By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher

rnimmons@thepccourier.com

BELTON — It is never a good thing to lose for a football team. Sometimes, however, losing can bring rebirth. [cointent_lockedcontent] Sometimes a

Rocky Nimmons/Courier
Daniel senior Dante Gilliard tries to avoid a Belton-Honea Path defender after a catch during the Lions’ heartbreaking loss to the Bears on Friday night.

heartbreaking loss can pull a team together, and sometimes it makes a team grow up.

On Friday night the Daniel Lions experienced one of those “sometimes,” as they traveled to Belton Honea Path to face the 5-1 Bears on their home turf. Many had written the game off as a loss. Many did, but not the young men wearing Columbia blue and gold and their coaching staff.

The Lions may have been decisive underdogs, but no one told coach Randy Robinson, and as a result, when the whistle was blown at intermission, the Lions were up by 13 points. As the second half started, the two teams battled it out until the game was decided with only nine seconds left. The Lions attempted a two-point conversion that fell short, giving the home-standing Bears a hard-fought 48-47 victory.

“I am just ready for something good to happen for these guys,” Robinson said after the game.

He may have been disappointed with the loss, but not with the way his Lions played.

“If we played like this all year, we might have rolled in here at BHP undefeated,” he said. “I haven’t seen us play like that in a long time. They played with heart and they played together. They did everything we asked.

“We gave our best effort against a great opponent. It is too bad we came up a point short.”

The Lions’ offense was on fire from the very start. Daniel quarterback Ben Batson went 16-of-23 for 289 yards through the air with no interceptions and tacked on 73 yards on 16 carries on the ground. The sophomore signal caller may have played the game of his life, but a tough third quarter cost the Lions, who came out after intermission and were held to three straight three-and-outs that put BHP right back in the game.

“It came down to the offense,” Robinson said. “At halftime, I told them ‘we can’t let up.’ I think halftime slowed our momentum. We had three three-and-outs, and that put the pressure back on the defense.”

The game started with the Lions scoring fast on an eight-play, 73-yard drive. The series saw Batson hitting wide receiver Will Swinney with a couple of passes for 16 yards and picking up 21 yards on a nice run. Running back Stephon Kirksey also contributed with four carries for 22 yards. The touchdown came when Batson, facing second and 10 from the 13, found receiver Carter Groomes open in the end zone. The combination would prove to be there all night for the duo. Lion kicker Rivers Sherrill nailed the PAT with 8:52 to play in the first to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.

The Bears answered like a flash after the ensuing kickoff. It only took a pair of plays for BHP running back Juwan Abney to get into the end zone. Abney picked up 10 on the first carry, then 57 on the second for a touchdown only 29 seconds after the Lions had scored. BHP kicker Lance Jones was true on the PAT to knot the game at 7-7.

The Daniel offense sputtered the next time it had the ball and forced the Lions to call on Justin Craig to punt. The kick was shanked, only covering 16 yards, giving the Bears great field position at midfield.

Again BHP’s offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage. In five plays, the Bears took the lead on a 10-yard run by quarterback Kameron Burton with 3:34 to play in the first quarter. Jones added the PAT, making the score 14-7.

It was the Lions’ turn to strike fast. The next time they had the pigskin, Robinson’s troops hit paydirt on a single play. Batson aired it out again to Groomes, and the sure-handed receiver hauled it in and raced 68 yards for a touchdown 18 seconds after the Bears’ last points. Sherrill’s extra point tied the game back up at 14-14.

The next points in the contest again came on a short drive. Starting at the BHP 46, the Bears produced a two-play series in which Abney pick up five on the first snap, followed by a read-option by Burton that caught the Lions by surprise. The play went 41 yards for a score. Jones split the uprights with 11:02 to play in the half, and the Bears were back out front 21-14.

Following the BHP score, the Lions played as well as they have all season as a team. The defense stiffened and the offense went into beast mode, scoring three touchdowns in about eight minutes.

