Blue Hose Blurbs: Football’s young men go west


Jalen Patrick (PC photo)
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To summarize, nothing is going on. Not in Laurens County … unless you booked a flight to San Diego, Calif., where the Blue Hose went.

Since my power went out, I opened offices all over the county: Whiteford’s in Laurens, three Bojangles, the Clinton Public Library for a day, The Lumberyard, McDonald’s and several I’ve already forgotten.

Neither Clinton (3-2), Laurens (0-5) nor Laurens Academy (4-2) played on Friday night.

Collin Hurst (Monte Dutton photo)
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Presbyterian’s Pioneer Football League schedule is top-loaded. Last week the Blue Hose fell, 48-37, in a game that was supposed to be played in Clinton until the Storm from Helene swept through like an earthbound tidal wive and forced the game to Sunday afternoon at Davidson.

Next the Blue Hose play the PFL’s historically dominant program, the University of San Diego, which won 12 titles in a 17-season span (2005-21).

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Besides, Toreros (“bullfighters”) are as uncommon on this side of the United States as Gamecocks out west.

PC (2-3, 0-1 PFL) has only played in the Golden State three times in history. California drubbed the Blue Hose, 63-12, in 2011, and in Presbyterian’s first visit to San Diego, in 2022, the Toreros won, 28-3. USD leads the series, 4-0.

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In short, the Hose open against the PFL’s 2022 champ (Davidson), it’s all-time winningest member (San Diego) and last season’s champ, Drake, which comes to Bailey Memorial Stadium on Oct. 12.

San Diego (2-2, 0-1) opened with wins over Cal Poly (27-21) and Central Washington (26-7), then fell to North Dakota (41-24) and Drake (30-28).

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The Blue Hose have been competitive against everyone except scholarship-furnished Mercer and Gardner-Webb but need a breakthrough to avoid an 0-3 league skid at the start.

Freshman quarterback Collin Hurst solidified his hold on the PC starter’s role with a 23/37, three-touchdosn outing at Davidson.

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Hurst threw passes to six different receivers, headed by senior tight end Worth Warner, who caught eight for 132 yards.

Although Presbyterian’s release referred to the team’s arrival in “Cali,” which is in Colombia, the Blue Hose skipped town and the Helene wreckage for California, where they have been working out at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center outside San Diego, a prime facility for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

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Steve Englehart’s charges have been working out at the Team USA rugby facility.

PC’s primo linebacker, senior Alex Herriott of Hanahan, surpassed 300 career tackles against Davidson, trailing, in the Blue Hose FCS annals, only Donelle Williams and Colby Campbell.

Kickoff at Torero Stadium on Saturday is 1 p.m. out there and 4 back here, with television coverage available via ESPN+.

After a three-day cessation of hostilities, Presbyterian women’s soccer returns to the pitch at Gardner-Webb on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Freed from the storm’s grip, the Blue Hose end a 10-day break in Boiling Springs, N.C. Presbyterian (5-3-2, 0-0-1 Big South) has played only once in a span of 20 days.

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Gardner-Webb (2-8-3, 0-1-2) fell to PC, 2-0, last season.

Wellpilgrim.com surpassed the 100,000 mark in page views recently and has already exceeded the numbers of the entire 2023 year. At least one story had been posted for 59 consecutive days. … until Helene arrived.

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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.

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

Thanks for putting up with me.

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