SCACA Hall of Fame football coach Mickey Moss passes away at age of 74

           Sumter – Mickey Moss, who had a Hall of Fame career as a head football coach at five different high schools across the state of South Carolina, has passed away at the age of 74.

           Moss died on Tuesday at Spartanburg Regional Hospice.

           Moss had a career record of 186-168 in his 33-year head coaching career. Moss was enshrined in the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014.

           His first head job came at East Clarendon in Turbeville. He was 48-13 and led the Wolverines to four region titles in six seasons. They won the 1985 Class A state championship with an undefeated record and lost in the lower state finals the year prior to that. He was a member of the inaugural class of the East Clarendon High School Hall of Fame in 2018.

           Reggie Kennedy, who was a member of that inaugural class as well, played linebacker for Moss on the ’85 championship team. He said Moss has affected his life in so many ways.

 “He was my second father. He had a tremendous impact on my life, on my career,” said Kennedy, who has been a head coach for 29 years and has won 186 games in his career like Moss. “He always took care of me, supported me at South Carolina State (where Kennedy was an All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference linebacker).

“He gave me my first job out of college as an assistant at Lake City. I was with him there for four years, and when I left him I’ve been a head coach ever since.”

 Kennedy is currently the football head coach at Manning and is the athletic director for Clarendon County School District. He said Moss was a “stickler” about things beyond just football with his coaching staff. He had them cleaning bathrooms, cleaning locker rooms and cleaning uniforms as much as he did on game strategies.

“There were plenty of times when we would ask, ‘Why are we here,’ “ Kennedy laughed. “He taught me so many life skills, especially about being a head coach. We did things as an assistant coach under him that I didn't understand why until I became head coach. How you treat people, have a business approach, be punctual, be on time. We worked from dusk to dawn pretty much.”

While Moss loved his players, he had no issue with putting them in their places when necessary. Kennedy well remembers such an encounter with Moss.

“It was my senior year and it was homecoming,” Kennedy said. “We wanted to set a record on defense for the most shutouts, and he put in the second-team defense right before halftime. We were up 42-0, and they scored.

“When we went to locker room, I pouted because I was mad at him. He let us have it. He laid into us, laid into me. He told me I was being selfish, and he was right. I'll never forget it. He gave me the down-low.”

           Moss moved on to Saluda and coached there for five years with a 15-41 record. Moss returned to the Pee Dee for the 1991 season to take over at Lake City. He stayed there for 13 seasons, posting an 86-63 record. As the winningest coach in LCHS history, Moss had three seasons with 10 wins or more, including the 1994 campaign when the Panthers went 12-2 and lost in the AAA lower state championship game.

           Moss was inducted into the Florence County School District Three Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.

           Matt Apicella, the current athletic director and baseball head coach at Lake City, was hired at LCHS by Moss in 1999.  Apicella said he has tried to pattern his life after Moss as well.

            "God broke the mold when he gave us Coach Mickey Moss," said Apicella. "Along with so many others that had the honor to work under him or be coached by him, he is my standard for hard work, discipline, keeping kids first, and especially loyalty. When he hired me, Coach Moss said, 'I don't care what you know because I will teach you that, but if you are ever disloyal to me, these kids, or this school, I will fire you on the spot.' I thank God that He put Coach Moss in my life."

           Apicella has been posting pictures and words about Moss on his Facebook page. In one of the posts, Apicella and Moss are shown walking off the football field.

           “Probably 2001,” Apicella said. “I’m sure I was catching an earful, but loving that spot right in the fire with that old Marine. I learned more about football, life and caring for kids in those years than they ever could teach in a classroom. Thank you Coach for being the mentor and father figure I needed as a “young, dumb Yankee" who didn’t know a soul in SC. You’ve earned your rest , Coach. Thank you for everything. Rest in peace and run the heck out of that 46 power slide.”

           Moss' fourth stop was at Wren in Piedmont. Moss was 14-30 in four seasons before moving on to Blacksburg, his alma mater. He was 23-31 in five seasons. In his final season in 2013, Moss led Blacksburg to a 7-5 record and the quarterfinals of the AA Division II playoffs.

           The family will receive friends on Saturday, April 20, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm at Blacksburg High School Gymnasium at 201 West Ramseur Drive. Funeral services will immediately follow at Blacksburg High School Football Stadium at 2 p.m.