By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher

rnimmons@thepccourier.com

ANDERSON – The preseason is over, and the Daniel Lions have yet to[cointent_lockedcontent]

John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com
Daniel running back Stephon Kirksey breaks free for a gain against Westside on Friday night.

post a victory after a 38-7 shellacking at the hands of the Westside Rams on Friday night.

That is not something the Lions, their fans or their coaching staff are used to. Not since head coach Randy Robinson’s first year at the helm has Daniel started the year 0-3.

But as the saying goes, “what does not kill us makes us stronger.” The Lions are not dead yet, and the year will begin anew this Friday when the Columbia blue and gold start region play, traveling to West-Oak play the Warriors.

Now is when the games reall start to count, Robinson says, and the results from here on out will mean everything to how the Lions’ current crop of seniors will be remembered in years to come.

“I hope our seniors realize it’s now or never,” he said after Friday’s game. “We have some young guys pushing for playing time. I hope our seniors rise up.”

The Lions were outmanned against the Rams, who played like a contender for the AAAA crown this season. From the start it was an uphill battle for Robinson’s troops. The Lions did start off with some fire, but as the game progressed it was obvious it was going to be a long night for the visitors.

“We have no excuses,” Robinson said. “Westside played real well up front. We were able to get some stuff on them early, and they made good adjustments and then clogged us up front. Then we became pretty much one-dimensional, and they got a couple of opportunities on our quarterback. Westside is a good football team. They are going to have a shot at winning it all.”

As painful as it was to watch for the blue and gold faithful, the game will go a long way to improving the Lions as region play gets underway, according to Robinson.

“We told them before we got over here we were going to be able to evaluate more after tonight than we have been able to all year, because we played a good football team,” he said. “In every phase of the game, they are really good. So now I have film to show them, and I can say ‘hey, you got away with being average the first two games, but against this group you got exposed.’ Hopefully we can correct the mistakes before the region starts.”

The biggest bug-a-boo Daniel will have to overcome as the season wears on is the amount of turnovers they have produced. Robinson knows that is a huge concern.

“Turnovers have been the story of this season,” he said. “We are minus-nine right now. We can’t win like that.”

The game with the Rams started with the Lions creating a turnover of their own. On Westside’s second snap, a good lick on Westside quarterback Jackson Williamson popped the ball loose, with Daniel’s Avery Conrad recovering for his team and giving his offense the ball at the Lions’ 31-yard line.

The tone of the game was set in the trenches, and that was the most glaring difference as Westside dominated. On first down, Robinson called an end around to Will Swinney, and it was stuffed as the Rams got penetration, blowing the play up for a four-yard loss. Daniel running back Stephon Kirksey did run hard all night and picked up a couple on the next snap, but it was obvious the running game was going to have its work cut out for it.

Robinson elected to test the air on play three and Batson faded back and spotted Swinney streaking across the middle and hit the junior receiver for a 15-yard gain, giving the Lions a first down.

Swinney was hammered on the tackle, something the young man got accustomed to as the night wore on. Swinney, however was the bright spot of the game for Daniel, as he ended the game with more than 100 yards receiving.

“It is kind of interesting how they played their coverage — he suddenly became the guy,” Robinson said of Swinney. Every time you turned around, he was open on the read. So he had a lot of catches and had a good night. It was not just him. We had some guys that ran some good routes to get him open.”

After the catch and the movement of the chains, the drive fizzled and the Lions punted the ball away four plays later.

Westside sent its offense on the field with the ball at the 34-yard line and the Rams were ready to shake off the early turnover and push the ball upfield. After 11 plays, the Rams pounded the ball into the end zone on a two-yard plunge by Jackson with 5:55 to play in the first quarter. Westside elected to pour it on and went for a two-point conversion following the touchdown, but Daniel defensive coordinator Jeff Fruster’s unit was having none of it. Jackson called a play where he tossed the ball to tight end Antonio Lomax, but. Daniel’s defense was just too tough and stopped him short, making the score 6-0.

After the kickoff, the Lions went to work and produced a nice 13-play drive that covered 61 yards. The only problem was the Lions needed 80 and came up short on a fourth-down conversion at the Westside 19-yard line. The series saw Swinney picking up 10 yards on a Batson pass and Kirksey blasting ahead for 18. Senior Dante Gilliard contributed with a 17-yard catch from Batson, but the series ended when Batson tried to go for it all, forcing a pass into the end zone on fourth and five from the Westside 19.

The big stop fired up the Rams, and they immediately mounted an 81-yard drive for a score. The series lasted only six plays. The Daniel defense was shell-shocked early, as on the third snap, Jackson connected on a 41-pass to Quinn Wright. Three plays later, Wright finished the drive when he found a seam and raced 36 yards for a touchdown. The Rams again went for two, and Wright’s number was called again with 11:54 to play in the half, making the score 14-0 Rams.