The first was the result of a great kickoff return by Dante Gilliard that gave the Lions the ball at the BHP 33-yard line. A steady diet of Batson and Kirksey on the ground hammered the Bear defense. The final play saw Batson blast in from a yard out with 7:56 to play in the half. Sherrill had his kick blocked, making the score 21-20 in favor of BHP.

The Bears looked to be on the move the next time they had the ball, pushing it 32 yards in seven plays. On the eighth snap, however, the Lions were ready, as C.J Scott came hard on a corner blitz and blindsided Burton, making the quarterback cough up the ball. Lion defensive end T.J. Reese scooped up the bouncing ball and advanced the rock to the Bear 42.

Batson and company came on after the big defensive play and marched the distance in only two snaps — the first a two-yard toss from Batson to wide out Jacob Wichelns and the second a 40-yard pass and catch from Batson to Gilliard. The touchdown came with 4:12 to play in the half. Sherrill nailed the PAT, and the Lions were rolling, up 27-21.

The Lion defense, led by Reese and sophomore line backer Jake Venables, didn’t allow the Bears a first down the next time they had the ball and forced them to punt the ball away from their own 18.

Following a Jacob Maloney fair catch, Daniel was back in business at its own 47-yard line. The Daniel offense again looked like a well-oiled machine. Batson hit Groomes for 37 yards on first down. The final three plays were all Batson as the quarterback picked up three with his legs, followed by two tosses to Groomes — the first for eight yards and the second for the final three yards and a score. Sherrill was true on the PAT, and the Lions were way out front 34-21 as the half ended.

As the second half started, Daniel looked like it was going to pick up where it left off, as Maloney picked off a Bear pass on BHP’s first possession.

The tide turned, however, as the Bears looked to have made some adjustments at intermission, and forced the Lions into three-and-outs on their first three drives of the half, while BHP found the end zone on three straight possessions to claim a 41-34 lead with only 8:21 to play.

The excitement was about to get going, as with only two minutes left to play, the Lions evened the score at 41-41 on an 88-yard drive. Batson looked like a seasoned pro on the series, hitting his first three passes. On the first snap, he hit Wichelns for eight yards, followed by a 17-yard strike to Jamarcus Black and a 16-yard toss to Swinney. Batson then called his own number and picked up five yards. He followed the run by hitting Groomes for 15 yards down to the BHP 22-yard line.

With time ticking away, Batson looked like a man possessed, going around left end and fighting his way in for a score with two minutes to play. Sherrill added the PAT, and the game was again tied at 41-41.

Daniel kicked off praying for a defensive stop, but that was not to be as the explosive Bear offense knew it was do-or-die time. Starting at its own 28, BHP pushed to the 47 on three plays. Then Burton went up with a desperation heave. Jake Hilberts was racing along the sideline and was covered like a glove by Daniel’s Malik Watts. Hilberts somehow found a way to make a one-handed grab, stay inbounds and go the distance for a 59-yard score with 41 seconds to play. Jones added the PAT as all hope seemed lost for the Lions, who trailed 48-41.

Robinson and the Lions were not done yet — they still had one last chance to get the ball. Following the kickoff, the Lions had the ball with only seconds left at their own 38. Batson raced for 15 yards on first down. He then tossed an incomplete pass toward Groomes to stop the clock. A false start call pushed Daniel back five yards to the Bear 48. Facing second and 15, Batson took the snap, stepped back into the pocked and slung a pass way downfield. Scott, who was at wide receiver, looked to be playing center field and ran under the ball, making the grab at the Bear 4-yard line. Once the ball was set up, Batson took the snap and raced to the left, diving in for a touchdown with only nine seconds left.

Robinson and the staff huddled and decided that they would win or lose on the next snap and elected to go for a two-point conversion.

The play was a quick toss to Groomes on a screen, but pressure up the middle forced an early throw and the game ended with a heartbreaking 48-47 loss for the Lions.

