THE TALE OF TWO WEEKS - Aug. 23 & Aug. 30 -- The Clinton Red Devils fall to Woodruff and defeat Laurens; NEXT is Newberry, a winner last week over its rival, Mid-Carolina. Also, PC Football suffers a 53-point defeat; Next Up: Erskine.
Woodruff scorched the Clinton defense for 40 points and 479 yards of total offense in the non-region opener for both teams.
Clinton tallied 36 points of its own, erasing a 13-point halftime deficit and out-gaining the visitors with 488 yards of total offense. The Backyard Brawl between two long standing rivals, literally, came down to who had the ball last – Clinton missed on a 4th and 1 from Woodruff’s 17-yard line on a pass into the end zone with 19 seconds left to play.
Red Devil signal caller Tushawan Richardson led home-standing Clinton with 14 runs for 147 yards and 6 pass completions in 14 attempts for 119 yards. Javen Cook turned in the play of the game with a punt block which led to Clinton taking a lead with 3:17 left in the 3rd quarter. It was a lead the Red Devils could not hold.
“I take the blame for this loss. I didn’t have our guys ready to execute the way we needed to execute and there was plenty of chances for us to execute on first down, in the red zone and we weren’t able to get that done,” Clinton football head coach Corey Fountain said. “We got down two scores before the half, and I talked to them in the locker room about we have scored plenty more points than that. The guys came out, we got some things going, we got the momentum going our way; but it’s a game of inches and we were just a couple of inches off tonight.
“We were able to come back but not enough tonight. We want them to sting. We want that (loss) to sting a little bit and carry that over into practice this week and stay fired up about next week against Laurens.”
The Wilder Stadium crowd saw official Tommy C. Stribble officiate his 700th game, with an officiating crew he handpicked. One of the crew was Clinton’s Truman Owens, a Hall of Famer who handled the pre-game coin toss. Just before kickoff, the officiating crew surrounded Owens and bowed their heads for The Lord’s Prayer, on the C and Pitchfork of Richardson Field’s 50-yard line. At halftime, the Clinton High boys’ tennis teams of the early ‘70s were honored for their 4 consecutive state championships – 3 with Keith Richardson as coach and 1 with Andy B. Young as coach. The teams will hold their 50th reunion dinner tonight at the high school.
In football game action, Clinton was true to its offensive philosophy running the ball 58 times to gain 369 yards and grind out 22 first downs. Woodruff ran the ball 33 times to gain 276 yards and completed 15 passes in 22 attempts for 203 more.
Woodruff hit Clinton with a 20-point second quarter. That included a 98 yard run from scrimmage and touchdown by Aiden Gibson, part of his 184 yards on the ground. Gibson scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown with 3:27 left in the game.
Clinton QB Richardson averaged 10.5 yards per carry.
Clinton out-rushed Woodruff, 369 to 276, but the Red Devils were just 3 of 6 in the red zone.
Clinton’s scores were:
Devin Swindler, 39-yard and 11-yard passed from Richardson;
Javen Cook (#3 above, 120 yards rushing) 10-yard run in the 3rd quarter;
Richardson 30-yard run in the 3rd quarter;
Cook again, 4-yard run in the 4th quarter.
UP NEXT:
The August 30 games for both teams will be against nearby foes – Clinton plays host to Laurens and Woodruff travels to Fountain Inn. Laurens lost 16-0 at home to Hillcrest this past Friday, gaining just 133 yards including 27 runs for 65 yards, and committed 4 turnovers. The Raiders were in Hillcrest territory twice - to the visitors’ 32 giving the ball back on down and to the Hillcrest 20 only to throw an interception.
The last time Woodruff won against Clinton was 2019.
The all-time record between Clinton and Woodruff now stands at 55-27-1 in the Red Devils’ favor; Clinton won last season, 36-20.
After Laurens, Clinton is on the road for 3: at Newberry, Daniel and Chapman. Homecoming is set for September 27.
Hoyt Hanvey Jewelers was mentioned 27 times on the radio Friday night, as Clinton defeated cross-county rival Laurens, 35-8, winning for the fourth consecutive season.
You see, every time Clinton makes a first down, the WPCC radio game crew declares it a “Hoyt Hanvey first down -- movin’ the chains!” And, it was especially significant this past Friday, Aug. 30, because Hoyt Hanvey Jewelers was severely damaged by the Aug, 27 fire in Uptown Clinton that wiped out 3 businesses operating in 4 buildings. Only the fire-upgraded Freshens restaurant, operated by Presbyterian College, saved the entire city block.
