Daily Archives: 10/09/2018
Religious freedom for all convictions
As we are noticing in our ever-changing world, when one person is offended over something, the new social acceptance solution is to stop 
what we are planning and allow that individual to change or prevent the desires of many. It now appears that new rules of order are being established with the supposed intention of not offending anyone. I understand the idea to try and accommodate everyone with whatever they believe, but since we are trending toward a puzzling destination, I’m troubled that our culture is losing an understanding of right and wrong.
I was raised with the idea that it takes a voting majority to make decisions, and this seems simple enough, however, our world is now becoming more
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Gravely honored
Gravely honored
The Pickens City Council took a moment to honor longtime Main
Street barber Don Gravely for his years of service to the people of the community during council’s regular monthly meeting Oct. 1 at Pickens City Hall. Gravely attended with his wife, Anne, and his sons, Steven and Allen. Gravely was presented a special commemorative plaque for his years on Pickens’ Main Street, along with a framed front page of the Pickens County Courier issue he was featured on in August. Pictured with Gravely’s family are council members Lois Porter, Donnie McKinney, Patrick Lark, Donna Owens, Fletcher Perry and Pattie Welborn, along with Pickens Mayor David Owens. Below, Owens also honored new Eagle Scout Trent Kokay (inset) with a proclamation proclaiming Oct. 1 as Trent Kokay day in the city of Pickens.
Courier Community Calendar 10-10-18
• Central Museum to host WWI event
World War I in Upstate South Carolina will be the focus of a program and exhibit Oct. 19 at the Central History Museum, located at 416 Church St. in Central. Presented by the museum curator, Anne Sheriff, the 4 p.m. event is sponsored by the James L. Orr Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy. The meeting is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call (864)654-1151.
• Sertoma Club invites locals to meet
The Clemson Sertoma Club invites all local residents to attend its meetings.
The club meets at noon the first and third Tuesdays of each month at
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Grand Opening
The Colonial House in Pickens held its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Friday, Oct. 5. The historical property, built in 1903, is nestled right in the heart of Pickens. It will serve as a bed and breakfast and event venue. Owners Breann and Drew Nicholson have worked hard to restore the historic home and are excited about the many travelers it will host and the upcoming events that will be featured onsite. The Cololnial House is located at 206 Griffin St. in Pickens. For more information or to book a room or place for your next event, call (864) 419-0046.
Courier Obituaries 10-10-18
MARTHA SUE LESLEY
CENTRAL — Martha Sue Newton Lesley, 83, widow of Jerry B. Lesley, passed away following a lengthy illness at McCall Hospice House in Simpsonville.
Born in Pickens County and raised in Clemson, Martha Sue was a daughter of the late Frank and Julia Cornelia Greene Newton. She was a graduate of Central High School and was a homemaker and gardener and loved all God’s creatures.
Surviving are her son, J. Bennett Lesley and wife, Maureen, of Central; daughters, Dena Elizabeth Myers and husband, Stephen, of Columbus,
‘That is a Major Win
Pickens knocks off unbeaten Walhalla
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
WALHALLA — After one of the toughest weeks Pickens head football coach Chad Smith has personally had to deal with, his Blue Flame put on their 
finest performance to date in taking down the undefeated Walhalla Razorbacks 28-21 on the road to keep playoff hopes alive.
Smith, who was very emotional following the upset victory, was still reeling following the unexpected death last week of C.J. Fuller, who starred at running back for Smith during his tenure at Easley High School. The former Clemson Tiger died Oct. 3 from complications following knee surgery.
“This win is huge, and after the week that I have had personally with C.J. Fuller passing, this was big,” Smith said. “This may have been as big of a win personally that I have been a part of.”
The Pickens victory came at a time when the Blue Flame most needed it, and it was an impressive one, with Smith showing those in attendance what his preferred Wing-T style of play looks like when it is clicking on all cylinders. Pickens produced 394 yards of offense — 299 of which was on the ground, led by runners Jarod Barton (153 yards), Brady Batson (77 yards) and freshman sensation Jamoreah Keith (67 yards) all behind some of the finest offensive line play of season. The running attack, coupled with some tough, smash-mouth defense dialed up by Pickens defensive coordinator Eric Houston, made the victory even sweeter.
“It is just a team effort,” Barton said after the game. “Everyone was physical. Everyone was getting after it. We just decided to come out and
play with emotion. This game was not all on me. It was a team effort.
“The offensive line played a heck of a game — maybe the best one of the season. I would not get the yards I did if it weren’t for my offensive line. I felt we were going to do well as soon as I touched the ball the first time tonight. Our offensive line was making holes a train could fit through, and
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Uphill Battle
Crescent defense stymies Red Devils in region matchup
By Clay Counts
Special to The Courier
claycounts21@yahoo.com
LIBERTY — After dropping their region opener against Seneca the 
previous week, the Liberty Devils looked to bounce back last Friday against Crescent.
The Tigers had other ideas, however.
On a warmer-than-usual October night, the Crescent defense was dominant, holding Liberty to negative yardage on the ground and returning two early-second-quarter interceptions for touchdowns as the Tigers spoiled the Red Devils’s homecoming with a 28-14 win.
After a scoreless first quarter, Crescent scored three touchdowns in a span of less than two minutes early in the second — the first on offense and the other two on interception returns — to effectively put the game out of reach.
