He wanted his teams to know about the school’s legendary coach. “He was a good mentor and a good friend,” Stanford said. When he came to Travelers Rest, still a young coach, to lead the new consolidated team, former coach Bolin was among his greatest assets. “He got his 150th win against our (Slater-Marietta) team,” Stanford said. He and Bolin had been opposing coaches before that. More South Carolina High School Football Scores. Tom Stanford coached the Devildogs for 13 years, coming in as head coach when the school consolidated with Slater-Marietta in the early 1970s. View the Travelers Rest Devil Dogs football schedule with dates, opponents, and scores for the current and previous seasons. “It’s generations of past, present and hopefully future Devildogs that make football nights special,” she said. Keen sees the same thing – Friday night football is a point of pride for the entire community, not just current students and their families. “There’s more of a connection there than anywhere else I’ve been,” Anderson said. Tradition this strong is something for a community to rally around. The sign that once marked it is gone – but still no one parks there, even now, Keen said. “He wasn’t just a coach – he was a really good motivator and leader, and he left a lasting impression on a lot of players.”Ī parking space has been reserved for Bolin for years, even after his death. “Without him being around, we wouldn’t be Devildogs,” she said. “We take that kind of seriously here.”Īnd keeping Bolin’s name and spirit front and center is part of that. “We like our tradition of being associated with the Marines and the service,” Keen said. “It was kind of a matter of pride to stay on the team.”Īnd pieces of that history have been the foundation of the program for decades, through winning and losing seasons, from the fight song they still use, to Bolin’s own name, which now graces the school’s stadium.Īthletic director Erin Keen said team helmets always have American flags on them and may include some emblem of the Marine Corps in the future. “You had to be pretty tough to play there,” said Jack Anderson, who played under Bolin in the 1960s and went on to coach the team two decades later. Marine Corps Devildogs – a story of grit and determination – just before they take the field to demonstrate some backbone of their own.īolin instilled his teams with the same spirit he learned in the Corps. Today, team members hear the history of the U.S. TRAVELERS REST - Football tradition at Travelers Rest High School draws an unbroken line from the past all the way through to the present, thanks in large part to the influence of one coach who no one can forget.ĭean “Chico” Bolin, a decorated World War II veteran, gave the Devildogs their name, which he borrowed from his branch of the service.
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