Daniel went three and out following the kick, and a great return had Westside back in business at the Lion 40. It was beginning to get ugly for Robinson’s team as the Rams again produced a scoring drive. In nine plays, the Rams were in for a touchdown. The Lions held on three plays inside the 2-yard line, but has hard as they hunkered down, on the fourth Wright found enough space to get in from a yard out. Westside kicker Chance Poore tacked on the PAT, and with 6:42 to play in the first half, the Lions were down 21-0.

The Lions dodged a bullet just before the half as Batson was picked off, giving the Rams the ball at their own 27. Westside drove the field again in 10 plays. With the clock winding down to intermission, the Rams had the ball at the Lions’ 1-yard line The Lion defense stiffened as time expired, turning Westside away without points.

The second half started with yet another Daniel turnover. Carter Groomes was back deep to return the opening kick, but took his eye off the ball and bobbled the pigskin, fumbling the ball away with the Rams recovering at the Lions’ 23-yard line.

“We fumbled the second-half kickoff. Come on, we are better than that,” Robinson said.

It only took Westside four plays to capitalize on the mistake when Jackson hit Lomax for a four-yard touchdown with only 1:27 played in the second half. Poore added the extra point, and the Rams were ahead 28-0.

The Rams added a 26-yard field goal two possessions later after a blocked punt. Taking over at the Daniel 11, the Lion defense stiffened and force the field goal try thanks to a big sack by Chris Barnes.

The Lions continued to make mistakes offensively when Batson was intercepted. Daniel’s defense held after the pick, forcing a Ram punt.

Taking over at the 26, the Lions put together their only scoring series of the night. The drive lasted 16 plays. Every inch was hard-earned as Swinney continued to find space when needed to keep the series alive. The receiver made three crucial catches for 10, nine and 30 yards, the latter for his first varsity touchdown. Rivers Sherrill added the PAT, and the Lions were on the board with 5:50 left to play.

The late score saved a shutout, but it seemed to anger the Rams, who answered with a four-play drive that went 80 yards. With only 44 seconds left Jackson slung a rainbow and connected with Matthew Martin for a 67-yard touchdown. The PAT was good to make the 38-7 final score.

Robinson said he had no hard feelings because Westside was still throwing deep with less than a minute to play.

“Absolutely not — it is our job to stop them,” he said. “If my cornerback does his job, it is probably an interception. He got lazy and he got beat. That will help us down the road.”

The Lions will begin region play at West-Oak this Friday. The Warriors lost 26-19 to Berea last Friday and are also winless on the season.

Robinson hopes this week will go better in practice than last week.

“We had a great Monday and Tuesday and then we dropped off Wednesday,” he said. “We didn’t even have a good walkthrough. How can you not have a good walkthrough? It has been a frustrating year, but in the meantime I still think we can turn it around. We have to be optimistic about it.”

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By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

PIEDMONT — Easley bounced back from an embarrassing loss against Seneca two weeks ago with a 49-15 shellacking of archrival

Tommy McGaha/Courier
Easley’s Craig Barksdale, left, and Ivan Hill combine to bring down Wren quarterback Jay Urich during their game Friday night in Piedmont.

Wren on the road Friday night. [cointent_lockedcontent]

After a 38-0 loss to the Bobcats in a game delayed three hours by stormy weather, Easley blew into Hurricane country and delivered some lightning of its own, as quarterback Dalton Black threw for four touchdowns and 282 yards in the win.

Wren won the toss and received the opening kickoff near midfield. But the ‘Canes only gained four yards on three offensive plays.

After a punt, Easley took over at its own 20. Black used passes to Tyrese Bradley, Bralan Fuller and Holden Martin to move the ball downfield.

Black ended the drive with a nine–yard touchdown strike to Martin. The extra point by Joshua Hansen gave Easley a 7-0 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Wren entered Green Wave territory on its next drive but had to give up possession after failing on a fourth-down pass attempt at the Easley 39.

The Green Wave took possession of the ball with just less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Black then connected with Zack Mode for a 53-yard touchdown pass. The extra point made the score 14-0 in favor of the Green Wave with 2:14 remaining in the first half.

On the next Wren drive, Easley intercepted the ball at the Wren 27-yard line. Eight plays later, Will Drawdy ran in from eight yards out for another Green Wave touchdown. The extra point by Hansen gave Easley a 21-0 lead with 11:51 remaining in the half.

Wren finally responded with a 13-yard touchdown run by Nathaniel Ekwere. The extra point by Trevor Perry cut the Easley lead to 21-7.

The two teams exchanged punts on the next two drives. Late in the first half, Easley found itself with the ball at the Wren 23-yard line after a penalty on a punt return. After two carries by Malaki Robinson, Drawdy scored on the second of two runs totaling eight yards. Hansen added the extra point to build the Easley lead to 28-7 just before halftime.

Easley extended its lead early in the third quarter with an 81-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Fuller. The extra point gave Easley a 35-7 lead with 11:14 remaining in the third quarter.

