Practice makes perfect: Clifford's routine has Beaufort High off to 5-0 start

It didn't matter to Justin Parker that the ball lay inside Beaufort High School's 1-yard line or that the Eagles' five-point lead against West Ashley teetered on this final and decisive play -- the Beaufort linebacker already had seen the outcome.

Gone was the apparent pressure of the situation, giving way to the faith built by the Eagles every Monday during the "Oklahoma" goal-line drill.

"Basically, it was just doing what we had been doing in practice, so there was no doubt in my mind that we would stop them," a straight-faced Parker said about Beaufort's defense stuffing West Ashley as time expired last week for a 28-23 win.

"With how hard we practice and the way we do things with a purpose, that's how we build trust in each other to make goal-line plays and Hail-Mary passes when we need to."

This careful attention to detail, including the plays that seem reserved for feel-good movies, is what Beaufort coach Mark Clifford credits for his team's 5-0 start this season.

"That's how we win," he said. "There are smarter coaches than us on Friday night, but I think our coaching staff does a great job during the week of preparing and getting those players ready. Our theory is you win Monday through Thursday."

During those four days, the concept of team becomes the sum of all parts, as individual drills are used to refine mechanics while reinforcing the basic rules and skills of each position.

It's a method instilled in Clifford during his days as a graduate assistant at East Carolina University in the 1980s. Each night, the onus fell on him to take the ideas and schemes of each position coach and formulate a practice script for the next day.

More than two decades later, Clifford still engages in the same nightly routine, devoting two hours of brainstorming and game film to create a thorough schedule that keeps all positions engaged and motivated.

"The process is more beneficial than the final product," Clifford said, "because the process makes you think out every drill, the organization of the practice, how it flows, getting the most intensity out of your players."

Of course, running one-on-one drills is nothing new to the prep football scene. But for a Beaufort team that features a unique two-back offense, mastering every detail is how the Eagles generate confidence entering a contest where there's no telling how opponents will attack.

"Sometimes you get tired of it because everybody changes for us," Clifford said. "We're telling our offense that you can watch this film and watch them play, but they're not going to play that defense on us."

But quarterback Blake Gruel said it's this ambiguity that often plays into the Eagles' favor, as their smorgasbord of individual drills and simulated schemes has them ready for just about any situation.

"We work on the Hail-Mary passes about once a month, but until that Hilton Head game, we never really had to use our two-minute offense like that," said Gruel, whose 36-yard bomb to Trey Nichols downed the Seahawks as time expired in the season opener. "But that didn't stop us from working on it every Thursday. We just know that we have to prepared for anything."

No doubt the Eagles have been ready, as victories on a Hail Mary, 21-point fourth quarter and goal-line stand have helped pour purpose onto the practice field and joy into their Friday night contests.

"From my days at Clemson under coach Danny Ford, I've gone by the theory that you practice hard enough during the week," Clifford said. "That way when Friday comes, heck, you're out there having fun."