Monthly Archives: November 2015
Cooke named ‘Honored Educator of the Year’
UPSTATE — Former Pickens High School art teacher Debbie R. Cooke will be recognized as this year’s “Honored Educator of the Year” at the Society for Photographic Education Southeast Regional Conference,
Debbie R. Cooke
being held at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville.
The Honored Educator is awarded to a recipient who has made a significant contribution to the field of photographic education through classroom teaching, writing, publishing, museum education or other areas of professional practice in the field of photography.
Cooke grew up in Florence, where she visited a museum on Spruce Street as a child, and from there sparked an interest in photography that blossomed into a passion for art. After she graduated from McClenaghan High School, she went on to receive her undergraduate degree from Winthrop University in 1973 and her M.F.A. from Clemson University in 1989.
She taught art at Pickens High School for more than 20 years, and in 1993 she was named Teacher of the Year by the School District of Pickens County. Cooke also served as a former consultant for the Polaroid Education Program and as an Artist in Residence with the University of Georgia’s International Studies Program in Cortona, Italy, and as Co-Chair of the Visual Arts department for the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Summer Program. She taught photography at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville before retiring in 2011.
Cooke received awards and grants from The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, The South Carolina Arts Commission, The South Carolina State Department of Education, and the South Carolina Art Education Association. She was selected to be a fellow for The Fulbright Memorial Fund in Tokyo, and her artwork has been featured in magazines and publications and showcased in local, state and regional art shows.
The Sheffield Wood Gallery of the Fine Arts Center in Greenville plans to host an exhibit, “Debbie R. Cooke: A Retrospective” to honor her art until Nov. 21. It will feature a selection of her work from the 1990s through 2013. The first series includes works produced using the “Polacollage” technique. These provocative images produced from 1992-2001 combine past art historical images and ideals with present values and icons. Cooke’s next series of work, the installation Shams of Comfort (2004), was a reaction to the Iraq war and a statement about American values and our consumer culture. The most recent work from 2013 explores the evolution of culture regarding food and the development of agribusiness, which was inspired by her involvement with the Slo Foods Movement.
Cooke was more than just a resident of Pickens County, and though she received many awards, she will be remembered for her ability to make a lasting impression on countless people throughout her 50-year career as an artist and an educator, all which stemmed from a passion for art that began on Spruce Street, in Florence.
For further information about the exhibition or the Fine Arts Center’s Permanent Collection, contact gallery coordinator Kimberly Clark at kdclark@greenville.k12.sc.us or leave a message with the front office at (864) 355-2550.
Easley High’s NJROTC takes 3rd in orienteering championship
Members of the Easley High School Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps are shown accepting the first-place yellow course trophy during the 20th annual Blue Ridge Orienteering Championship.
EASLEY — Easley High School Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) competed in the 20th annual Blue Ridge Orienteering Championship on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Kings Mountain State Park.
The team took first place on the yellow course, second place on the orange course and third overall, competing against 14 other JROTC units.
“We made a few simple mistakes,” Chief Mark Stauder said, “but also showed that we have a team that could easily develop into a nationally competitive team. The Navy NJROTC national orienteering competition will be held in Washington State in March 2016, and the team will continue training for that event. We will also need to do some massive fundraising to make that event even thinkable.”
The cadets who competed were Colton Sheriff, Griff Von Schmittou, Will Frazier, Anthony Miller, Ryan Jeanes, Brandon Marsh, Matthew West, Joey Sigler, Jay Scozzaro, Cody Marshall, Jacob Davis, Kelsie Hart, Zachery Davis-Winarski, Brenda Lopez-Perez, Freddie Juarez and Chase Wengerd. Also, for training purposes, the following freshmen were entered as non-competitors; Jason Jeanes, Brady Beckmen, Dylan Henderson and Caitlin Morris.
Bagwell celebrates 90th birthday
Luther Bagwell of Liberty will celebrate his 90th birthday on Nov. 16. Bagwell was born in 1925 to Adolphus and Emma Pace Bagwell as the 
youngest of 16 children. He is married to his bride of 68 years, Ruby Chapman Bagwell, and he is the father of three sons: Randy, Benny and Mark.