Later in the third quarter, Hansen again connected with Fuller for a 47-yard touchdown. The extra point make the score 42-7 with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Easley scored its final points of the night when Derek Phillips scored from 10 yards out. A penalty caused the extra point to be attempted from the 21-yard line, but Hansen was still true on his kick, and Easley led 49-7 with 8:56 remaining in the game.

Wren’s only other mark on the scoreboard came with 5:49 remaining in the game. Down 49-13, the Hurricanes went for the two-point conversion. Adam Campbell ran in for the final points of the night, with 5:40 remaining in the game, cutting the score to 49-15.

Easley has this Friday night off before playing consecutive road games at Laurens and at Hanna. Laurens is currently 0-3 with a game this Friday night at home against Clinton. The Raiders will have to depend on conference wins if they hope to make the playoffs.

Hanna is 1-2 on the season, but the one win was a 61-28 victory over Wren.

Easley’s next home game is Oct. 9 against Westside. The Green Wave will the finish the season with alternating home and road games beginning with a trip to Woodmont on Oct. 16, followed by a visit from Greenwood, a trip to Hillcrest and a home game against Greenville.

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By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports

ejolley@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — The Pickens Blue Flame actually got to enjoy the Labor Day holiday last week before turning their attention to the Western AAA opener at Wren on Friday night.[cointent_lockedcontent]

Coach John Boggs gave his staff and players a few days off, including Labor Day, as the team had an open date on Friday night. The plan was for the staff to split up and go and watch other region teams they will see in the coming weeks.

Wren has struggled early, losing big to T.L. Hanna and Easley and winning over Woodmont. Gone are star quarterback Kelly Bryant and most of the offensive line from a year ago. The Hurricanes could start as many as four freshmen and sophomores along the lines.

For Pickens, it was great to go into the open date coming off a win — a convincing 30-0 rout of county rival Liberty. Pickens forced five turnovers in the game and is now plus-four in the turnover margin entering region play.

Pickens played Wren twice last year — once in the region and then in the first round of the state AAA playoffs. Bryant showed why he was an elite recruit headed to Clemson in both games.

The Blue Flame have been fairly fortunate so far injury-wise. Junior lineman Hudson Burgess has been out all season with a leg injury, and freshman lineman Braden Gravely injured his knee against Pendleton. He’s expected back in a few weeks.

The Blue Flame don’t have many players — with only 28 on the roster — so everyone is playing a good bit.

Leading the way defensively for the Blue Flame have been senior lineman Tyler Gravely and junior linebacker Cole Seaborn. Seaborn has 24 tackles, including five for loss. Gravely has 19 tackles, including six for loss and two sacks.

Pickens is glad to have senior Matt Gravely kicking again this season. He’s been perfect on his six extra-point attempts and is 5-of-7 on field goals, with a long of 44. He has hit from 60 in pregame.

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By Rachel Eagleton
Clemson Athletic Comm.

news@thepccourier.com

CLEMSON — A second-quarter flurry proved to be all the No. 12[cointent_lockedcontent]

Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal
Clemson senior defensive tackle Carlos Watkins raises the ball in the air as he reaches the end zone on an interception return for a touchdown Saturday against Appalachian State.

Clemson Tigers needed to defeat the Appalachian State Mountaineers 41-10 on Saturday in front of the second-straight sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium.

“This was a very solid win and brought us something we could learn from,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “The fans’ energy and volume level was really feeding the defense and helped light that spark.”

Deshaun Watson was 19-26 passing for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Wayne Gallman led the Tigers’ ground game with 79 of the team’s 140 rushing yards. Defensively, Shaq Lawson had three tackles for loss. The Tigers added three interceptions that completely changed their momentum, part of four takeaways for Clemson.

Clemson’s defense was stout, holding Appalachian State to 298 total yards, including only 95 passing yards. In a critical moment, safety Jayron Kearse intercepted a pass in the endzone, giving the Tigers the ball and keeping Appalachian State off the scoreboard late in the first quarter.

After a slow first quarter, defensive tackle Carlos Watkins intercepted a quick pass over the middle by Taylor Lamb and returned it into the end zone to score the Tigers’ first touchdown. Watkins’ first career touchdown lit a fire under Clemson and started a scoring streak for the Tigers, who reeled off 35 consecutive points.

On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Brent Venables was happy with his unit’s performance throughout the game.

“Our guys were ready to play,” Venables said. “I am really pleased at the point of attack. We knew we needed to make big plays and capitalize as a team.”

The Tigers came up with their third interception by linebacker Ben Boulware. His third career interception set Deshaun Watson and the offense up for a touchdown to Charone Peake, a beautiful 24-yard pass in the second quarter.

However, Peake and Watson were not done. Peake caught a 59-yard touchdown pass by Watson, his longest career reception, to score his second touchdown of the day. It was also Peake’s first-ever two-touchdown game.

The Tigers face a quick turnaround, as they will head to Louisville on Thursday night. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.

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