“We actually talked before the second-to-last drive,” Robinson said. “If we made it we would kick the extra point, and we did. Then they hit the bomb and then we hit the bomb. Then we voted as a staff to go for a two-point conversion, because the play was actually open the play before. We thought we had the right play. We just got a little pressure on Ben and we didn’t get the ball there.”

The game, even in a loss, improved the Lions’ team in many ways, according to Robinson.

“The kids don’t understand, and very few people understand, that it is about making men out of boys,” Robinson said. “What you saw tonight — the heart and the determination — that is Daniel football. That is why it has always been special and why it gives you a lot of wins. Now, we did not get the win tonight, but we had a winning effort.”

The Lions are now in a spot they have not seen in years, as they must win at least two of their next three games to make the playoffs, with the Pickens Blue Flame coming to Singleton Field this week.

“We played offensively about as well as we could in the first half,’ Robinson said. “We had 34 points at the half, and that is pretty good. I am disappointed we didn’t get a win for our kids.

“We have three weeks left and we have to win some games to get into the playoffs. If we play the next three weeks like we played tonight, this team will get into the playoffs, and we will be a formidable opponent.

“There was a lot to take from this game, but when Sunday comes we have to turn toward Pickens and get ready to play a physical team. Pickens runs the ball real well, too, and they pick up a lot of yards.”

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By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — For a half Friday night, Easley hung tough with undefeated Westside, but the Rams’ potent offense and stingy defense was too[cointent_lockedcontent]

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Aislinn Rosier was named Easley High School’s 2015 homecoming queen at halftime of Friday’s game.

much for the Green Wave to overcome in the second half in a 39-7 homecoming loss.

The loss left Easley with a 3-4 record for the season, but an 0-3 mark in Region I-AAAA play. Westside improved to 7-0 with the win and stayed on track to finish the season unbeaten.

Easley had a chance to take a first-half lead early in the second quarter following an interception by Daniel Hine.

Quarterback Dalton Black led the Green Wave on a 15-play, 83-yard drive that featured runs by Will Drawdy and Malaki Robinson and catches by Quenten Phillips and Drawdy. The drive reached all the way to the Rams’ 1-yard line before Ethan Meyers was stuffed on a fourth-down run for a turnover on downs.

Westside returned the favor with a drive of its own, going 99 yards in 16 plays to score the first touchdown of the game on a four-yard run by Quinn Wright with 4:05 to play in the opening half. The extra point attempt failed, and the Rams carried a 6-0 lead into halftime, when homecoming queen Aislinn Rosier was crowned.

Easley had the first possession of the second half, but punted after two incomplete passes.

Westside took possession of the ball and completed a 70-yard pass to Jyston Kendrick to increase its lead. The extra-point attempt was complicated by a Westside penalty, but Chance Poore booted it in to give Westside a 13-0 lead with 10:21 left in the third quarter.

Later in the quarter, Jackson Williamson completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Drek Thomas. The extra point gave Westside a 20-0 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.

Easley finally got onto the scoreboard late in the third quarter when Drawdy ran 12 yards for a touchdown. The extra point by Josh Hansen cut he Westside lead to 20-7 with five minutes left in the third period.

In the fourth quarter, Williamson tossed a 42-yard touchdown to Brantley Queen to put the game away and increase the Rams’ lead to 26-0 with 9:45 remaining in the game. A two-point conversion failed.

Westside added two more scores — a nine-yard touchdown run by Wright and a two-yard touchdown by Williamson — to make the final score 39-7.

Easley will travel to Piedmont Friday night to face Woodmont before entertaining Greenville the following week.

Westside will play at 1-6 Greenville Friday night.

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By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports

ejolley@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — It was a tale of two halves Friday night as undefeated Seneca pulled away late to beat Pickens, 31-6.

Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com
Lindsey Ann Masters was named Pickens High School’s 2015 homecoming queen at halftime of Friday’s game.

