The 2024 Fighting Scots and the coaching staff during media day on Friday, Aug. 16 at Scotland High School.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —Nothing quite defines the start of the fall season like the start of football, whether at the professional, collegiate or high school level. In Scotland County, the goal for the Fighting Scots is a state championship every year for Head Coach Richard Bailey and company.
The team is going to be taking on a very different look this year as 14 seniors graduated from last year’s team. Both sides of the ball ended up losing a serious contributor from the class of 2024 in workhorse running back Zay Jones on offense and Malcom Mcgirt, arguably the heart and soul of the Scotland defense a year ago at the middle linebacker position.
That being said, they have a lot of good returning pieces that Bailey feels good about. On the offensive side of the ball in particular, Bailey has emphasized the team’s plans to throw the ball plenty this year with returning senior quarterback Ji’san Mcphatter having no shortage of weapons in the passing game including Quatavius Everette and Dajuan Gibson, the team’s two receiving leaders in yards and touchdowns last year. Bailey also gave praise to rising senior Dakota Quick-Smith for looking good in summer workouts.
“We really do plan on throwing the football more this year, the summer has given me more confidence in our ability to do that,” Bailey said. “We got our quarterback and three great wideouts coming back, we got a good nucleus of skill guys coming back that say we should throw the ball more.”
The biggest question for Bailey with the offense heading into the season is how a revamped offensive line will perform that will have several new pieces from a year ago. He said it is likely they will be starting three sophomores along with Isaiah Locklear, who has been named to the all-conference team three times.
“The one thing we’re most concerned about is our offensive line, replacing four out of five starters certainly won’t be easy,” Bailey said. “The good news is the three new guys are pretty good players and their potential is exciting, but I need them to be good right now.”
The defensive side of the ball is bringing a familiar face back to the sideline in Scott Loosemore, who was the defensive coordinator for the team in 2018 and 2019. Bailey has said they are installing a new scheme this year but is happy to have Loosemore back in the fold after assuming the defensive coordinator responsibilities himself in years prior.
“I feel pretty good about where Coach Loosemore has those guys,” Bailey said. “He’s familiar with our kids and our program, we’re glad to have him back.”
From a personnel standpoint, Bailey’s biggest concern is at linebacker and finding a way to replace Mcgirt, who led the team in tackles and was an all-conference team qualifier a season ago. Bailey has candidly admitted that replacing his presence in the middle of the field won’t be easy.
“Getting good inside linebacker play is probably our biggest concern right now and finding a way to replace his production,” Bailey said. “We got to have somebody step up and find somebody who’s going to be that guy for us.”
The positive for this group from Bailey’s perspective is the size they possess in the secondary and the athleticism he has up front, including a couple of seniors who will play a bit of both sides of the ball this year in Zion Morrison and the aforementioned Locklear. He thinks they look the part of having a good defense as long as they can find a suitable replacement for Mcgirt.
The team kicks off their season on Friday, Aug. 23 just south of the border in Dillon, South Carolina against the Wildcats. The last time the two teams met in a non-scrimmage matchup was in 1978 and this will be just the third all-time game between them. They have split the prior two meetings.
Their home opener will be a week later on Aug. 30 against Terry Sanford. Scotland won in Terry Sanford last year 34-29. Their full regular season schedule can be found here on MaxPreps: Schedule – Scotland Fighting Scots (Laurinburg, NC) Varsity Football 24-25 (maxpreps.com).