Daily Archives: 10/12/2016
Pickens goes down as Bears run wild
By Cole Little
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
HONEA PATH — The Pickens Blue Flame struggled mightily in a road game against the Belton-Honea Path Bears on Thursday night, falling 45-3 and never developing any type of rhythm on either side of the ball.
The Bears’ rushing attack proved too much for the Blue Flame to handle, as BHP, led by running back O’Ryan Warren, racked up 299 yards on the ground.
Coming into the game, the daunting task of facing off against the one-loss Bears on the road stood tall for the Blue Flame, and that task was not made any less challenging when the game was moved up a day due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew. Originally slated for Friday night, the matchup was rescheduled to Thursday because of weather-related reasons, thus shortening the Blue Flame’s preparation for what was arguably their most difficult test of the season so far.
Pickens actually came out of the gate strong, though, holding its own against the high-powered BHP offense in the first quarter. Trailing only 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Blue Flame defense soon wore down, allowing 17 points to the Bears in the second quarter.
The defense was offered little support from the offense, as the Blue Flame amassed a measly 143 total yards, as opposed to BHP’s 476 total yards, and were unable to manufacture a passing attack. Pickens quarterback Jared Pace, playing in place of injured starter Tanner Stegall, completed only four passes for 25 yards on the night.
Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com
Pickens’ Kyle Day breaks through the line of scrimmage during the Blue Flame’s loss at Belton-Honea Path on Friday night.
On the flip side, BHP quarterback Kameron Burton was solid for the Bears, marching his team down the field on several impressive scoring drives. Burton finished 13-of-19 for 137 yards and one touchdown. The game’s superstars, however, were the Bears’ running backs, Breeland Sampson and Warren.
Accumulating 209 yards and four rushing touchdowns between the two of them, the Bears’ two-headed rushing attack dominated the Blue Flame defense from start to finish. Leading 24-3 at halftime, the Bears increased their already commanding lead in the third quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points that allowed them to coast through the fourth quarter.
Turnovers played a minimal role in the game, with each team suffering only one, both of which were fumbles.
The Bears’ defense was nearly impermeable, and, combined with the practically unstoppable BHP offense, the Blue Flame struggled to find anything positive on Thursday evening.
Pickens kicker Dylan Baynard produced the only points for the Blue Flame by making a 38-yard field goal with just less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Out of the backfield for Pickens, running back Brandon Batson gained 58 yards on 10 carries, including a game-high 35-yard rush.
Converting only one of 10 third downs, the Blue Flame were held in check by the swarming BHP defense through all four quarters and, as a result, fell to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in Region I-4A play.
The Bears, on the other hand, improved to 6-1 on the season and 4-0 at home with the victory in their region opener.
Pickens will return home this Friday night to take on the 3-4 Wren Hurricanes.
Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com
Pickens’ Stone Prince upends Belton-Honea Path’s O’Ryan Warren during their game Friday night.
With its final three games set to take place at Blue Flame Stadium, Pickens hopes to right the ship and finish the regular season on a high note. A trip to the playoffs is still within reach as well.
Crescent rolls to victory over Liberty
By Jimmy Kirby
Courier Sports
jkirby@thepccourier.com
IVA — The Liberty Red Devils had high hopes of completing their non-region schedule with only one loss heading to Abbeville for their first region game, but Deontae Hull and the Crescent Tigers had other thoughts in handing the Red Devils a 37-14 setback on Friday.
Instead of Liberty improving to 6-1, it was the Tigers who improved their record to 6-1 behind the ground attack of Hull at quarterback and running back Kenny White.
Liberty got off to a great start with a seven-play, 77-yard drive that was efficient and took time off the clock. The drive took 2:51 off the game clock to start the opening quarter. Kevon Tabron took a nice 35-yard pass from Austin Huey on an out pattern around the 5-yard line and scored to open up an early 7-0 lead.
Things went downhill from there, as Hull and company wasted no time in knotting up the score at 7-7. Hull read the Liberty defense perfectly and kept the ball on the read and raced 74 yards down the right sideline untouched.
The Red Devils then imploded on offense, with consecutive fumbles that led directly to Crescent touchdowns. Liberty fumbled at its own 25-yard line and its own 35-yard line to set up Crescent scores.
The Tigers capitalized on the Liberty miscues as White scored on a four-yard run and Hull added a 12-yard scoring run to extend the lead to 21-7 by the end of the first quarter.
Doug Tate/Photo
Liberty’s Austin Huey tries to stiff-arm a Crescent defender during their game Friday night in Iva.
