By MONTE DUTTON
Corey Fountain and his Clinton High School football staff have been working on a building. It’s not much different from the old gospel, bluegrass tune penned by A.P Carter.
I’m working on a building / I’m working on a building / I’m working on a building / For my Lord, for my Lord.
At one time, the Red Devils were 2-3.Their first three victories were against the worst teams on the schedule — Laurens, Chapman and Union County – at that point.
They were working on a building, though. Their first six games were against teams in higher classifications. Some good players went down to injury. Most are going to be healthy again soon.
That building was designed for now. Clinton is 6-3 and as undefeated in Region 1-2A as undefeated can be. The scores against Union (non-region), Liberty, Chesnee and Landrum, were, in order, 60-0, 49-6, 50-29 and 56-14. I don’t know how it could be any better. The Red Devils led 50-7 at halftime against Landrum, and rewrote a chunk of the school record book despite a second half where the clock never stopped.
Clinton has four fine running backs, and one, Javen Cook, is great. Like Muhammad Ali, Cook floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. He needed 13 carries to gain 334 yards and score five touchdowns. He has been the leading rusher in six of the last seven games.
The Red Devils have scored touchdowns on their first possession in six straight games. Junior quarterback Owen Glenn operates an offense that has fumbled twice in the entire season. The four leading rushers – Cook, Angelo Cromer, K.J. Vance and Zy Butler – all average at least 6.9 yards a carry. Cook has 1,284 yards and 24 touchdowns, 13 of them in the last three games.
Hence the nickname, “Zoom.”
Blacksburg, Friday night’s road opponent, is 1-7 and 1-2. Then Clinton takes its bye ahead of the playoffs.
In spite of the tough early-season slate, the Devils have been ranked fourth or higher all season in the top 10 of Class 2A in the S.C. Media Poll. The latest poll ranks the Red Devils second to Strom Thurmond (7-1), coached by former Clinton head coach Andrew Webb.
Cook is the Laurens County Touchdown Club’s Player of the Week.
Duh.
The diminutive dynamo set a school record with his 334 rushing yards against Landrum and set the scoring record with five touchdowns and two conversion runs. Both records were previously held by Brian Kingsborough and set in 2006.
Said Fountain: “Javen is a fierce competitor. His drive to be the best can be seen in his work ethic, in his effort every day in practice, in the weight room and in everything he does. He makes coaching fun.”
WSPA-TV sports director Pete Yanity is the guest speaker at the next meeting on Oct. 30. The meetings are held every other Thursday at The Ridge, 301 Exchange Road, Laurens, at noon.
Tickets are available for $15 at the door. The food line (catering by Groucho’s Deli) opens at 11:45.
Laurens Academy (7-1, 2-0 SCISA 8-man Region 1) visits Richard Winn (3-4, 1-2) on Friday night. The Crusaders play each of their region opponents twice, but only the latter counts in the standings.
LA defeated Winn, 36-22, on Sept. 12. Another win over the Eagles means the Crusaders can win the region title on Oct. 31 at home against King Academy (8-0, 2-0), which defeated them, 60-34, on Sept. 19.
Laurens (1-7, 1-2 Region 1-4A) will likely make the playoffs if it can defeat Emerald (4-4, 1-2) at home on Oct. 31. A win this week at Westside (4-4, 3-0) is unlikely. After opening the season 0-4, the Rams have won four in a row.
Laurens County’s three high schools and Presbyterian College are a combined 22-13 (22-15 if Thornwell’s two varsity losses are included).
The Blue Hose (7-0, 3-0 PFL) are ranked 16th in the FCS coaches’ poll and 19th in the Stats Perform poll. The only other non-scholarship team in the polls is Harvard (5-0), which is 17th in the coaches’ poll and 14th in Stats Perform.
Clinton (14-8, 8-2 Region 3-2A) hosts High Point Academy (10-13, 6-5 1-2A) on Wednesday in the first round of the volleyball playoffs.
The Red Devils face the Spartanburg-based Grizzlies at 6 p.m. Admission, set by the S.C. High School League, is $8, cash only.
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).
Or, if you’d like to make a contribution by check or cash, my mailing address, for now, is: Monte Dutton, 11185 Hwy. 56 N., Clinton, S.C. 29325.
Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.
Most of my books are available at Amazon.
Nightrider's Lament 