By MONTE DUTTON

Oh, I’m doing what I’m usually doing on Fridays this time of year: cranking out some stories to get ahead and looking ahead to a long night.

It’s a long way to Daniel for someone’s who’s got work to do when he gets back. The only saving grace is that Presbyterian College isn’t playing football till Saturday night. I expect I’ll go through the photos and post a gallery on Instagram, then go to bed and get up and write the story.

While editing releases and sipping coffee, I thought about Ron Green Sr., who died at age 95. I worked with Ron Jr., now a prominent golf writer, at The Greenville News. Junior’s father covered 60 Masters.

I read a lot of books and write a few. Right now I’ve got a manuscript as timely as can be and can’t find a publisher.

Unbeknownst to me, it must suck.

Few books stick with me. From Tobacco Road to Amen Corner: On Sports and Life (1990) was one of them. Senior wrote deftly about everything from a family vacation at the beach to an empathic tale about an ex-North Carolina basketball star now living out of his car.

Ron was the last of the gentle sportswriters. Never were there many.

Now, hastened by so many of my peers trying to do jobs that three once struggled to handle, the scribes’ game has become fast and opinionated.

What did Kip say to Coach Latrobe in the locker room? How long’s the coach got? Who’s the GOAT? Who’s taking the “under” on the Crushers versus the Diamonds? What’s the conference going to do about those damned officials?

Folks who complain about the writers ought to look in a mirror. They’re getting more opinionated than the scribes are. They don’t want the whole story. They demand the story they want to read.

I haven’t broken any mirrors yet.

Bailey Memorial Stadium hosts a night football game for the first time in a couple years when Gardner-Webb takes on Presbyterian on Saturday night at 7.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs, still a Big South rival of PC’s in sports that still offer scholarships, haven ‘t visited the Blue Hose base of operations since 2019.

ESPN+ will have coverage of the final non-conference outing of the season, as Presbyterian searches for its third straight win and second in as many years over a scholarship program (having knocked off Wofford in 2023). GWU barely leads the series, 23-20.

At halftime, members of the 2023-24 Blue Hose women’s basketball team will be presented championship rings for their efforts in winning the Big South Tournament.

It’s difficult to find a more challenging opponent who hasn’t been able to log a win yet, although that’s exactly what Gardner-Webb (0-3) and first-year head coach Cris Reisert have endured.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs have faced two FBS foes in a row (James Madison and Charlotte), while beginning the year against an improved Wofford squad. In those three bouts, they’ve been bettered by a combined margin of only nine points.

Gardner-Webb began the season without a single returning starter. All of the starters are either first-year starters or acquisitions through the transfer portal.

Last week Presbyterian’s 52-0 demolition of Virginia of Lynchburg marked its first shutout since a 10-0 victory over Lindsey Wilson in 2018.

Chandler Parker’s 11 kills paced a Furman offensive attack Wednesday evening that saw five players record nine or more in a 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16) victory over Presbyterian at Alley Gymnasium.
Furman improves to 5-4 overall while Presbyterian drops to 3-8 on the season.
PC’s Courtney Williams tallied seven kills in the first set alone, finishing with a career-high of 16 kills while hitting at .364 percent. Anna Baranski took her eighth straight double-double behind 37 assists and 16 digs.

The Blue Hose began play on Friday in the Terrier Invite at Wofford College in Spartanburg.

Clinton girls’ tennis won again in Region 3-2A, overwhelming Columbia, 7-0, and losing only four games in the entire match.

SINGLES: Libby Dailey defeated Zmari Trapp 6 – 0, 6 – 0. Addy Derrick defeated Lauren Davis 6 – 0, 6 – 0. Merin Orr defeated Samara Schultz  6 – 0, 6 – 0. Deborah Goldman defeated Amy Simons 6 – 0, 6 – 1. Kayleigh Lawson defeated Nykoi Campbell 6 – 2, 6 – 0.

DOUBLES: Dailey & Derrick defeated Trapp & Davis 6 – 0, 6 – 0. Abby McMurray & Savannah Fountain defeated Zanah Eisland 6 – 0, 6 – 1.

Clinton (2-1, 2-0) visits Chester on Tuesday.

To lessen the unavoidable confusion, note that Clinton is in Region 1-2A for football and Region 3 for all other sports.

Daniel ended Clinton’s 48-game win streak in junior-varsity football with a 14-6 victory over the Red Devils at CHS on Thursday night.

Angel Vargas scored Clinton’s only touchdown.

“Our team played hard for all four quarters and came up short on some missed opportunities,” stated Dontavius Glenn, the Clinton (3-1) head coach. “The effort was great. Our kids have nothing to hold their heads down about.”

I hope you like the site. (You probably do since you’re reading this.) At least one story has been posted for 51 straight days.

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.

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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 freewheeling tale of a young stock-car racing phenom, Lightning in a Bottle. Download it for $3.99, or order it in paperback for $15.95. An audio version is also available.

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

Thanks for putting up with me.