The Clinton Red Devils took a question from SC Hall of Fame Coach Mike Ayers and the hard-work-gets-rewarded legacy of the late Bill Rhodes all the way to a hard-fought 46-34 win Friday over Mountain View Prep, in the first-ever game between the two schools.
On Thursday, Ayers was the featured speaker for the Laurens County Touchdown Club and, knowing that the Red Devils had lost 3 in a row, he sat down at their table – and gave it a little jolt at one point – and asked the Red Devils players and coaches there representing the team to dig deep for the answer to, “How deep is your belief?”
The next night, Friday, with 5:34 left in a back-and-forth region contest, the Red Devils’ belief was deep enough to come up with a 4th down stop on a snuffed-out pass play.
The Stars had been driving – down 12 points – after accepting the kickoff that followed Jaiden Jeter’s short plunge extending Clinton’s lead. The Red Devils had trailed 27-22 at halftime.
That was an extended break, because School District 56 announced that the baseball/softball complex will be named for a man who gave 65 years of his life to the local schools – and its students and teachers – the late Bill Rhodes.
His Celebration of Life was held at 6 p.m. in the gym adjacent to Wilder Stadium, ending about 23 minutes before kickoff.
For Clinton, it was the kind of never-say- die victory that Rhodes would have loved. The 1,000 rally towels given out in his memory contain a favorite Bible verse, about faith the size of a mustard seed. The jumbo-TV at Wilder Stadium showed a Rhodes photo montage set to the Foo Fighters’ “My Hero”, and the Devil Regiment stayed on the field after their show-performance presentation to pump up the home crowd with “The Horse” fight song.
In pre-game comments on video to Rhodes' commemoration and to the stadium audience arriving for the contest, Clinton Football Head Coach Fountain said, “Good evening Red Devil Nation and welcome to Wilder Stadium. Today’s game is more than just a match-up between two teams, it’s a tribute to an absolute legend in our community. This game is in honor to the late Bill Rhodes. Coach Bill Rhodes spent 65 of his life giving service to our Laurens District 56 and over 40 years of service to the South Carolina Army National Guard culminating in the awarding of the Order of the Palmetto. As we play tonight’s game, we celebrate his service, distinction, his dedication that has impacted so many in this community. Let’s celebrate his life together.” The announcement at halftime by District 56 Superintendent Dr. David O’Shields was, “In grateful appreciation of the 65 years of service to Laurens County School District 56 as well as 42 years in the South Carolina National Guard culminating in the rank of command sergeant major for South Carolina, the District 56 School Board unanimously approved in August the naming of the Clinton High School Baseball and Softball Field as the Rhodes Baseball and Softball Complex. On the scoreboard is a depiction of the entrance to the finished facility in memory of Coach Bill Rhodes will look like.”
Clinton accepted the second half kick-off and marched to a score that wiped out the Stars’ halftime lead.
But, for the Red Devils, it wasn’t going to be that easy – nothing worthwhile ever is, as Coach Rhodes – and probably the Wofford legend Coach Ayers, also -- would say.
After Clinton got that important stop with under 6 minutes to play, it wasn’t quite over. Mountain View recovered a Clinton fumble with 52 seconds to play but overthrew a pass to the end zone as time expired.
A Graydon Watkins interception with 9:29 left in the game gave Jeter the chance to score a touchdown and Clinton converted a 2-pointer. That pushed Clinton’s lead to 12 points.
Jeter gained 160 tough yards on 13 carries, but the Red Devils rode the legs of senior Angelo Cromer all night, with 29 carries for 250 yards. Camden Gregory got the call when Clinton was sniffing the end zone, and he found paydirt 3 times.
It was all part of what Fountain said was the game plan to attack Mountain View with the big backs, to knock down the Stars’ defensive ends.
“A little back can’t do that,” Fountain said, post-game. He praised his team for getting the coaching staff’s message – do your job, for 5-6 seconds per play, times 40-50 plays per game.
The Red Devils ran 61 plays to gain 530 yards on the night – just 35 came through the air, but even that was dramatic, a Watkins over the shoulder catch of a QB Owen Glenn spiral.
In the 3 previous games, all losses, the coaches were “super-prepared”, but the breaks just didn’t fall Clinton’s way, Fountain said. Part of that was self-induced as the Red Devils have struggled with penalties all season – against Mountain View, though, Clinton was flagged twice for just 35 yards. The Stars committed 3-times more penalties (6 – 55 yards).
It turned out to be a study in contrasts – Clinton’s 57 running plays churned out 495 yards; Mountain View’s 15 pass completions in 31 attempts scorched the Clinton secondary for 331 yards.
Clinton’s win makes the Devils 1-2 in region play with 2 games left. Landrum comes to Wilder Stadium this coming Friday, and the Woodruff Wolverines claw their way onto Richardson Field on Oct. 30. The Class 2A Playoffs start Nov. 6.
