Raiders tumble shy of hill’s crest

By MONTE DUTTON Nick Fowler had a shortage of options. (Monte Dutton photos) Led by running back Thomas Stanley and a duo of quarterbacks who combined to complete 11-12 passes, Hillcrest mauled Laurens, 55-9, at K.C. Hanna Stadium on Friday night. https://www.scfbins.com/agents/buddybridges There’s just no other way to put it. “It wasn’t ever good, not …

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Be true to your school, boys

By MONTE DUTTON The glistening sweat of summer days leads to Friday-night lights. (Monte Dutton photos) https://www.facebook.com/UpstateInsuranceConsultants Lots of things I didn’t like as a kid I love today. I’ve got a lot more sense now. For all you kids out there in Internet Land, this is going to happen to you. You’re going to …

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Looking for the heart of Friday night

Nick Fowler fires (Monte Dutton photos) https://www.scfbins.com/agents/buddybridges A fan can get up, walk outside, yawn, stare at the horizon and imagine a football season that never ends. It now seems plausible. It seemed as if it would never get here, and now it stretches out, barely finite. It doesn’t matter which team. It only matters …

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Devils, Raiders knighted in York

By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) https://www.facebook.com/UpstateInsuranceConsultants YORK – The Bill Pate White Rose Football Classic was worth the trip for both the Laurens Raiders, who played at 6 p.m. Friday night, and the Clinton Red Devils, who arrived on the artificial turf at 9. Both won – Laurens, 17-7, over Fort Mill, and Clinton, …

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It’s early yet, but preseason rankings are out

(Monte Dutton photos) https://www.scfbins.com/agents/buddybridges No one has snapped a ball in anger yet, but inquiring minds want to know a media panel’s preseason rankings of S.C. High School League football. https://www.sadlerhughes.com/ Laurens plays three teams – Hillcrest, Hanna and Chapman – listed in the rankings. Clinton (Chapman, Chester) plays two, and Thornwell (Great Falls) plays …

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Devils roll, Raiders scuffle

By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) https://www.facebook.com/UpstateInsuranceConsultants Laurens County’s top high-school football teams engaged in exhibition scrimmages about 10 miles apart on Tuesday night, escaping harsh weather that prevented play the night before. Mauldin transported its herd of Mavericks to K.C. Hanna Stadium an hour earlier than Chapin’s Eagles nested at Wilder. Mostly overcast skies …

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Blue Hose to build back better

By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) https://www.facebook.com/UpstateInsuranceConsultants On the very week that Rob Acunto’s departure was announced (by Fresno State), I find myself suddenly upbeat about Presbyterian College’s football program. I wandered around at Friday morning’s opening practice, and the Blue Hose look better, bigger, faster, quicker, deeper and more motivated. I like the crack …

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