High School

Wilson Hires Sumter Defensive Coordinator As Its New Head Coach

Brian Wilson becomes the third coach with ties to Sumter to join a Florence-area school

Mike Duprez

Brian Wilson, who most recently served as defensive coordinator at Sumter High School, is the new head coach at Wilson High in South Carolina.
Brian Wilson, who most recently served as defensive coordinator at Sumter High School, is the new head coach at Wilson High in South Carolina. / Wilson High Football

The Sumter-to-Florence coaching pipeline continues in South Carolina.

Wilson High School named Sumter defensive coordinator Brian Wilson as its new head football coach this week.

The Lions are the third Florence area school to bring in a head coach with previous ties to the Sumter program. 

South Florence coach Doug Marlowe, who has led the Bruins to two state championships in the last three years, was previously defensive coordinator at Sumter and newly hired West Florence coach Chad Wilkes also spent time on the Sumter staff.

Wilson, who played four years of college football at Presbyterian, will try to bring stability to a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2019. The Lions were 1-9 in 2024, with former state champion coach Darryl serving as the interim.

Glenwood Ferebee was hired as coach in January 2024 to replace Rodney Mooney, who was 9-22 in three seasons. But Mooney left before spring practice and was replaced by Page, who guided the Lions to a state championship in 2007. Ferebee is now the head coach at Butler (N.C.).

The Lions beat Conway 18-12 in their season-opener in 2024 but were defeated in every game after that. One of the losses was in overtime, another by three points. Wilson was 3-8 in 2023, 5-6 in 2022, 1-8 in 2021, and 3-5 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Wilson’s last winning season was in 2019 when the Lions went 9-3 and reached the second round of the state playoffs.

In his final season at Sumter, his alma mater, in 2023, Wilson oversaw a defense that helped carry the Gamecocks to a 12-1 record and third round of the Class AAAAA Division 1 state playoffs. Sumter’s defense recorded 90.5 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, 33 hurries and 17 interceptions and 8 fumble recoveries.

Wilson was a two-time MVP of the Sumter football team. He also competed in wrestling and track.

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Mike Duprez
MIKE DUPREZ

Mike Duprez became a freelance sports journalist for Scorebooklive.com several months after retiring from the newspaper business. A native of Oakland, California, Duprez moved around as a child due to his father’s service in the United States Marine Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Duprez, who lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had 30 years of experience in newspapers as well as other endeavors before retiring at the end of 2021. He covers stories in both North Carolina and South Carolina for Scorebooklive.com.

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