The colorful cleats are arriving daily and soccer practice has begun in earnest for the Cherokee Creek Bears. Coaches Jireh Yepassis-Zembrou, Ryan Natale and Drew Bowers have been conducting practices twice weekly to prepare for the 8 games scheduled in September. See the schedule below for game times and hope to see you there. Go Bears!

Hard at work!

Tues Sept 3 — 7:30 at Gignilliat Field v. Seneca McCarley

Thurs. Sept 5 — 8:00 at Nettles Field v. Clemson

Tues. Sept. 10 — 6:30 at Gignilliat Field v. Seneca Robertson

Thurs. Sept. 12 — 7:00 at Pickens Field v. Pickens

Tues. Sept. 17 — 7:30 at Hall St. (Westminster) Field v. Whetstone

Thurs. Sept. 19 — 7:30 at Sertoma Field v. Walhalla Villegns

Tues. Sept. 24 — 7:30 at Hall St. Field v. Westminster

Thurs. Sept. 26 — 7:30 at Sertoma Field v. Walhalla Marcengill

Andrew stretches like a pro.

CCBS hosted 2006 graduate, Reed, and his mom Lori last week when they were in the area to interview with local

Reed, his mom Lori, and teacher Nick Linscott show Reed's graduation picture.

college coaches. Reed attends Hilton Head Christian Academy and met with Clemson’s Track and Field coach to talk over his shot put and discus future at CU.

He also plays nose tackle on Hilton Head’s football team which had only one loss their entire 13-game season. They were the South Carolina Independent Schools Football Champions of 2012. Reed’s contribution to the team was significant and he was named one of the Players of the Game early in the season.

His visit included an all school assembly in which he talked with the boys about his time at CCBS and life afterward.

“Reed gave us good advice saying that when you go through the program, you learn a lot about yourself and how you acted, but you can change things,” Ian said.

“It was nice to hear that he still talks to his friends that he made here, because I’m making good friends here,” Josh added.

Cherokee Creek always welcomes alumni and their families back for visits. If you are in the area, please consider stopping in for lunch and a warm hello!

The Red Hawks had an off campus adventure to Clemson’s Outdoor Lab last weekend. Trek Counselors Royce and Jesy took them on a high climbing adventure to a wall which was 55 feet high.

“Our main goal was not to die,” Ari said laughing.

“It was really hard, but it was a great workout,” Angel added.

Enjoy the pictures of some of the participants below. Happy climbing!

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Therapist Artie Smith, Academic Dean Denise Savidge, and Weekend Manager Andrew Stevenson show a staff divided .... but only when it comes to college football.

Sitting on the very western edge of South Carolina and only a stone’s throw across a river from Georgia makes Cherokee Creek Boys School a very interesting place to be during college football season. Not only are the South Carolina staff divided among University of South Carolina and Clemson loyalties, but there are also inter-conference rivals University of Georgia and Georgia Tech fans well represented among the men and women of CCBS. Now throw in the 20 or so states represented by the boys in their various t-shirts and sweatshirts and football season is, well, competitive.

This past weekend went to South Carolina as Clemson whooped up on Georgia Tech 47-31 in the ACC while University of South Carolina beat up on SEC rival University of Georgia, 35-7. Sorry Artie!

CCBS came to Westminster and our boys blew  away the 14 and under competition in the annual 5K Apple Fest run.

Eddie and Ari sport their new medals.

Ari, Eddie, Barron, and Sam A. took the top four places  in their age group, all finishing in 31 minutes or less.

Coaches Josh and Kayla ran with our own Family Center Coordinator Debbie Wallace, all finishing around the 34 minute mark. Weekend Coordinator Andrew Stevenson, who will take over cross country coaching responsibilities from Josh, finished 15th overall and third in his age group.

The next official race is during Octoberfest and the boys will continue to train hard to sweep those medals as well. Congratulations CCBS Cross Country team!

Official games start this evening and Cherokee Creek Boys School would like to invite all parents available to travel to the area to join us in the cheering section.

Zach goes in for a slide tackle in a recent scrimmage

The directions to all the fields can be found using an online search. Sertoma Field is in Walhalla,  Gignilliat Field is in Seneca, Fair Oak is in Fair Play, and Pickens is in the town of Pickens, and Nettles Field is in Clemson, SC.

