Manning's Reggie Kennedy selected as South Carolina Shrine Bowl head coach

         Sumter – Manning High School football head coach Reggie Kennedy has been selected as the head coach for the South Carolina squad for the 88^th Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

“It means a whole lot to me,” Kennedy said of his selection to lead the best players in the Palmetto State against the top players from North Carolina. “You get to represent your state in this prestigious game, the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and what it stands for. It will be great to visit the Shriners Hospital and see the children.”

Joining Kennedy on the coaching staff will be head coaches Brian Smith of Kingstree, Jeff Tate of Ashley Ridge, Dann Holland of Pelion and Perry Woolbright of Clover along with assistant coaches Marco Thompson of Manning and Jimmy Woods of Lamar.

           This will be Kennedy’s first time as the selected head coach for South Carolina. However, he was named the acting head coach of the 2007 team. Kennedy, then the head coach at Orangeburg-Wilkinson, had been selected as an assistant coach to serve on the staff of David Farnham, who was the head coach at Blue Ridge.

            Farnham was diagnosed with cancer in September of 2007, and he named Kennedy the acting head coach in early November. Farnham died on November 28, 18 days before the Shrine Bowl. The Sandlappers won the game 21-15.

           Kennedy was also the head coach of the South squad in the 2016 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl when he was the head coach at Irmo.

           Kennedy has a career record of 186-146 at seven different schools. He started with a 7-year stint at Kingstree followed by a 4-year stay at Fairfield Central. He went to O-W for two years before returning to Fairfield Central for a 3-year stay.

           He was at Blythewood for two years before going to Sumter for one year, in which he led the Gamecocks to the AAAA Division I state championship game. Kennedy then moved on to Irmo for five seasons before heading to Manning. The 2024 season will be his sixth season at Manning and his 30^th overall as a head coach.

           Kennedy has had seven seasons where his teams won nine games or more. Four of those seasons were 10 wins or more, including a pair of 12-win seasons at Fairfield Central.