Former Camden assistant picked to lead another Kershaw County football program
After a year away from the area, Daniel Sisk is returning to Kershaw County.
North Central named Sisk as its new football coach, while his hire was approved at Tuesday’s Kershaw County School Board meeting. He replaces Ryan McDonnell, who was the interim head coach last season for the Knights after Tyronne Drakeford left.
Drakeford departed North Central to become the Dorchester District 2 athletic director weeks before the season began. The former San Francisco 49er had been the coach at North Central, his alma mater, since 2017. He led the Knights to an eight-win season in 2018 and a region championship in 2020. It was North Central’s first region title since 1992.
“What drew me to North Central was the combination of outstanding academics, state of the art facilities, great support from the administration, and the opportunity to elevate success for the student athletes,” Sisk told The State.
Sisk, an Irmo grad, spent last season as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Dustin Curtis at Dorman High. Curtis announced Monday he was stepping down as Cavaliers head coach. Speculation suggests he’ll become the next coach at Lexington.
Before last year, most of Sisk’s coaching career was in Kershaw County. He spent 16 years as an assistant coach at Camden under head coaches Jimmy Neal and Brian Rimpf.
Sisk was the offensive coordinator the last nine years at Camden. The Bulldogs played in back-to-back Class 3A state championship games in 2020-21.
“I was blessed to be able to work for two great mentors and leaders at Camden in Jimmy Neal and Brian Rimpf. And then fortunate enough to be with Dustin at Dorman,” Sisk said. “All three of those men care more about the development of the person, not just the athlete. If you build a program on core values, the wins will come. That’s the biggest thing that I could take away from all three.”
North Central went 1-9 last season and missed the postseason. Three of the nine losses were by six points or less, though the Knights struggled with numbers and had just around 20 players by season’s end.
“We want to create a program that athletes want to be a part of because they believe they can be successful,” Sisk said. “We will need to find more depth at certain positions and really do a great job of long term recruiting within our feeder programs.”
Sisk said he hopes to start around the middle of March.
SC High School Football openings
School — Former School — New Coach
Aiken — Olajuwon Paige — Dwayne Garrick
Beaufort Academy — Mark Clifford — Nic Shuford Barnwell — Dwayne Garrick — TBA Berea — Julius Prince — Drew Chisholm Berkeley — Jerry Brown — TBA Clover — Brian Lane — Perry Woolbright Colleton County — Kris Howell — Adam Kinloch Columbia — Jason Bush — TBA Conway — Carlton Terry — Josh Pierce Darlington — Raymond Jennings — Jamie Johnson Dillon Christian — Christian Wolfe — Donell Stanley
Eau Claire — Shaq Hilton — TBA Edisto — Preston Deaver — TBA First Baptist — Johnny Waters — Jamaal Birch
Georgetown — Jimmy Noonan — Bradley Adams
Great Falls — DeMarcus Simons — TBA Green Sea Floyds — Joey Price — Patrick Martin Hanahan — Art Craig — Milan Turner
Hannah-Pamplico — Jamie Johnson — Trey Woodberry Heathwood Hall — Danny Lewis — TBA Hillcrest — Anthony Frate — TBA Lamar — Josh Pierce — TBA Landrum — Jason Farmer — Brent Bridges Lexington — Perry Woolbright — TBA Mauldin — Sayre Nesmith — TBA May River — Rodney Summers — TBA Mullins — John Williams — TBA
Ninety-Six — Matthew Owings — TBA North Central — Ryan McDonnell (interim) — Daniel Sisk North Charleston — Devon Smalls — TBA Orangeburg Prep — Andy Palmer — Don Shelley Palmetto — Doug Shaw — TBA Pickens — Chad Smith — James Reynolds Spring Valley — Robin Bacon — Nygel Pearson Thomas Heyward — Nic Shuford — Tony McGeary
Walhalla — Padgett Johnson — Chris Stone Ware Shoals — Chris Johnston — Chris Dodson Westside — Scott Earley — Brian Lane Williamsburg Academy — Don Shelley — Tyler Boyd Woodmont — Jeff Murdock — Ty Sutherland Woodruff — Bradley Adams — Brett Sloan Wren — Jeff Tate — Anthony Frate
