May River football coach stepping down after successful run in building program
Rodney Summers helped build the May River High School football program.
Now, the first coach in school history is stepping down after a successful run with the Sharks. Summers informed his players of the move Monday.
May River went 5-6 this season and lost to Myrtle Beach 24-21 on a last-minute touchdown in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs on Friday.
“I told the kids it has been a great seven-year run, building the program up from scratch,” Summers told The Island Packet. “I think the product we put out there week in and week out was a product of toughness. We might not have the most talented kids but we were always tough. They would play hard and get after it. We pulled out some wins, won some region championships. The staff really bought in and did an excellent job over the years.
“But it was the right time to step away, and hopefully one of my guys from the staff might get a chance to take over the program and take it further.”
Summers will finish out the year teaching at May River and would be eligible to retire after the school year ends. He also has a charter fishing boat business which he will be able to devote more time to.
But he hasn’t ruled out possibly coaching somewhere else in the future.
“I’m going to leave some irons out there, maybe in the area or over the border (Georgia). Who knows what will happen?” Summers said.
Summers was hired in February of 2016, months before May River was set to open. After a pair of two-win seasons to start, May River went 10-0 in the 2018 regular season, won its first region title and advanced to the third round of the 3A playoffs before losing to Dillon.
May River made it to the Lower State championship the following season before losing to Dillon again
The Sharks moved up to Class 4A in 2020, going 4-2 in the COVID-shortened year, and then won eight games in 2021.
Before coming to May River, Summers was head coach at Westwood, where he was the first coach in that program’s history. He went 29-19 in four years at Westwood and won 11 games in 2014 before losing to Greenwood in the second round of the playoffs.
Summers was named Class 4A Coach of the Year after the 11-win campaign.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Summers was an assistant at Richland Northeast and Conway high schools.
