By MONTE DUTTON

As I sat in the audience at Thursday’s meeting of the Laurens County Touchdown Club, munching on a Groucho’s sub, I thought about the speakers whom I’ve known the longest.

I narrowed it down to three: Robbie Caldwell, Phil Kornblut and Pete Yanity.

Caldwell, who is best known for coaching the Clemson offensive line, and I became friends at Furman, where he played and also coached. He grew up with former LDHS trainer Barry Atkinson, and the two onetime classmates at Pageland High School graduated from Furman the spring before I got there in the fall.

I’ve known Kornblut since he and I were students at separate colleges. While Kornblut was at USC, I was at Furman, but we became acquainted while he was beginning his broadcasting career at South Carolina and I was working in the Furman sports information office.

Yanity was working as a sports anchor in the Pee Dee when I was writing about stock car races in Darlington. I continued to see Kornblut and Yanity at the tracks during my two decades of NASCAR coverage.

Others were sporadic. I knew Mike Ayers, Shell Dula, Clay Hendrix and Hunter Reid before the NASCAR years and since they ended.

Yanity, Thursday’s speaker, moved to WSPA-TV in time to see the great career of Stephen Davis at Spartanburg High. I wrote about Davis in the state championship game. I was working for the Greenville News. Yanity named Davis as the best high-school player he had ever seen. I concur, but I’d have to put Woodruff’s Tony Rice, Laurens’ Rickey Foggie and Clinton’s Brian Kingsborough in the mix.

When the Class 2A football playoffs open on Nov. 7, Clinton, the Region 1 champion, faces the Region 4 fourth seed, which, as it turns out, is going to be an unusually stern first-round opponent for the reigning state titlist.

Entering this Friday night, the fourth seed is Cheraw (5-4, 2-2). The top three teams in the region – North Central (Kershaw), Andrew Jackson (Kershaw) and Central (Pageland) – are all 3-1, and they are all playing this week while the Red Devils take their bye and watch from afar.

Central (7-1) visits North Central (7-2), even though Kershaw is south of Pageland. Chesterfield (4-5, 1-3) visits Cheraw. Andrew Jackson (5-4) visits Buford (1-6, 0-4).

In other words, Clinton (7-3, 4-0) isn’t going to play a softie. Last year the Red Devils opened the playoffs with a 56-0 destruction of Pelion.

Laurens County’s two other principal teams (excepting Thornwell, which is playing a sparse varsity schedule) have plenty themselves to determine with their own games.

Laurens High (1-8, 1-3 Region 1-4A) could possibly make the playoffs with a mild upset of Emerald (4-5, 1-3) at K.C. Hanna Stadium, though much else would have to happen beyond the ballyard gates. Westside (5-4, 4-0) visits Wren (7-2, 4-0) for the region championship. Fountain Inn (5-4, 2-2) visits Southside (0-9, 0-4), which has lost 30 games in a row.

Even if the Raiders win against Emerald, they may not earn a berth. Past the top three teams in each region, schedule rankings set the final four teams. Laurens’ overall record works against it.

Laurens Academy (8-1, 3-0 SCISA eight-man Region 1) has a chance to atone for its only loss and win the region by defeating King Academy (9-0, 3-0) at Todd Kirk Field.

The Crusaders play each region opponent twice. Only the latter counts in the standing. King’s 60-34 victory on Sept. 19 means nothing.

Eight-man football is a volatile hybrid. LA defeated Richard Winn Academy, 36-22, on Sept. 12, and 78-64 last week. Perhaps the home-field advantage will make some difference when the Knights visit.

LA (8-1), Presbyterian College (7-1), Clinton (7-3) and Laurens (1-8) have a combined record of 23-13 this fall.

The Big South basketball tournament is to be sponsored by the Air Force Reserve.

What is now officially the Air Force Reserve Big South Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are to be contested March 4-8, 2026, at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tenn.

“This valuable partnership will help us highlight the multiple benefits of serving in the Air Force Reserve,” said Lt. Col. Jon Quinlan, Air Force Reserve Recruiting deputy commander. “Serving in the Air Force Reserve is much like playing on an award-winning sports team.  We offer flexible service, stable benefits and a purpose-driven mission to be part of defending our nation while staying connected to [our] community.” 

The tournament features 16 games over a five-day span to determine the conference’s automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournaments. Johnson City and Freedom Hall are hosting the league’s marquee event for the second consecutive year.

Chesnee visits Clinton on Friday in the third round of the Class A/2A girls’ tennis playoffs.

After rainouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Red Devils ousted Dixie, 6-0, in the second round on Thursday.

# 1 Singles    Libby Dailey defeated Lacey Elliott  6 – 2, 5 – 7, (10 – 6)

# 2 Singles     Addy Derrick defeated Nicole Hershberger  6 – 0, 6 – 1

# 3 Singles    Abby McMurray defeated Ashten Stoll  6 – 0, 6 – 2

# 4 Singles    Kayleigh Lawson defeated Campbell Dunn  7 – 6, 6 – 1

# 5 Singles   Merin Orr defeated Riley Skinner  6 – 3, 6 – 3

# 1 Doubles  Dailey & Derrick             DID NOT PLAY

 # 2 Doubles  Savanna Fountain & Lydia Whitmore defeated Alia Hershberger & Olyvia Stoltzfus  6 – 2, 6 – 4

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