Daily Archives: 10/19/2021
Wherever you are, He is with you
For those who try to live for the Lord and want to please Him, I’m sure you know what I mean when I say there are times when the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
When it comes to maintaining a red-hot enthusiasm for the Christian life, we are not robots, but rather we are 
emotional humans who have good days along with other times that are clouded with with feelings of melancholy. It does the heart good to quietly sit alone as we search within our soul trying to figure out what is wrong. It could be a nagging sin where we should have stood strong against it but instead we gave it control. God promises that in the midst of our misery there is nothing we can do that will make Him love us any less. Or maybe our hearts are weighed down with
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Courier Letters to the Editor
Playing the national debt challenge
Dear Editor,
Back in the 1950s, rival teenage hoodlum gangs would play out a challenge with their fast hotrod cars. Two boys would race toward each other, or toward a cliff. The first to swerve or bail out would be the loser — the chicken. Playing the national debt game has become like that. So has the federal budget with the government shutdown game.
Adult men and women in Congress and the executive branch, charged with governing a nation, have divided themselves into rival gangs, fighting each other over political turf, power, control, influence. They hold the debt limit or budget hostage for ransom or blackmail until one side or the other backs down and turns chicken. Meanwhile, the nation and people suffer the consequence, like the neighborhoods did when the hoodlum gangs
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Grand opening
On Saturday, Oct. 9, Mattress Store By Wilson owners Kim and James Wilson cut the ribbon on their new showroom, located at 2700 Gentry Memorial Highway in Pickens. On hand were family, friends and members of the community. The larger space allows the business to not only display mattresses and bedroom sets, but living room, dining room, rugs and home accessories. Mattress Store By Wilson is open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Now open in Pickens
On Sept. 29, Southern Home Liquidators held its grand opening at 305 E. Main St. in Pickens. Owner Melisa Sedler cut the ribbon on the new store along with family, friends, employees and members of the community. The store offers new merchandise daily and is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Courier Community Calendar 10-20-21
• Story Time Plus programs planned
Each month, Boxwood Manor, located in Pendleton, and Collins Ole Towne, located in Central, are sites for Story Time Plus programs and Homeschool Days.
Story Time Plus runs 10-11:30 a.m. and is designed for ages 8 and under. Admission is $3 for each child age 5 or older, with a $10 household maximum.
Homeschool Day runs from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and is designed for ages 6 through 14. Admission is $5 for ages 6 and
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Courier Obituaries 10-20-21
DORIS EMMALINDA TOMPKINS MAULDIN
SIX MILE — Mrs. Doris Emmalinda Tompkins Mauldin, 86, passed away on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021.
Doris was born Aug. 25, 1935, in Pickens County. She was the daughter of the late Avery J. Tompkins and Freddie Mae Seaborn Tompkins and loving wife to the late James Robert Mauldin.
Mrs. Mauldin was of the Baptist faith and a member at Praters Creek Baptist Church. She loved her antiquing and was an avid collector of glassware and furniture. She loved her gardening and landscaping. She enjoyed spending time with her grandkids and cheering for the Clemson Tigers. More importantly, she loved reading scripture and her Lord.
Surviving include a son, Robert Mauldin (Nancy) of Liberty, and a daughter, Angela Winchester (Danny) of Six Mile. Surviving are six loving grandchildren, Kristen Gilstrap, Kayla Hines, Kyle, Alexis and Blake Winchester and Carson Mauldin. Also surviving are five most loving and precious great-grandchildren, Everly, Ember, Lauren, Caroline and Bergen. She leaves behind nieces and nephews who loved her dearly, Lori and Barry Bishop and Tina and Tony Stewart.
Mrs. Mauldin was predeceased by a son, Randy Mauldin; grandson, Clint Winchester; a brother, Wallace
Brown, defense lead Green Wave to big win in rivalry showdown with Pickens
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — The Easley Green Wave were faced with a lot unfamiliar factors during their Saturday afternoon 
matchup with rival Pickens at Daniel High School’s Singleton Field.
With the unusual date, time and location as a result of issues at the Blue Flame’s
home field, the Green Wave turned to ever-reliable senior quarterback A.J. Brown, and he didn’t disappoint, scoring six touchdowns and accounting for
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Fourth-down stops doom Pickens against archrival Easley
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — After a promising 2-0 start to the 2021 season, the Pickens Blue Flame have been plagued by late-game struggles, and those struggles continued on Saturday afternoon, as they were
outscored 21-0 in the second half by rival Easley in a 42-14 loss.
