By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports

ejolley@thepccourier.com

GREENVILLE – Playing without their starting quarterback was not what Pickens had wanted going into the season.

Friday night in the Region I-4A opener at Greenville, that was exactly the case, for both teams.

Greenville (5-1) scored 44 points in the opening half, taking advantage of three turnovers in a 51-0 blowout of the Blue Flame.

Pickens starting quarterback Tanner Stegall was held out after suffering a concussion the previous week against Seneca. Senior Jared Pace tried to rally the troops but the offense, which has struggled for most of the season, was very limited at best.

Greenville, even with backup quarterback DaVonte Blakely in for the injured Davis Beville, was anything but limited with the running of tailback Jahmein Dendy and receiver Tydricus Hellams and company.

“We missed Tanner, but Jared had a good week of practice,” Pickens coach Chad Seaborn said. “It’s hard to simulate their speed on both sides of the ball.”

Pickens got the ball first and actually drove into Greenville territory for one of only two times in the game. Pace hit tight end Stone Prince on third down, and Kyle Day’s running helped the Blue Flame convert three third downs before the drive stalled.

Greenville, coming off a last-second loss at Easley, came out quick running the no-huddle spread offense. The Red Raiders went 87 yards in 13 plays covering less than three minutes. Dendy took it the final yard as his running and the passing of Blakely led the drive. Kaelin Braswell ran in the two-point conversion, making it 8-0 with 4:26 left in the first quarter.

The Blue Flame offense went backwards on the next series and punted. Greenville struck quickly, going 49 yards in three plays. Blakely found Hellams from three yards out with 2:35 left in the first, making it 15-0 on Jack Henegan’s kick.

Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com

Pickens quarterback Jared Pace runs away from a Greenville defender during their game Friday night.

More of the same came next. Pickens punted after three plays, and it took Greenville five to record another score. On a flea flicker, Blakely hit Mack Braswell for a 40-yard scoring strike with 11:49 left in the half, making it 22-0.

Then the turnover bug hit the Blue Flame. Pace couldn’t handle the exchange, and Savion Linen recovered at the Blue Flame 33. Four plays later, the Pickens defense came up with a big play as Dendy was going in and was hit by Jacob Chappell and fumbled. Jamal Blythe recovered at the 1-yard line.

The Pickens defense came up with another stop as a 34-yard field goal missed wide left with 6:34 left in the half.

The Blue Flame offense got going, boosted by the running of Blythe, but facing fourth down and three at the 44, Pace was stopped for no gain.

Greenville then broke it open as Blakely hit Hellams on a little pass. He made a move and seemingly was running beside defenders who never dove en route to a 56-yard touchdown. Kaelin Brasell hit Joe Christian for the two-point pass, making it 30-0 with 3:31 left in the half.

Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com

Pickens’ Jamal Blythe tries to break through the Greenville defensive line during the Blue Flame’s loss at Sirrine Stadium on Friday night.

Like in their previous loss against Seneca, wanting to get to the locker room, the Blue Flame couldn’t get there quick enough, as Pace fumbled and Connelly Mitchell recovered at the 2-yard line. Dendy scored on the next play, making it 37-0 with 2:41 left in the half.

Unfortunately, it got worse. Pace, rolling right and trying to throw back to his left, was picked off by Mitchell, who returned it 65 yards for the score, making it 44-0 with 57 seconds left.

The clock ran continuously in the second half as only 43 plays were run from scrimmage. Greenville scored the only touchdown of the second half on the opening 15-play drive, capped by Blakely’s three-yard keeper with 4:58 left in the third quarter.

“I told the guys that I was proud that they didn’t quit,” Seaborn said. “It could have gotten bad at halftime with the score, but those guys came out and didn’t quit. I was proud of them for that.”

In addition to Stegall, the Blue Flame were missing starting linebacker Bryson Capps, who injured a leg versus Seneca.

Day became the first Pickens back to eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game this season with 104 yards on 27 carries.

The Blue Flame will look to bounce back this week when they play at Belton-Honea Path. The Bears did not play Friday night.

By Jimmy Kirby
Courier Sports

jkirby@thepccourier.com

LIBERTY — Heading into the 2016 football season, there was a tone of optimism from Liberty head coach Kyle Stewart about what lay ahead for his squad.[cointent_lockedcontent]

That could have been just coachspeak, since a coach always wants to believe in his team, or maybe he had a hunch that his team really had a chance to be pretty good.

