Fairfield Central avenged last season’s Upper State Championship loss at Clinton with a dominating 42-7 win Friday night at Wilder Stadium.
Red Devil Football Head Coach Corey Fountain said last week, after his team dispatched Saluda, that the Griffins, after their second win this season over Andrew Jackson, would come into Wilder Stadium “with a chip on their shoulder.”
He didn’t realize that “chip” would be the size of a fully grown oak tree.
The challenge this time of year, he said Thursday at the Laurens County Touchdown Club is stay healthy and stay mentally in the game. “We are still in the game and the process. You can’t get tired of doing things the right way.”
Preparing for Fairfield Central, the Red Devils had good practices last Monday and Tuesday, but on Wednesday, “half the practice was good, the second half was not so good,” Fountain said.
Keeping the players bought in to the process and giving maximum effort every day, every rep, would be the challenge now - after nearly 13 weeks of active playing.
The Red Devils had that effort Friday night, but just couldn’t get the offense rolling.
Fairfield Central jumped on Clinton for a 28-0 halftime lead, and the Red Devils didn’t score until they were down 35-0 in the 3rd quarter when Chris Boyd scooped up a Javen Cook fumble and took it into the end zone.
Entering the game with 1,777 yards rushing and 34 touchdowns, Cook led Red Devil runners with 51 yards. That’s despite the fact that on one play he was credited with a 20-yard loss when he recovered a high snap from center over the quarterback’s head. Cook needed just 2 touchdowns to set a new score record for TDs in a season, but he never got there (he broke the program’s single-season scoring record last week at 224 points).
Cook and Boyd will play post-season in the Touchstone Energy Bowl in Myrtle Beach.
At halftime, Clinton had run 20 plays and had gained 16 yards.
On Fairfield Central’s first offensive possession, Clinton gifted the visitors 25 yards of turf on penalties, setting the stage for the Griffins’ first score on a tipped pass. The next Fairfield Central touchdown was on a 68-yard pass play.
“We were undisciplined and had too many penalties,” Fountain said, post-game. “We were not as physical as we are able to be. I have to have them ready to play better, especially in the first half.”
Fountain said he and the coaches told the team at halftime that they were knocked down, but they did not have to lay down. “Our guys never quit,” said Fountain of the Red Devils, who were aiming for a defense of the 2024 AA State Championship they won against Barnwell.
“To the bitter end, they fought,” Fountain said. “I love every one of these guys.”
At 10-3, Fairfield Central has its state championship hopes still alive, but they will travel next Friday to Strom Thurmond, a winner over Chester, who is coached by former Clinton player and football head coach Andrew Webb, with another former Red Devil football head coach Scott King as an assistant.
The Griffins’ offense was balanced – 47 runs for 205 yards and 8 completions in 11 attempts for 228 yards passing. Milking the play clock with a large lead, FC controlled the ball for 31:03, to Clinton’s 16:57.
Clinton completed 1 pass for 10 yards and surrendered 2 interceptions.
Clinton finishes the season at 9-4.
Saying he feels badly for his 24 seniors – “nobody wants to lose their last game” – Fountain said this game is a lesson for his underclassmen in “how you prepare, how seriously you take every practice, be hungry, and play with intensity.”
