When he was assigned four years ago to give the second talk at the Laurens County Touchdown Club’s every-other-week meeting, Steve Englehart was coming off a Blue Hose Football season-opening loss.
Same in year two.
Same in year three.
He tried to get out of it - he asked the organizers if he could speak later in the season, after the team had gelled a little, after he knew what kind of team he had and, most importantly, after they had won a game.
But, no, they wanted him to always be the second speaker (high school coaches are the first TD Club’s speakers to kick off each season).
Well, this year, Englehart finally got to say what he’s always wanted to say - he was coming off a season-opening WIN.
Not only a win.
The defeat, on the road, of the 11th-ranked team in the country in this level of NCAA Division I football. The Blue Hose were getting “buzz around the nation” - this week’s game notes said, “In the wake of what is now considered PC's biggest win of the Division I era, the Scotsmen have found themselves listed among those receiving votes in the latest AFCA Coaches Poll (three votes).
FCS Stats Perform name-dropped the Blue Hose as a National Team of the Week "Honorable Mention", included along with...
- #3 Tarleton State (double-overtime win at Army)
- Austin Peay (twenty-point blowout over FBS Middle Tennessee State)
- Northwestern State (20-10 victory over Alcorn State)”
So, Englehart had the credentials to say this to a Laurens County audience:
“We have three home games in a row after this week (Sept. 6) and I really want to challenge all of you - and (high school) players included, love to have you guys for a tour and we can get you on the list - but I really want to challenge you to come to our home games.
“Come to Bailey Memorial Stadium.
“I think we are going to put out a great product and these kids deserve the support. They absolutely deserve the support. These are non-scholarship athletes that have come here; they grind every day, and they want to put PC back on the map, and they have done that for four years. I have over 30 seniors that have went through a lot of tough times and they are non-scholarship. We just went and knocked off a scholarship program (Mercer) and we’re going to knock off another one and they need to be supported - they need to be supported.
“They deserve it, they deserve it. And I’m pleading with you, come to our home games. Support us and you’re going to also get a good show. So, thank you all. I appreciate everything that this club does, and I appreciate all of you, and I hope to see you at Bailey Memorial in a couple of weeks (against Erskine).”
The Thursday Touchdown Club meeting where Englehart was the guest speaker was before the Blue Hose traveled on Saturday to Furman University to meet the Paladins for the first time in 11 years.
Coach Englehart's comments after the Blue Hose defeat Furman in overtime here.
The upcoming home games for Presbyterian College Football are: Sept. 13 vs Erskine from just up the road in Due West (youth sports day); Sept. 20 vs Bluefield (educators, faculty and staff appreciation day); and Sept. 27 vs Morehead State (community and small business day and this season’s Pioneer Football League opener).
In addition to Englehart’s talk, Touchdown Club attendees heard from the 4 high school football coaches of Laurens County teams - Clinton High, Laurens High, Laurens Academy and Thornwell Charter School - saw presentations to Players of the Week, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance - Week 1, Nathan Bell of Laurens Academy, and Week 2, Jaydon Glenn of Clinton High School - and received door prizes from School District 55 and the City of Laurens.
The next meeting of the Laurens County Touchdown Club will be Sept. 18, noon at The Ridge in Laurens, with guest speaker Hall of Fame high school football coach Shell Dula. Meal preparation is by School District 56.
HOW YOU CAN BUY PC FOOTBALL TICKETS here.