Coming off a 2015 season that ended with a 2-8 record and a struggling offense, the Liberty faithful just had to hope that there would be improvement.

By Ryan Davenport
For The Courier

news@thepccourier.com

Easley – The Easley Green Wave dropped to 0-1 in the Region I-5A race with a 37-26 loss to the young but talented and gritty T.L. Hanna Yellow Jackets on Friday night.

A relatively close game broke in Hanna’s favor early in the fourth quarter. A fourth and 10 first-down completion seemingly helped the Yellow Jackets’ running game suddenly find its footing, but an interception to end an Easley drive deep into Hanna territory turned the tide for good. In the game’s final eight minutes, the Yellow Jackets compiled 119 of their 175 total rushing yards, a statistic that was definitive of the momentum that carried Hanna to victory.

Much of the first half was a hard-fought defensive struggle. The Green Wave took the opening kickoff and moved to midfield behind a 23-yard pass completion from Weston Black to Bralan Fuller, but the drive stalled at Easley’s own 45. Hanna’s ensuing three plays accounted for zero total yards thanks to a hard-driving Green Wave defense, led for much of the night by seniors Caleb Hill and Allen Cheagle and sophomore Dawson Wilson. The Wave quickly went three-and-out on the game’s next possession, but a 35-yard punt return by Hanna’s Braylan Peterson gave his offense an edge in momentum and field position.

Starting from the Easley 39, Hanna’s fast-paced no-huddle offense caught the Wave off-guard. Using barely any play-clock time, Hanna sophomore Alex Meredith completed passes of eight and 25 yards to Peterson. Two plays later, sophomore Jaydon McKinney sprinted into the end zone from four yards out for the first of his three rushing touchdowns on the evening. A bad snap on the extra point attempt left the Yellow Jackets holding a 6-0 lead with 4:54 to go in the first quarter.

After both teams could muster little offensive production on the next two series, the Green Wave decided to ride the back of workhorse Will Drawdy. Drawdy’s five runs for 30 yards combined with a 10-yard completion from Black to Levi Segee moved the Wave to Hanna’s 25-yard line just after the first quarter ended.

On the first play of the second quarter, Drawdy found space on the left side of the line and slipped past most of the Yellow Jackets’ defense for 25 yards and the touchdown. Unfortunately for the Green Wave, the extra point snap was high and forced the holder to get the football set a bit late, helping kicker Nathan Baker push the point-after kick wide, leaving the scoreboard even at 6-6.

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier

Easley quarterback Weston Black tries to escape a T.L. Hanna defender during the Yellow Jacket’s 37-26 win over the Green Wave on Friday Night.

The next five minutes of game clock saw neither team end a drive beyond the 50-yard line. One of those Hanna punts forced Easley’s offense to start from its own 5-yard line. Three plays later, Black was tackled in his own end zone to give the Jackets an 8-6 lead with 6:46 remaining in the half.

On Easley’s next possession, this one starting from the Wave’s own 8, Black was sacked and fumbled, with the Jackets recovering at the Green Wave 3. Two plays later, Darius Blanding ran into the end zone untouched to put the Yellow Jackets ahead 15-6 with 3:14 left in the opening half, a score that stood until the intermission.

Easley closed the gap 1:35 into the second half. Sean-Thomas Faulkner took a punt at his own 48 before zig-zagging his way down the right sideline, slipping past tackle attempts from most of the Jackets’ coverage team. He found the end zone 52 yards later. Baker’s extra point try was good, cutting Hanna’s lead to 15-13.

Hanna momentarily got its rushing attack in gear on the next drive, with three big runs from McKinney carrying the Jackets to the Easley 40. That drive stalled, as did Hanna’s next possession, giving the Green Wave a chance.

The Wave finally capitalized with 5:01 to play in the third quarter. Easley completed a one-play drive when Black’s pass to Tyrese Bradley slipped under a leaping Hanna defender and into Bradley’s hands. Bradley raced into the end zone untouched for a 58-yard passing play and the Wave’s first and only lead. Baker’s extra point put Easley ahead 20-15.

The Green Wave held that lead until the 10:44 mark of the fourth quarter. A 25-yard run from Meredith, who accounted for 69 rushing yards in the fourth quarter, and a quick slant to fellow sophomore Jay Lagroon carried the Jackets to the Easley 26. Three straight incompletions had the potential to kill the drive, but Meredith dumped a pass in the backfield to McKinney on fourth and 10 when all of the quarterback’s downfield options were secured by Easley defenders.

