By MONTE DUTTON

Clinton looked really good in Friday night’s 50-0 victory over Laurens.

Laurens (0-2) also looked really bad, but the two often go hand in hand. The Red Devils very nearly erased from memory their loss to Woodruff on opening night. They were on fire. The score was 44-0 at halftime.

The 2024 Class 2A state titlist posted only one shutout (56-0 over Pelion) all season. It was only the fifth time in seven seasons Corey Fountain’s Clinton teams have blanked an opponent. The Raiders, meanwhile, have given up 106 points in the first two games.

“The best thing about it is we had a lot of guys playing, and the guys who came in stepped it up, as well, and didn’t have a letup,” Fountain said.

Seldom have the Red Devils so dominated the statistics in recent years, particularly against a 4A foe. In winning its fifth straight Laurens County championship, Clinton (1-1) piled up 461 yards – 374 overland, 87 airmail – to Laurens’ 92 (56/36).

Guess what? In Clinton’s all-time series against the consolidated Laurens District 55 – 53 games since 1972 – this was the biggest mismatch. The only time Clinton ever defeated a team from the city of Laurens worse was a 61-6 victory in 1965.

“Obviously, I’m hurt for our kids,” said Raiders head coach Greg Porter. “We tried. We worked. That’s a good program over there. That’s a state championship team. Those kids believe in their system.

“This is my second season, and we’re not there yet. We’ve got a lot of sophomores starting. We’ve got a ninth grader playing quarterback.”

Whether it was via the platoon of runners – K.J. Vance 6-105, Javen Cook 11-88, Angelo Cromer 12-88, Zy Butler 10-55 – or the efficiency of quarterback Owen Glenn – 5/6, 79 yards – the Red Devils traveled wherever they wanted to go.

Cromer scored three touchdowns, two on the ground and a spectacular 45-yard strike from Glenn. Cook scored twice, Butler and Lincoln Alexander once. A’Javian James contributed a 30-yard scoop-and-score. The only zany failures were the placement kicks, where Pablo Hernandez was errant on 4/6.  Clinton was also 0/2 on passes for two.

Denari Lee-Jackson led the Raiders with 37 net rushing yards in 10 attempts. Laurens’ freshman quarterback, Logan Bragg, completed 8/18 passes for 36 yards. Clinton linebacker Jaydon Glenn made his second interception in as many games and returned it 46 yards to set up a score.

Clinton averaged 8.2 yards a play; Laurens, 2.4.

An estimated crowd of 3,500 attended.

“I’m happy we bounced back,” said Fountain. “Our guys prepared well; our coaches prepared well. We just have to keep stacking great days of preparation and keep getting better. We are still a long way from where we need to be, but the effort was there. Our guys gave relentless effort all night long.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do in the special-teams area. Holding penalties still hurt us.”

Once again, Clinton topped 80 yards in penalties, which were almost as many as Laurens had on offense.

“I give no excuses,” Porter said. “All credit to Clinton. I think they did a hell of a job. They executed their offense and could have made it worse than it was. They ran the ball, and it’s our job to stop the run.

“We just have to get better. The coaches have to get better. I’ve got to get better. I don’t blame the kids. We just have to keep working. My prayer is that they don’t get disheartened. My prayer is they don’t lose hope. They don’t give up.”

Newberry (2-0) visits Clinton next week. The Red Devils honor their 1975 state championship team on its 50^th anniversary at Wilder Stadium. Laurens takes on Belton-Honea Path (2-0) at K.C. Hanna.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps.

Most of my books are available at Amazon.