The broadcast crew said several times, “Our prayers are going out to you, Mister Hoyt, Angie and the crew, and all the business owners and employees.”
Three nights after the fire, the Clinton Red Devils and the Laurens Raiders brought a sense of normalcy to an otherwise unnormal week in Clinton, but playing their rivalry game.
Clinton Football Head Coach Corey Fountain - who won his 100th career game with the victory over Laurens, said his team’s defense played inspired football because, frankly, they were tired of being asked how they gave up 40 points to Woodruff the Friday night before. Clinton is 1-1 on the season, Laurens is 0-2 and, of more concern, the Raiders suffered an injury to starting quarterback, senior Will Thompson.
The Raiders had to sub in sophomore Jace Campbell for the injured senior Will Thompson at quarterback. Clinton made that sub too, sophomore Owen Glenn for senior Tushawan Richardson but for a different reason – Clinton had a comfortable 4th quarter lead and pretty much everybody saw game action.
The Red Devils’ 327 yards came on 58 carries, and an additional 82 yards came on 4 of 8 passing. Laurens ran for 163 yards and completed 1 of 4 passes for 8 yards. Javen Cook was the workhorse for Clinton with 15 carries for 89 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Clinton’s TDs were:
Javen Cook, 16, 10, 13 yd runs;
Rhett Gilliam, 1 yd run;
Devin Swindler, 25 yd catch.
Hayden Lollis kicked all 5 extra points.
Clinton’s varsity, ranked #4 in State AA, has its next game Friday at Newberry, competing in the Clinton-Newberry Natural Gas Authority’s Battle of the Belt. It’s a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Newberry’s Mike Ware Field.
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Clinton JV football defeated Laurens, 6-0, Thursday night. The winning score was a Graydon Watkins to Zydarrion Butler pass with 7:35 left in the 1st quarter. Clinton JV hosts Newberry, Sept. 5.
Wardlaw defeated Laurens Academy, 32-20.
Presbyterian College Football lost to Mercer, 63-10, Thursday night.
THE TOUCHDOWN CLUB
They did not play each other this past Friday night. They will play each other this coming Friday night.
Laurens at Clinton will be the Aug. 30 renewal of the cross-county rivalry, and head coaches Corey Fountain and Greg Porter, along with Laurens Academy mentor Jolly Doolittle, previewed their teams Thursday for the Laurens County Touchdown Club.
LA was the only team in action the Friday before, coming away with a 56-20 win at Cambridge Academy in Greenwood; the Crusaders won again Friday, 42-25 over Newberry. Crusader standout Garrett Murphy was the TD Club’s Player of the Week.
Fountain expressed appreciation to the Touchdown Club for its recognition of players and the gridiron programs.
“Laurens County football is going to be up and coming. The Ridge and Laurens Recreation have a rec football program and they allowed us to have three teams in their program,” Fountain said. “We are helping these young men to be better young men, from the time they are little kids to middle school and high school; if they go and play in college that’s great, if they don’t that’s OK, too.”
The Clinton head coach said he thought about this when he attended the wedding of one of his former players. “Seeing them with their own kids, raising their own kids, being examples in their community, being leaders in their community. That’s what it’s all about.”
Clinton as 19 seniors - 7 returning starters on offense and 3 returning starters on defense. “It’s all going to come down to that kickoff on Friday night,” Fountain said, the day before the Woodruff game. “We will see where we’re at when the real game comes to town. We’ll see what the guys are all about during that game.”
Fountain introduced the TD Club audience to Red Devils Hunter Lawson, Cal Pitts, Rion Gordon, Chris Boyd and Tre Aiken. The team has instituted a senior-led Leadership Council and accountability teams to improve performance. Aiken, a junior offensive and defensive lineman, was in the middle of a dust-up the other day in practice, the coach said. “Bodies were flying. Sometimes you need that in a practice. We need that kind of energy at the beginning of practice, not at the end of practice.”
The Laurens mentor, Lawson, was especially interested in the group knowing he is from Washington, D.C., said meeting emcee Buddy Bridges. Porter and Fountain had the opportunity to coach together at Hillcrest. Also, Porter congratulated Coach Doolittle on his 100th win as a head coach, earned in the opener over Cambridge.
Porter spoke about the task of “turning this program around.”
“It’s going to take a lot of work to transition this program,” he said. “I was at Hillcrest 9 years, this will be the first time in my life I will go up against Hillcrest. People ask me about that and I say, ‘I’m not at Hillcrest. I am here.’ We’re not the same team. That is not arrogant talk. I know the work we have put in. I know what the result will be.
