By MONTE DUTTON
Football rumbles down a road.
Basketball’s not the same. There’s almost a game every night. Same with baseball and most sports. NASCAR rumbles, but that’s literally. Maybe it vrooms.
One aspect I love about football is … it’s organized. A game is played. For most of the week, fans look ahead to the next one.
Football sneaks up on a fan.
The season starts in a month. Blink your eyes and it’s a month away. Then it’s a week. Then it’s, Holy Wingback, Batman. The game’s tonight.
The thunder rolls, and the lightning strikes.
Late Friday night, at what a friend of mine called “oh-dark-30,” I’ll crash into the bed and be too keyed up to sleep. I’ll awaken before I want to, mind still racing.
What time is it? Clemson’s playing Georgia at noon!
PC outshot Southern Wesleyan, 26-1, in its 2-0 women’s soccer shutout of the Warriors.
The Blue Hose (3-1) scored both goals in the second half, equaling their win total in the entire 2023 season.
After the game, PC honored seniors Sophia Thomson, Sarah Dieffenderfer, Gwen Keiser, Madison Hindman and Kelly Hall.
Stated PC’s first-year head coach, Matt Smith: “Senior night is always an interesting one. It is an emotional night celebrating players who have given so much to the program. I am happy we came out with a win. I thought we defended well. Southern Wesleyan did as well, they made it hard for us. We had to work for it. We made some adjustments. … The players took to it and we saw the results in the second half.
“The biggest thing coming in is that you need to get buy-in from your leaders. Seniors, having been here so long, are automatically leaders. The way they have accepted me and bought into what we are doing every day. I couldn’t be happier for them for the success we have had so far.”
In the 56th minute, Presbyterian’s Sloan Speas had the ball about 10 yards in front of the goal, and she passed to Dieffenderfer, who blasted a shot into the upper right corner of the goal.
In the 73rd minute, Presbyterian scored their second goal on Isabel Lasota’s shot from the top of the box that also breached the upper right corner of the goal.
Former Presbyterian coach Brian Purcell, who retired after 35 years at the helm of the Blue Hose program, participated in the postgame ceremony.
The Blue Hose finish up a two-game home stand against South Carolina State at Martin Stadium on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Perhaps my attention wavered during Mercer’s 63-10 football victory over Presbyterian.
I noticed that PC has quarterbacks named Ty Englehart (the head coach’s son) and Ty Engle, a freshman from Erwin, Tenn.
And a defensive back named Will Ferrell, a sophomore from Homestead, Fla.
Amidst all the hoopla surrounding football across the state, none is bigger in Laurens County, with the possible exception of Clemson-Georgia on Saturday, than Friday night’s high-school game matching Laurens and Clinton at Wilder Stadium.
The Red Devils’ loss to Woodruff was Clinton’s first opening-night loss since 2019, when Laurens won, 28-0. The Red Devils have claimed three straight since. The two didn’t play in the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season.
Clinton’s 6-0 junior-varsity victory over Laurens on Thursday evening was its 46th in a row.
The Red Devils fell unofficially to Woodruff in the opener, but it was an exhibition because the SCHSL forbids official JV games before the varsity plays its opener.
Clinton’s girls cross country team, led by Ka’Mori Pyles at 25:57.28, finished 13th at the Pelican Invitational in Lexington with 477 points. Philip Simmons High won with 51.
Red Devil runners took 77th place (Pyles), 82nd (Marissa Brewer), 83rd (Danielle Trent) and 86th (Calvary Lyda).
Clinton defeated Newberry in volleyball, 25-22, 25-18 and 25-17.
Laurens Academy is already 8-2 in volleyball, having defeated Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Fairfield Central, Strom Thurmond, SABC;(South Aiken Baptist Christian), Mid-Carolina, Pelion, Greenwood Christian and Wardlaw.
Both losses were to FPAASF (First Presbyterian Academy at Shannon Forest).
In his debut at Jacksonville State, ex-PC and Furman quarterback Tyler Huff completed 7/14 passes for 173 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in Coastal Carolina’s 55-27 victory over the Gamecocks.
Huff rushed for 11 yards in five carries.
It was close but no cigar for some FCS teams against FBS opposition.
Colorado edged North Dakota State, 31-26. North Carolina State defeated Western Carolina, 38-21, after trailing after three quarters. Louisiana Monroe defeated Jackson State, 30-14.
In a tight all-FCS matchup, Wofford edged Gardner-Webb, 21-20.
It’s just the beginning.
As Merle Haggard sang, “If we can make it through December, everything’s gonna be all right, I know.”
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Nightrider's Lament 