It’s been rumored not just for weeks but for years, dating back to when Greg Porter had just left Hillcrest for Greenville.
Mark my words. Greg Porter’s going to be at Laurens next year.
That was in 2019.
Porter apparently has a love for Laurens. The District 55 school board made him head football coach of the Raiders on Monday night. He’s won everywhere else he’s been. He’s likely to win at Laurens.
It’s good news. Almost unbelievable. In five years at Greenville High, Porter led the Red Raiders to 45 victories and four 10-win seasons. His first head coaching assignment was at Southside for two seasons. He won a state championship at Hillcrest in 2014. He headed the Simpsonville school, a Laurens rival, for nine seasons, going 65-45.
At long last, Porter is leaving Greenville County but not going far.
He apparently enjoys a challenge, and his record is that of a program builder.
While Greenville was winning 45 games, Laurens was winning 23. The Raiders’ most recent winning season was 6-5 in the first of Daryl Smith’s four seasons. Chris Liner went 9-2 in 2019.
Greenville under Porter was 45-15. Laurens was 23-27 over the five seasons. The Red Raiders have reached the Class 4A Upstate finals in four straight years.
In 16 seasons as a high-school head coach – two at Southside, nine at Hillcrest and five at Greenville – Porter’s record is 120-71 (.628).
The word caught me by surprise. I thought it might happen, but not until District 55 had a new superintendent hired. I thought Porter might wait for stability to be restored.
Now Porter is switching red and black for green and gold. It’ll look good on him. In the parlance of the times, he’s a heck of a “get.”
Porter is scheduled to meet the Laurens public at noon Tuesday in the LDHS gym.
Some of Friday’s high-school action was covered in a similar set of notes on Saturday, but here are some additional weekend results and further details that are better late than not.
Clinton is rolling in its region. Laurens High is not. The Laurens Academy girls look like possible SCISA state champions. The boys are trying.
What’s a nice school like Thornwell Charter doing in a place like this? Saints athletics is in its infancy, but one season they’ll start winning and look upon the athletes of this school year as foundational.
The state coaching association has ranked both Clinton and Laurens prominently in its preseason baseball rankings. This makes sense. The Red Devils are the reigning 3A state champs, and the Raiders advanced to the Upstate finals in 4A last spring.
Meanwhile, the county collegians are slogging through the winter even without snow.
If Presbyterian College’s basketball teams went to Six Flags, the girls would ride the roller coaster and the boys would be at the water slide.
The ambitious women’s wrestlers are climbing the ranks of like-sized schools, and the men are grappling as best they can.
Clinton High’s basketball teams are running free at the top of Region 4-3A.
The boys, led by Tushawan Richardson’s 27 points, ran the Vikings aground in Greenwood with a 65-44 triumph over Emerald.
Devin Swindler added 10 points as the Red Devils (10-7, 4-0), swept to an 18-point lead at halftime. Also registered in the scorebook were Kadon Crawford (8), Keleja Byrd (6), Nyterian Smith (3), M.J. Henderson (3), Dirkus Clark (2), Kylen Calhoun (2) and Emarian Jones (2).
Emerald is 7-13, 0-3.
The Red Devils visit Union County on Tuesday to begin the second go-around in the region. JV boys play first at 5 p.m.
As noted in an earlier report, Clinton won the girls’ game, 41-27, and head coach John Gardner got his … 101st victory.
The Laurens boys (7-15, 1-3 Region 2-4A) took Eastside into overtime before falling, 58-52, in Taylors. The game was close all the way, and the two teams went extras with both boasting 48. In overtime, Eastside (13-4, 1-2) hit its free throws and Laurens didn’t hit much of anything.
It was also significant that one Eagle, Justin Ray, scored 29 points and eight were among the 10 Eastside scored in the extra period.
TyJ Jones pulled his weight with 19 points for the Raiders, and Zee Simpson added 10.
Other Raider scorer were Tylan Fowler (8), Jaylen Simpson (7), Nick Danciu (4), Martinez Shaw (2) and K.J. Singleton (2).
No such drama existed in Eastside’s 62-55 victory in the girls’ game. The Eagles led 31-16 at halftime.
Laurens (7-12, 0-4) got 23 points from Zoe Young, who scored 16 in the fourth quarter while the Raiders were outscoring Eastside (9-4, 1-2) by six.
Nyri Allen also scored in double figures with 19, and the rest of the scorers were Shanayi Chinn (5), Faith Jackson (4), Taliyah Ballard (2), Destiny Anderson (2), Keyoric Yeargin (2) and Ty Jones (2).
Greer is Laurens’ next destination as the Raiders take on the Yellow Jackets on Friday, beginning with the girls at 6 p.m.
Ware Shoals won, 39-22, but the Thornwell boys played their most competitive game to date, trailing by just six (19-13) at halftime. A five-point fourth quarter – the Hornets scored 13 – doomed the Saints.
Kaevon Washington led Thornwell with eight points. Also scoring were Brian Veal (5), Kyshaun Webster (4), Elijah Heithold (3) and Kezavious Kinard (1).
Ware Shoals won the girls’ game, 52-4.
McCormick visits on Tuesday. The girls tap at 6 p.m.
The S.C. Baseball Coaches Association rates Clinton third in Class 3A and Laurens fourth in Class 4A.
Here are the preseason rankings:
5A
1. River Bluff
2. Summerville
3. West Ashley
4. Blythewood
5. Berkeley
6. T.L. Hanna
7. Dorman
8. Boiling Springs
9. Lexington
T10. Carolina Forest/Nation Ford
4A
1. Catawba Ridge
2. North Myrtle Beach
3. Lugoff-Elgin
4. Laurens
5. A.C. Flora
6. Greenville
7. James Island
8. West Florence
9. Airport
T10. Indian Land/Easley
3A
1. Hanahan
2. Blue Ridge
3. Clinton
4. Seneca
5. Gilbert
6. Beaufort
7. Powdersville
8. Cresecent
9. Aynor
10. Camden/Belton-Honea Path
2A
1. Oceanside Collegiate
2. Gray Collegiate
3. Mid-Carolina
4. Andrew Jackson
5. Strom Thurmond
6. Cheraw
7. Fox Creek
8. Bishop England
9. Buford
10. North Central
A
1. Southside Christian
2. Lewisville
3. Johnsonville
4. East Clarendon
5. Lake View
6. St. Joseph’s
7. Christ Church
8. Latta
9. Green Sea-Floyd
10. McBee
PC won a 30-15 victory over Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) at home in men’s wrestling, 30-15.
The Blue Hose are 3-8 overall but 2-0 at home.
Each of the first four meetings went head coach Mark Cody’s way. While the outcome had already been determined, the most entertaining match was heavyweight Nathan Carnes’ victory over the Royals’ Jaikael Lytle.
Battling back from a 12-1 deficit, Carnes saw a third-period pin reversed and maneuvered to a 14th point with a second left on the clock.
The women wrestlers (8-6) won 28 times at the Emmanuel Open in Franklin Springs, Ga., and had six take either first or second.
Chiara Barbieri, Cassia Zammit, Madeline Kubicki, Henlee Haynes, and Ella Beam would all went unbeaten in their respective weight classes, with Alyssa Mahan and Ta’Niya Roberts adding silver and bronze tabs.
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Nightrider's Lament 