“We’ve got to be ready to play and engaged,” Liberty coach Kyle Stewart said after the game. “It’s an effort that doesn’t start on Friday — it starts on Monday afternoon. We’ve got to be mentally engaged. When someone challenges us physically, it’s got to be a gut check, and we’ve got to be able to respond. They were physical up front, and we struggled.”
While the Tigers racked up all of their 315 yards of offense on the ground, Liberty ran the ball 17 times for negative-5 yards. Red Devil senior fullback Clay Lollis, who has led the Liberty rushing attack all season, was only able to manage 12 yards on 13 carries as the Crescent defense forced Stewart to go to the air.
“We felt like we had to open it up a little bit,” he said. “It made it hard for us to go to our full ground-control game because we ran short on time.”
Liberty quarterback Carter Smith finished the night 10-of-25 for 135 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaitayus Smith. Jaitayus Smith led the team with 69 yards on five grabs, but he was followed closely by freshman Shaimaine Jamison, who was a highlight for the Devils with two catches for 45 yards and a big night on defense.
Stewart spoke about Jamison’s
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Tough Night
Hanna shuts out Green Wave as Fuller honored
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
ejolley@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Playing with heavy hearts following the death of former Green Wave standout CJ Fuller, the Easley High School football team lost to 
undefeated defending region champion T.L. Hanna 41-0 Friday night at Bill Carr Stadium.
The Green Wave brought Fuller’s high school No. 24 jersey out for the coin flip, and there were 24 seconds of silence before the national anthem. Easley’s helmets will also bear a “24” decal for the rest of the season. Fuller, who holds several school records, died following knee surgery on Oct. 3.
“It was hard for the whole community,” Easley coach John Windham said. “I talked to our guys about it. They were in the fifth through seventh grade (during Fuller’s EHS career), most of them. They really looked up to him. That was hard on them. That was hard on everybody. We’re certainly thinking about his family and praying for them. We definitely dealt with that and continue to do so.”
Easley could only muster six first downs in the homecoming game — four in the first half and two in the second half — as Hanna’s front seven proved too much for the Wave offense.
Hanna won the toss and deferred to the second half. Early in the opening drive, Easley lost junior left tackle Jackson Wilson to a knee injury.
“We’re thin up there anyway, and he goes down two plays into the game,” Windham said. “I’m hoping he’s going to be OK. We’ve got to try and stay healthy.”
Hanna won the field position battle all night, beginning with their first possession starting at the Easley 49. Three plays later, fullback Zacch Pickens scored from a yard out, making it 7-0 with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
Easley started the next drive at its own 13 and eventually punted.
But the Green Wave defense held thanks to a chop block penalty and a dropped pass. Hanna then shanked a punt 14 yards, and the Green Wave, for one of the few times all night, started with great field
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Lions take care of Wren to take driver’s seat in region
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — The Daniel High School football team fell behind early in the first quarter Friday as Wren quarterback Tyrell Jackson easily moved the undefeated Hurricanes down the field.
Facing early adversity unlike the Lions had experienced over the first half 
of the season, Daniel needed to respond.
Javares Hamilton did just that, taking the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. Then, on the very next play, the Lions forced a fumble on the kickoff and scored on a Tyler Venables pass to Hamilton to put Daniel up for good in a huge 51-31 win to stay unbeaten and take sole possession of first place in Region I-4A.
“Those two plays were huge,” Daniel coach Jeff Fruster said. “We showed a lot of perseverance. My staff does a great job of prepping these kids for what they’re going to see.
“My hat’s off to Jeff Tate and that Wren team. My gosh, they are talented. We had to overcome a whole lot to be able to compete with them. It was a great game, great victory for us and that was a talented bunch we just beat.”
The Lions improved to 6-0 and 2-0 in Region I-4A play, while Wren dropped to 6-1 with its first loss of the year. Combined with Walhalla’s loss to Pickens, Daniel now sits by itself atop the region standings.
The Lions’ offense was driven by another incredible performance by Venables, as he picked up yards in chunks with both his arm and his legs. Venables managed to pick up five more touchdowns on the night to bring his season total to 25.
“It’s Coach Wofford,” Venables said, crediting first-year Daniel offensive coordinator Page Wofford for his hot start. “He’s doing an amazing job of calling plays and developing this system with us. I have to give a lot of credit to him.”
“In our neck of the woods, that’s just Tyler being Tyler,” Fruster added. “The kid is an absolute competitor. I’ve said it a million times — he’s got a
whole lot of heart, a whole lot of want to and absolutely no give up. That kid embodies everything you want in a Lion.”
The Daniel defense got hit hard in the first half but made some key adjustments to get things going in the second half, giving up just 90 yards and seven points after the break. David Cote led the defensive effort on the night, getting two turnovers — a third-quarter pick-six and the
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‘Perfect Time’
After thrashing Wake, Tigers look to have productive bye week
By Alex Maminakis
Courtesy The Journal
alex@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — Last year, Clemson’s bye week came after the Tigers’ three-point upset loss at Syracuse on Oct. 13.
This year, Clemson is undefeated as it heads into its bye week this week, fresh off a dominating 63-3 win at Wake Forest on Saturday.
The fourth-ranked Tigers (6-0, 3-0 ACC) and head coach Dabo Swinney are pleased with how they have played halfway through the season, but they know there’s still a long way to go to accomplish their ultimate team goals.
And this week, Clemson will take the opportunity to focus on improving
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