Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Easley’s Caleb Hill sacks Greenwood quarterback Roshun Jackson during the Green Wave’s 29-21 win over the Eagles on Oct. 23.

EASLEY — Led by first-year head coach John Windham, the Easley Green Wave finished the year with a winning season at 6-5, [cointent_lockedcontent]but a 3-4 region finish forced the Wave to miss out on the Class 4A playoffs.

The Wave started the season with a bang, knocking off county rivals Pickens and Daniel in the first two weeks of action.

When the season began, everyone was eager to see what Windham’s team would look like, and in the annual clash between Pickens and Easley at Green Wave Stadium, they got their chance.

The Green Wave featured a no-huddle spread offense and took down the Blue Flame by a 29-17 final in the teams’ season opener.

“It was a good game,” Windham said. “I give a lot of credit to Pickens. They fought hard.

“I thought we had too many penalties, (but) many of them were aggressive penalties. I was proud of the way we played. We had some critical conversions and big plays that really helped us. I thought our kids fought hard for four quarters.”

Easley senior quarterback Dalton Black was the difference in the game — his third start in the series — finishing 17-of-26 for 290 yards and four scores, with another erased by penalty.

Next up for Easley was a trip to Central to face the Daniel Lions at Singleton Field. In a game that will remembered for years to come, the Wave managed to hold on for a 19-17 win over the Lions on a rare free kick that missed it mark.

The Green Wave faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief as they watched Daniel Lions kicker Rivers Sherrill’s free kick tail off to the left.

The missed kick came on a  last-ditch effort by the Lions to squeak out a victory over the Wave, who held on for the win to move to 2-0 on the season.

The kick was the result of a rule that rarely gets used in football. If a team fair catches the ball with time left on the clock, that team has one chance to try a free kick, which looks much like a kickoff from the spot of the catch. If the kick goes through the uprights, that team earns three points, just like a normal field goal.

The Wave produced a dominating first half, taking a 19-7 lead into intermission thanks to some great play-calling by Windham.

The Wave took it to Daniel from the start, picking apart the Lions’ defense with both the run and the pass. On the night, the Wave offense produced 361 yards, much of which came in the first two quarters.

Following the Daniel win, the Wave were flying high at 2-0, but the toughest challenge waited as the Seneca Bobcats were next on the schedule.

The Wave never saw what hit them, and a physically impressive Bobcat team — which is still undefeated after last week’s 42-0 trouncing of Pickens in the opening round of the Class AAA playoffs — laid a shellacking on Easley, posting a 38-0 victory in front of the Green Wave faithful.

In a game that was set to kick off at 7:30 p.m., fans that persevered did not see the opening kick until around 10:30 p.m., all thanks to Mother Nature. A huge lightning storm blew into Easley just before kickoff, and officials delayed the contest as a result.

When play finally began, Easley came out and ran into a buzzsaw, as the Bobcats where clicking on all cylinders from the start. Seneca dominated the game, outgaining the Green Wave 383-171 and jumping out to a 21-0 first-half lead before cruising to the victory.

“They were the more physical team. They were big, strong and fast,” Windham said after the game. “My hat goes off to them. They have a lot of good players. They beat us in every way tonight.”

Next up was a trip to face yet another rival from the AAA ranks, as Windham and the Green Wave traveled to Piedmont to face the Wren Golden Hurricanes.

Easley bounced back from an embarrassing loss against Seneca with a 49-15 shellacking of archrival Wren.

Easley blew into Hurricane country and delivered some lightning of its own, as Black threw for four touchdowns and 282 yards in the win.

After an open week to prepare, Easley went on the road to Laurens next to open its Region I-AAAA schedule, but crucial mistakes plagued the Green Wave in a 27-14 loss.

Easley outgained the Raiders offensively — racking up 434 yards compared to Laurens’ 420 — but four lost fumbles, turnovers on downs and penalties doomed the Green Wave.

In addition to the lost fumbles and turnovers on downs, the Wave were penalized 13 times for 100 yards in the game.

The teams had differing offensive philosophies, as Easley aired the ball out, with Black completing 17 of 33 passes for 368 yards and the Raiders running 43 times for 262 yards, but the crucial mistakes made the difference in the game.

Leading receivers for the Green Wave were Carter Wiles with seven catches for 150 yards, Will Drawdy with two catches for 102 yards, and Bralan Fuller with five catches for 94 yards.

On Oct. 2, Easley and T.L. Hanna battled back and forth all night until a fourth-quarter interception by Hanna’s Jay Lagoon ended the Green Wave’s chances of winning the conference game.

With the 31-24 road loss, Easley dropped to 3-3 on the season, but 0-2 in Region I-AAAA with a visit from undefeated Westside on the docket next.

Although the two teams were rather equal in passing yards, with Easley racking up 303 and Hanna throwing for 280, the Yellow Jackets dominated the ground game, outgaining Easley 190-15.

The Green Wave returned home the next week for a homecoming contest with a very strong Westside Ram team. For a half, Easley hung tough with undefeated Westside, but the Rams’ potent offense and stingy defense was too much for the Green Wave to overcome in the second half in a 39-7 loss.

The loss left Easley with a 3-4 record for the season, but a, 0-3 mark in region play.

The Green Wave finally picked up their first region win of the season the following week, holding off several Woodmont comeback attempts to beat the Wildcats 13-7.

After Woodmont carried a 7-6 lead into halftime, Black and Fuller opened the third quarter with a 56-yard touchdown pass to give the Green Wave a 13-7 lead, and the Wildcats drove to inside the Easley red zone three times in the fourth quarter, but each time Easley turned them away empty-handed.

On Woodmont’s first fourth-quarter possession, Green Wave defenders Ethan Myers and Sean-Thomas Faulkner stuffed Deonte Luster for a loss of two on a fourth-down attempt from the Easley 13-yard line.

The next Wildcat drive ended when Easley’s Kaleb Dicks picked off Hunter King in the end zone, and Ivan Hill later intercepted King at the Green Wave 13-yard line.

Black finished the night just shy of 200 yards passing, while Malaki Robinson led the Green Wave ground game with 64 yards on 13 carries. Fuller was the top receiver for Easley with 159 yards on nine catches.

The Wave made history in week nine when Greenwood came to town, knocking off the Eagles by a 29-21 score.

The win was the first in almost two decades for the Wave over the Eagles. With the win, the Green Wave moved to 5-4 and 2-3 in Region I-AAAA.

Black shined in the game, going 16-of-22 for 346 yards. Drawdy and Derrick Phillips combined to lead the Green Wave on the ground, with Drawdy carrying 14 times for 55 yards and Phillips adding six touches for 53.

The happiness of the huge win over Greenwood didn’t last, as a trip Hillcrest was next on the agenda.

After losing its chance to repeat again as Region I-AAAA champions with a loss against Hanna the week prior, Hillcrest powered its way to a 41-7 win over the Green Wave.

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.

The Wave finished the year on the upswing by hosting the Greenville Red Raiders and taking them to the woodshed.

The Wave finished the regular season on a high note on their home turf, giving Windham and the Wave a winning season with a 34-15 victory over Greenville.

The Wave dominated the line of scrimmage, whipping Greenville with their ground game and great offensive and defensive line play. Easley ran the ball 51 times for 263 yards, compared to the Raiders’ 30 rushes for only 114 yards.

Things will look a little different for the Green Wave next season, as they will for most teams across the state, as the new South Carolina High School League realignment will move Easley up to the newly created Class AAAAA.

The Green Wave will be joined in Region I-AAAAA by J.L. Mann, T.L. Hanna, Westside and Woodmont.

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