By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports

ejolley@thepccourier.com

SENECA — Two minutes — the last minute of the first half and the first minute of the second half — proved to be the difference Friday night as Seneca beat Pickens, 38-20.

Playing for the first time since head coach John Boggs was relieved of his coaching duties, the Blue Flame came out sharp at Tom Bass Field.

But the frustrating part for Pickens was Seneca took advantage of the Blue Flame’s mistakes, while Pickens was unable to capitalize on Bobcat miscues.

“We came out great and scored and got some stops,” interim Pickens coach Chad Seaborn said. “We couldn’t maintain, but we came out really fired up. It’s hard to maintain that the whole entire time. Seneca’s a very good team, and I just felt like there were a lot of self-inflicted things that we did to ourselves. I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome, but the onside kick we didn’t get and the turnover at the end of the half trying to run the clock out and we fumble. They may still win the game. I just told the team they won the game, but they didn’t beat us. I feel like if we clean some things up, this team’s best football is still ahead.”

The Blue Flame defense came up with the first big play when on fourth and one at the Bobcat 34, tailback Jacory Benson was tackled for a three-yard loss by senior linebacker Cole Seaborn.

Seven plays later on third and goal at the 4-yard line, quarterback Tanner Stegall found Sam Lawson in the back right corner for the game’s opening points. Lawson lined up on the left side and worked to the right side making a great catch with 8:41 left in the first quarter.

The defense held Seneca the next two series, and then Bryson Capps blocked a Bobcat punt, giving Pickens the ball at the 25. Capps got hurt on the play and didn’t return.

The Blue Flame couldn’t capitalize, and Dylan Banyard’s 37-yard field goal missed left with 2:35 to play in the opening quarter.

Seneca took advantage of the miss, driving 80 yards in nine plays, with Benson scoring from a yard out on the first play of the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

Pickens answered and did so quickly, going 80 yards in four plays. Stegall hit Robert Jones for 25 and 13 on a sliding catch before going long to Lawson for a 40-yard scoring strike down the left sideline with 11:03 remaining in the first half.

The Blue Flame defense gave the team more momentum, getting another fourth-down stop on fourth and one. This time, Seneca’s Jacob Lynn dropped to pass but he was met for a 12-yard loss by Braden Gravely, Jared Croley, Dorian Butler, Lenny Russell and Jamal Blythe.

However, the Pickens offense couldn’t take advantage. Stegall was picked off two plays later by Tre Smith, who returned it to the Blue Flame 28. Two plays later, Benson scored from three yards out, tying the game at 14-14 with 7:59 left in the half.

Seneca converted on a fake punt on the next series, but was stopped when a fourth-down pass was caught out of bounds.

The next series again saw the Pickens defense come up with the big play. Lynn, on first down at the Pickens 23, was hit by Butler, and his fumble was recovered by Gravely at the 25 with 1:02 left in the half.

The big play led to a disastrous last minute for Pickens, however.

A holding penalty moved the Blue Flame back on first down, and with the clock running, Stegall and tailback Kyle Day couldn’t connect on the zone-read handoff and Seneca recovered at the 13 with 39 seconds left. Seneca lined up for a field goal three plays later, but was called for motion on a fake attempt. Then Lynn scrambled around the left end for a 14-yard scoring run with 11.1 seconds left.

To make matters worse, Pickens was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to end the half, giving Seneca 15 yards on the second-half kickoff. The Bobcats took advantage by recovering an onside kick at the 30. Four plays later, Benson scooted around right end for another score, making it 28-14 with 11:16 left in the third quarter.

“That is two huge turnovers,” Seaborn said. “We’re thinking we’ve got a shot — if we get something to break — that we might even score at the end of the half. From that point, we’re just running the clock out. Then we get the 15-yard penalty. That whole little section of the game was a huge turning point of the game.”

Pickens reached the Seneca 11 later, but settled for a 28-yard Banyard field goal with 5:04 left

Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com

Pickens senior Kyle Day tries to find a hole in the Bobcat defense during the Blue Flame’s loss at Seneca Friday night.

Seneca answered with a six-play, 65-yard drive, with Lynn finding Coleman Smith in the left flat for a 15-yard score with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

The Blue Flame offense again got deep in Seneca territory, reaching the 8-yard line, but again settled for a 25-yard Banyard field goal to make it 35-20 with 9:26 left.

The Blue Flame defense came up with another big play as Stone Prince picked off a tipped pass, but the offense couldn’t convert, and Seneca added a 47-yard Hunter Pearson field goal to close the scoring.

“That field shrinks and the lanes that were there are not quite there,” Seaborn said. “We’ll clean things up. There are things that we can fix and we feel good about fixing. We’ll concentrate on what worked and find those things that didn’t and clean those up. Our kicker Dylan (Banyard) is doing a great job. He missed one but bounced back and got some kicks for us. It’s good to have him, but when we get down inside the 20 we’ve got to get seven points, especially against good teams like Seneca.”

