24 days until HS football: Byrnes defeats Conway, 34-28, for 2002 state championship

24 YEARS AGO, Byrnes returned to the mountaintop.

The Rebels took down Conway, 34-28, to win the 2002 Class AAAA Division II State Championship.

Byrnes quarterback Justin Fulbright was golden in the first half. Fulbright connected nonstop with standout WR Bradley Robinson to build a big Byrnes advantage.

The pair of seniors combined for three first-half touchdown passes — of 33, 41, and 63 yards — as the Rebels built a 31-14 halftime lead. Conway rallied to make it a game in the end, but Bobby Bentley’s Rebels pulled out a deserved victory when the clock struck zero.

A late stop by Byrnes defense — led by players like LB Drew McClintock, DE Josh Brock, DB Octavius Love, and many other standouts — sealed the win.

This was Byrnes’ first football championship since 1986.

HC Bobby Bentley, a Byrnes grad in his seventh season in charge, had briefly considered retiring when he brought that title back to his Alma mater.

But after getting a taste of his first, Bentley quickly changed his tune.

“I want to get another one now. I said I might retire when I won one, but I'm not going to now," Bentley told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "We worked too hard to win this one; now I want some more."

And that he got.

2002’s state title would be the first of four state titles in a row Byrnes captured under Bentley, from 2002-2005.

This was the also the beginning of a run where Byrnes won eight state titles in 10 seasons. We’ll circle back around to the back half of that run — and the people who made it possible — later.

24 days until high school football is back.