Summerville Games

[racincowboy02]

With the passing of Coach McKissick I know a lot of us have had the pleasure and the pain of going to Summerville and playing the Green Wave and getting our butts spanked down there and I was just curious about some of the great memories or even the awful defeats that yall got to witness with the legend standing on the sidelines and coaching the Green Wave. I remember going down to Summerville many times and having to walk across the endzone to get to the visitors side and then watching the game and being absolutely crazed by the atmosphere that was down there. The atmosphere was hostile and it was energetic to say the least lol. I want to say one of the games I remember was us going down there and it was AJ Green vs Sidney Rice and it was a slobber knocker

[GoBigGreen]

With the passing of Coach McKissick I know a lot of us have had the pleasure and the pain of going to Summerville and playing the Green Wave and getting our butts spanked down there and I was just curious about some of the great memories or even the awful defeats that yall got to witness with the legend standing on the sidelines and coaching the Green Wave. I remember going down to Summerville many times and having to walk across the endzone to get to the visitors side and then watching the game and being absolutely crazed by the atmosphere that was down there. The atmosphere was hostile and it was energetic to say the least lol. I want to say one of the games I remember was us going down there and it was AJ Green vs Sidney Rice and it was a slobber knocker

Hey racincowboy02! The AJ game you mention was the first one which came to mind. AJ made this catch around the 35 yard line which was right in front of where we were sitting which was incredible. Whenever Gaffney came to town you could count on a great game, whether it be in Summerville or at Gaffney. I started attending Summerville games when I was 10 years old (46 years ago) and have so many memories that just make me smile. And yes, there are some others in there which bring me sorrow like a state championship game against Gaffney in which we were up big at the half with the Indians having no answer for AJ. Gaffney came back in the 2nd half and earned the State Championship which was a heart breaker. Because of all the great times I have had watching the Summerville Greenwave over the years I was not going to miss the funeral of Coach yesterday. One thing I did learn at his funeral is in Coach's 62 year run, his wife Joan only missed 2 games which I thought was amazing. Learning that he was buried in his khaki pants, Summerville jacket and hat and coach's whistle was perfect. As the funeral procession left for the burial site, they drove to Summerville's Memorial Stadium, John McKissick Field and paused for a few minutes for Coach one last time. Really going to miss seeing Coach at the games but hope Joan continues to attend with her daughter.

[racincowboy02]

Those were the 2 games that came to my mind when I started writing this thread and yea it is going to not be the same knowing you are goin to Summerville and the legend and Greatest Coach to walk a sideline will not be there either on the sidelines or in the stands. It was pretty cool that they buried him in his khaki pants Summerville jacket and whistle that is what it is all about. I am curious now that you mentioned it which 2 games did she not make

[GoBigGreen]

Those were the 2 games that came to my mind when I started writing this thread and yea it is going to not be the same knowing you are goin to Summerville and the legend and Greatest Coach to walk a sideline will not be there either on the sidelines or in the stands. It was pretty cool that they buried him in his khaki pants Summerville jacket and whistle that is what it is all about. I am curious now that you mentioned it which 2 games did she not make

Now that I do not know. A guess would be the births of their two daughters, Deborah and Cynthia.

[wave 80]

I have been following the Wave since birth....57 years..
But I did miss some games following Hurricane Hugo as my job moved me to Columbia S.C for 2 years but I moved back first chance I got. And actually was a player on the 1978 state team.
The games that really stick out are :
Early 90's 2nd round against Spring Valley. The Wave recover the fumble in the endzone with no time on the clock
for the win 12-7.
A couple of games against Conway ...2-0 in the rain. And a Sunday rescheduled that was played at 2pm and the Wave won 3-0 in the 5th overtime.
And probably the 2 most painful was around 2004 at Gaffney up most of the game and sidney rice got loose in the 4th and we lost in O.T.... And the State game we lost to Gaffney 33-32...
And probably the worst loss we ever took was the 1976 State game at Williams Brice against Greenwood 47-7.
The Wave were ranked #2 undefeated had beat #1 Dillion the week before in Hartsville.
It was the first time the Wave had ever played on artificial turf and Greenwood had like 5 losses that year and barely made the playoffs but they had a QB named Simpkins and he ran wild from sideline to sideline..it got ugly quick... but that 1976 team was probably one of the most talented in Wave history.
I could go on but alot of memories.... R.I.P Big John....

Go Wave.

[Newcatntown]

2012 in Bluffton when i was on the chain gang....just standing next to him you could feel a certain aura around him....especially knowing what he has accomplished in his great career!!!

He also had a great southern voice that caught your attention when he spoke. Probably why his teams were so good....it was a good listening voice.

Bluffton was up 14-0 first quarter.....they beat us by 9 I believe!!!

Rest in peace Big John.

[racincowboy02]

Please by all means tell all the stories cause I am definitely interested in them all. Being a Gaffney fan I never got to meet him and I always hated to go down there cause you knew that things would happen and the refs always seemed to favor him lol I kid but he is a legend. If you were from the upstate and it got close to playoff time you always had an ear and and eye down in the low country trying to see and hear what Summerville had and to see if there was a chance for that long bus ride down to Summerville to face the wave

[5-0fourlife]

1979 lower state championship. Dillon at Summerville, both teams were co - No. 1 in the state poll. Summerville won the game 21-14. Coach of Dillon, Jackie Hayes, was the starting quarterback for Dillon, while Summerville had a left hander named Perry Cuda. Also, Summerviille had a running back named Stanford Jennings, who ended up playing in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals.What a great game, officiating seemed to be somewhat in the favor of Summerville.

[GoBigGreen]

Stanford Jennings attended Coach's funeral on Monday....

[wave 80]

1979 lower state championship. Dillon at Summerville, both teams were co - No. 1 in the state poll. Summerville won the game 21-14. Coach of Dillon, Jackie Hayes, was the starting quarterback for Dillon, while Summerville had a left hander named Perry Cuda. Also, Summerviille had a running back named Stanford Jennings, who ended up playing in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals.What a great game, officiating seemed to be somewhat in the favor of Summerville.

Perry Cuda is right handed