By MONTE DUTTON

CHAPIN – It was good to get out of the house on Monday.

I’ve been to Chapin in distant memory – Laurens played in a jamboree, as Clinton will on Friday night – and I remembered there was a barbecue place.

It’s open on Thursday through Sunday. As a result, I ate my first Jersey Mike’s sub ever and enjoyed it. It wasn’t the same, though.

The Eagles’ stadium is easy to see but hard to find.

After circumnavigating the school several times, I parked, walked across the track, where a fence prevented football access. Not having brought along a pole to vault – man, that’s funny image – I returned to the truck. This was a better option than taking photos from the track.

Eventually, I parked in perhaps the best location on the grounds. When I walked down the steps, a small team walked across the visitors’ stand. It was the Chapin JV, and they kept right on walking through the gates on the far end and to a practice field.

I thought I was only 15 minutes early. No one was there.

Is the scrimmage at … Irmo? If so, I should seek professional help.

Ah, the fickle wet bulb of fate had struck again. The Chapin yard has artificial turf, which makes the surface temperature hotter. I sat on a bench, discovered my cell was low on juice, and worked on a tan.

Undoubtedly, readers would enjoy some information about the football eventually played.

When Clinton’s Corey Fountain takes his team to play in a scrimmage, it plays as close to a game as the opponent will allow. The Eagles and Red Devils tussled for four full quarters, with Chapin winning, 24-21.

Clinton’s first half was characterized early by gobbling up yards and running out of downs deep in Chapin territory. It was 14-13, Eagles, at halftime, and the basic difference in the outcome may have been that the Red Devils pulled their best players earlier.

The performance did not live up to Fountain’s expectations. He took his team to task afterwards, invoking a need for more dedication, hustle, leadership, ambition, truth, justice and the American Way.

Few are the high-school teams that do not receive such a dressing down at one time or another. Some get it several times. A few get it daily.

Chapin has a quarterback, Brady Albro, who is literally easy to sell short, and a quality running back, Cole Martin, who sometimes gets lost in the team’s passing game. Both took a toll on the Red Devils.

Region 4-5A Chapin went 6-5, losing in the playoffs to Stratford, 28-17, last season. Clinton (10-3) advanced to the third round of the 3A playoffs before falling to Belton-Honea Path, 27-24. Now the Red Devils are in Region 1-2A, though for football only.

Clinton’s sterling quarterback, Tushawon Richardson, is now No. 1 instead of 14. Linebacker Brett Young is 10 instead of 35. Both were their usual far-ranging selves, Richardson exploiting holes and Young filling them.

“In the first half, we had our starters in and operated our offense pretty well,” Fountain said. “We got stalled out in the red zone a couple times. We operated pretty well defensively, but we’ve got to tackle better.”

Clinton returns only three defensive starters.

“We’ve got to have some guys step up and make plays,” Fountain said. “That’s across the board on offense and defense. We’ve got to get better.”

The lone colleague I found on the sidelines was a soon-to-be freshman at USC, an ex-player, who was snapping photos of his younger brother, now playing for the Eagles.

As expected, Clinton fans traveled well for a Monday-night scrimmage an hour’s drive away. A couple hundred were on hand, close to as many as were nestled in the home stands.

Once the season begins with rivals Woodruff, Laurens and Newberry, then Chapman, Daniel and Union County, the Red Devils enter mostly unfamiliar territory. In Region 1-2A, only Chesnee has played Clinton this century, and the Red Devils won both games.

The Red Devils return to Chapin on Friday, but not to face the Eagles. Clinton takes on Blythewood at about 7:30 p.m.

Advance tickets for Clinton’s participation in Chapin’s jamboree are available in the ticket office at the CHS gym. Tickets are $5 in advance, with Clinton High keeping the proceeds. Tickets at the gate are $7.

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