Iron Horse program matures, readies to climb mountaintop

Philip Simmons High School football coach Eric Bendig remembers the first football practice in 2017. The Iron Horses fielded only a junior varsity team that season as Bendig and crew poured a foundation for the future.

 

“That first practice in 2017 was something that doesn’t really compare to where we are now,” said Bendig. “We weren’t allowed spring ball in 2017. We didn’t have a weight room. We had no idea how many kids would show up on Day One. We just hoped our social media and interest meetings would get the word out.

 

“It was like Christmas Day as a kid,” the coach continued. “They just kept pouring out of the cars, and we coached them up. We were at Cainhoy Elementary since our fields were not done. So, it was like nothing I think I’ll ever experience again.”

 

The rest is history.

 

Bendig melded a team of student-athletes who attended feeder schools and posted a 9-18 record in the first three seasons of varsity football.

 

Since the 2021 season, there’s been nothing but success, as the Iron Horses won 30 of 41 games, reaching double digits, in victories three times.

 

It should be more of the same in 2025.

 

The Iron Horses have 30 lettermen, including 12 starters, back from a team that went 10-3 and captured the Region 6-AA championship with a perfect record. The Iron Horses begin the 2025 campaign tied for No. 7 in Class AA with Manning High School in the South Carolina Prep Football Media Preseason Poll.

 

“No matter the record,  I always feel like we are making progress in the lives of young people, and that is what we are here for,” Bendig said. “This year, we are more inexperienced in some spots than we have been in the past. The expectations still hold. We want to be the best version of ourselves and create an experience that stands out to each and every person in our program.”

 

The team lost 16 seniors to graduation, including always-steady quarterback Tavien Orellana, a three-year starter who passed for more than 4,000 yards and led an offense that averaged 32.7 points a game last fall.

 

Hayes Goddard won a spirited competition for the starting quarterback.

 

Yosi Mallett and Jaydon Camp are the leaders of the offensive line that also includes Christian Cromedy and Sullivan Tollison.

 

Will Hollifield, Ashton Kellermann, and Patrick Clarke are the marquee players in the Iron Horses’ receiver/tight end room.

 

Defensive starters returning: Roman Hood, Alex Tchoryk, Ethan Chisum, Montrell Mungin, Ryder Patterson, and Jacques Gandy.

 

Bendig’s goal is to improve his team in every facet and reach the top of the playoff mountaintop.

 

“No one wants a state title more than I do,” Bendig said. “I love the high expectations. I love the community wanting to win titles. I want them to be talking about the Horses. I want them to push us to be the best. No one is going to push it more than I will. State titles come to teams and programs that have so many factors, and we just have to keep pushing to have all of those aligned. It is a part of our tangible goals, and I love striving for it.”