Bagwell is a member of Eastside Baptist Church in Liberty. A drop-in reception will be held in his honor on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 15, from 2:30-4 p.m. at Eastside Baptist Church in Liberty. Your presence is all that is desired.
Submissions sought for ‘Artists Color the Music’
PICKENS — The Pickens County Museum of Art and History is inviting artists to submit work to be considered for inclusion in their upcoming “Artists Color the Music” exhibit, being held in conjunction with the Greater Clemson Music Festival, formerly known as the Clemson Blues Festival.
Submissions are open to all artists living in North or South Carolina and Georgia working in any of the plastic media (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.) No photography will be considered. There is no entry fee for submitting work, nor any costs incurred for pieces accepted into the exhibition. Delivery and pickup of accepted work is the responsibility of the artist.
All entries should fall within the theme of “Influence of the Blues,” whatever your interpretation of that may be.
The Greater Clemson Music Festival on April 15-23 will showcase exceptional jazz, rock, reggae, gospel and roots artists at various venues throughout Clemson and surrounding areas. The inspiration for the festival comes from the history of the Littlejohn’s Grill, an African American nightclub (1945-1968). Located along a music corridor once known as the “chitlin’ circuit,” the grill hosted scores of major blues, R&B and jazz musicians.
If you have been inspired to reflect your love of music through works of art, then now is the time to share this. Artists are encouraged to submit their work to allenc@co.pickens.sc.us.
Interested artists should submit one or two images in a JPG format no more than one megabyte in overall size. Please include your name, address and telephone number, along with each work’s title, medium and framed/display size. Works can be digitally submitted from Nov. 15 until Jan. 31. From works submitted for consideration, up to 30, dependent on size, will be selected for the final exhibition.
Artists will be notified Feb. 5 if their work was or was not selected for the final exhibit.
Works selected will be delivered to the Pickens County Museum of Art & History from March 26 to April 2.
The Final exhibition will open on April 5, and a reception will be held on April 23. The exhibit will remain on display until May 28.
Located at the corner of U.S. Highway 178 at 307 Johnson St. in Pickens, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Thursdays from 9 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m..
For more information, contact The Pickens County Museum of Art and History “Color the Music” Show at allenc@co.pickens.sc.us.
Rival Bobcats hand Daniel home defeat
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — The regular season is over. Despite a rollercoaster of a year that had huge peaks and deep valleys, the Daniel Lions now[cointent_lockedcontent]
John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com
Daniel’s C.J. Scott goes up to make a leaping catch against Seneca on Friday night.
must put that behind them as they hope the next five games will define them far greater than the last 10 did.
Following a 35-17 loss to the rival Seneca Bobcats on Friday, the Lions finished the year with a rare losing mark of 4-6, but the four wins all came during Western AAA play. Those victories were enough to make Randy Robinson’s big cats finish fourth in the region and earn a trip to Rock Hill to face the defending AAA state champion South Pointe Stallions. The Stallions are just as tough as they were a year ago, with their lone loss coming to AAAA power Northwestern in overtime.
In spite of the loss, the Lions played hard against the Bobcats in their season finale.
“You know, we played a 9-0 team that has as much talent as anyone we have faced in quite a while, so I am not going to hang my head,” Daniel coach Randy Robinson said. “Our kids played hard. I asked them to play together and play hard, and we got that tonight. There is nothing to be ashamed of for playing hard.”
The difference in the game was the pounding running game Seneca offered up all night. Seneca’s running back tandem of Jacory Benson and Baxton Gambrell accounted for 342 of the Bobcats’ 530 yards of total offense.
“They are just bigger and stronger up front,” Robinson said. “They outweighed us at every position, but that is part of the game. They have a good offensive line and good running backs behind them. We watched it for nine weeks in a row, so we knew it was coming.”
The game started with the Lions keeping the explosive Bobcat offense in check. On Seneca’s first possession, it looked like things were going to go the Lions’ way, as following a three-and-out to start the game, Daniel’s punt was mishandled by Gambrell, with Daniel’s Lamar “Booboo” Woods recovering at the Seneca 41.
The Seneca defense was just too strong, and the Lions could not capitalize on the Bobcat mistake and were again forced to punt without picking up a first down.
The Daniel defense looked good and allowed only 18 yards of Seneca offense on the next possession, but again the Lions’ offense could not move the ball and had to give it up on a Justin Craig punt.
