PICKENS — Rivalry games are often decided by big plays.

Friday night was no exception, as Easley made the most of three huge plays in winning for the sixth consecutive time over rival Pickens, 14-0, in the two teams’ season opener.

Easley got the first big play of the game following a Pickens interception by Robert Jones at midfield.

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Easley sophomore quarterback Weston Black launches a pass against Pickens in the Green Wave’s 14-0 season-opening win on Friday night at Blue Flame Stadium.

But two plays later, Pickens quarterback Tanner Stegall rolled right and was picked off by safety Darius Jamison. He returned it 60 yards for the touchdown with 7:04 left in the first quarter.

“Darius Jamison just got a good break on the ball and made a good run after the play,” Easley coach John Windham said. “That was a big play. We certainly needed it.”

“I just saw it coming across the middle,” Jamison said. “I read the linebacker had come out and I had to pick up on the pass. If I didn’t, it could have been a touchdown.

“They had a lineman out there and I had to get him out of the way. Caleb Hill came over and gave me a big block.”

Jamison’s return was the only score of the first half, as an aggressive Easley defense, rushing six almost every down, held the Blue Flame to zero first downs and negative-40 yards of offense in seven possessions. Easley sacked Stegall four times in the half and had seven for the game. Pickens had 16 plays for negative yardage in the game.

On offense, however, the Green Wave couldn’t take advantage of the

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Easley safety Sean-Thomas Faulkner dislodges the ball from the arms of Pickens’ Robert Jones with a jarring hit in the end zone during their game Friday night.

defense’s play. Making his first start, quarterback Weston Black was later picked off by Sam Lawson in the corner as he tried to fit a ball in to Carter Wiles despite three defenders.

“That was his first game to start, and it was kind of sloppy,” Windham said of Black. “We can play a lot better, and I anticipate that we will. Give (the Blue Flame) credit — they did a good job on defense. We had some plays on defense that we felt we could have made but we were not quite there. We need to be able to make them.”

The Green Wave also missed a 37-yard field goal and at halftime, the lead was 7-0 and could have easily been more.

The second half was entirely different. Pickens spent most of the half in Easley territory. Pickens, boosted by a 38-yard kick return by Jamal Blythe to midfield, drove to the Easley 22 on the first drive. On fourth down, Stegall looked to the end zone and found Jones, who momentarily had the scoring strike before it was jarred loose by Easley senior safety Sean-Thomas Faulkner.

“That was a great play,” Windham said. “He’s a really good player, and that was a huge play. It looked like he had the ball caught and he knocked it out of his hands. That was a great play.”

“I just played it to the left,” Faulkner said. “The quarterback rolled out and I kind of over-played it. I saw the ball thrown and I knew I had to make a good play. I actually hit him and he didn’t drop it at first and I was a little bit worried. But when I had that solid contact, the ball just came out.”

Then on the next play from scrimmage, the Easley offense hit the quick strike, as Black found Wiles behind the secondary for a 74-yard catch-and-run with 10:13 left in the quarter.

From there, it was up to the Easley defense. Pickens reached Easley territory on its next four drives, including reaching the Green Wave 8 and starting another drive on the Easley 14. The defense kept coming with the pressure and sealed the deal when Cole Powell recovered a fumble and Faulkner picked off a final Stegall pass at midfield late.

“I had seen them earlier in the game run that guy in the middle,” Faulkner said. “I knew they were going to try and hit it once. I just broke on the ball and had to jump over my own player. I just took it and did my thing.”

Easley ran out the final 2:29 to get the shutout win.

Easley will travel to Daniel for another in-county rivalry clash on Friday night.