Schofield was confident he could win over the players left over from two successful rebuilding seasons under Kenny Atkerson, who left to become head coach at Chester. He figured the new offensive attack he planned to install would capture his players' attention. He was right. The Red Devils adapted to the wing-T like they had been running it all their lives and finished with a respectable 8-5 record. What Schofield didn't count on was the big ring he wears, the one from the 1997 season. He was an assistant coach that year at Walterboro, when the Bulldogs won the Class AAAA Division II state championship.

"I noticed that ring from the first time I met Coach Schofield,'' said John Fullmer, a junior lineman. "When I saw it, I told myself that I wanted one. Coach Schofield knows what it takes to win a championship. He's been there. "We were a little concerned last year about what kind of coach he would be, but not for long. He was a good choice. We all worked harder in the offseason, and things are going great. Rarely is anybody late for practice or not here. Coach Schofield keeps us hyped up, making us want to win.'' Schofield stays involved, whether its dealing with his players, coaches or the public. When the phone rings in his offices, no matter if it's Schofield or one of his assistant coaches answers, the reply is the same" Red Devil Country, this is Coach ....''

It was a scene repeated over and over Friday afternoon while Schofield and his assistants were readying their players to be on the bus by 3:30 to leave for a scrimmage at Chesterfield.

Schofield kept the players moving and on schedule. The assistant coaches were making sure the water coolers and equipment were loaded onto the bus and into the bed of a pickup. Schofield walked into the locker room and yelled, "OK fellows, 15 minutes.'' Maybe two minutes later he was back. This time he yelled, "Hurry it up. You've only got 10 minutes.''  None of the players were late when the order to load the bus was given.  Between crossing the T's and dotting the I's, Schofield took time to down a drink and eat a cheeseburger in just a few bites. "We'll dress 34 or 35 players on the varsity this year, which is not that bad at a Class A school,'' Schofield said. "At this level, it seems like you're always playing the numbers game. "We have some good players returning, but the thing that sticks out about this team is inexperience. We'll start as many as four freshmen, but we'll be competitive. We'll have to live through some growing pains early in the season, but in the long run it will be good for us.'' Schofield likes what he's seen the first two weeks of practice. The Red Devils had a good scrimmage against Andrew Jackson, holding their own against the Class AA school in Kershaw. He said the Red Devils showed they were well conditioned from their offseason and summer workouts, and that they were "very'' physical on both sides of the ball.  While most years defenses are well ahead of offenses in preseason, the two have been fairly equal at Great Falls. Quarterback Akeem McMullen is back to run the offense, along with running backs Maurice Gaines and Reshawn Talford. "But even with most of our skill people back, we're still a pretty young team,'' Gaines said. "We know what Akeem can do. He knows what it takes to lead our team, and he's one of the reasons I think we can really go far this year.  "But the main things is we want to win. One of our goals is to be in Columbia in December playing for the state championship. Coach Schofield already has one, and our school won a state championship in 1991. We've seen pictures of that team, and we've heard about it. But that was 1991. We don't even think about or talk about it. We want our own.''  Notes: Former Westminster Catawba athletics director and coach Jeff Johnson has joined the football staff at Great Falls. He coaches the team's defensive ends.