Seneca took over at its own 32 and strung together an eight-play series that was helped along by a 15-yard personal foul flag on the Lions. Gambrell capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run with 4:26 left in the first quarter. Hunter Pearson added the extra point to put the ‘Cats up 7-0.
The Lions evened the game at 7-7 following a Jacob Maloney interception the next time the Bobcats had the ball. The pick was the first of the season thrown by Seneca quarterback Elijah Turner.
Taking over at the Lion 31, Daniel quarterback Ben Batson finally rallied his troops and got his offense moving. He first hit C.J. Scott with a 13-yard pass and followed that up with a 16-yard scramble on the second snap. Batson went back to the air and tossed a five-yard completion to Jacob Wichelns. The touchdown was yet another pass, this time a 23-yard strike to Scott in the end zone to cap the four-play, 69-yard series with 9:59 to play in the half. Rivers Sherrill added the PAT.
The Bobcats answered two possessions later on a four-play, 57-yard drive. A huge 34-yard run by Gambrell sealed the deal with 5:56 to play in the opening half, as the powerful back seemed to hit another gear and raced to the Daniel end zone. Pearson was true on the PAT, and the ‘Cats were back on top 14-7.
The momentum seemingly turned for good late in the half. The Lions had been holding their own with the undefeated Bobcats, but a late drive seemed to suck the life out of the Columbia blue and gold just before intermission.
Seneca mounted a five-play, 51-yard drive that would not have been without the help of a pass interference flag on the drive’s fourth play. The penalty against the Lions moved the ball to the Daniel 9-yard line. On the very next play, Turner spied Daquan Mackey open in the end zone for a Seneca touchdown with only 17 seconds to play in the half. Pearson nailed the PAT, and the Bobcats were rolling 21-7.
The Lions came out after the break and tried to make a game of it. Jeff Fruster’s defense held tough and forced Seneca to punt the ball away on the opening series of the half.
Daniel took possession at the Lion 41 and began a march that would lead to a Sherrill field goal. The Lion started off big as Stephon Kirksey broke loose on first down for 23 yards. Two plays later, Batson found Scott open and connected for a 35-yard pass that pushed the Lions down to the Seneca 9-yard line. The Lions just could not get the ball across the goal line on three tries and called on Sherrill, who aced a 28-yard attempt with 6:32 to play in the third quarter to pull the Lions to with 11 at 21-10.
Seneca slammed the door in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns to put the game away despite a long Daniel touchdown that give the Lions hope.
Seneca scored on a 10-play, 47-yard drive that saw Benson going in from five yards out with 10:52 to play.
The Lions answered with a nice three-play drive that was highlighted by a 76-yard pass, catch and run from Batson to Scott. Sherrill added the PAT with 9:57 to play, making the score 28-17 in favor of Seneca, but the ‘Cats were not done yet.
Seneca ended the Lions’ hopes with a mauling 13-pla,y 75-yard march. It was a steady diet of Gambrell and Benson, as the duo picked up a handful of yards on each snap. Benson got the final touch, and the back slammed in from eight yards out to ice the game. Pearson was good on the PAT with 3:02 to play, preserving the Bobcats’ perfect season with a 35-17 victory at Singleton field.
“Seneca has ran a lot of people off the field,” Robinson said. “Our kids showed some Daniel pride and played hard. I have just been waiting on us to compete together. We have only done it twice this year as a group, and it was against the two biggest teams we played ,and they were BHP and Seneca. If we can do that again in two weeks in the playoffs, we have a chance to play a bunch of football. We have to play like we did tonight again.
“We competed. If our kids compete and play together, we can stay on the field with anybody. This Seneca team was as good and talented a team as I have seen in a long while.”
Class AAA schools will have to wait a week to start playoff action due to last month’s heavy flooding throughout the state, so the Lions have almost two weeks to prepare for their meeting with South Pointe.
“Next week we are going to work on a lot of self-corrections,” Robinson said. “We are going to work on getting better at what we do. We will get the film, and assuming it is South Pointe, we will break that down, but this coming week we are going to focus on us and what we do.”
