By MONTE DUTTON

It’s a good thing I don’t bet.

I thought South Carolina had no chance in Tuscaloosa a week after Vandy beat the Tide in Nashville. I thought the Commodores would be unable to recreate the magic in Lexington, Ky.

I was wrong on both counts. The Gamecocks didn’t win, but they couldn’t buy a close game with all five vowels on Wheel of Fortune.

Once upon a time, I attended a game in Tuscaloosa a week after Alabama lost. The Tide won that game, 58-0.

Times change. College football is not your father’s Oldsmobile. Your father can’t buy one new.

Plus, I’m obsessed by the teams I write about. I stopped predicting Laurens County games because it was too easy. I was a bit embarrassed. I’ve been picking them on a legal pad “for amusement purposes only,” as used to be written on parlay cards before betting emerged from the shadows.

I’ve just been picking the games straight up, not against “the spread,” but on Sunday night, while half-watching a pro game, I discovered my record thus far in the county s games is 24-2. My misses were Clinton-Woodruff and Presbyterian-Morehead State.

I don’t know enough about pro and college games, not to mention out-of-area high-school games, to, uh, “bet responsibly.”

What I’ve noticed recently is that most of the guys and gals who tell folks how to bet on radio and TV don’t know enough, either. I heard one of these geniuses talk about how he went 0-4-1 on his NFL picks, and I thought, Well, why, exactly, are you there?

They’re just entertainers. They’re just propagandists. They’re saying take a team because it never wins in those uniforms at home, or it’s 1-8 against the spread. The odds are greater that it will win eight of the next nine than it will continue to lose 8/9.

That’s why there’s a team shrink. That’s why fans need one.

So I don’t bet at all, mainly because I’ve got a small amount of sense.

The storm has passed, though many are still catching up.

Among those is the Laurens County Touchdown Club, which meets again at The Ridge in Laurens on Thursday at noon.

The catchup involves the county Players of the Week, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance.

Mike Ayers, the colorful and inspirational former coach at Wofford, makes his annual visit as guest speaker.

Tickets are available at the door for $15. Food service begins at 11:45 a.m.

The latest recipient is Clinton’s Tushawan Richardson, who quarterbacked the Red Devils to a 46-21 victory over Chesnee in their first Region 1-2A game … ever.

Richardson hit 9/14 passes for 178 yards, tossing touchdowns to three different receivers. He needed just three carries to rush for 25 yards.

“Tushawan did a great job of operating the offense after a long break,” said his head coach, Corey Fountain. “He was able to create plays with his legs and improvise when needed. Tushawan is not only a great football player but also a great young man.”

Laurens District High had the only track for the previous week because the Raiders fortuitously got their game in ahead of Helene on a Wednesday.

It was fortuitous but not fortunate as Lexington blanked Laurens, 29-0.

Logan Martin, a sophomore linebacker, made the best of it, intercepting a pass, making four tackles (one of them a sack) and twice recovering squib kicks on special teams.

Head coach Greg Porter called Martin “a sophomore we are investing in for next season. Logan played hard till the very end and this is how we build the culture in our program.”

The Bronze Derby is warmly recalled and sorely missed by the communities of Clinton and Newberry.

Chip Porter, a 1981 graduate of Presbyterian College, brings it back as best he can in The Li’l Bronze Derby That Was! The brand-new book examines the origin and history of the Bronze Derby, the rivalry between the Newberry Indians (now Wolves) and the Presbyterian Blue Hose.

Porter says, “When your grandfather tells you at Thanksgiving dinner that he played in The Bronze Derby, rushed for 268 yards and scored three touchdowns, you can call his potential bluff.”

For more information, click here.

Presbyterian (4-3-2, 1-1-1 Big South) and Gardner-Webb (6-2-2, 1-0-1) played to a 2-2 tie on Saturday night in Boiling Springs, N.C.

 “It was a high-level game of soccer,” PC head coach Nick Finotti said. “We have a great deal of respect for Gardner-Webb. I thought it was a fair result. I am proud of our guys for getting a point on the road against a good team.”

In the 33^rd minute, Presbyterian’s Morgan Dance dribbled from the right side of the field just inside the box near the touchline. He crossed the ball to Hutchinson, who headed the ball into the top-right corner of the goal for the game’s first score.

In the 61^st minute, Presbyterian’s Jourdan Spence was fouled in the box, creating a penalty-kick opportunity. Carson Griffith blasted the penalty kick into the top upper right corner of the goal for his third goal of the season.
In the 64^th minute, Gardner-Webb’s Max Fisher scored the Runnin’ Bulldogs first goal.
In the 73^rd minute, Gardner-Webb’s Leo Andrade scored the game-tying goal.

Hutchinson scored his eighth goal of the season, which tied Mason Lewis (2016) for Presbyterian’s Division I era single-season record for goals. Hutchinson’s goal was the 15^th of his Presbyterian career, which tied Sergio Pinto (2016-19) for the school’s Division I era record for career goals.

Presbyterian hosts Furman in its final non-conference game on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Clinton High’s junior-varsity football team improved to 5-1 with a thrilling, 36-31 victory over Chesnee.

Owen Glenn hit Zy Butler with a game-winning pass in the final seconds to deliver the victory. Butler also had two rushing touchdowns.. Glenn also had a rushing touchdown, as did Javien James.

“Our kids showed tremendous heart and determination, especially during the last drive of the game,” said coach Dontavius Glenn. “We are starting to figure things out and are getting better every week.”

Wellpilgrim.com is trying its best – translation: I’m trying – describe the highs and lows and avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Highs and lows are inevitable because all the games have a loser and a winner, and when it’s done, they are the same number.

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