By MONTE DUTTON

For Corey Fountain and the Clinton High football program he leads, it’s just another roadblock to avoid.

Last week the obstacle was in Broome’s road. The Red Devils repelled the Centurions’ advances. It was more akin to the old song “The Battle of New Orleans.” The would-be Romans retreated in disarray. They ran through the briars, and they ran through the brambles, and they ran some places where a rabbit wouldn’t go.

Broome was a tough second-round foe. Many considered the game a tossup. The Red Devils overwhelmed the Centurions, 38-7.

I stood on the sideline wondering why I had been so nervous.

Down the road, in its home den, Belton-Honea Path awaits. There are similarities. Both Broome and BHP have big-time running backs. Clinton shut down the Centurions’ bruising runner, Jaylen McGill, and its multi-talented quarterback, Kamajay Brackett-Brannon.

“I was pleased with the chip on our shoulders,” head coach Corey Fountain said. “Roll it back and turn it up. You get to play again.”

Don’t relax, lads. Few teams have more appropriate mascots than the Bears.

Marquise Henderson has rushed for 1,948 yards and 32 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Noah Thomas has thrown 22 touchdown passes. BHP averages 314.3 yards on the ground.

Like Broome, the Bears’ offense is tightly focused. Most of the yards come from Henderson and Thomas. Henderson is a powerful rusher, but neither he nor Thomas is six feet tall. The roster lists Henderson at 170 pounds. A lot must be in the legs. He can drive them.

Companies are managed by smaller committees than the Red Devil rushing corps. Tushawan Richardson runs the offense skillfully. The offense is more versatile, its passing attack – primarily Richardson to Kadon Crawford and Zavarion Johnson – the most efficient in recent memory.

The Clinton defense has as many money players as Wall Street. It’s the Wall Street that is an alley in uptown Clinton, but still. The Red Devil defense began the season strong and has kept getting better. Taking on BHP represents the sternest challenge yet. Funny how the playoffs work that way.

Belton-Honea Path (12-0) is the first unbeaten team that Clinton (10-2) has faced since Batesburg-Leesville, which was also winless because it was the season’s first game.

The good news is that Clinton was brilliantly prepared for Broome. The bad news is that BHP head coach Russell Blackston has likely noticed this. Beyond all the “scheming” and adjustments, the Bears are going to be growling in no small part due to seeing what the Red Devils did to Broome, and, oh, by the way, because Clinton ended their season by defeating BHP, 28-13, in last year’s second round.

As the late Keith Jackson used to say, it’s going to be a barnburner that might spill over into a couple rows of corn.

Thursday was Clemson-Carolina Day at the Laurens County Touchdown Club. It occurred to me that such affairs have changed.

Once upon a time, there would be joshing and insulting back and forth, stuff like directions of how to get to Clemson: North to you smell it, west till you step in it.

Then there was that pervasive “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” cheer.

Danny Pearman represented the Tigers, Patrick DiMarco the Gamecocks. Both played at the schools. Both are working there now. Pearman is involved in the transfer protocol. DiMarco works on NILs (“name, image and likeness”).

I bear some blame for the questions because I asked a rambling one about NIL’s right off the bat. What DiMarco said was interesting because he confirmed what I suspected. It’s the Wild, Wild West, and some rules and regulations are in order.

DiMarco enjoyed a significant NFL career and played in both a Super Bowl and a Pro Bowl. He talked about how difficult the transfer protocol makes it for high-school kids. Coaches under pressure to keep their jobs go for 21-year-old, proven-commodity quick fixes at the expense of developing the skills of talented freshmen.

Have you noticed that a lot of everything seems out of control?

Coverage of the Clinton at Belton-Honea Path game begins on WPCC (96.5-FM, 1410 AM, largetime.net) at 7 p.m. “Saturday Morning Rewind” is at 9:30 a.m., followed by a rebroadcast of the game.

Many have said they intended to make a contribution to keep the site alive. I reckon they just don’t get around to it. I always list an address to send a check. I finally got it through my thick head that not that many people write checks nowadays. For example, me. A more convenient means might be sending a reasonable amount to DHK Sports on Venmo.

Support the advertisers, and help keep the site – the game stories, the blogs, the photos – alive by making a monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

Another way I can make a little 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.