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Hey, college coaches, do we have some athletes for you

Laurens County Touchdown Club celebrates the best in local football, as 2 teams plays for state championships

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2024 All-County Team

Offense

QB Tushawan Richardson CHS

RB Garrett Murphy LA

RB Javen Cook CHS

RB Denari Lee Jackson LDHS

RB Nehemias Fernandez LDHS

RB D J Clark CHS

WR Devin Swindler CHS

WR Brayden Patterson LDHS

OL Hack Hardy LA

OL Tre Aiken CHS

OL Rion Gordon CHS

OL Cal Pitts CHS

OL Hunter Lawson CHS

H-back Rhett Gilliam CHS

ATH/QB Ethan Collins LA

Kicker/Punter Brock Franklin LDHS

 

Defense

DL Demyjah Watts LDHS

DL Clayton Lawson CHS

DL Garrison Vaughan LA

DL Anthony Candelas LA

DL Jaydon Glenn CHS

LB Ja’Maur Williams LDHS

LB Brett Young CHS

LB Luke Young CHS

LB Kason Copeland CHS

DB Javaye Suber LDHS

DB Chris Boyd CHS

DB Maison Tinsley CHS

DB Caleb Hardy LA

DB Austin Boyd CHS

Lakelands FCA Character Award Winners

(One selected from each school)

Nathan Bell - Laurens Academy

Noah Garrett - Clinton High School

Noah Roberts - Laurens District High School

Warner Bush - Presbyterian College

Co-Players of the Year

Garrett Murphy & Tushawan Richardson

Coach of the Year

Corey Fountain

As long as a Laurens County team was playing, Farm Bureau was awarding a Player of the Week. Those players for the playoffs/ end of the season also were honored. Game Day Sponsors for the Jan. 8 annual awards dinner were Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission, Self Regional Healthcare & Founders Credit Union. The Laurens County Touchdown Club is an umbrella organization of the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Brian Mance reminded the players and coaches that they had just gone through something they could use as a life lesson for the rest of their lives.

“You are capable. You are resourceful. And you are stronger than you think. You went through a whole season with a hurricane, representing your team and your community with pride. Remember that in the future when you face challenges,” Manse said of the 2024 season celebrated by the Touchdown Club’s annual dinner.

“The one thing standing between you and your dreams, are excuses – the lies we tell ourselves to justify an action. It leaves us in the same spot and makes it hard for us to move forward. Excuses are convenient and comfortable.”

After surviving a health scare and recovering some function that allows him to use a wheelchair, Manse told his wife that he missed coaching and “she said, ‘you can still coach.’ I had never seen anyone coach from a chair, and I could not see how I could get that done. Well, my best friend got his first coaching job. We always said when we got into coaching if we ever got the opportunity, we would do it together. I was ready for him. I gave him the same excuses I gave my wife five years ago and when I was through, he said, ‘So, what are you going to do?’ I gave him all the excuses and they didn’t work.

“This year, I put those excuses aside and joined the staff. If I hadn’t, I never would have had a chance to take a team that was winless the past three seasons and take them to the playoff this year. I would never have had the opportunity to realize how much I needed football in my life again and being around the guys.

“A lot of times, we get stuck; and a lot of times, we get afraid of the unknown.

“Just because things get hard in life doesn’t mean it’s easy to give those excuses.”

He encouraged everyone to step outside of their comfortable zone, saying “it is never easy, making an excuse is easier, but the thing you will regret most is not trying.”

Manse, a Clemson Football standout defensive back, briefly explained how he went from fully functional to completely paralyzed in a matter of hours. His house was across the street from Dorman High School and in the time it took to get to the Spartanburg hospital, he couldn’t get out of the car. It was a rare autoimmune disorder that affected his central nervous system. After hospitalization, the only thinh he could do was blink and drink from a straw. He went through extensive rehab, but when he went home, he was still not strong enough to sit in a wheelchair, he couldn’t hold his neck up, and family didn’t have a handicapped accessible vehicle. “I had every excuse to lie in the house.”

He did in-home therapy and then went to therapy on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance at the YMCA in Spartanburg. “You can imagine what the people there were thinking, ‘Who is this guy?’ Over the next two to three months he got stronger, he was able to sit in a chair and not have to wear a neck brace, and he got to the point where he could go to therapy in a chair. Still, sitting and speaking to a group was not an option two years ago. He could not speak above a whisper because his diaphragm was weak. But, as he improved, “Now I had no excuse not to join my friend in coaching,” he said.

“Don’t look at obstacles, look at opportunities,” Manse said. “When you want to give an excuse, think about me. Think about what I wouldn’t give to do what you are doing right now.”

In 2023, the SC Football Hall of Fame designated Mance as the Humanitarian of the Year, and this is his award biography: Brian Mance, a native of Alcolu, South Carolina, was a three-sport star for Manning High School as a standout player in football, baseball, and basketball. His senior year, Mance was ranked as the #2 overall football prospect and #1 defensive back in the state while picking up a #11 national ranking. He went on to be inducted into the Clarendon County Hall of Fame in 2013. After leaving his mark on Manning, Mance took his football talents to Clemson University where he continued to showcase remarkable skill on the field. He holds the distinction of being tied for third all-time at Clemson with 12 career interceptions and 23 pass breakups. Additionally, he amassed over 1,000 kickoff return yards throughout his collegiate career. Mance concluded his time at Clemson with well-deserved honors, including All-American and First Team All-ACC selections.

Following his graduation, Mance inked a free agent deal with the Washington Redskins in the NFL. He furthered his football career by playing in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam team and then spent two seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Philadelphia franchise, clinching a championship in 2008. Transitioning into coaching, he joined Clemson’s staff and worked into the role of defensive graduate assistant, went on to coach at North Greenville University, and three seasons later, he joined the Wofford College coaching staff in 2015 as the cornerbacks coach under Head Coach Mike Ayers.

In the summer of 2016, Mance suffered headaches from a debilitating condition of the central nervous system affecting his brain and spinal cord called neurosarcoidosis. Although Mance was rendered completely paralyzed, he refused to give up and battled through spots on his spine, lung issues, and allusion on his brain. He fought back and continues to fight to regain his strength and health. Although he was able to return to Wofford in coaching, he was called to start the Be Propelled Foundation, where he serves as executive director. The foundation has been providing backpacks for students and other support, including motivational speaking. Brian uses his story to motivate and inspire students, churches, businesses and teams with his stories, strategies and experiences, so that they can find their passions to elevate and conquer life’s challenges.