With the start of the football season looming, Dillon County’s coaches are hard at work getting their teams ready.

The first big tests for several local teams will be the upcoming pre-season tournaments, including the Dennis Miller Memorial Pee Dee Classic and the Geathers Family Jamboree.

The Dennis Miller Classic will be held at Marlboro’s McAlpine Stadium on Friday, August 12, and recently named Dennis Miller Field. Miller was president of the school’s booster club and passed away last year.

Dillon will be taking on Central in game three of the classic, with Carvers Bay, Lakewood, Manning, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Hartsville, Lamar, and Marlboro County also participating.

The Geathers Family Jamboree will be held on Saturday, August 13, at Carvers Bay. It is the inaugural jamboree for the Bears, and will include Latta, Lake View, Hannah-Pamplico, Johnsonville, Andrews, Creek Bridge, and Timmonsville.

Also announced this week, former Marlboro County softball coach Kelvin Roller will be serving as an assistant coach under Dillon’s Jackie Hayes. Roller lead Marlboro County to its first state championship appearance, but will reportedly not be coaching softball in Dillon.

Dillon’s first pre-season game will be August 5th when they host Hartsville. On August 11, they’ll face Georgetown in Lake View.

Look for more in-depth coverage of each Dillon County team in upcoming issues of THE DILLON HERALD as the football season nears.