By MONTE DUTTON

I think Aug. 30 might end up being my favorite night of the year.

It’s not just this year’s game for the Laurens County championship. It’s the game. It’s the atmosphere. It’s standing down on the field, trying both to take photos and pay attention to what’s going on. It’s hard not to have one take away from the other.

There are advantages, too. Chatting with everyone. Learning things the masses don’t know about. Some of it I file away. Some of it I’ll never write. I’d prefer to know the truth whether I can write it or not. Sometimes writers veer off course because they never get access to the real story. Folks get angry because a guy writes a story because they never told him what was wrong with it.

The best aspect of what happened on Friday night was what happened on Tuesday evening, when a cherished section of downtown burned to the ground. It’s a dubious claim, but it seemed like Clinton High School’s football team bounced back in unison with a town.

Wilder Stadium is a magical place. The home stands are perched above Richardson Field, almost on top of the players. In this age of technology and lazy options, a little town doesn’t often draw crowds like that. I go home and watch the local-sports highlights, thinking, That’s supposed to be the biggest game around, and the stands are half full.

Clinton has big devil fish in a small pond.

In Laurens County, district lines have been about the same for more than 50 years. In, say, Greenville, the grandson of a Parker graduate and the son of a Berea graduate is playing for Southside. In Laurens and Clinton, a young’un may not wear his granddaddy’s number, but he knows what it was.

I wore 50. My brother wore 10. My daddy wore 33.

Before the game, the bands played the national anthem together, then Laurens stood down while Clinton played its alma mater. I thought, In some places, that might have started a scuffle.

The cross country teams ran the game ball from Laurens to Clinton on Thursday. Next year they’ll tote the mail back to Laurens.

Chill bumps attack me every week. At the Laurens-Clinton game, I damn near go into convulsions.

I spend time on both sidelines. Usually I begin the game on the visitors side because the lighting is better until time changes. Clouds covered the sun at kickoff, so the biggest reason I went over was to capture the home crowd and because I like both teams. I know lots of folks on both sides.

It was a costly loss for the Raiders, who lost their first quarterback and got their second banged up. A year ago, Clinton won, 49-7, but lost two fine runners for the year.

Laurens fans came to Clinton with high aspirations, and for them, it became a nightmare.

It’s all fleeting. Enjoy good times while they last, and endure the bad ones. Laurens goes to Belton-Honea Path next week. Sheesh. Hang in there, Raiders. This, too, will pass.

The Red Devils are off to Newberry. Then comes a trip to Inman to play Chapman. Then at Daniel and back home for Union County. The opposition is universally related. It’s a gradual family reunion that suddenly ends.

The Red Devils’ region is loaded with schools they’ve seldom ever played. Quite possibly, the only time Clinton has ever played another set of Red Devils is going to be at Liberty (which I’m not quite at liberty to declare).

In time, most families have a break-up.

It’s not a high number of scribes who stand on a sideline and think of something Abraham Lincoln said.

“With malice toward none, and charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in …”

It’s just the beginning.

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 modern western, Cowboys Come Home. Download it for $2.99 here. An audio version is also available.

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

Thanks for putting up with me.