Hope to see you there!

Thurs., Sept 6th — 6:30 p.m. at Gignilliat Field

Tues., Sept 11th — 8 p.m., at Pickens Field

Tues., Sept. 18th — 8 p.m. at Nettles Field

Thurs., Sept 20th — 7:30 p.m. at Sertoma Field

Mon., Sept 24th — 7 p.m., at Fair Oak field

Thurs., Sept 27th — 8 p.m., at Nettles Field

Mon., Oct. 1st — 6:30 p.m. at Gignilliat Field

Tues., Oct. 2nd — 7 p.m. at Nettles Field

Thurs., Oct. 4th — 7:30 p.m. at Sertoma Field

Nick shows great form -- and dance moves -- on the field

The CCBS Bears are well into practice and Coach Yanic McDowell arranged a fun scrimmage against Shepherd’s Hill Academy. It was all in good fun as we loaned a few players to SHA in order to round out their team. Enjoy the photos of a very rainy but entertaining game…

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Soccer practice is well underway with Coach Josh and Coach Yanic at the helm of this year’s Bear team. The competition for most unique pair of cleats has also begun. Does anyone else remember when the choices for soccer cleats were black with white stripes and black without any stripes?

Go Bears!

FLAG FOOTBALL — Bears defeat Whetstone with high flying offense.

Bears Make a First Down

The weather on Saturday afternoon was perfect for the first round of the flag football tournament. The ninth seed Whetstone was set to face off against the eighth seeded Bears.

The Bears began the game on defense. With six Bears defenders lined up to take on seven Whetstone offensive warriors, the Whetstone QB connected for a deep pass over the middle for a gain of 60 yards. The Whetstone offense began to walk a little taller to the line of scrimmage as their confidence surged. The Bears defense made quick work of the confidence surge and was able to point out what was real and true about what was going to happen in the game.

The Bears offense was ferocious and highly effective that afternoon. The Bears out scored Whetstone 49-7.

SOFTBALL LEAGUE — The boys have been participating in the Foothills Community Church softball league on Sunday afternoons. Despite a win-less season, they showed improvement on every game. Coach Ryan Natale said, “Our goal is always to help the guys learn commitment, sportsmanship, and how to encourage and support one another. When somebody was struggling, it was a teachable moment we looked for as coaches. From start to finish, there was great improvement in all these areas.”

The Win-Less, But Victorious Softball Team

Below are some of the highlights of the season, according to the boys:

“My highlight of the season was being in the lead (for an inning) and having fun.” — Michael

“My highlight of the season was catching a pop fly that was supposed to burn me.” — Rick

“My highlight was getting a base hit.” — Tommy

“My highlight was running, having fun, and seeing (Coach) Natale slide … again.” — Eddie

“My highlight was (Coach Brandon) hitting the inside the park homerun. I think everyone had a great time.” — Sam D.

My highlight of the game was getting a run.” — Barron

“My highlight for the first game was having fun and doing what I was supposed to. My highlight for the second game was getting on base and getting my first run.” — Vincent

Tuesday’s humid evening put the Bears to a test against Liberty. The Bears’ offense looked good coming out the gate. Jimmy moved the offense down the field at a steady pace. The Bears were up 8-0 in quick fashion. But the Liberty Red Devils were pesky on offense and tied it up.

Back and forth the game went. The Bears pulled ahead 14-8. The Red Devils were trying to keep pace with the Bears, but their defense held strong. With an interception, the bears went into halftime with a commanding lead. The Bears were up 30-16 at the half.

Several missed calls for illegal contact  helped the Red Devils get back in the game and take the lead.

The Bears marched down the field to tie the game with one minute to play. The Red Devils ran out of time and penalties gave them the opportunity to toss an interception to Jimmy, closing out regulation play.

During overtime the Bears offense sputtered while the Red Devils put together a nice series to take the win, 36-42.

“Our guys are such warriors. They played hard and pulled for each other the entire game. Even with some questionable calls, our guys held their composure and battled through the game. I am proud of their hard work and determination. Under this kind of pressure it would have been easy for them to quit. They don’t know how to quit.”

-Coach Shep