Pickens will (1-4) open up region play Friday night on the road against the Greenville Red Raiders, who are 4-1 after falling in the last seconds to Easley last week.

Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com

Pickens’ Stone Prince carries the ball against Seneca on Friday night at Tom Bass Field.

“You want to be 5-0, but when you start region, that’s when it really gets started,” Seaborn said. “You hope you can amp it up and focus on a very good team. I think they had some questions early on, but the way they’ve played the last few weeks, they’re going to be a really good football team. We’ll have our hands full with them. I hope we can fix a few things, clean some things up, and give them a good game and start region play the way we want to. It’s tough to play at Sirrine Stadium, but it will be fun. Hopefully we can get better and give them a challenge.”

By Ryan Davenport
For The Courier

news@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — Injuries, 90 yards in penalties and Greenville’s knack for big plays were not enough to stop the Easley Green Wave on homecoming against the Greenville Red Raiders. One kick was all it took to help Easley overcome a host of seemingly insurmountable issues and walk away with its third victory of 2016.

Nathan Baker’s 30-yard field goal with less than 15 seconds remaining handed the Red Raiders their first loss of the 2016 season, securing a 30-28 comeback win for the Green Wave.

Baker’s kick was the deciding factor, but it was the Wave’s potent rushing attack that controlled the outcome. Will Drawdy dominated with 236 yards on 25 carries, including two touchdowns. Derrick Phillips slipped through numerous tackles for 48 yards on eight rushes before exiting the game with an injury early in the second quarter. The backbreaker was Sean-Thomas Faulkner, who relieved Weston Black at quarterback to direct an option-based attack with 13 carries for 116 yards, most on the game-winning fourth-quarter drive that culminated with Baker’s kick.

The Green Wave played without linebacker Caleb Hill, typically the center of their pass rush efforts with a non-stop motor and nose for the football. Drawdy was shaken up and left the game for a short period in the fourth quarter, a potentially devastating blow with Phillips already out of the lineup. Star receiver Bralan Fuller spent most of the evening focusing his efforts on defense in an attempt to contain the Red Raiders’ deadly contingent of receivers. Further compounding matters, Faulkner helped carry the load at quarterback in addition to his usual role as the ball-hawking safety who rarely misses a play on special teams. Easley stood tall and fought through it all.

Easley put up the evening’s first score when Black passed to a wide-open Carter Wiles for 53 yards with 6:35 to play in the opening quarter. Baker’s extra point gave the Wave a 7-0 lead.

Greenville countered quickly. After the teams traded fruitless possessions, Red Raider quarterback Davis Beville completed a 56-yard pass to Kaelin Braswell, who outran the defense to finish off the one-play drive. Easley seemingly caught an early break when Jamal Moore sprinted in from the left side to block the extra point attempt, leaving the Green Wave with a 7-6 lead with 2:57 to play in the first quarter.

Easley’s next possession looked promising, as two big runs by Phillips carried the Wave to the Greenville 34 before the drive stalled with two incompletions to turn the ball over on downs.

Faulkner made his first appearance under center on the Wave’s following possession, eventually keying the scoring drive by breaking a 56-yard keeper. Drawdy followed with his first score of the night, taking a sweep seven yards to put Easley ahead 14-6 with 6:34 remaining in the first half.

Unfortunately for the Green Wave, the Red Raiders quickly reclaimed the momentum. An incompletion and a run that barely reached the line of scrimmage seemed to have Greenville on its heels. Beville’s third-down pass into double coverage was well behind the intended target, but receiver Tydricus Hellams came back and outleapt both defenders for the catch before racing the remainder of the 80 yards for the score. Braswell ran straight ahead to complete the two-point conversion. Just like that, the game was deadlocked at 14-14.

Easley’s next possession ended quickly with three incompletions and two dropped passes. Greenville then drove to the Green Wave 1-yard line with a spark from backup quarterback DaVonte Blakely and another highlight-reel catch from Hellams. Jahmein Dendy attempted an over-the-top dive into the end zone, but the football rolled loose and the Green Wave recovered in the end zone. Greenville was not pleased with the call, but the officials’ judgement stood and the Wave caught a big break.

Twenty-five seconds later, Drawdy broke loose and blew past the Red Raider defense for a gain of 72 yards and his second touchdown with 1:40 left in the first half. The 21-14 lead looked like it would carry into the break, but Easley was not quite finished. Faulkner intercepted a Blakely pass and returned it 40 yards to the Greenville 46. Black hooked up with Fuller to move the Wave into potential field goal range, but Baker’s 45-yard attempt was barely outside the right goalpost despite having ample distance. Still, the Wave’s 21-14 lead seemed to have lots of momentum behind it.