[cointent_lockedcontent] The first half of the homecoming contest was a slugfest, with the high-scoring Bobcats only holding a 7-6 halftime lead. The Blue Flame had to be kicking themselves on missed opportunities. Seneca fumbled twice and threw a first-half interception, but Pickens only scored six points on three red-zone possessions. Pickens had a touchdown catch nullified due to a blocking penalty and lost another possession on a fumbled option pitch.

Unfortunately, the second half was mostly Seneca, as the Bobcat defense held Pickens to just four first downs. And with Seneca quarterback Elijah Turner on the sidelines and running back Braxton Gambrell struggling, tailback Jacory Benson picked up the slack with a big second half, rushing for three scores.

“Anytime you get a win it’s nice,” said Seneca coach Brett Turner, a former Pickens player and head coach. “God has just blessed us, and we’re thankful for Him for helping us get this win. It was just a great team effort tonight. There was a lot of adversity out here on the field, and our guys did a great job and came together. You have to give a lot of credit to Pickens. I told our guys that they would play hard and they did, and their coaching staff did a wonderful job. It was just a good, hard-fought football game. I’m really proud of our kids and how they did tonight.”

Seneca (7-0, 4-0 Western AAA) will play Belton-Honea Path (6-1, 4-0) in a battle of unbeatens atop the region this week. The showdown almost didn’t come to fruition, as the Bears came from behind to beat Daniel last week and the Blue Flame gave the Bobcats all they wanted in the opening half.

Seneca took its opening possession 74 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Elijah Turner, a former Blue Flame starter, hit Daquan Mackey for 48 yards, and then following a sack by Matt Gravely, Turner hit Chris Latimer on a 22-yard fade to the right corner on fourth down. Hunter Pearson’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:31 left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, following a sack of quarterback Tanner Stegall, he fired a deep 53-yard bomb to Isaiah Ferguson to the Seneca 9-yard line. Two plays later, however, the option pitch to tailback Brandon Batson was fumbled, and Seneca recovered.

The Blue Flame defense got the ball right back as Benson was hit by Will Reynolds and Ridge Clark, fumbling to Tyler Gravely at the Pickens 30.

Once again, the Pickens aerial attack went deep. This time, Adam Martin took a lateral and fired 54 yards to Ferguson, who again had gotten behind the Seneca secondary down to the 16. The drive stalled, and Shrine Bowl kicker Matt Gravely nailed a 31-yard field goal, making it 7-3 with 4:30 left in the half.

“Three opportunities in the red zone and come away with six points,” Pickens coach John Boggs said. “We have the tough penalty right there on what looked like a score, but you have to overcome it. To be down 7-6 at the half, we felt like we had the momentum and to come out and be ready to go. We just didn’t answer, and again, proud of my kids’ effort. I thought they fought hard. We’ll have to bounce back next week. You know every game in this region is tough, and you have to be ready each and every week. You can’t let one loss turn into two. They poured it out there tonight. We’ll have to re-charge and re-fuel and come back on Monday to get ready to go to Daniel and get another region win.”

The Blue Flame defense again came up with the big play after Turner hit Mackey with a pass. Linebacker Cole Seaborn and Matt Gravely teamed on the hit, causing another fumble that Gravely recovered at the Bobcat 38.

The drive stalled again, and Gravely hit a 47-yard field goal to make it 7-6 with 2:38 left in the half.

Seneca tried to answer, and after reaching the Pickens 25, Turner was sacked as Gunner Covey sealed the edge and Renny Croley sacked him from behind. Turner rolled on the play and spent the second half sidelined with an icepack on his neck.

On the next play from scrimmage, backup Jacob Lynn’s pass was juggled by Mackey and intercepted by Seaborn, ending the half.

