By MONTE DUTTON

Laurens waged a war of attrition on opening Friday night at K.C. Hanna Stadium, where Hillcrest defeated the Raiders, 16-0.

Against the Rams, ranked fifth in Class 5A, Laurens had little chance after the 7:52 mark of the opening quarter, when the Rams’ Caleb Constantino found Weston Willis on a 63-yard strike.

Hillcrest (1-0) had 12 first downs to the Raiders’ seven, 128 rushing yards to the Raiders’ 65 and 172 passing to the Raiders’ 65. The Rams didn’t commit a turnover, and the Raiders coughed up two fumbles and yielded two interceptions.

It sure beat 55-9, which was the score when the teams opened last season against each other.

The new Laurens quarterback, 6-5 Will Thompson, went 6/11 throwing (for 68 yards). On the ground, he gained 18 yards but lost 31.

The Raiders penetrated to the Hillcrest 18-yard line on their second possession, thanks to rushes of 18 yards by Jireh Brown and 15 by Nehemias Fernandez. A sack and a penalty pushed Laurens (0-1) back to the 34, where a fourth-and-24 pass fell incomplete.

Laurens possessed the ball for only seven plays in the second quarter, two of which resulted in turnovers. Hillcrest padded its lead on consecutive passes of 15 yards from Constantino to Willis after Thompson fumbled at his own 30.

An interception stopped the Raiders at the Hillcrest 20 in the third quarter, a period otherwise distinguished by a 29-yard field goal by the Rams’ Easton Demarski.

The Raiders never penetrated Hillcrest territory in the fourth quarter.

The defense was stout, limiting Hillcrest to 5.5 yards a play,  but only 3.8 on the ground. The Raiders were comparatively immobile when in possession, averaging 3.4 yards a play and 2.4 a rush.

Also comparatively, Laurens maintained its composure and managed to keep the score relatively close.

Nothing that happened on Friday night will discourage Laurens’ hopes when it visits Clinton next week. Each team lost its opener, making the rivalry doubly important.

Presbyterian College turned out a decent crowd of fans, fathers, mothers and local residents at the football program’s Fan Day on Thursday evening.

Steve Englehart’s Blue Hose worked on situations in an hour practice at Bailey Memorial Stadium.

Players signed autographs and mingled with the faithful, with live music, concessions, concourse activities and featured evens leading up to the scrimmage.

“Today was a very productive day, not just from the players’ standpoint, but also because we had such a great turnout from our fans and the Clinton community,” Englehart stated. “Our guys are always motivated to get this program where it needs to go, and part of that is down to the support that they’re shown every week from our fans.

“I think that it’s been one of the smoothest preseason camps that I can remember. Today, while it wasn’t a traditional scrimmage, we were able to run 78 plays. Now, we turn the attention to Mercer, who will certainly be a quality opponent, but we’ll have our guys ready to get out there and fight like they always do.”

Presbyterian scored a pair of goals on long-distance shots to edge Furman, 2-0, and spoil the Paladins’ home opener Thursday evening.

With the match knotted at 1-1 in the 65^th minute, the Blue Hose drew a free kick halfway between the top of the box and midfield. Gwen Keiser unleashed a shot that glanced off the fingertips of Furman goalkeeper Addison Corn and under the cross bar at 64:58 for the winning score.

“I’m so proud of how our players responded after a tough loss on Sunday,” stated head coach Matt Smith. “They showed the exact amount of focus and determination for 90 minutes that it takes to beat a quality team, and they had the right mentality all the way through.”

Presbyterian (2-1) took the lead just 11:05 into the first half when Emilia Lieber ripped a shot over Paladin goalkeeper Reese DeJong to open the scoring. Furman answered less than 10 minutes into the second half on Ellie Herrmann’s driving shot from the top-right corner of the 18-yard box to tie the match, but the Paladins were unable to find the go-ahead goal before Keiser’s winner less than 11 minutes later.

Furman (1-2) outshot the Blue Hose 16-13 and managed a 9-8 edge in shots on goal. Kelly Hall recorded eight saves in goal for the Blue Hose while Corn stopped four second-half shots for the Paladins.

Laurens Academy (2-0) remains the county’s lone winner, thanks to a 52-25, eight-man victory at Newberry Academy.

The Crusaders have scored 108 points in victories over Cambridge Academy and the Eagles, both on the road.

Wardlaw Academy visits Todd Kirk Field next week.

A balanced offensive juggernaut, LA rushed for 219 yards and passed for 198.

Ethan Collins completed 13/20 passes for three touchdowns, two to Anthony Candelas and one to Caleb Hardy, who caught six.

Five rushed in double figures, led by Collins with 87 yards.

Four put up double figures in tackles: Caleb Hardy (16), Garrison Vaughan (14), Hack Hardy (12) and Candelas (11).

Much obliged for the contributions.

As Merle Haggard sang, “If we can make it through December, everything’s gonna be all right, I know.”

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 support 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.

Read my satirical political novel, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Download it for $2.99.

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

Thanks for putting up with me.