Playoffs are family affair for Blackburg coach

Mickey Moss Blacksburg coach Mickey Moss faced a difficult decision last Friday when it came time to hit the road for the playoffs.

Instead of preparing his own team for a game, Moss had two sons coaching in playoff games. His son, Mike, is a running backs coach for Myrtle Beach while his son, Matt, coaches the offensive line for Manning.

"I wanted to see both of my sons. I had a hard time deciding what game to watch," said Moss, who jokingly added he flipped a coin to decide the issue.

Moss watched Myrtle Beach win its playoff game and advance to the Lowerstate Class 3A championship game this weekend.

If Myrtle Beach wins, it would face the winner of the Daniel-Chester game for the state championship on Dec. 6 in Clemson.

Moss would like nothing more than to see his son, Mike, experience the same happiness the Blacksburg coach experienced when he led Lake City to a state championship in 1985. He just wishes his son, Matt, could have the same opportunity with Manning this year.

Manning was eliminated from the playoffs the same night that Myrtle Beach won its playoff game.

"I hate that Matt's team lost," Moss said. "I really wanted to see them do well."

The Blacksburg coach hopes he can travel to Clemson and see his son, Mike, attempt to help Myrtle Beach win a state championship.

Myrtle Beach head coach Scott Earley was an assistant coach under Moss at Lake City in the mid-1980s.

Blacksburg had its moments in a scrimmage with Myrtle Beach in a preseason game in August. Regular season opponent Woodruff is playing in the Class 2A Upperstate championship game this Friday.

Moss has shifted his own thoughts back to the ongoing process of building Blacksburg into a winning program.

Blacksburg (2-9) ended its season with a loss to Calhoun County in the first round of the Class A playoffs. This was just the third playoff game involving the Wildcats since 1995.

Blacksburg will start its offseason workout program on Monday when it returns from the Thanksgiving holidays.

"We just need to work hard over the next several months to get bigger and stronger," Moss said. "Hard work is what it will take for us to get this program where we want it to go."