The second drive of the second half set the tone for Seneca. Latimer had a 24-yard catch, breaking numerous tackles, and a late-hit penalty on Pickens was tacked on to put the Bobcats in business. Benson got going from there. His six-yard score with 5:14 left in the third quarter made it 14-6.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Benson took it 36 yards, breaking tackles before a final cutback into the end zone with 11:42 left, making it 21-6.

After stopping Pickens at fourth and two at its own 41, Seneca reached the 1-yard line on the next possession, but a penalty eventually forced a 21-yard field goal by Pearson with 5:28 left, making it 24-6.

Then, following a big 58-yard punt by Gravely, Benson scampered 69 yards, setting up his three-yard scoring run with 3:21 left in the game.

“In a situation like that, you’ve got to rely on your defense, because you have to bring your offensive gameplan a little bit down,” Turner said. “Your backup quarterback is in, and he did not get as many reps, but Jacob did an excellent job stepping in. Our defense did a good job of stepping up and playing a good football game the second half.

“They kept playing hard. Our offensive line played hard, and we made some adjustments on what they were doing. The kids really just stayed focused tonight. It was something we knew was coming eventually. You’re not going to go through a season without adversity, and we handled it well tonight.”

“Losing is not any fun, any time,” Boggs said. “I was proud of these kids’ effort. I thought they laid it out there tonight. They showed a lot of heart and a lot of passion. The second half, we just couldn’t get anything going offensively to generate some first downs and keep our defense off the field. They were out there a lot of snaps the second half. That sort of told the tale right there at the end, as they were just wore out. We’ve got to do a better job of playing good team football and helping each other out. When other teams score, you’ve got to be able to answer. We were not able to do that in the second half. My hat’s off to them — they came and did a good job the second half.”

Pickens will play at county rival Daniel on Friday night.

Notes: During a pregame ceremony, the family of longtime Pickens coach Bill Isaacs was honored with a moment of silence with both teams lining the field. Isaacs and his neighbor, Dicky Stewart, were shot and killed last month.

During halftime, Lindsey Ann Masters was crowned 2015 Homecoming queen.

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By Colby Lanham
Clemson Athletic Comm.

news@thepccourier.com

CLEMSON — The No. 6 Clemson Tigers battled the rain for the second consecutive week [cointent_lockedcontent] as they defeated Georgia Tech 43-24 at Memorial

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson drops back to pass during the Tigers’ win over Georgia Tech on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Clemson’s offense rolled to 537 total yards of offense against Georgia Tech and was led by the running of Wayne Gallman, who finished with 13 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Clemson’s win marked Gallman’s third consecutive game with more than 100 rushing yards, as he became the first Tiger to do that since Andre Ellington in 2012. Clemson’s running game put on a strong performance yet again, as the Tigers finished with 201 yards on the ground.

Gallman provided an instant spark for the Tigers’ offense right out of the gate, as he took a handoff and burst into the open field for a 66-yard touchdown run on the third play of Clemson’s opening possession. Gallman did not stop there, as he scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run late in the first quarter to cap off a 10-play, 80-yard drive that put the Tigers ahead 17-3.

The tide turned for Clemson yet again, as safety Jadar Johnson blocked a punt on special teams deep in Georgia Tech territory that resulted in a safety to give the Tigers a 19-3 lead.

The Tigers’ offense was clicking on all cylinders, as quarterback Deshaun Watson followed up last week’s game with one of his best performances of the year, as the sophomore was 21-of-30 passing for 265 yards and two touchdown passes, both of which went to tight end Jordan Leggett. Leggett has four touchdown catches this season.

Clemson’s defense came prepared for the option, as it held the Yellow Jackets, who came into the game averaging 310.6 yards per game on the ground, to 71 rushing yards.

Cornerback Cordrea Tankersley nabbed his second interception of the season, while the Clemson defense finished with 11 tackles for loss. Linebacker Dorian O’Daniel and safety Jayron Kearse led the team in that category with three tackles for loss apiece.

The Tigers will return home Saturday for a homecoming matchup against the Boston College Eagles. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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