Heat slowed the on-field activity at Presbyterian College’s football Fan Day on Saturday, but fans got to mingle with players and staff, get autographs, purchase gear and the like.
Presbyterian opens on Saturday time with a road trip to Murray (Ky.) State.
“Today was a very productive dress rehearsal, in a sense,” said second-year head coach Steve Englehart. “After close to 20 practices where our guys are competing against each other, this was a great opportunity for everyone to be on the same team and show off what this group is going to look like over the next few months.
“Football is like no other sport because there’s so much involvement from a big staff all summer long, but that’s what makes our 11 Saturdays of games such a beautiful thing.”
The opener at Murray State’s Roy Stewart Stadium is at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+.
Presbyterian football will not be broadcast on radio this year.
Apart from Clinton’s crushing rivalry win in Laurens, it was not the best of football Fridays.
Richard Winn thumped Laurens Academy, 54-14, and Calhoun Falls Charter spoiled the return of varsity football to Thornwell with a 42-13 triumph over the Saints.
At Todd Kirk Field, the Crusaders briefly led the eight-man home opener on Jared Willard’s first-quarter rushing TD. The edge was spectacularly short-lived. The Eagles (1-0) led, 42-6, at halftime.
Garrett Murphy scored on a fumble recovery and also tallied a two-point conversion for Laurens Academy (0-2).
The Crusaders travel to Newberry Academy next. Winn and NA are both Eagles, and LA plays both twice this season.
In Calhoun Falls, where, incredibly, Thornwell will be playing again this Friday, the Saints’ first varsity game in 16 years fell understandably flat as the Blue Flashes led, 36-0, at halftime.
Zay Kinard and Kaevon Washington put up scoring rushes of 20 and 38 yards, respectively, as Thornwell (0-1) got untracked in the second half. Washington, in fact, rushed for 161 yards in 26 carries.
In honor of the late Dick Sheridan, Furman football players are to wear a special helmet decal this season.
The decal bears the Furman coaching legend’s initials “DS” inside the Furman Diamond F logo he created and introduced as the Diamond F in 1973, and which has served as the primary logo of Furman Athletics for the last 50 years. Framing the diamond are the years 1978 and 1985, representing his eight seasons as head coach.
Georgia State got a goal from Maddie Johnston, and it made the difference in a 1-0 women’s soccer decision over Presbyterian in Atlanta on Sunday.
Brian Purcell’s Blue Hose have lost three of their first four matches, all by deficits of 1-0.
The Navy weighs anchor at Martin Stadium on Thursday for a first-ever meeting of Midshipmen and Blue Hose.
The Blue Hose won on Friday night at home, using a career-first goal by Mia Prieto and another by Sloan Spees to subdue Columbia International, 2-0.
PC (0-3) dropped all its volleyball matches at UNC Wilmington’s Hampton Inn University Invitational, dropping decisions to Fordham (3-1) and UNCW (3-0) on Saturday after Stetson subdued the Blue Hose on Friday, 3-1.
Robert Gary’s Furman cross country team is picked by Southern Conference coaches to win its 11th consecutive title in both men’s and women’s competition. Samford was the runner-up pick in women’s voting, while East Tennessee was the men’s No. 2 projection.
Duke’s Forster Ajago scored three goals in the Blue Devils’ 6-0 victory over Furman men’s soccer in the John Rennie Nike Invitational in Durham, N.C., on Sunday.
The Paladins opened the tournament on Saturday by trimming Elon, 2-1, behind Conor Dowler’s score in the 84th minute.
Addison Corn’s eight saves in goal were instrumental in the Paladins’ being able to salvage a 1-1 women’s soccer draw at USC Upstate.
Elayna Duprey of Virginia Tech and Furman’s Ava Augustson each had 12 kills in the Hokies’ 3-0 victory over the Paladins on Saturday in Blacksburg.
The Paladins opened the Hokie Invitational with wins over Quinnipiac and Morgan State.
Lauren Johnson has joined Pierre Curtis’s Furman women’s basketball staff.
Specializing in guard development, Johnson arrives in Greenville after two years at Hampton (Va.) University, near her hometown of Chesapeake.
She is a graduate of Southern Wesleyan in Central and also coached at Charleston Southern.
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