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Green Wave shut down at Hillcrest
By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter
brobinson@thepccourier.com
SIMPSONVILLE — After losing its chance to repeat again as Region I-AAAA champions with a loss against Hanna the week[cointent_lockedcontent]
Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Easley running back Will Drawdy, seen here during the Green Wave’s loss against Westside last month, found the going tough against Hillcrest on Friday night in Simpsonville.
prior, Hillcrest powered its way to way to a 41-7 win over the Easley Green Wave at home Friday night.
Hillcrest, which improved to 8-2 on the season, will return to the playoffs Nov. 13. Easley may still be able to earn a playoff spot with its 5-5 record, but a win in the regular-season finale Friday night against Greenville would go a long way toward determining that. The Red Raiders are 1-9 overall and 0-6 in region play, but lost 42-41 last week to a Laurens team that took down Easley by a 27-14 score in September.
Hillcrest started strong against the Green Wave on Friday night, scoring in just five plays on its opening drive. Quintavius Ballenger carried the ball the final four yards for a touchdown to give Hillcrest a 6-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion less than a minute and a half into the game.
The Rams struck quickly on their second possession, scoring in just two plays, as quarterback Collin Sneed connected with Quinton Martin for a 30-yard touchdown with 8:03 remaining in the opening quarter, giving Hillcrest a 12-0 lead after another failed two-point conversion.
After the Easley offense’s second consecutive three-and-out possession to start the game, the Rams made the Green Wave pay and stretched their lead to three scores when Brian Spurgeon returned Josh Holden’s punt 78 yards for a touchdown at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter. Gustavo Martinez-Salas added the extra point to put Hillcrest up 19-0.
Easley finally managed to get its first first down of the game late in the first quarter before the Rams buckled and forced a punt, adding to their lead once more in short order.
After a short punt by Holden, Hillcrest found the end zone in just four plays, capping a 46-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Ballenger 14 seconds into the second quarter.The score was set up by a 32-yard pass from Sneed to Spurgeon that moved the ball to the Easley 3. After Martinez-Salas’ extra point, the Rams led 26-0.
Hillcrest continued to pour it on on the very next play from scrimmage, as Easley’s Will Drawdy fumbled a handoff deep in Green Wave territory and the Rams’ Isaiah Sayegh picked up the ball and scored from three yards out to move the margin to 33-0 with 11:35 left in the first half.
As Easley’s offense continued to struggle, never gaining another first down in the first half, Hillcrest added to its lead one more time before the break on a nine-yard pass from Sneed to Spurgeon with 1:18 to play in the opening half, making the score 41-0.
Easley’s lone points of the game came on its opening drive of the third quarter, as quarterback Dalton Black hit receiver Carter Wiles with a 26-yard pass for a touchdown. Josh Hansen’s extra point cut the Hillcrest lead to 41-7.
The Rams drove the ball to the Easley 1-yard line on their opening possession of the second half, but the Green Wave defense stood tall and stuffed Hillcrest four a four-yard loss on a fourth-down play.
The Easley defense shut down the Hillcrest offense in the second half, but the Green Wave never impacted the score board again, leaving the final score at 41-7.
Easley was held to just 16 yards on the ground on 31 carries in the game, while Black finished with 128 yards on a 14-of-22 effort through the air.
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After loss, Flame hope for playoffs
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
ejolley@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The Pickens Blue Flame broke out their special red jerseys Friday night for the regular-season finale against Belton-Honea Path.[cointent_lockedcontent]
Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com
Pickens’ Gunner Covey stiff-arms a Belton-Honea Path defender during their game Friday night.
The Bears left the Blue Flame seeing red with a 49-17 win in a game marred by penalties and controversial calls.
Flags were dropping like flies during the game. Pickens was flagged 12 times for 120 yards and had two players ejected after a BHP player kicked off the helmet of a Blue Flame defender. Pickens also got a personal foul penalty after quarterback Tanner Stegall was given a shoulder shrug hit on the BHP sideline. BHP didn’t show a lot of control on the field either, getting penalized 17 times for 152 yards.
The two teams entered the game set in their region positions despite a win or loss. BHP finished second behind Seneca and Pickens fifth behind Wren and Daniel. The Blue Flame were hoping to catch the Bears on an off night, and they got anything but on senior night.
BHP picked off a deep Stegall pass on the Blue Flame’s first possession, and tailback Juwan Abney went 63 yards on the first play from scrimmage to make it 7-0 with 10:22 left in the first quarter following Lance Jones’ extra-point kick.
