2025 Preview: Fountain Inn Fury

After members of Fountain Inn's first ever graduating class helped bring the football program its first ever winning season in 2024, the Fury are ready to build off that success. While the team will undoubtedly miss the familiar faces of last season's seniors who planted the seeds years ago, there are plenty returning who are focused on assuring that the program continues to blossom.   "Offensively, we return 90-plus percent of our yards that we gained last year, which is a really exciting thing for any program," Fury head coach Brett Nichols said. "Defensively, we probably lost a larger number of key players to graduation but those backups from last year are ready for a bigger role. It's been exciting to watch them do that because we've got some really talented kids."   That first winning season seemed like a given when Fountain Inn got off to a 4-1 start last year, with its lone loss coming by three points to Woodruff. Region I-4A play was a different animal though. After losses to region heavyweights Wren and Westside, a double-overtime loss to Emerald dropped the Fury to 4-4 overall. Fountain Inn responded with back-to-back blowout wins to close out the regular season. While the Fury checked off a goal with that winning campaign, there's probably some motivation lingering from how it ended. In the first round of the playoffs, Fountain Inn took a 21-7 lead into halftime at traditional power Greer. The Fury were clinging to a 21-20 lead with 59 seconds left when the Yellow Jackets scored the game-winning touchdown.   Despite the loss, Fountain Inn quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='429920' first='Sam' last='Holliday'] closed out his sophomore season that night by displaying all of his dual-threat talent. Holliday He ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for 219 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Even though he's only a junior this season, Holliday might have the most varsity experience on the team as this will be his third season as the starter.   "We're just trying to continue to show up every day and try to get a little bit better," said Holliday, who had a memorable start to his high school career when he guided the Fury to their first ever win in the 2023 season opener. "Whether it's in practice or in the weight room or wherever, we're focused on getting better each day. Then by the time August rolls around, we'll be ready to go."   Senior center [player_tooltip player_id='1592664' first='Jacob' last='Cotham'] (pictured above) will be the lead protector of Holliday up front as he anchors an offensive line that graduated a couple of key players last season. While he's got the snapping duties this season, Cotham has been a versatile lineman during his career having also seen playing time at guard and tackle.   [player_tooltip player_id='1581469' first='Colby' last='Flood'] looks to lead the Fury defensively, whether he's lined up at cornerback or safety. Like Holliday on the opposite side of the ball, Flood is a junior who still brings a lot of experience to the table. While he's a big playmaker in the secondary, his focus this season is on consistency.   "My main job is to communicate with everybody and get them lined up and make sure we start the play right before the play actually happens," Flood said. "Most of our defense is young, but we've all been together since playing on the D team, so we have pretty good chemistry. I'm just excited to see what we can do with it."   STARS SET TO SHINE   [player_tooltip player_id='429920' first='Sam' last='Holliday'] QB, 2027 - A true dual-threat QB, Holliday posted 1,430 yards passing and 1,076 rushing, averaging 6.8 yards per carry, last season. He ran for 15 touchdowns, threw for 10 more and had no interceptions.   [player_tooltip player_id='1592664' first='Jacob' last='Cotham'] OL, 2026 - As a senior this season, Cotham recognizes that his leadership role has changed. He's working to make his mark there in all aspects of the program. "It's (leadership) not just on the field, but in the weight room, conditioning and everything," Cotham said. "I feel like I need to step up and help out the younger guys."   [player_tooltip player_id='1603971' first='Bojack' last='Johnson'] RB, 2027 - Don't let the awesome nickname distract you from how well Johnson can tote the football. He ran for nearly 800 yards, averaged more than five yards a carry and had 10 touchdowns last season.   FILM REVIEW   [player_tooltip player_id='1581469' first='Colby' last='Flood'] DB, 2027 - Nichols describes Flood as a "ball hawk" and evidence of that is clear on his highlight reel. Flood has a knack for either flying high or swooping low to make a diving interception or pass breakup. He finished last season with five interceptions and seven breakups, along with 85 tackles. At a Carolinas Coaches Combine event in the spring, he was clocked at running 21.97 mph.    BIGGEST LOSSES   Jackson Njoku OL - Njoku is Fountain Inn's biggest loss, literally and figuratively. The 6-foot-3, 319-pound North-South All-Star lineman became the first Fury football player to earn a football scholarship when he signed with North Greenville.   Xeviel Gonzalez LB - Before taking down opponents as an All-State wrestler on the mat for the Fury each winter, Gonzalez was a tackling machine on the gridiron each fall.   Zach Madden WR - Madden was the Fury's leading receiver each of the past two seasons.   UP-AND-COMING POTENTIAL   Tison Garrett DE, 2026 - Garrett brings kind a "bull in a China shop" mentality up front defensively. "If we can rein him in, he can be a really, really good player," Nichols said.   Zayvien Broughton FS, 2027 - Broughton has transferred in from Woodmont and could make an immediate impact in the secondary. He's a well-rounded athlete, who averaged more than 16 points a game last basketball season.   Ben Ruwe WR, 2027 - As a slot receiver last season, Ruwe often showed the ability to help Holliday make something out of nothing by working his way open.    While Curenton may not be the biggest target on the field, he's turned in some of the biggest plays for the Fury. The biggest last season was an 85-yard touchdown that started as a simple swing pass to the left. After breaking one tackle at his own 20-yard line, Curenton raced down the left sideline untouched to the end zone. He also had a 65-yard touchdown catch and posted more than 100 yards rushing on four carries.

After members of Fountain Inn's first ever graduating class helped bring the football program its first ever winning season in 2024, the Fury are ready to build off that success. While the team will undoubtedly miss the familiar faces of last season's seniors who planted the seeds years ago, there are plenty returning who are focused on assuring that the program continues to blossom.