By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

ANDERSON — Easley and T.L. Hanna battled back and forth all night[cointent_lockedcontent]

John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com
Easley quarterback Dalton Black threw for 303 yards on Friday against T.L. Hanna, but tossed two interceptions, including one in the final minute, in a 31-24 loss.

Friday 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 for this Friday night.

Hanna improved to 4-2, 2-0 in the region, and travels to Laurens this Friday night.

Hanna took the early lead Friday night, scoring on a 76-yard pass from Alex Meredith to Davijuan Dean just a minute into the first quarter. Reel Wise kicked the extra point, and Hanna led 7-0.

Later in the quarter, Easley’s Josh Hansen hit a 29-yard field goal to put the Green Wave on the scoreboard.

Late in the opening quarter, Meredith connected with Lucas Catalfomo to increase Hanna’s lead to 14-3.

The two teams battled back and forth until Easley finally found the end zone for the first time when quarterback Dalton Black found Bralan Fuller for a 75-yard touchdown connection to pull the Green Wave to within four at 14-10 with a little less than two minutes to play in the second quarter.

Hanna got the ball back and quickly drove the field, with Wise nailing a 37-yard field goal before half to give his team a 17-10 lead at the break.

The teams struggled to put points on the board for much of the third quartre as well before Meredith found Catalfomo for a two-yard score and a 24-10 lead with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

But the Green Wave didn’t give up. Midway through the fourth quarter, Easley’s Malaki Robinson found the end zone from 19 yards out to cut the lead to 24-17 with 6:08 left in the game.

Hanna’s Darien Rencher answered with a 30-yard touchdown run of his own, making the score 31-17 with 3:43 to play.

Easley again responded, however, as Black hit Holden Martin for an 18-yard score, cutting the lead to 31-24 with 2:32 remaining.

The Green Wave got one last opportunity to get back in the game after they blocked a field goal attempt with 27 seconds to play, but Black was intercepted by Hanna’s Lagoon to end the game.

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.

[/cointent_lockedcontent]