Stegall was sacked on the next possession on third down, and BHP again took it for a score, going 64 yards in 12 plays. Quarterback Kameron Burton kept it the final five for the score with 4:13 left in the quarter, making it 14-0.
BHP got it back and made it 21-0 as Oryan Warren broke several tackles en route to a 41-yard touchdown run with 11:39 left in the first half.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth,” Pickens coach John Boggs said. “I think that is the best team we’ve played this year. They’re physical and tough. Their running back (Abney) is legit. They do a lot of things really well.
“We felt like we were going to have to hit some stuff early to try and get some big plays. We never were able to get that passing game going. The running game was tough. Gunner (Covey) ran the ball really well in the second half. It was just really hard to get our running game going in the first half. It’s hard to answer. Guys like that you have to come back and answer, and it’s hard to answer after we got behind quick. These kids battled. I love them. They play hard every week. We just made some mistakes and gave up some big plays early on.”
Matt Gravely pinned BHP back at its own 7-yard line on the next possession, and the defense forced a punt. BHP then roughed the passer and roughed the kicker on Gravely’s 42-yard field goal attempt, keeping the drive alive. On the next play, Stegall hit Kirkland Gillespie, who made a sliding catch over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown. Gravely’s kick made it 21-7 with 8:10 left in the half.
BHP answered again as Burton hit Nick Wood, who took a short pass and split the cornerback and safety for a 75-yard scoring strike to put his team up 28-7 with 6:55 left before halftime.
The Bears got it back once more and marched 74 yards in 14 plays as Abney took a toss around the left side with 1:29 left in the half, making it 35-7.
BHP (8-2, 6-1) got the ball first in the second half and drove into Blue Flame territory. However, cornerback Sam Lawson picked off an Austin Estes pass at the 15.
Things then got chippy between the two teams. BHP was hit with a pass interference penalty and another personal foul. Pickens reached the BHP 35 when Stegall was forced out of bounds into a player on the sideline who give him a shoulder shimmy. A flag was thrown, but it was called against center Jeb Kelley coming to rescue his quarterback. A fourth-down pass then came up a few yards short.
The fireworks continued on the next Bear possession. Abney had a run, with the umpire getting caught up in the play twice. In the effort to untangle, Abney kicked Matt Gravely’s helmet off, and there was another flag. BHP was called for illegal procedure, but Pickens was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and two linemen were ejected.
Two plays later, Burton took it the final seven yards, making it 42-7 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.
“Tonight was disappointing,” Boggs said. “We felt like we would give them a better game than this. We felt we would be more competitive. We had been competitive the last several weeks. They’ve come back every week and played hard and come back and practiced hard. They kind of drive you crazy sometimes because they’re so loose. But they play better when they’re loose. That’s been different for me, but it’s been fun to be out here with these guys. I think they enjoy being together and I think they enjoy playing together. They all play. There are not a whole lot of guys standing on the bench watching, and that helps because they’re all getting playing time. I hope we get another week with them, because it has been a fun group to be around.”
BHP added to the score on the next possession as Abney went 76 yards with 47.9 seconds left in the quarter, making it 49-7.
Pickens answered with a 10-play drive. Stegall, on fourth and 10, hit Brandon Batson at the 15. He then made a great cut, eluding two defenders, and went in for the score with 8:45 left, making it 49-14.
The Blue Flame got it back as Matt Gravely forced a fumble that was recovered by Cole Seaborn at the Bear 26.
Penalties moved the ball back, but Gravely eventually hit a 49-yard field goal with 3:50 left, making the final 49-17.
Pickens will play the waiting game now, hoping for an at-large bid to the Class AAA playoffs, which they received last year. The playoffs have been delayed a week due to teams around the state being forced to make up games missed during widespread flooding last month.
“I hope this crew has one more game in them,” Boggs said. “You don’t know anything. You have to wait, and we’ll have next week off. The picture should be a little clearer after tonight. There was a chance that we could have won tonight and not get in depending on what went on in other places. There was a chance we could lose and still get in. It just kind of depends on other people. We’ll wait and see what happens.”
Notes: At halftime, Cheri Anthony was given the Gene and Nora Hooper Fan Appreciation Award.
