Living The Blues

Fathers, Sons experience different sides of City Rivalry

Vance Hammond’s jersey is one of a select set of memorabilia displayed in the Dorman Arena.

These days, though, the former Dorman, Clemson, and NFL defensive lineman doesn’t pull on the Columbia and Navy on Friday nights. There’s a different shade of blue for the Cavaliers legend.

He’s not sure he completely enjoys it.

“It’s a different shade, for sure,” he said. “I even call it black. They call it blue, but it’s a lot different than the blue I grew up with.”

In fact, there’s not much Cavalier blue Hammond can get away with these days.

“I’ve got all my memorabilia stuff hanging on the wall,” he explained. “When I get a chance to speak to the Cavaliers, they give me a nice little Dorman shirt. I kind of tuck it in the corner at home. But I’ll be rearranging here in probably another six months.”

Those six months will mark the end of the high school career of Hammond’s son, John, the starting center for the Spartanburg Vikings.

Across town, Dru Darby, Sr. had on a Columbia blue striped shirt on a pretty fall afternoon. It’s a fashion choice that the former state championship winning linebacker for Spartanburg never dreamed of making.

“There’s a time I would have told you it would never happen,” he said with a laugh. “I’d have said you were crazy 20 years ago.”

But Darby’s daughter, Blair, was a standout softball player for the Cavaliers. Now Dru Jr. is playing linebacker like his dad, and is one of Dorman’s best defenders.

On Friday, two fathers will spend their last rivalry game cheering for their sons, taking a different side in one of the most storied rivalries in the state.

Revisiting The Rivalry

For most of his high school career, Darby Sr. never faced a running back better than the one he saw in practice. He played with (and against, in practice) Stephen Davis, who was the most sought-after high school recruit in the country in 1991, and the USA Today offensive player of the year.

Practices were interesting.

“You had to get him behind the line of scrimmage, or you didn’t get him,” Darby said with a laugh. “And you couldn’t do that much. But if he got one step on you, that was it. He was gone.”

Darby’s time in the rivalry coincided with a great run at Spartanburg, where Brian Smith played QB, Lee Smith was out wide, and a new coach came up from the 2A ranks at Chapman as Doc Davis took the helm of the Vikings program.

“He came in and turned what was a championship-caliber program into a championship winning program,” Darby said. “Discipline, accountability, having high standards, consistent work in the weight room – those are things that are taken for granted in this day and time, but he implemented those things and and a high standard for that, and he just brought a championship mindset.”

At the time, Dorman was still a couple of years from truly breaking out as a football power, but the rivalry was still there.

“It was fun from a school perspective, and it was interesting that it was looked at as Frats vs. Farmers,” he said. “I grew up on the North side, so I wasn’t a frat by any means. But I was for fun for that week. At the time, Dorman was probably not our biggest football rivalry, but it was our biggest school rivalry. It was fun, and we had a really good time with it.”

Hammond, on the other hand, was very much a farmer. Growing up in Fairforest, he had a first-hand idea of what the rivalry looked like to the “country” school.

“Fairforest was way out there,” he said. “I just knew we weren’t supposed to like Spartan High because they were city folks. My daddy would say ‘We ain’t going to town, that’s a long drive. How bad do you need it?’. It’s just the way it was back then. I knew a few of those guys. I knew Danny Cash and Dorian Mariable through recruiting and playing basketball against them. But I never had any business coming over here into town, as they used to call it.”

In fact, Hammond’s neighbor was John L. Martin, whose name graced the Dorman football stadium when the school was still on W.O. Ezell Blvd. He clearly recalls some of his first rivalry memories.

“I remember going and seeing mountains of white boxes from the Beacon,” he said. “You got either a chili-cheese or a hash plate and got your seat three hours before the game. People were 10 deep around the fence. And we never won.”

The Cavaliers got close in Hammond’s junior season against a Chip Ferguson and Dorian Mariable-led Vikings squad, but fell in overtime. More than the games, though, Hammond remembers the atmosphere from inside the rivalry.

“We were always fired up to go play them,” he said. “I remember the first time I played them I think we had 47 players and Spartan High had three buses and 110. It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe they made so many gold helmets. I thought they never would stop coming off the bus.”