McKinney broke for 10 yards before Faulkner could sprint in from his safety spot to force him out of bounds. The chain crew brought the sticks out, and Hanna was awarded the first down by a nose. Two ensuing incompletions and a fumble were helped by an Easley penalty that allowed Hanna to repeat third down at the 7-yard line. Two plays later, McKinney’s second rushing touchdown of the night put Hanna back in front. The Yellow Jackets’ two-point conversion attempt began with a McKinney fumble, but Hanna recovered the rolling football in the end zone to increase its lead to 23-20 with 10:40 left in the game.

The Green Wave did not quit. Faulkner entered at quarterback, but could not generate more than two yards on two rushes. Black returned and underthrew Bradley in the middle of the field, but Bradley fought back to the ball for the catch and an eventual gain of 43 yards. Easley moved the ball as far as the Hanna 20, but Black’s slant to Fuller was intercepted by Hanna’s Cam’Ron Boseman.

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier

Easley’s Isaiah Ferguson gets past a T.L. Hanna defender during their game Friday night.

Hanna proceeded to burn valuable clock time with a nine-play, 92-yard drive that drained 3:17 from the game clock. Meredith broke a zone-read for 36 yards to move the chains to the Green Wave 42. Lagroon carried multiple tacklers on his back to move the offense to the Easley 13. Meredith escaped Easley’s Dorian Robinson in the backfield to complete a critical third and 16 pass to put Hanna at the 1-yard line, from which Blanding bulled in to give the Yellow Jackets a 30-20 lead with 4:41 remaining.

It took Easley two plays to answer. Black’s pass into double coverage on the right sideline was caught by Drawdy, who turned on the jets and outran three Hanna defenders to complete an 80-yard touchdown play. Another errant extra point snap resulted in no point-after kick, leaving Hanna clinging to a 30-26 lead with 3:32 to play.

Hanna wasted no time nailing down the win. McKinney bounced off a wall of tacklers and sprinted 26 yards for the game’s final score, his third of the night, putting the Yellow Jackets ahead 37-26.

With the loss, the Green Wave fell to 3-4 overall and will travel to powerhouse Westside this Friday night. T.L. Hanna is now 4-3 overall and 1-0 in Region I-5A.

By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher

rnimmons@thepccourier.com

PIEDMONT — The Daniel Lions looked to be cruising to their first Region I-4A victory last Friday night as they jumped to an early 21-7 lead on the Wren Golden Hurricanes.

That is when the wheels fell off for the Lion defense, as the unit gave up three big plays that ended in touchdowns for the ‘Canes — for 58, 44 and 24 yards.

“We did not do enough to win,” Daniel coach Jeff Fruster said. “We gave up a lot of big plays. We did not respect (Wren’s) talent enough.

“Defensively, we had some holes in the plan, and we have got to execute. Everything that happened tonight is on me. We have to put together a better game plan for our team to be successful.”

Complicating the big holes in the Daniel defense was the early exit of Lion junior quarterback Ben Batson. Batson was lost on the offensive side of the ball with an injury early in the second half.

“We have known that Batson has been a little tweaked for a couple of weeks now, and once again that is poor planning on my part,” Fruster said.” I thought Noah Lupton stepped in at QB and was a little rusty at first. But he stepped up and made some good plays.”

The game could not have started any better for Fru’s crew, as the defense looked to have set the tone early. Daniel’s Ramaun Myers laid a big hit on Wren running back Trey Gray, knocking the pigskin loose. Miles Turmon recovered for his team, and the Lions were in business at the Wren 21. Three snaps later, Batson found a hole and went in for a Daniel touchdown. Nick Muchow nailed the PAT, and less than two minutes into the game, Daniel was out front 7-0.

The Daniel defense held on the Hurricanes’ next possession and forced Wren to punt. But a muffed catch by Daniel’s Brandon Peppers gave the Golden Hurricanes the ball back deep in Lion country at the 39-yard line.

Wren took the turnover and turned it into points, as it mounted a five-play drive that was capped by an 11-yard scamper by Gray for Wren’s first score of the night with 5:42 to play in the first. Brayden Pickens added the point after to even the game at 7-7.