“I give Easley a ton of credit,” Pickens head coach Chad Smith said. “Coach (Jordan) Durrah and his staff made some adjustments, did some good things and kinda slowed us down in the second half. It is what it is.”
The Pickens offense had plenty of success moving the ball on Easley, but continued stops in Green Wave territory piled on top of each other as the game went on, and the Blue Flame couldn’t afford to be slowed down on a day where their defense struggled to contain Easley quarterback A.J. Brown.
Brown accounted for more than 350 yards of offense and six scores, leaving little room for error for the Blue Flame.
“If you do anything that’s undisciplined, he’s going to make you pay,” Smith said. “He’s a great athlete — somebody is going to get a steal with that young man.”
While the Blue Flame got far from the result they wanted, they can take solace in the play of backs Andon Rogers and Carter McCollum. Rogers broke the 1,000-yard mark on the season in the fourth quarter, and McCollum had a career day on the ground as he continues to start at fullback in place of the injured Brennan Perkins.
“People are going to be talking about Carter McCollum for years to come,” Smith said of his freshman fullback. “He’s an amazing player and he’s an even better young man. We can really build around him.”
The Blue Flame got the ball right out of the gate, but a bad pitch by Pickens quarterback Ryan Ford led to a seven-yard loss and an early punt.
Pickens’ struggles began on the ensuing Easley possession, with the Green Wave taking over at their own 42 and quickly moving down the field on a 51-yard pass from Brown to Ethan Alexander. One play later, Brown hit receiver Chris Clemons on a nine-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
McCollum got the Pickens offense moving on its next possession with a 13-yard gain. Alongside Ford, McCollum moved the Flame into Easley territory, but two short runs and a run for a loss by Rogers had them facing a fourth and four at the Easley 39. Luckily for Pickens, Ford found an open C.J. Hooper for a 19-yard gain to get into the red zone.
Ford and McCollum quickly picked up a first down to get inside the 10, but things got dire in a hurry, as they soon faced a fourth and goal from the 1-yard line. The Blue Flame turned to their senior signal caller on the play, and it paid off with a rushing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 late in the first.
The Green Wave offense responded in short order, going 61 yards in five plays, including a 12-yard passing touchdown from Brown to Seth Boyles to give Easley a 14-7 lead heading to the second quarter.
McCollum and Ford continued to shine, carrying the Blue Flame close to midfield, where they faced a third and two. On the play, Ford’s struggles with the pitch returned, but Rogers managed to salvage the play by picking the ball up and gaining 12 yards. Now at the Easley 33, the Green Wave defense hunkered down, forcing multiple carries for no gain. Facing a fourth and six, Ford went to the air again, hitting Rogers, who came up just a yard short of the first down and turning it over on downs.
Just two plays after the turnover, Brown broke loose from the Pickens defense and ran free for a 77-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 21-7 with a little less than seven minutes left in the half.
Down two scores, the Blue Flame kept to their hard running approach and picked up big gains on runs by Rogers and McCollum. Getting back inside the Easley 30, the Blue Flame faced consecutive stops by Easley, forcing them to go to the air, when Green Wave linebacker Noah Pierce sacked Ford for a five-yard loss.
Facing a fourth and 12 from the Easley 29, Ford returned to the air on fourth down and hit receiver Jaden Jackson on a desperation throw to not only convert, but score a 29-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-14 heading to halftime.
The Blue Flame faced a disadvantage coming out of the locker room, as a personal foul on the final play before the break allowed the Green Wave to take over from their own 49-yard line. Easley took advantage of great field position and multiple offside penalties, going 51 yards in eight plays, including a one-yard touchdown run by Brown to give the Wave a 28-14 lead.
Needing a score, McCollum took over, picking up 45 yards on his first two carries to get to the Easley 25. With McCollum teaming up with Ford, the Blue Flame offense picked up eight yards on the next three plays to face a fourth and two at the Easley 17. Ford tried to push forward to keep Pickens alive, but only managed one yard to turn it over on downs.
