By MONTE DUTTON

Many years ago, I had been at a (then) Busch Series race at (then) Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and my wise colleague Jim McLaurin  and I returned to our lodging in time to see the end of the Furman-Appalachian State game on television.

That day lives in infamy still. The Paladins marched bravely down the field and scored to take the lead by one with only a few ticks left in the clock. So that only an ASU miracle could even tie the score, the Paladins went for two.

Actually, an ASU miracle could win the game. The two-point try was intercepted and run all the way to the opposite end zone for two points. Two Appalachian State points. The Mountaineers won, 16-15. It was Oct. 12, 2002.

I have no perfect memory. I’d just finished writing about a stock car race. What I remember is Jim turning to me and saying, “That is the most un-Furman thing I have ever seen.”

A reader suggested that I wrote about Saturday’s Wofford nightmare as if I could see it coming. I must have lapsed into fiction. I thought a two-state solution in the Middle East was more likely.

This season, in that stadium, Gibbs, I have witnessed Presbyterian defeat Wofford and Wofford defeat Furman. It’s a shame the Paladins can’t play the Kansas City Chiefs there.

Drake beat Presbyterian. Presbyterian beat Wofford. Wofford beat Furman. Drake and Furman are in the playoff field. The Blue Hose and Terriers are emphatically not. None of this means anything.

I felt for Clay Hendrix as the sun descended outside the locker room and light flickered through the trees. He did what every coach should and must. He took all the blame. I’m sure his players appreciated it, but I’m just as sure, if players now are like players used to be, and I think Furman’s are, they felt they deserved their fair share of the responsibility, too.

Coaches tell players what to do and how to do it, but they don’t actually zig when a zag would have been better. All year long Paladin players have been extraordinarily efficient at knowing what to do. Something went haywire in the gyro.

Wofford’s unthinkable upset began with the Terriers, who, after all, dared to do it.

It’ll be weeks before the Terrier faithful remember they went 2-9. It would be hard to imagine a better way to end a 2-9, and a professional screenwriter would have to be brought in.

Football is a funny game, but it’s a biting humor.       

Many say they intend to make a contribution to keep the site alive. Severa have done so recently. I reckon some just don’t get around to it. I used to 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.