On Friday night, there will be football. Honest-to-gosh, bona-fide, counts in the standings, football.

It’s eight-man football, and it’s in Greenwood, where Laurens Academy kicks off the whole county season with a visit to the den of the Cambridge Cougars. It’s sort of week double-zero.

Clinton and Laurens open thunderously in a week, hosting Woodruff and Hillcrest, respectively.

Jolly Doolittle’s second troop of Crusaders figures to do better than its 4-8 mark last season. The academies of Laurens and Cathedral (North Charleston) played to a 6-6 tie in Johnston at a SCISA jamboree hosted at Wardlaw.

Eight-man football requires versatility. Garrett Murphy, who rushed for a touchdown in Johnston, has played four positions on offense alone. Sixteen players take the field eight at a time.

Cambridge is the only opponent Laurens Academy doesn’t play twice. In each case, the latter game counts in the region.

Who knew an eight-man team in South Carolina would do it like the NFL? Well, a little.

If the former games – Newberry Academy, Wardlaw, Oakbrook, Richard Winn and King – are close, the latter will draw greater interest.

The Crusaders are a blend of youth and experience. Quarterback Ethan Collins and running back/linebacker Caleb Hardy are sophomores. Tight end/linebacker Nathan Bell and lineman Garrison Vaughan are juniors. Lineman Hack Hardy and tight end/linebacker Anthony Candelas are seniors.

Meanwhile, Clinton visits Chapin for the second time in four nights to face Blythewood in the Eagles’ jamboree. The Red Devils are likely to start at about 7:30 on Chapin High School’s artificial turf.

The Bengals went 4-7 last season in Region 3-5A. Now they are in Region 5.

Earlier this week, Chapin edged Clinton, 24-21, in a four-quarter grind.

Laurens continues to dedicate all its efforts toward Hillcrest, a previous stop on the new Raiders head coach’s resume. Laurens defeated Union County, 21-8, in two quarters on Aug. 9, its only outside adventure.

Meet the Raiders is on Friday night, 6-8 p.m., at K.C. Hanna Stadium, complete with all the fall teams, food trucks, gear, band, cheerleaders and various other varieties of pomp and pageantry.

My purpose in going to The Lumberyard on Thursday night was to play my guitar and sing songs older than everybody there except one or two other persons.

Many others showed off skills greater than mine, but it was a social occasion because I talked a lot about a variety of subjects, and my opinions are often formulated all by my lonesome.

As I am known locally more for my interest in sports than literature, old movies and social media, the majority of my conversations concerned the human drama of athletic competition amidst the wide, wide world of sports.

Oh, yeah. Football is coming, coming, football is coming soon.

Visits to the website have recently tripled, and in about a week, they’ll triple again. It’s not the lacrosse academic honor roll.

The Lumberyard has a safe, respectable clientele. It’s not a hangout of the young. The beer is a bit pricey. I expect the young folks are similar to me back when seatbelts were optional. Their favorite beer is what’s on special.

I reckon I’ll acquaint myself with the future on ballgame sidelines, which is a place that leads to confidence in the future.

Sufficiently aged am I that most of the Lumberyard patrons weren’t born when I learned my favorite songs. It doesn’t matter. Most everybody walks in with a guitar and plays whatever he wants.

I played a Gene Autry song. Recency is observed only when I play a song I wrote.

In a Texas Longhorns jersey and a hat, I was in a mood to sing about cowboys, having recently watched Fort Apache on TCM.

Most of the time, when I get out, it’s to see a ballgame. It’s only because I love it.

Matt Smith picked up a memorable victory in his first game as Presbyterian women’s soccer coach. A late comeback lifted the Blue Hose past Wofford, 3-2, on Thursday night in Spartanburg.

It was PC’s first victory over the Terriers since 2018 and took place on Wofford’s home pitch.

Lina-Marie Müller, Lindsey Malyszek and Emilia Lieber scored the PC goals.

“It was a great performance from our players tonight,” stated Smith. “We came out with a great attitude and kept our mentality throughout the entire match. It’s always a proud moment for a coach when your team can pull themselves up from behind and get a win on the road against a quality opponent.”

The Blue Hose host College of Charleston at Martin Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Advertising alone will not keep me going, but there’s room for a few more. Every ad is inset in every story.

You can support my site in several ways.

Support the advertisers. They are all fine people who my efforts, not to mention those of the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

Please donate whatever you consider appropriate via Venmo at DHK Sports. You may also reach me by mail at 11185 Highway 56 North, Clinton  29325.

If you choose, make a monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

In the off chance you’d like to read my novels and other books, they’re available on Amazon and many prominent bookseller sites. You can read them on your phones and other devices for a modest cost. I make a bit more if you purchase the actual books, but what I mainly want is for folks to read them.

Sample my latest novel, The Latter Days. Download it for $2.99.

Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.

Thanks for putting up with me.