squad.
“As far as the work the players are putting in, I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years as a
coach,” he said. “I mean these guys are working so very hard. I think it's all going to shape up for a pretty
good year. It’s a learning experience, but I feel like we’re moving forward and progressing at a great
rate.”
While Jefferson Davis lost six seniors from last year’s squad, there are a some standouts returning
as well.
“There's a lot of talent coming back,” Reitenour said. “Last year was more like a crash course in
fundamentals, learning the new coach’s way. They’ve really showed up and have been working their butts
off.
“Colson Loadholt is back. He was our quarterback as a sophomore. We have (running back)
Nasir Boyd back. We expect big things out of them both.”
Jefferson Davis will also have big lineman Tollie Ficklin transferring from Andrew Jackson
Academy for his senior year.
What Reitenour likes about the talent on the team is the versatility it possesses.
“There are a lot of things to get excited about it,” he said. “A big job we’ve got is who is the right
fit for what position with the personnel we have. There could be a change in the lineup from game to
game with the talent we have. It’s all about the competition.”
Matt Lightsey, the man Reitenour replaced as head coach last year, will be back again as the
defensive coordinator. Mitchell Webster will also be back as an assistant.
Jefferson Davis will be hosting a big jamboree on August 11. Teams that are currently scheduled
to attend are Holly Hill Academy, Wardlaw Academy, Holy Trinity Classical, Providence Athletic
Club, Victory Baptist, Oakbrook Prep and Andrew Jackson.
On the basketball court, the Jefferson Davis boys went 14-12. The Raiders had won just two
games in the two previous seasons.
Jefferson Davis will have an “old” new head coach for the girls basketball program. Shawn
Howze will be back in charge, replacing Larry Brown, who is on a military deployment.
Howze was the head coach two years ago, taking over for Brown at that time as well, again
because of a military deployment. The Lady Raiders went 9-11 last season.
“He did well two years ago,” Reitenour said of Howze. “He had the girls moving forward to
where the program needs to be headed. He dropped bask as an assistant last year when Coach Brown
returned.
“The potential for the girls is there. I think (Howze and Brown) understand what we have to get
out of them, they understand that motivation they need from them o get as much as they can out of the
girls. They want to get the program back to the 1990s and early 2000s when the girls basketball program
was dominant.”
Bart Owens led the softball team to the championship series of the Class A state playoffs against
eventual state champion Holly Hill Academy. The Lady Raiders finished with a 13-7 record.
Owens is also in charge of the volleyball team, which had a great season as well. The Lady
Raiders went 15-3 and reached the third round of the state playoffs.
“Bart does a good job,” Reitenour said. “You hear him yell and you’re saying, ‘I don't want to
play for that guy.’ That isn’t the case though. He cares a lot about the kids.
“He puts in the time and the effort and wants them to get better. He's all in for conditioning and
volleyball stuff right now. He’s ready to roll with it. They're all returning. Softball lost some key pieces,
but I think both can really go out and have great seasons. There is no one more motivated than Bart when
it comes to that stuff.”
The head coach of the baseball team is undetermined at this time. The Raiders reached the Class
A state championship series as well under head coach Derek Antley. The Raiders lost to undefeated
Richard Winn and finished the year with an 11-9 record.
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