“I know the community will be proud of the effort and performance of this team. There is no doubt in my mind.” (Laurens lost 16-0 to Hillcrest.)
He asks the Raider fans to “stay with us — all the way - not just in the good times. Don’t start saying, ‘Oh, here we go again’. That’s not fair to the kids who come to workouts at 6:30 in the morning.”
That support, he said, is “what it takes to change this program around. We play a tough schedule. We’re not running away from anybody. We will play anybody, anywhere, any time.” After Hillcrest and Clinton, Laurens plays at Belton-Honea Path, at A.C. Flora and hosts Lexington. The Raiders’ first region game is hosting Fountain Inn.
Then, flashing a wide grin, Porter said hello to a tableful of referees, who were there to support official Tommy C. Stribble, officiating his 700th game Friday night, Clinton vs Woodruff. A pre-game program recognized him; and at halftime, CHS Athletics acknowledged the 50th reunion of the tennis AAA State Champions of 1971-1974, coached by former football mentors Keith Richardson and Andy B. Young.
The Red Devils, after Laurens, have 3 consecutive games on the road - Newberry, Chapman and Daniel. Oct. 4 is the start of a new region for Clinton, playing at Liberty.
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
MACON, Ga. – The Presbyterian College football team began its 112th season with a bit more waiting than was initially planned, forced to sit through a 90-minute weather delay before falling to the Mercer Bears on the road (63-10).
Mercer utilized a 35-0 flurry near the middle of the bout to turn a 7-3 lead into a much greater deficit, finishing the night with 500 yards of total offense.
Wrapping up near midnight at Five Star Stadium, the Blue Hose found their first points of the new campaign from Mack Mikko (26-yard field goal) and Cincere Gill (24-yard touchdown reception).
PC will remain on the road next Saturday for their second encounter of the year, making a short drive to Due West to face the Flying Fleet of Erskine. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM, broadcasted on Flo Football.
FINAL SCORE: Mercer, 63 – Presbyterian, 10
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-1) – Mercer (1-0)
LOCATION: Five Star Stadium (Macon, Ga.)
NOTABLES
- Safety Brooks Russ-Martin finished one tackle away from his personal-best (nine) as the Scotsmen registered six stops behind the line of scrimmage.
- Sebastian Conwell and Dalton Epps tag-teamed a pair of sacks for PC's defense, while Herriott published his first career interception in the 2nd quarter.
- Gill tallied his fourth score in a Presby uniform near the end of the 3rd, part of an 8-for-20 evening by junior signal-caller Ty Englehart.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blue Hose couldn't event the odds at seven apiece from there, however, settling for a 26-yard field goal from reigning Freshman All-American Mikko.
- That's when the Bears reeled off their lengthy scoring spree, penning a 28-3 lead at intermission and outscoring Presby 35-7 in the final two frames.
- On 3rd and 13 midway through the 3rd, PC managed its longest play from scrimmage of the meeting, as Englehart dropped off a 49-yard screen pass to transfer RB Antonio Wright.
- Gill raced by the Mercer secondary just two snaps later, capping a 75-yard drive that lasted one minute and 23 seconds.
- Mercer outscored the Blue Hose 21-0 in the last period, as quarterback D.J. Smith accounted for 345 yards of total offense.
UP NEXT
- PC makes the hop, skip, and jump to Due West in nine days, competing against an Erskine crew who failed to win a game last season in 11 attempts.
- Presbyterian has owned the Flying Fleet to the tune of 29 wins over them in only 32 tries. Each of the last 10 matchups between the two have gone PC's way, holding Erskine to single digits in nine of those 10 affairs.
Erskine Result:
GREENWOOD – The Erskine College football team (1-0) defeated St. Andrews University (0-1) by a score of 52-0 at J.W. Babb Stadium on Saturday to open the 2024 season. Erskine scored on its first four drives of the game and the Fleet's defense and special teams wrecked havoc all afternoon long en route to a commanding win.
THE BASICS
Final | Erskine 52, St. Andrews 0
Records | Erskine 1-0 (0- GSC), St. Andrews (0-1, 0-0 NAIA AAC)
Location | Greenwood, S.C. (J.W. Babb Stadium)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter
The Fleet continue a long homestand to open the 2024 season with a tall test against Division-I opponent, Presbyterian College (0-1), next Saturday at 7 p.m. This will be Erskine's first matchup against a Division-I team since the program restarted five years ago. Follow the Flying Fleet all season long to get schedule updates, scores, highlights, photo galleries, game notes and more at www.erskinesports.com.
