Daniel’s 24 unanswered points were enough to erase a Clinton 10-point lead and push the visiting Lions to a 41-33 win Friday night at Wilder Stadium.
Clinton took advantage of three Daniel penalties (two personal fouls and an unsportsmanlike conduct) on the Red Devils’ final drive of the game to score on an Owen Glenn to PJ McGowan pass with :00 on the game clock.
Clinton coughed up the ball with 4 minutes to play and Daniel recovered at the Red Devil 31-yard line to turn a close 34-27 game into a 41-27 advantage in favor of the #8 ranked team in Class 4A.
Clinton falls to 2-3 on the season in non-region action, while Daniel improves to 3-1 (the Lions were coming off a bye week).
“They gave a great effort all night long,” Clinton Football Head Coach Corey Fountain said of his team. “Great crowd to cheer on our guys. Our young men, they showed resilience all night long. We had times when we got pushed back and we moved forward, and we kept moving forward; and in the face of some frustration, our guys just kept pushing forward. That’s what we’ve got to do, we’ve got to carry that drive and that relentless attitude all the way into the next game and into the region and into the playoffs (beginning November 7).”
Clinton had a 97-yard touchdown run called back by a holding penalty in the middle of the line. Daniel scored on a punt return by Trey Wimbley (80 yards receiving).
Lions QB Jace Grass went 13 for 26 passing for 145 yards.
Clinton ran the ball 51 times for 301 yards, led by Javen Cook’s 21 runs for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. Daniel had 191 yards on the ground.
Cook’s 63-yard TD run with 9:34 left in the 3rd quarter staked Clinton to a 19-17 lead. On a Daniel punt, Chris Boyd returned it to the Daniel 45. Runs by Zy Butler and Owen Glenn pushed the ball to the Daniel 1, and Cook took it in for a score – Glenn added the 2-point conversion, and Clinton moved to a 10-point lead, 27-17. Daniel missed a late 3rd quarter field goal, but put together enough drives in the 4th quarter to pull out the win.
At Thursday’s Laurens County Touchdown Club meeting, Fountain said, “We have a tough game this week against Daniel. I know they lost a lot of players but they also brought in some players; but Daniel is still Daniel. They’re not going to hurt themselves. They’re going to play high quality football and they have athletes. We have to play a perfect game to have a chance in this game.”
Fountain brought Red Devils with him to the lunch meeting: Javen Cook, who the coach called a consistent player the last 2-3 years - “it’s not the size of the dsog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”; Brody Garrett -- a senior who’s been behind the scenes but he didn’t quit, he’s been a great teammate and a great asset to the Devils on the offensive side of the ball as they move the ball; Chris Boyd - safety and receiver a consistent leader on and off the field, he’s going to give you everything he’s got and he plays sideline to sideline - when they’re about to break a run he’s going to make a tackle; and Kynius Williams -- a senior, as well, on the defenisve line, he’s been giving it everything he’s got, moved him to the kickoff return and he’s on the front line, Fountain said, “I told him, ‘Kynius, when you fair caught that ball, and caught it, I felt like we were going to win the game’; he said, ‘me, too, coach; you remember throwing that ball the other day and telling me I could fair catch’, and I really don’t remember that, but he did, thank God, and he fair caught the ball and gave us field position and took us into overtime (against Chapman) just a great kid, smile on his face every day. (More from the Sept. 18 Legends meeting of the Touchdown Club will be on the Oct. 1 Clinton Chronicle.
Facing Union County next on the road in their last non-region game, Fountain said after the Daniel game, “We gotta learn how to flip the page and work for the next game and make improvements from this game. Just get better each week and each practice and prepare for Union Friday night.” Clinton’s Homecoming game is Oct. 3 against region opponent Liberty - the Homecoming parade and pep rally will be Oct. 1.
RELATED:
Hello Everyone, The Laurens County Touchdown Club is proud to announce that for games played on Friday, September 19th, the Player of the week is Clinton High School defensive lineman Kynius Williams.
Williams is a senior defensive tackle for the Clinton High School Red Devils as the Devils lost in a close game to AAAA Daniel High School 41 – 33 in a non region game.
Kynius Williams had an outstanding night for the Red Devils as he led the Devils in defensive stops with 9.5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.
Head Coach Corey Fountain stated, “Kynius is a hard worker and brings a great smile, a great attitude and a high motor to practice every day! Kynius is a great young man and football player.”
The Laurens County Touchdown Club will honor Williams on October 2nd at the bi-monthly Touchdown Club meeting. The meeting will be at noon at The Ridge in Laurens with Whitefords of Laurens serving the meal and the food service line opening at 11:45 am. Player of the Week awards will presented in 2025 by Farm Bureau Insurance of Laurens County.
Speaking on Thursday, October 2nd will be one of the top SEC referees’ Ted Pitts of Lexington, SC. Pitts, a 1994 graduate and former player at Presbyterian College, serves as a major in the S.C. Army National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan. He is a past member of the House of Representatives from 2003 – 2010 and the former Chief of Staff for Governor Nikki Haley.
The Laurens County Touchdown Club meets every other Thursday throughout the football season at The Ridge located in Laurens at 301 Exchange Road and the public is invited. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15. All meetings are at Noon with the food service line opening at 11:45 am.
Additionally, the Farm Bureau Insurance ‘Player of the Week’ awards will be presented for the September 19 and September 26 High School football games.
On behalf of the Touchdown Club Committee Members, I would like to thank each of you for your support. Congratulations to Player of the Week Kynius Williams of Clinton High School for games played on Friday, September 19th.
Thanks and Best of Luck to all of our county teams this week.
Gene Simmons, President, Laurens County Touchdown Club
