By Jack Veltri

Correspondent

BLYTHEWOOD – The excitement on Fort Mill head football coach Rob McNeely’s face said it all.

Since he took over in 2018, there haven’t been many wins to go around. But the tide seems to be changing this season.

The Yellow Jackets continued their strong start to 2025 with a 33-7 win over Blythewood on Friday, Sept. 5. It’s their first 3-0 start since 2015. And for McNeely, who’s now in his eighth year at the helm, it’s the most wins in a season during his tenure.

Despite all that, McNeely couldn’t care less about what happened in the past or how many difficult seasons his teams went through. He’s simply focused on the here and now.

“None of the previous years should affect this year’s outcomes. End of story. Period, right?” he said. “And these kids believe in themselves and each other. And I’m just proud of them.”

McNeely said the biggest difference about this year’s team is the players’ ability to buy in and learn from the previous season’s mistakes.

“They know history is a teacher, you know, and they’ve learned from the past. I can’t say enough about them,” McNeely said. “They believe in themselves and they believe in each other. They believe in what we’re doing as coaches, and the parents are being our advocates, and that’s all we can ask.”

After Noah Hardy drilled a 36-yard field goal on the opening drive, the Jackets got some important stops to keep Blythewood off the board. They forced a Bengals missed field goal inside the red zone as time expired in the opening quarter.

Defense proved to be the story of the night for Fort Mill as it held Blythewood scoreless all the way up until inside the final two minutes of the game. The Yellow Jackets picked off Bengals’ quarterback James Veasey three times.

“Defense was hell,” McNeely said. “Defense was hell tonight.”

Special teams got in on the action as well. Midway through the second quarter, Brett Scales came swarming in off the edge and blocked a punt.

Scales then scooped the loose ball up and took it the other way for a touchdown to give Fort Mill a 10-0 lead. It was the first of two blocked punts by the Yellow Jackets.

“I’ll tell you what, Brett Scales, number three, He’s the heart and soul of our team,” McNeely said. “He’s a coach out on the field. He comes hard every day. He runs freaking defensive scout team for our offense to get a look. That’s the kind of kid he is. And those kids are better players. They’re great freaking kids, and I love them.”

Offensively, Fort Mill relied heavily on its ground game to move the ball throughout the night. In the third quarter, Broden Mitcheson, who fumbled earlier in the game, found his way into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the offense marched back down the field not once but twice as Andrew Kowalski scored on a pair of one-yard runs to put the game out of reach.

While it was a mostly perfect performance by Fort Mill, there were some struggles along the way. The offense turned the ball over three times as quarterback Quinn Kelly was sacked six times. The Yellow Jackets also committed eight penalties.

But at the end of the night, when McNeely spoke to his players following the game, the only thing on his mind was the win. As he gave his players a passionate speech, his message was, “What’s better than 2-0? 3-0!”

He then said, “What’s better than 3-0? 4-0!” as his players were overjoyed and showered him with filled-up water bottles. And that’s what could be next for his group as they look to keep things rolling.

“That’s the plan,” McNeely said when asked about his excitement to return to Bob Jones Stadium next weekend.

Fort Mill will return home next Friday, Sept. 12, to host Lancaster.