By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. I think Aug. 30 might end up being my favorite night of the year. It’s not just this year’s game for the Laurens County championship. It’s the game. It’s the atmosphere. It’s standing down on the field, trying both to take photos and pay attention to what’s …
Tag: Laurens Raiders
Red Devils resist the raid, 35-8
By MONTE DUTTON Javen Cook breaks for the end zone (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. One hundred. Sixty. Four. Clinton’s 35-8 victory over Laurens on Friday night was the 100th of Corey Fountain’s head coaching career, the 60th all-time against the Raiders and the fourth in a row. The town was coming off a devastating …
A vast array of ballgames
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Presbyterian at Mercer is Thursday night. Laurens at Clinton is on Friday night. Furman at Mississippi is on Saturday night. Someone asked me what I was doing. What do you think? The stories on PC and Furman won’t have my name on them because I won’t be …
County Signs: All roads lead to Wilder Stadium
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Here’s a prediction that doesn’t require a soothsayer. Wilder Stadium will be packed when Laurens comes to town Friday night. Clinton’s band will be pumping out its knockoff of the Notre Dame fight song. Laurens will mimic Ohio State. It will be hot, with thunder in the …
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County Signs: It couldn’t get bigger … but did
By MONTE DUTTON Wilder Stadium was already packed at the opening kickoff when Laurens last visited in 2022 (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Until time changes from Daylight Saving to Standard time, I begin Clinton High School games shooting photos on the visitors side because the lighting is better until the sun goes down. A …
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County Signs: Raiders make Rams earn it
By MONTE DUTTON Will Thompson had little room to rove against Hillcrest (photo courtesy John Clayton) Click here. Laurens waged a war of attrition on opening Friday night at K.C. Hanna Stadium, where Hillcrest defeated the Raiders, 16-0. Against the Rams, ranked fifth in Class 5A, Laurens had little chance after the 7:52 mark of …
County Signs: Raiders, Red Devils from a week’s distance
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Laurens football would be a question mark wrapped in an enigma, anyway. New coach with big name. Lots of new players, tough schedule. It’s not hard to figure out the Raiders are going to be better. It is to anticipate how much. Laurens has only faced another …
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County Signs: Raiders pass only preseason test
By MONTE DUTTON The Raiders were at full song (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. It doesn’t get much better than the Olympics men’s basketball game between Serbia and the USA. I watched the first half, took a shower, dressed in dirty pants and old shoes in preparation for mud, and headed to Honea Path, where …
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County Signs: Not how it’s said around here
By MONTE DUTTON Corey Fountain and the Red Devils had their first scrimmage rained out for the second straight year (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. It’s impressive that everyone in the state knows how to pronounce my hometown’s name. Clinnun. Area broadcasters who call the university in Columbia “South Cuh-lina” know how to pronounce Clinton, …
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County Signs: Raiders go for the rebound
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Down in the soccer holler, where the Raiders practice football, it’s exciting. Greg Porter and his staff are agitating a bunch of kids previously aggravated. A whole lot of shaking was going on, not to mention grunting, yelling, cheering and that inimitable sound of pads popping. Porter …
Nightrider's Lament 