By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher

rnimmons@thepccourier.com

Pickens — The Pickens Blue Flame knew they had a tough row to hoe when they hosted the undefeated Daniel Lions at Bill Isaacs Field last Friday.

They knew they need to make plays and keep the turnovers and penalties to a minimum if they wanted to walk away with an upset victory.

The atmosphere was electric, with the Blue Flame coming out fired up and ready to play, but even though they held the turnovers to one apiece and won the penalty battle, the Blue Flame just could not find an answer to slowing the Daniel air attack and fell to the Lions, 42-17.

Pickens, which is known for its hard-hitting ground-and-pound Wing-T offense, hit the Daniel defense hard, outgaining the Lions 219-116 on the ground. Through the air, though, Daniel dominated, piling up 313 yards to Pickens’ 62.

That proved to be the difference in the contest, but the Blue Flame have no reason to hang their heads, as they slugged it out with one of the state’s toughest teams, putting points on the board in the process.

“We played hard. We really do, we play hard,” Blue Flame coach Chad Smith said. “We were not very disciplined, and it cost us. It was rough.

“Give Coach (Jeff) Fruster and his staff a ton of credit. They have a good program, but we are getting there. So I am pretty excited.”

Smith knows his team will have to leave that loss in Pickens, as their last opportunity to squeeze into the Class 4A playoffs happens this week when they travel to Williamston to take on Palmetto. The Flame will need some help to take Region I-4A’s fourth spot in the postseason, but a head-to-head win over Walhalla earlier this month leaves the door open.

“We have got to beat Palmetto, and it looks like we are going to be a little

You must be logged in to view this content.