The Flame continued to shoot themselves in the foot on the next possession, picking up two personal fouls and an offsides penalty that allowed Easley to quickly move into Pickens territory. Five plays later, Brown hit Myles Martin for a 10-yard screen pass touchdown to give Easley a 35-14 lead with 2:01 left in the third.
The Blue Flame struggles continued heading to the fourth quarter with two straight punts, while the Easley offense added seven more on another Brown touchdown.
The Blue Flame had one last shot to score after a strip sack by Brody Miller and recovery by Ethan Medlin. However, the drive came up short in the final seconds, giving the Blue Flame a 42-14 loss.
Depite the loss, the Blue Flame’s playoff hopes are still alive as they prepare to travel to Travelers Rest this Friday night.
“Pretty much, looking at it, since TR beat Walhalla, if we beat them, there will be a three-way logjam for the playoffs,” Smith said. “That’s all you can ask for, and that’s what we’re gunning for.”
Lions top Wren to stay unbeaten
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PIEDMONT — Coming off its 17th straight win the week before, the Daniel High School football team had plenty of confidence going into Friday’s matchup at Wren.
However, the Hurricanes hit the Lions in the mouth right off the bat to take a 3-0 lead.
Daniel responded the only way it knew how, dominating all facets of the game and scoring 35 straight points in a 35-9 win to stay in control of their own destiny in the Western 3A race.
“Football’s about responding,” Daniel head coach Jeff Fruster said. “That’s exactly what we charged those kids to do. We expected Wren to give us their best shot out of the gate, and that’s what they did, but we also know you can’t win a game in the first quarter.”
After the early field goal by Wren, the top-ranked Lions (8-0, 3-0 Western 3A) still looked to be in trouble, going three-and-out to give the ball back to the Hurricanes.
With Wren (3-5, 1-1) driving, the Lions held their ground just outside of their own territory behind the play of Jahiem Lawson and Brodey Conn. Then, a Wren fake punt was snuffed out by the Daniel defense, leading to a 10-yard loss and turnover on downs.
Daniel found its groove three plays later, with quarterback Trent Pearman hitting Eli Merck on a 40-yard touchdown pass.
From there, a balanced offense led by Pearman and running back Chris Edge powered the Lions to a 21-3 halftime advantage.
“It’s the same balance we would have had last year if we hadn’t had lost Chris to injury,” Fruster said.
It was Edge who stole the show in the second half, pounding Wren on the ground and finishing the game with 164 yards and three touchdowns.
“I just believe what my coaches tell me to do,” Edge said. “They tell me to keep working hard, and they’ll keep feeding me.”
“Chris has really come on,” Fruster added. “He’s shown us how capable of a running back he is.”
While Edge was setting the tone on offense alongside another strong performance from Pearman and his top targets, Merck and Jaylen Brown-Wallace, the Daniel defense held its ground, getting in Wren’s face with constant pressure after some early hiccups.
“We had some messy plays, but we got it fixed on the sideline,” Daniel linebacker Carson Chasteen said.
Chasteen also made arguably the biggest play of his Daniel career in the third quarter with Wren driving inside the Daniel 10-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-three from the 9-yard line, Wren turned to Trey Horne on an option run that Chasteen stuffed for a loss and turnover on downs.
“They came outside, and I saw the quarterback pull it,” Chasteen said. “Before he knew it, I was in his face.”
The Lions will have this Friday night off, hoping to heal up some key players before a possibly region-deciding matchup at Belton-Honea Path on Oct. 29.
“First, we’re going to focus on getting healthy,” Fruster said. “Then we’re going to focus on executing and building depth.”
Red Devils shut out by Ninety Six
By Clay Hamlett
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
NINETY SIX — For the second straight week, coach Paul Sutherland’s inaugural season at Liberty hit a bump in the road.
Although the game felt closer than the final score
indicated, the Red Devils were shut out 21-0 by the Ninety Six Wildcats, dropping Liberty to 2-4 on the year.
It was a game defined by big plays for both teams, as the Wildcats capitalized on long touchdown passes and a couple crucial errors by the Red Devils doomed their chances.
Liberty’s opening kickoff got the action started for the Ninety Six offense at its own 35-yard line. Despite the decent field position, a holding penalty and an incompletion on third down led to a quick three-and-out.
In the previous game, running back J.J. Hernandez had received the majority of the
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