At halftime, Easley senior Brinae Smith was crowned homecoming queen, much to the delight of the Green Wave faithful.

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier

Brinae Smith was crowned 2016 Easley Homecoming queen at halftime of Friday night’s game against Greenville.

The momentum shift was short-lived. Blakely completed all five of his pass attempts in the opening drive of the second half, the final completion a 33-yarder to Hellams to knot the score at 21-21 with 8:29 to play in the third quarter.

Easley bounced right back behind the efforts of Drawdy, burning up nearly four minutes as Drawdy ran seven times for 59 yards to lead the Wave to the Red Raider 12. On second and four, Black mishandled a snap from center and Greenville recovered.

The Red Raiders took advantage. Dendy, who rushed for more than 300 yards a week earlier, took control and drove Greenville to the Easley 37 with runs of eight, 13 and four yards. His final run of the drive was good for the final 37 yards to give Greenville a 28-21 lead at the 2:15 mark of the third quarter.

Easley’s Nathan Baker made the kick of a lifetime on Friday, nailing a 30-yard field goal in the game’s waning seconds to lift the Green Wave to a 30-28 homecoming win over Greenville.

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier

The Wave caught another big break on Greenville’s next possession. Kaleb Dicks stepped in front of a Blakely pass and returned the pick 34 yards to the 48, though a personal foul penalty pushed the starting offensive spot back to the 34. Drawdy’s big night continued with runs of eight, three, 23, and 26 yards to take the Wave to the Greenville 3. It took three plays before Quenten Phillips finally bulled into the end zone from the 1-yard line. The excitement was tempered when the extra point snap was over the holder’s head, leaving the Red Raiders with a 28-27 lead and 7:57 remaining in the game.

Greenville’s offense could not sustain the momentum and punted after a quick three-and-out. Two Drawdy runs moved the Wave to the 41, but Drawdy was forced to exit with an injury. Faulkner then returned as the quarterback, a decisive move on a decisive drive. Faulkner’s designed and also read-option keepers methodically moved the Green Wave offense, with gutsy runs by a determined Faulkner resulting in two huge first downs. Drawdy was able to return, but it was Quenten Phillips who came up big with a game-saving two-yard run on fourth and two with just more than a minute remaining. Three Faulkner rushes led the Wave to the Greenville 10. Black returned for one play, though his only pass attempt was caught by Carter Wiles well out of bounds in the end zone. On third and goal, with just 15 seconds left on the clock, Baker hurriedly entered the game, lined up for the 30-yard field goal and split the uprights.

Greenville did move the ball past midfield quickly, but a Hail Mary pass attempt was fittingly intercepted by Faulkner to close out the victory.

Easley (3-3) will host T.L. Hanna this Friday at 7:30 p.m., while Greenville (4-1) will entertain Pickens.

By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher

rnimmons@thepccourier.com

CENTRAL — The Daniel Lions got an opportunity to lick their wounds with an off week last Friday following back-to-back tough losses against Greer and Westside.

The off week could not have come at a better time with region play getting underway this week as the Lions (3-2) travel to Wren to face the Hurricanes.

This contest has been a key in determining a region title in recent years, but the Hurricanes will enter Friday’s game after a tough start, losing their last four games.

Wren kicked of the season with a 55-35 victory at James Island. The long trip to the coast didn’t seem to slow the Hurricanes in the victory. Following the win, Wren has struggled defensively, allowing a combined 173 points in their last four games.

Losses to Powdersville (41-28), Easley (49-32), Woodmont (33-27) and Palmetto (40-14) have shown that Wren can score points, just not as many as the defense has allowed.

The Lions have used the week to get healed and prepare for the games that matter in getting into a good position for the upcoming playoffs.

Daniel coach Jeff Fruster said after the big loss to Westside that he was determined to get his team focused on the job at hand and put the losses in the rearview.

“I think what we are going to do in the off week is take some time to go back to playing Daniel football,” he said. “This was just the first half of the season. It was the non-region schedule. I think we played it to the best of our abilities.”

In their first road game in the new Region I-4A, the Lions will have to focus on their defense, which has proven to be susceptible to the big play all season.

Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal

Daniel quarterback Ben Batson will be looking to lead the Lions to a bounce-back win at Wren on Friday night after the Lions dropped their last two games before an open date last week.

Daniel defensive coordinator Kurt Ellison knows he will have to have his defensive line follow their assignments and his linebackers and secondary tackle in space for the Lions to record a win on Friday.

The Daniel faithful are also encouraged to head to Wren to support the Lions.

“Anytime you can get the fans to come out on the road, it equals out the momentum that the other team’s crowd can create,” Fruster said. “I think that is huge. We can use all the help we can get.

“We have to be road warriors. It is easy to try to talk them into defending the home turf. Now we have to go on the road and with the other teams having the same mentality.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm. Friday night at Wren.