By MONTE DUTTON

Here’s some advice regarding Friday night’s high-school football games involving Laurens County teams.

Take the Over.

Most of the state’s opening round of playoffs exist principally for gate receipts, and a nice nest egg is likely to be tucked away in the aftermath of the game at Wilder Stadium between Clinton (8-2) and Palmetto (3-7).

Out among the far pavilions are matchups of Laurens (2-8) and Northwestern (9-1). That’s in Rock Hill. Laurens Academy (4-6) is at Holly Hill Academy (9-1), which is, predictably, in Holly Hill, which, the last time I was there, was near Orangeburg and a good barbecue joint.

Clinton enters the Class 3A playoffs with high aspirations for the third year in a row. The 11-2 Red Devils reached the third round before falling to state champion Daniel in 2021 and the fourth round i(13-1) before falling to finalist Powdersville last autumn. The Red Devils were ranked as high as second in the state before slumping at midseason and falling out of the top 10. As Clinton recovered from severe injury problems, it swept through Region 4-3A and enter the postseason ranked sixth in the state.

Radio coverage of the Palmetto-Clinton game goes live on WPCC (FM 96.5, AM 1410) at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by “Saturday Morning Rewind” at 9 a.m. and a replay of the game at 10:30.

Northwestern has won nine games in a row since falling to a North Carolina school, Providence Day, 42-35, on Aug. 19. Almost year ago, South Florence thumped the Vikings, 57-30, in the 4A state championship game on Dec. 3.

Laurens fell in the first round to Indian Land last year at home.

The Raiders go on air at WLBG (FM 104.1, AM 860) at 6 p.m. on Friday.

The Laurens County Touchdown Club has seldom greeted a more prominent guest than Clemson and Pittsburgh Steeler great Levon Kirkland, now affiliated with the S.C. Football Hall of Fame.

The only previous guest who comes to mind was the late Sam Wyche, who played in the Super Bowl for the Washington Redskins and was head coach in it with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kirkland and Clinton High head coach Corey Fountain are both natives of Lamar. Kirkland played nine seasons for the Steelers and one each for the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.

Directing his remarks to the players from Clinton, Laurens, Laurens Academy and Thornwell Charter in attendance, Kirkland said, “I’d like to teach you about reaching another level. I’m not talking about the NFL. I’m talking about life. What you learn from football can you guide you through life.

“You should know this right now now, though. It doesn’t get better than high-school football. All of my life since has been enriched by football, and it has guided me by example every step along the way.”

Reckon I can find 20 people who like this site enough to chip in $20 to keep it going?

Support the advertisers, and help keep the site – the game stories, the blogs, the photos – alive by making a donation to DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325 or making a small monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

Another way I can derive some revenue is if you purchase my books at MonteDutton.net. They’re quite entertaining in spite of the fellow who wrote them. Two of my novels, Cowboys Come Home and Lightning in a Bottle, are available in audio versions. The latest, The Latter Days, is about baseball.

Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.

The next Fiesta Grande open mic is Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m.