Varner's Impact Still Resonates in Woodruff and Across South Carolina

The Woodruff Times opened its 12-part series on Woodruff High School athletics history on August 7, 2020 with a profile of coach Willie Leo Varner. Here is our summary.

Varner arrived in 1953 as an assistant football coach, expecting to stay a single year. Superintendent Sam Brissie hired him on a referral from Furman Rogers, on the condition that Varner and his wife, Frances, move to Woodruff. After that first season, head coach Bill Jolly left for Hickory Tavern High School and Varner took over the program.

Titles: According to the story, the Wolverines won their first state football championship in 1956, led by Bob Ivey, beating St. Andrews, and repeated in 1957 against Langley-Bath-Clearwater. Varner also coached baseball, winning two straight titles beginning in 1957 and going 72-19 over six seasons. A third football title followed in 1965, then 2A championships in 1975 through 1978 and in 1980. His last titles came in 1983 and 1984, the latter season featuring quarterback Tony Rice and a 28-game winning streak.

Legacy: Former assistants went on to success of their own. Keith Richardson (1964-68) later led Clinton to six 3A titles between 1969 and 1993, and Shell Dula (1970-76) led Ninety-Six, Union and Greenwood to seven championships between 1977 and 2008. The story also draws on longtime friend and assistant Randy Grant and Varner's daughter, Toni Sloan, and says he turned down several offers, including college jobs, out of commitment to Woodruff. His coaching career ended after the 1996 season, a change the article says drew community criticism.

This is our own summary; the reporting and full story belong to The Woodruff Times. Read the original at the source link.