Blue Ridge hosts, wins annual Hawg-Tuff Lineman Challenge

The 2023 Hawg-Tuff Lineman Challenge featured linemen from six schools: Blue Ridge, Pendleton, Belton-Honea Path, Wade Hampton, Broome, and Polk County. Blue Ridge came out on top with 129 total points.

Linemen deserve love, too.

Every summer, high-school football programs send their skill players (mainly quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive backs) to countless 7-on-7s to help sharpen their skills and show out in front of other schools and potentially college scouts.

It’s easy for linemen — some of the hardest workers on the field that often garner the least notoriety — to feel left out.

At Blue Ridge High School’s annual Hawg-Tuff Lineman Challenge, it’s quite the opposite. Not a back or wideout in sight — just packs of the big dogs, each one of them hungry and ready to eat.
“The skills guys, they get their chance all the time,” said Blue Ridge running backs coach Travis Henson. “The big guys need their chance to shine, too.”

The 2023 Hawg-Tuff Lineman Challenge, which took place on July 13, consisted of six schools bringing their offensive and defensive lines to compete in several strength competitions. Among the events: 185-pound bench press, tire flipping, and a 10-man tug-of-war competition between schools.

“It’s good to get the big guys involved in events and have them competing together,” said Blue Ridge head coach, John Boggs. “It’s about those guys encouraging each other out there, even some of the opponents.”

Boggs has helped put on these events since they began in the 1980s when he worked with the late Mike Pope, legendary high school football coach at several South Carolina high schools.

“This is the longest-running lineman challenge in the state, but it’s not my brain-child, that credit is Coach Pope’s,” said Boggs.

In his playing days, Boggs was a standout offensive lineman at Pickens High who competed in the Shrine Bowl.

Boggs graduated from Pickens in 1991 and played collegiately at East Tennessee State University. As a coach, he hosted annual Hawg-Tuff challenges while coaching at Walhalla and Westside over 10 years ago.

Now Boggs, who Henson aptly dubbed “a lineman at heart,” has brought the tradition to Blue Ridge for the past three years.

On Thursday, he watched with pride as his players came out on top.

Blue Ridge won the 2023 Hawg-Tuff Lineman Challenge overall competition. The Tigers scored 129 points throughout the event, edging out Belton-Honea Path with 125. Pendleton finished third with 93 points.

Blue Ridge placed first in the one-man sled and the sled punch and roll contests before winning the team tug-of-war competition at the end of the day to clinch the overall title.

Boggs made specific mention of several players who stood out, including junior linebacker/tight end and leader, Eli Smith.

“It’s great that we’re able to have this kind of event to make each other better for the upcoming season,” said Smith. “I feel like the Hawg Tuff Challenge is the perfect event for big boys to get together and test their abilities.”

Boggs knows the success of his offensive and defensive line will be crucial to the game plan he hopes to implement heading into the season. Thursday’s performance, he said, was a testament to the work they’ve put in throughout the spring and summer.

“As coaches, we know how hard these guys have been working in the offseason in the weight room and on the field,” said Boggs. “It’s good to see them be rewarded. Seeing them pull together as both an offensive and a defensive line and find a way to get the win, that’s what we like to see.”