Pickens High was also awarded the Sam Wyche Food Bowl Trophy after raising $8,625 for Pickens County Meals on Wheels. Save-A-Lot made a $5,000 check presentation. A total of $17,883 was raised by the four county high schools. Pickens is 7-0-1 in the fundraising competition.
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Watson, Tigers top NCSU in shootout
Courtesy Clemson
Athletic Communications
news@thepccourier.com
RALEIGH, N.C. — The No. 3 Clemson Tigers defeated N.C. State 56-41 on Halloween at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday.
It was Clemson’s 11th consecutive win dating to last season, the program’s longest winning streak since a 13-game tear from 1980-82.
Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal
Clemson’s Charone Peake and Hunter Renfrow celebrate after a touchdown during the Tigers’ win over N.C. State on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.
Sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson led the Tigers to more than 600 yards as he completed 23-of-30 passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a score on the ground to match his single-game high of six set last season against North Carolina. Wayne Gallman rushed for a season-high 172 yards, his fifth game breaking the century mark this season.
The game got off to a bizarre back-and-forth start, with both teams trading two touchdowns with a blocked point-after attempt. Watson ran for a score and threw a 57-yarder to Hunter Renfrow, the latter of which tied the game at 13 just five minutes into the contest.
The Tigers gained control briefly after a pair of field goals by Greg Huegel, but N.C. State rallied with a touchdown late in the second quarter to nudge ahead 20-19.
But the Wolfpack failed to convert a field goal late, and with less than a minute to play in the half, the Tigers made them pay.
Watson found Artavis Scott and Charone Peake open in one-on-one matchups on the right sideline. The completion to Peake went for 42 yards and a touchdown, giving the Tigers a 26-20 edge at halftime.
Watson’s aerial show continued in the second half, as he flung a beautiful 40-yard pass to Deon Cain for the freshman’s first career touchdown that put Clemson at 40 points on the day. He followed that up with his fourth touchdown of the day, a 35-yard screen to Zac Brooks.
But N.C. State refused to go quietly, answering with a couple of touchdowns of its own in the fourth quarter. Huegel’s third field goal of the day ended the threat from the Wolfpack and put the Tigers up 15 with just less than six minutes to play.
Clemson freshman receiver Ray-Ray McCloud also scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 36-yard pass from Watson.
The Tigers will return home this weekend to host Florida State in Memorial Stadium. The game, set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, will be televised on ABC.
Red Devils roll in season-ending win
By Jimmy Kirby
Courier Sports
jkirby@thepccourier.com
GREENVILLE — Wild things seem to happen when Carolina and Liberty get together[cointent_lockedcontent] to play football, and Friday night was no exception as the Red Devils used three big plays from Cole Murphy to come away with a 37-12 season-ending victory over the Trojans.
Call it a pre-Halloween trick or treat or both teams trying too hard
to gain a victory to end a season filled with more losses than wins, and you come up with a concoction of ingredients to make you shake your head in disbelief.
The Red Devils jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead thanks in part to Murphy’s 10-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter and his 90-yard fumble return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter.
In between Murphy’s two scores, Charlie Meinders scored on a three-yard run following a 27-yard Brayden Shirley interception return to the Trojan 16-yard line.
The Trojans couldn’t get out of their own way all night, as they had six turnovers — five coming by way of interceptions — and 15 penalties for 176 yards. The Trojans managed to get their passing game in gear in the third quarter, but it was too little too late as they could not overcome the miscues.
Marcus Grant connected with Devante Rabb for a 13-yard scoring toss with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter and then found Tyler Turner down the right side from 20 yards out as the speedster showed some nifty moves to scamper into the end zone.
But that was all the scoring the Trojans could muster on the evening.
The Red Devils quickly scored again with less than a minute gone in the third quarter when Andrew Herman sacked Turner in the end zone for a safety to make the score 23-0 with 11:19 still on the clock to start the second half.
Murphy then struck again as he took the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the house, and the Red Devils were up 30-0 eight seconds later.
The final score of the game came on Tyler Renaud’s eight- yard run. Renaud also had a 27-yard run that was good to the Carolina 12-yard line to set up the score. The drive covered 44 yards in four plays.
