By John Robert Ayers
Courier Sports

EASLEY — It was a tale of two halves on Friday night, as the Easley Green Wave extinguished the Pickens Blue Flame, 31-14, for their first win under new head coach Caleb King.

The Flame jumped out to a 14-0 lead after their first two possessions and took a 14-7 advantage into halftime before giving up 24 unanswered points in the second half.

“We gave out,” Pickens coach Chad Smith said. “I blame myself for that. Our conditioning was not at a level that it needed to be.”

Following a late kickoff due to the game’s inclusion in the Great America Rivalry Series, Pickens won the opening toss and elected to receive.

Jamorea Keith fielded the ball at the 13-yard line, bringing it out to the 26 to start the first possession of the season. Keith and Brennan Perkins split the majority of the carries on the opening drive as Pickens marched the ball downfield. The biggest play of the drive was a 30-yard run by bruising fullback Zach Hollman all the way down to the Easley 23-yard line. Keith finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown, and Mason LaMance’s PAT made it 7-0 Blue Flame with 8:05 left in the first.

The Blue Flame defense took the field after LaMance’s kickoff was returned to the 35. Easley junior quarterback Kasten Harvey opened his season with a six-yard pass to

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