BLUFFTON, S.C. () — The Beaufort Eagles football team looks to return to the form of the 2022 season when they were crowned state champions.

The good news for the Eagles is they made the playoffs last year. This season, they return approximately 25 seniors, which head coach Bryce Lybrand said is the biggest class he has had at Beaufort.

The bad news is their overall record last year was 2-9 overall and 1-4 in the region. They also have to replace Samari Walker, who was the team’s quarterback for the past three seasons.

“It’s always a big thing when you lose a quarterback,” Coach Lybrand said. “But we’ve got five offensive linemen coming back. So we feel good about that. Being able to protect {our new quarterback} Anthony {Kahler} a little bit and be able to give them some things they can handle.”

“We’re hoping to have a great run this year,” senior middle linebacker James Thomas said. “It starts with our region play and doing well in our region to hopefully get a high seed. We don’t want to travel. Hartsville was a pretty long trip last year. We’re hoping to stay in Beaufort and have a high seed.”

Beaufort opens the season against Fort Dorchester at home. The game kicks off Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m.