By MONTE DUTTON

After road trips to Greenville, S.C., on Thursday night and Clinton, S.C., on Friday night, I’m still playing catch-up. It took most of Saturday writing about two football games, processing the photos and posting the blogs.

Here it is Sunday, and I’ve still got stuff to write.

I’m thankful that sporting events leave me keyed up for hours. If I’d been sleepy on the mountain roads from Furman, I wouldn’t have made it.

Friday was just evidence that sports can never be as good on TV as in person. This was the first Clinton-Laurens game that has figured to be a toss-up in a while. People figured right. Clinton pulled it out, 29-22, on a touchdown pass with two seconds remaining. The Red Devils have won six in a row.

When I was watching video Sunday, on social media, I got a little weepy watching the stadium go berserk in the background, but also feeling some sympathy for the Raiders’ players, staggering, dumbfounded, looking at one another.

Not again.

I’ve been writing about sports for a long time. I’ve seen the agony and ecstasy. They keep me going back for more.

Amidst all this color – Clinton’s band playing Notre Dame, Laurens’ Ohio State – was the comfort of home. I don’t regret leaving, but I love going back.

One aspect of a long drive is time to ponder what I have seen. The job doesn’t demand the feverish deadline pressure of a Bristol night race, but I enjoyed that tension and thought I managed it well.

I drove one truck to Furman, and the highlight of the day was meeting Rudy Jones in nearby Travelers Rest for a pregame meal. Furman played fine, building a 17-3 lead at halftime and finishing it, 20-3. I watched a good bit of Presbyterian’s opening-night win on my laptop in the press box.

The following night I took the other truck, old C.W., down to Clinton. During the game, I spent some time chatting with Matt Rahl, the first-year PC head coach, who brought most of his staff along to watch the Laurens County championship game. It’s a damn good snapshot of what Clinton and Laurens are all about.

Then along came the baseball team, honored at halftime. The Red Devils’ state championship in the spring was my last beat. I’m not going to write about anything day to day anymore. Mainly I’m going to write about what happens where I am.

My last two visits to Clinton High – Wilder Stadium is actually at the middle school a half mile or so away – have been astonishing. The baseball team won the state title via Luke Young’s home run on the first pitch of the eighth inning. One of his teammates, Owen Glenn, threw the pass that beat Laurens in the football game.

I finished my screenplay last week. I’m going to set it aside while a friend gives it a second set of eyes. I could fiddle with it forever. I’ll submit it when it’s ready. No hurry. I could buy a lottery ticket any day. I may even put some time into deciding a next project.

Oh, yeah. I played music in front of an audience for the first time in quite a while. I played three songs I wrote. Original songs have to be my modest niche. I can’t play guitar or anything else like the folks up in these hills. I’m a writer who likes to sing, not a musician who likes to play.

The site is 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 is: Monte Dutton, Adventure Village, 15 Adventure Ridge Rd., Brevard, N.C.  28712 (hutdut@outlook.com).

It means a lot to me that you enjoy what I write.

Most of my books are available at Amazon. Two of my novels, Cowboys Come Home and Lightning in a Bottle, are available in audio versions.