Wednesday was momentous.
I knew the high-school region assignments were imminent, but I was occupied all afternoon and evening. I’m not much of a multi-tasker – the Samford at Furman basketball game had my undivided attention until 2:30 a.m. – but a friend asked me after the game if I’d heard “what happened to Clinton.”
He said, “I don’t know the details, but they put Clinton in one region for football and another for everything else.”
Maybe something was lost in translation, I thought.
At the Furman game, I had plenty to do, such as walk around the edge of the court taking photos, avoiding cheerleaders and late-arriving students, and chat amiably with the NBA scout sitting next to me.
The Paladins put a 10-point stop to the nation’s longest winning streak. Since regaining health, Furman has won five games in a row, but it wasn’t until last night that it reappeared on the Southern Conference radar.
Before the 78-68 victory, it was, Hey, Furman might be all right.
Now it’s, Hey, watch out for Furman.
Next stop: Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Furman is 5-2 SoCon. Wofford is 4-3. The four wins are by a total of six points.
Terriers are feisty, and I saw a football game there not too long ago.
Realignment is set, barring unforeseen legal developments and further appeals. The S.C. High School League had plenty to do, and it is ostensibly done.
I’m not so sure. Schools have until Tuesday at 1 p.m. to appeal.
Prep sports has been transformed, not just realigned. The burning issues have been addressed, and time will tell how the solutions work and whether or not they need further adjustment.
Probably so. They always have before.
Clinton High is not back to square one. It’s at square one. When the Red Devils last competed anywhere but in Class 3A, American troops were fighting in Vietnam. Now Clinton is assigned to Class 2A.
But that’s not all.
Prepare for confusion. Clinton is assigned to Region 3 with Chester, Columbia, Eau Claire, Fairfield Central and Mid-Carolina.
But that’s not all.
The Region 3 assignment is for everything but … wait for it, wait for it … football.
In football, Clinton is to compete in Region 1 along with Blacksburg, Chesnee, Landrum and Liberty.
Neither region has much familiar territory. Only Chester is paired with Clinton now, and not in football. Only Mid-Carolina has been paired with Clinton within a decade.
Liberty’s teams are also known as Red Devils.
The principal reason for the chaos, apparently, is that three members of Region 1-2A – Brashier Middle College, Greenville Tech Charter and High Point Academy – do not field football teams as God intended. Thus does Region 1 require a fifth football-playing member. Clinton is it.
Football only. Landrum is at the foot of the mountains. Blacksburg and Chesnee are near the aforementioned foot. Liberty is in Pickens County. It was once known as Salubrity Springs. I once went to see Jerry Jeff Walker in concert near Landrum. I’ve seen Blacksburg and Chesnee play. It was against each other. In the previous century. I don’t remember which won.
They are places I shall apparently get to know better. Between now and the fall, I expect to be looking for barbecue joints and fish camps. I don’t see much appealing except potential pregame meals. Only Mid-Carolina is within 30 miles of Clinton, which is situated on the edge of both regions.
It’s hard to see Clinton as anything but a power in both regions, however, so there’s that. The school does not plan an appeal.
As the finicky diner says to the short-order cook, hold everything. Abbeville, once thought to be the next Clinton rival, is now in Class A. Thornwell Charter has been assigned Region 1. Abbeville is in Region 1 along with the Saints, Calhoun Falls, Dixie, McCormick, Ware Shoals and Whitmire.
Non-football-playing members are S.C. School for the Deaf & Blind (Spartanburg) and Green Upstate (Simpsonville).
Oh, the humanity. God save the Saints.
By comparison, Laurens District High’s move back to Region 1-4A seems fair and sensible. I don’t doubt that the SCHSL tries to be that way.
The Region 1 grouping of Laurens, Emerald, Fountain Inn, Southside, Westside and Wren makes sense. Emerald goes from a pairing with Clinton (in Region 4-3A) to a pairing with Laurens. The Raiders face one team in Greenwood (Emerald), two (Fountain Inn, Southside) in Greenville County and two (Westside, Wren) in Anderson County. All the other members are in counties that border Laurens.
In terms of enrollment, Laurens is the 12th largest school in Class 4A with 1,241 students. Clinton is fourth in 2A at 625. Thornwell is 27th in Class A with 210.
Laurens Academy, being comfortably aligned with the S.C. Independent Schools Association, is not encumbered by this particular realignment.
In local basketball on Friday evening, Laurens is at home against Greer. Clinton is off. Laurens Academy is in Winnsboro at Richard Winn. Thornwell Charter is at Calhoun Falls Charter.
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Nightrider's Lament 