The Last Games: Seniors Play Their Last Season

Aiken County, SC—Each year about this time, there’s a different slant of the sun…the weather begins to change…the fields are prepared…and the crowds come out.

For the last four years, that sound has been familiar to South Aiken senior Doug Baldwin…and this has been home.

Doug Baldwin, South Aiken High School senior: “It’s awesome when you come out, because it’s like ‘hey, I’m a senior’, but it’s bittersweet because it’s your last year. Opening game, last game, when I walked out, I said “wow, it’s my last time to play at Aiken High. This is weird.“

The feeling stretches across the county to North Augusta High School, and senior Tyler Ferguson.

Tyler Ferguson: “I like being a senior, but I also look back and think it’s gone by fast and I wish I could do it over again.”

They’ve been told to focus on these goals for the last four years…but there are new goals for the next four.

Baldwin: “Four years from now? A senior at Clemson or Carolina.“

Ferguson: “I want to go to USC-A for one to two years, then transfer to the University of Tennessee and major in nursing.”

Do his teammates give him a hard time about that?

Ferguson: “If I say nursing, off the bat, they say, ‘you want to be a nurse?‘ Then I say, ‘guys can be nurses, too.’“

Both players say the scores that matter, now, will be the ones that won’t actually be kept:

Doug was recommended for Palmetto Boys State, where he learned about government and community service.

Tyler and his teammates volunteer in the community…raise money for the American Cancer Society and give back to local schools.

Dan Pippin, head coach, North Augusta High School: “It’s something, to see kids like Tyler, and there’s just a bunch of kids, they may not be good football players later on, they’re good high school players, but they’re going to be great people in life, and great members of society, and that’s kind of what makes coaching a lot of fun.“

There’s one thing that would make senior year the best:

Ferguson: “I want to want to go to State, so that’s the ultimate goal. It’s a big thing. Last chance, so let’s do it.“

College ball is also on his ‘to do’ list.

As for Doug, these are his last days on the field…football is one thing he will leave here, but he’ll take the lessons.

Baldwin: “If I didn’t play football, I probably wouldn’t have near the leadership skills I have today. I don’t think they’d be there without football.“

Whether you yell for the Yellow Jackets, or stand up for the Thoroughbreds, two seniors say when the lights are shut off, and the last fan has gone home, they’ll remember it’s about what was won off the field…and what they learned while they played on it.

We’ll have a feature story on those two teams, and the schools, on Sunday at 2 p.m. and again on Monday, at 4 p.m., during the Aiken Standard’s presentation of that game…on our sister station 6.2, or 246 on most cable providers.

Every week, look for a feature piece there, and here on WJBF News Channel 6, and WJBF.com. If you have ideas for your school, send them to .