A Change In Focus

So how did two former players so ingrained in a rivalry end up on the other side of things? Well, like many things in life, that’s a love story. Wives, and families, and sons have all won out, despite early misgivings.

“I coached at Spartanburg after playing, and early on when I started doing Young Life ministry at Dorman, it was difficult,” Darby said. “It was hard going to Dorman games and sitting on that side and trying to be a fan. I didn’t like it at all. But then I started coaching at Dawkins, and you pull for those players you’ve coached as they go through. And then I had kids come through the District Six programs. Now I’m full Dorman. There’s no allegiance to Spartanburg anymore. My kids, my wife, my whole family is D6, and it’s not difficult anymore.”

Family ties influence Hammond, too.

“I never thought it would happen,” Hammond said. “Married my wife, who’s from Pacolet, and that’s the far east side. Tried to get to the far west side, which is Dorman, but we settled on the middle, which is District 7. That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”

And Friday night at Cavalier Stadium, each will sit on their new side and watch young men who are quite similar to who they were in their playing days. Dru Jr. just LOOKS like a linebacker, making plays all over the field directing the defense between snaps. John is the leader of Spartanburg’s offensive line, massive for his position at center at 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds. Odds are they’ll meet up on the field with bad intentions a couple of times on Friday. Because that’s what this rivalry is about.

“From my perspective, any county rivalry is to be taken seriously,” Dru Jr. said. “But the week leading up to Spartanburg is different. It’s still the same thing as it’s always been. Maybe even more these days. Every time you step between the lines with any team, I don’t like you and you don’t like me, and it’s time to get after it.”

John agrees, and said the Vikings and the student body have continued to embrace the rivalry.

“Everyone hates Dorman,” he said with a smile. It’s a whole different type of week. Everybody’s in a certain mood. There’s just something about it.”

Both of the younger generation players are similar in the way they go about their business, despite playing vastly different positions. Both enjoy playing with a physical edge, true to their family traditions.

“I knew my dad played LB, and he was aggressive,” Dru Jr. said. “Even when I was a kid, we wrestled in the floor. I was always a pretty aggressive kid. Watching college and NFL, he’d point out why somebody would do this, why the LBs were where they were, and we still do that today. Always loved the game of football, and always will, no matter what.”

John, too, thrives on aggressive play.

“It’s pretty much the most fun part of being an offensive lineman,” he said. “It’s pretty much the only reward we get. Get a couple pancake blocks, knocking people down, it’s the best part about it.”

Watching And Learning

Both fathers have willingly shared their knowledge about the game with their sons.

“I coached him in little league, and we watch a lot of film, watch a lot of games, and talk about football a lot,” Dru Sr. said. “He learned the game from a different, studied perspective at an earlier age. It’s kind of fun to pull back and see that now.”

“I’ve tried to enlighten him a little bit,” Vance said. “I actually played center toward the end of my career. He plays center now because when we went out for little league, nobody knew how to snap the ball. Back then, you only had the kids for about two hours twice a week. I knew we could work on it at home. He really took after it.”

Both fathers also joked about how their sons’ performance stacks up to their glory days. Could the younger Darby out-play the elder?

“He’s a much better football player than I was at his age,” Dru Sr. said with a laugh. “But he’s not as smart or good-looking.”

Could Vance get by John with some defensive line tricks?

“I’d swim him in two seconds,” he said. “I’d just flat swim him, right now. He wouldn’t see it coming. He’d think I’d bull rush, and that’d be it.”

In all seriousness, both fathers’ eyes light up when they talk about watching their sons play, even if it’s in the “wrong” color blue.

“It’s not my job to get on him,” Dru Sr. said.” He’s got coaches to do that. But I’ll answer questions. I remember playing, and from a coaching perspective, mistakes will happen. I just enjoy it. It’s fun to watch him.”

Vance is quick to agree.

“He plays hard, and he’s a lot smarter than I was,” he said. “He really does a good job, moves really well, and he’s gotten more confident and stronger, and I’m just excited to see what he can do. I’m very proud of him.”