Randy Robinson, who had led the Daniel High School football program since 2006, was hired last week as the new head coach at Berkely High School in Moncks Corner.
John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com

By Eric Sprott
Courtesy The Journal
esprott@upstatetoday.com

CENTRAL — After 20 years at his alma mater, including the last decade as its head football coach, Randy Robinson is saying goodbye to Daniel High School.
And with that, the school finds itself in the rare position of looking for someone to lead the football program with just its fourth vacancy in 56 years.
On Thursday, Robinson was announced as the new head coach at Berkeley High, where he began his coaching career in 1989 just a few short years before joining Allen Sitterle’s staff as an assistant coach at Daniel in 1995.
In his first interview since accepting the job, Robinson said on his way to the Moncks Corner school Thursday evening it was an “extremely difficult decision” to leave the Lions, as there were few jobs that could pull him away from Central.
“I told the committee down there when they interviewed me that there were maybe one or two jobs that could even be good enough for me to apply to leave Daniel, and this was one of them,” he said. “One of the other ones came open a couple of years ago, and I prayed about it, and it just didn’t feel right. To be totally honest, this one came up, I prayed about it, it didn’t feel right and I didn’t apply.
“But circumstances down there dictated they didn’t hire a coach, and they opened it back up. God opens doors for a reason, so we just threw our name in the hat and ended up getting the offer.”
The opening came after Berkeley head coach and athletic director Jeff Cruce was fired at the end of last season after going 25-32 in five seasons. Cruce, who filed a wrongful termination suit following his departure, was poised to be replaced by former Stags coach Jerry Brown, but the Berkeley County School District didn’t approve his hire.
That’s when the job was reopened and Robinson — who coached at Berkeley from 1989-1993, followed by a one-year stint at Carolina — decided to apply, ultimately ending a highly successful run with the Lions and the longest current head football coaching tenure in Pickens County.
In his 10 years as head coach from 2006-15, Robinson coached Daniel to a combined record of 96-33, which included six Western 3A region championships — from 2007-09 and 2011-13 — and an appearance in the Class 3A state championship game in 2013.
Robinson also had the honor of coaching three current NFL players who starred at Clemson after leaving Daniel— Jarvis Jenkins, DeAndre Hopkins and DeShawn Williams — while Shaq Lawson is poised to make it four as a widely projected first-round selection later this month.
Robinson, who was a part of the Lions’ state championship teams in 1995 and 1998 under Sitterle, knows despite a 4-7 record last season, he’s leaving a talented team behind.
“One thing I’ve always tried to do is keep it about the kids,” he said about breaking the news to his team Thursday afternoon. “It’s not about me, and it would have been easy for me to break down, but I just challenged them to continue what we’ve started. We didn’t have a great year last year, but we built a foundation for a tremendous run.
“I told them not to use this as an excuse not to keep working and achieving the goals we set up. I expect whoever gets the job to have a great team the next three or four years.”
Robinson is scheduled to meet his new team for the first time today, and his last day at Daniel will be April 15, as he praised Daniel principal Josh Young and School District of Pickens County superintendent Danny Merck for allowing him to be released from his contract prior to the end of the school year so he can coach the Stags during spring practice.
“They’ve been unbelievable,” Robinson said.
And while the 2016 schedule hasn’t been officially released yet, Daniel and Berkeley, as fate would have it, are scheduled to meet to open the season.
However, Robinson indicated that could be subject to change.
“There’s some negotiations going on there,” he said. “Those kids invested in me, and I’ve invested in them, and that would be a tough situation for the kids. I think it’d be best if we can work something out.”
As Daniel looks to replace Robinson, whose tenure came on the heels of Sitterle (1990-2005) and Dick Singleton (1960-89), it will turn to boys’ basketball coach and former assistant football coach Ben Touchberry to run the program as the coaching search takes place.
“Coach Touchberry currently oversees our weightlifting program, and with his knowledge of our students and program, we think that his daily interactions with our players will allow for a smooth transition for the next head coach,” Young said in a statement.
While wishing Robinson well — noting he “will not be easily replaced” — Young added the position is now open, and he hopes to have a new coach named in time for spring practice in May.