The Red Devils had their own issues in the game despite the lopsided score, as they had two interceptions, a fumble, a missed field goal and turned the ball over on downs four times deep in Trojan territory at the Carolina 10-, 26-, 1- and 6-yard lines.
Liberty again had to rely on its rushing game, which netted 220 yards on 52 attempts. Renaud led all rushers in the game with 16 carries for 95 yards.
The Red Devils were just 2-of-9 passing for four yards in the game. Their first pass on a jet sweep went for negative-8 yards. The other completion was for 12 yards to Derek Richmond.
The Trojans finished the game with 145 yards through the air and just 47 yards rushing. The turnovers and the penalties kept them bottled up deep in their own territory for most of the game. The average starting field position for the Trojans was their own 25-yard line for the game.
The Red Devils, meanwhile, had an average starting field position at the Carolina 37-yard line.
With the win, the Red Devils completed the season with a 3-7 overall record and 2-5 region record. Carolina fell to 1-9 on the season, with its lone victory coming in region play on the road against Landrum, 21-14.
The Red Devils will now pack it up for the year and try to figure out a way to become more balanced on offense in the offseason. They played well enough defensively throughout the year, giving up just 21.3 points per game. They had six games where they gave up 19 points or less, but also had five games where the offense managed seven points or less. The Red Devils averaged just 13.4 points per game on the season.
Liberty coach Kyle Stewart had to depend too much on his rushing game and defense throughout the season to overcome the lack of a passing attack. Better things should be in store for this group as they prepare for next season.
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Driving into our history
My brother and I went on a journey last week. We drove to Virginia together and started exploring family history. We knew all about Mama’s side of the family, but very little about Daddy’s side. So we drove into the past and discovered the other side of our history.
We’d last lived in Virginia in early childhood, before our Daddy’s death. Little did we know how much seeing vaguely remembered places and buildings would jog memories we didn’t even know we had.
We first went to Norfolk. Mama had a copy of my christening certificate in an old photo album. It was held in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk, so we first visited the church, searching for family graves. It’s a beautiful old building built before the Revolutionary War. The wall nearest the Chesapeake Bay has a British cannonball embedded in it, just below the roof.
I took a picture of the cannonball, the church, the interior and the tombstones in the cemetery. They’d stopped burying people there in 1840, but after a conversation with a very nice lady who conducted tours of the church, we learned that church members were later buried in Cedar Ridge Cemetery.
I took pictures of the suspended pulpit, a common style when the Church of England was in vogue, and we left for Cedar Ridge.
There, we visited the office, which has cemetery maps and card files on every person resting there. We found where our grandparents were buried, as well as several great-aunts.
This gave us some dates to work with.
We learned from the guide that there was another Episcopal church where others in the family may have worshiped. Old Donation Church is in nearby Virginia Beach, and we learned my grandmother’s family, the Hoggards, were active there.
So we visited the beautiful old church, met the rector and the church secretary, whose desk had a name plate identifying officially as the Guardian Angel.
They took us on a tour and found our father’s grave for us. Although we have no real memory of him, it was a moving experience to see his gravestone and know where he lies.
It was also fascinating to talk to the church historian and learn about the Hoggard family’s participation in church activities.
Our great-aunt Frances donated the organ, and our great-great-great-grandfather, Thumer Hoggard IV, kept the church from going under in his lifetime.
It’s thriving now.
From there, we were directed to Poplar Hall, the family home built in 1640. This was where our grandmother was born, and the house was in the family for eight generations. It was the site of the first American shipyard, which the family owned.
All the land around the house now has been developed as subdivisions, but the house itself is unchanged on the outside.
It is no longer owned by the family. I rang the doorbell, and when no one answered, we walked around the side and took some good pictures. It faces Broad Creek.
From there, we went to our grandmother’s house in town. It’s a three-story brownstone on West York Street facing The Hague and is still there, now occupied by a law firm. We were pleased to see it hadn’t been demolished and is in good condition. I knocked and received a very courteous reception. They conducted us over the house, which they’re in the process of restoring, and we were glad to see they had respect and appreciation for it.
That ended the second day of our journey, and we were both excited to have learned so much. The next day brought us even more information, and we followed the trail of clues given us by some very kind and helpful guides. There’s too much to tell in one column, so the story must be continued next week.