Peppers made up for his early mistake on the ensuing kickoff. The Lion speedster took the kick at the 12 and juked his way through traffic, racing 88 yards for a Daniel score. Muchow tacked on the PAT, and the Lions had regained the lead 13 seconds after the Wren score, 14-7.

It just kept getting better for Fruster’s boys in blue and gold, as Wren quarterback Jay Urich fumbled the ball away on the first snap of the Hurricanes’ next possession. Daniel’s Peter Cote tracked down the ball for his offense, setting the Lions up at the Wren 19.

John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com

Daniel senior Will Swinney looks for running room after a catch against Wren on Friday night.

The Lions went to “ground and pound” and relied on the legs of running back Kiandre Sims and Batson to get them to paydirt. Daniel showed a new wrinkle on the series, breaking out the jumbo package. When they got close to the end zone, defensive linemen lined up as fullbacks in a full-house set and led the way for Batson, who scored from a yard out to complete the six-play drive. Muchow was true on the extra point, and the Lions were rolling 21-7.

It got ugly fast for the Daniel defense from there, however. The Wren staff seemed to have seen a chink in the armor of coordinator Kirk Ellison’s unit and took it to the Lions with a vengeance.

Wren answered the Lion with a four-play, 66-yard drive that featured a nine and 20 yard run followed by a 58-yard blast from Urich for a score. Pickens added the PAT with 2:08 left in the first quarter, pulling the ‘Canes to within seven at 21-14.

Daniel did try to keep the points coming by pushing the ball 50 yards to the Wren 6-yard line the next time the Lions touched the rock. The drive fizzled, forcing Fruster to send out Muchow for a 23-yard field goal try. Muchow was money and split the uprights with 11:13 to play in the half, putting the Lion ahead by 10 at 24-14.

Wren scored again two possessions later, moving the ball 71 yards in eight plays. This time it was another big play that hurt the Daniel defenders. Urich managed to find Hurricane receiver Jeremiah Neubia wide open for a 44-yard strike for a Wren touchdown. Pickens was on the mark with the PAT, and the ‘Canes were now within three points of the Lions at 24-21.

Batson, who absorbed a ton of punishment all night, took a sack on a fourth and 12 midway through the third quarter and was helped to the sideline and never got back on the field the remainder of the night.

The Hurricanes were again on the march following the stop and mounted an 85-yard drive that included a 32-yard run by Neubia and followed by a 24-yard pass from Urich for a touchdown. Pickens added the point after, giving Wren their first lead at 28-24.

An interception set up the Hurricanes’ final points of the game as Noah Lupton, subbing for Batson, was picked off by Wren’s Johnathon Cobb. The interception gave the Hurricanes the ball at the Lions’ 28-yard line. Wren went for a trick play on first down that saw Neubia take a pitch then stop and throw back to Urich, picking up 25 yards. Two plays later, Urich took the ball in from a yard out with only 9:35 to play, stretching Wren’s lead to 35-24.

Will Swinney showed huge guts and took the Lion offense on his back the rest of the way. The senior wide receiver pulled the big cats to within a score when he snatched a Lupton pass and fought his way 54 yards and into the end zone for a Daniel touchdown with 4:36 to play. Muchow’s PAT made the score 35-30 in favor of Wren.

Daniel continued the late rally, halting the Hurricanes and forcing a punt. Daniel moved the ball 40 yards in five plays, all the way down to the Wren 29 as time was ticking away. Disaster struck as Fruster called for a spiked pass to stop the clock with 31 seconds to play, only to have it called a fumble, ending all the hopes for a Lion comeback. The game ended with the Lions falling 35-30.

“At the end of the day, we let a team hang around and hang around and that does not increase your chances of being successful,” Fruster said.

The Lions will now have to prepare for a short week, long trip and a non-region foe as they travel all the way to Ninety Six this Thursday. The game will be played a day early to accommodate for the Clemson-Boston College game scheduled for Friday night.

Fruster said he still believes in his team.

“I still believe this team can achieve great things,” he said. “You have just to give them a better plan to go by and something they believe in.

John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com

Daniel’s Hampton Earle makes a leaping grab against Wren on Friday night.

“We as the staff are going to do a good job at reinstalling the plan and making sure we are covering all the bases on all the plays both offensively and defensively. We are going to make sure we have the right kids in the right places to help us.”

Thursday’s game at Ninety Six will kick off at 7:30 p.m.