I caught up with Lincoln County assistant coach Todd Ware on the school bus.
Seriously.
As a part of his duties back home in Lincolnton, he’s a bus driver, bus monitor, a football coach and a substitute teacher. He’s from there and, while his career has taken him over the river to South Carolina for the most part, his dad played and learned under legendary Lincoln County coach Carroll “Buddy” Bufford. Bufford was only head coach for, then, Lincolnton High from 1957-1960. But everyone remembers the undefeated 1960 season that gave the county its first title. Norris Ware played in three more title games and won two of them under head coach Tom Bunch. In that four year run, the team went 46-2 from 1960-1963.
There’s a photo up on Coach Ware’s Facebook page that, at first glance, is like every other coach and family photo that appears in programs and websites all across the country this time of year. Todd is wearing his Lincoln County golf shirt and gray slacks, while his daughter, Samantha, sits to his left in a black dress and son, Braxton, is off his sister’s left shoulder standing in a golf shirt and shorts.
But that photo is far more different than “just another coach and family photo…”
In February, Samantha was driving back to her home in Greenwood, South Carolina after dark. She swerved in the road to avoid hitting a deer and her car ended up barrel-rolling and landing upside-down in a ditch. When the car stopped and landed on its roof, that impact broke Samantha’s neck.