High school football season begins tonight. Brookland-Cayce is hosting Lake Marion at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

And BC will hit the 2016 campaign head on.

“They’ve got something they call the hammer,” said Brookland-Cayce Head Coach and Athletic Director Rusty Charpia. “They hammer left and they hammer right,” he said of Lake Marion Head Coach Leonard Johnson’s offense. He said he expects Lake Marion to bring a game that grinds it out. Charpia said he does not expect any trickery, but it will be a big challenge.

The Gators  are 3A in Region VII.

Lake Marion also has a tank to go along with the hammer. Tank Robinson is a safety and a wide receiver who is being recruited by South Carolina, Clemson and many other schools.

“Everybody wants him. He has several scholarship offers,” Charpia said.

But Charpia said his team has a chance, and playing at home is an advantage that he is glad to have.

“It’ll come down to turnovers and the kicking game,” Charpia said.

He also said BC will have to play a good game all around, but he said he feels the Bearcats have good enough skill players to match up well with the Gators.

The Gators were a 2A team a year ago and played for the Lower State Championship. Lake Marion’s 2015 coach, Chris Carter, left the school to be the head coach at Edisto.

Charpia said he is familiar with Johnson – who comes to Lake Marion from Marion- from Johnson’s days at Scott’s Branch. Charpia said Johnson has been very successful.

Charpia also said Johnson is a coach who is a winner, and he expects a tough game from him to open the 2016 season.