WE ARE MOREHOUSE > Athletics
Derek Howard ’04 overcomes adversity, guides Wilson to city title Written by Scott Chancey, Hartsville Messenger
FLORENCE, S.C. — When Derek Howard was hired as Wilson’s football coach less than a month before the season, the odds of success were not in his favor. It was his first year as a head coach after more than a decade of being an assistant. On top of that, Howard had less than a month to prepare his Tigers (3-8 last year) for their first game after Wilson’s previous coach, Thomas Balkcom, was put on paid administrative leave and eventually resigned.
but I felt like everything just fell into place,” said Howard, whose team finished the season 6-5. “And when the kids are receptive and people are welcoming to you, it just never felt like it was difficult. I worked for some good coaches that set really good examples. I had a plan in my mind for several years, so I guess just being able to come in and not have any obstacles like people not letting me do what I wanted to do was important.” Howard now knows that plan works.
For a team that returned a considerable amount of seniors, it still needed someone to bring all of the elements together.
“The support at Wilson is there, and it’s exciting because that lets me know we’re on the right track and we can continue to get better,” Howard said.
Leave that to the chemistry teacher in Howard, who is the Morning News Football Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers not only to a winning record and playoff berth but the program’s first city championship since 2009. “I know everybody makes it seem like it was so hard,
Even other coaches noticed, as Marlboro County coach Dean Boyd (more than 200 wins) and Dillon coach Jackie Hayes (more than 300) commended Howard on the team’s progress.
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“They have all this tradition, and the first thing they’d