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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