The job for the Red Devil defense was easy — stop Hull and find success. But the Liberty defense found no way to stop Hull — or White for that matter — as the senior quarterback was a master at running the zone read. Hull was the big leader in rushing for the game, as he carried the ball 12 times for 177 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 14.5 yards per carry for the game and had an answer every time the Tigers touched the ball.
White was the workhorse, gaining 81 yards on 18 carries and scoring twice. Outside of Hull and White, the Tigers had a total of negative-2 yards rushing from the rest of the team and 10 yards net passing in the game.
The Tigers extended their lead to 31-7 by the end of the first half on a 46-yard White touchdown run and a 28-yard Carter Gates field goal.
The Tigers added another touchdown midway through the third quarter as Hull this time scampered for 57 yards and extended the lead to the largest of the game at 37-7, making it 37 unanswered points for the Crescent offense.
The final score of the game came on a 13-play, 98-yard Liberty drive that consumed 5:11 off the game clock. Clay Lollis busted up the middle for 27 yards to make the final score 37-14.
The final stats were not indicative of the score, as Crescent held a slim margin in total yards, 266-245. The game never felt close after the first two turnovers with Hull at the helm for the Tigers. The Red Devils could never figure out a way to stop Hull.
Lollis led the way rushing for the Red Devils with 65 yards on 11 tough carries. Tabron had 52 yards rushing on eight carries. Nick Reeves added 21 yards on the ground.
The Red Devils now enter their short three-game region schedule, starting with a road trip to Abbeville to take on the high-powered Panthers who are 6-0-1. Abbeville’s tie came as the result of a 7-7 tie at Lincoln County, Ga.
Doug Tate/Photo
Liberty’s Michael Spruill jumps for a pass in front of Crescent’s Kenny White during their game Friday night.
The Red Devils will need to be on their game this week both offensively and defensively. The Panthers own shutouts over Woodruff, 28-0, and Emerald, 34-0. It should be an interesting week of preparation if they Red Devils want to finish the season on a positive note.
Following the road trip to Abbeville, the Red Devils will return home to face Ninety Six High School and then close out the regular season against Southside Christian.
Mistakes doom Wave vs. Rams
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
ejolley@thepccourier.com
ANDERSON — If Friday night’s game between Westside and Easley was a boxing match, it may have been stopped early after a flurry of blows by the Rams in a 46-7 Region I-5A contest.
Westside (7-1, 2-0) scored in a variety of ways, thanks in part to some mistakes on special teams by Easley.
The Green Wave struggled on special teams throughout the night, particularly on three plays that led directly to points for Westside:
• A high snap on an Easley punt was recovered at the Green Wave 10. The Rams scored two plays later.
• Another punt was partially blocked and returned for a score that was negated by penalty. The play set up another Ram scoring drive.
• Then in the second half, a dropped punt snap was pushed out of the end zone for a safety. To compound matters, Westside’s K.D. Fant-Miles returned the ensuing free kick 70 yards for a touchdown.
Westside also added another non-offensive score when outside linebacker Vic Garrett made a leaping interception and returned it 11 yards for a score. Garrett had already batted down two passes before the pick.
“It really did snowball. They’re a really good team and we gave them a short field,” Easley coach John Windham said. “Their kid made a great interception there. You can’t do that — I think it was like a 21-point swing right there which we were not able to overcome. They’re a really good team.”
Easley (3-5, 0-2) started out strong, getting a three and out defensively, and finding the end zone on the Green Wave’s second series.
Weston Black hit Carter Wiles on a nice 27-yard sideline catch, then, facing fourth and four at the 26, Black, with three defenders in the backfield and one around his ankles, found Bralan Fuller behind two defenders in the left side of the end zone. Nathan Baker’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:54 left in the first quarter.
“We had a good start and were able to run the ball a little bit,” Windham said. “Weston made a good throw to Bralan. Unfortunately, we were not able to capitalize on that, but it was a good start.”
But the Rams scored on the next five possessions, including four times in a 28-point second quarter to build a 36-7 halftime lead.
Windham did not say Westside was the best team the Green Wave had faced so far, though he did say the last game of the season in Anderson, between Easley’s previous two opponents, rivals T.L. Hanna and Westside, should be a great one.
“We’ve got a really strong region, and when those two teams play, it will be a great game,” he said.
Tommy McGaha/seeyourphotohere.com
Easley’s Cavario Cureton returns a kick during the Green Wave’s loss at Westside on Friday night.
The Green Wave will take next week off before hosting Woodmont and playing at J.L. Mann to close the season. A playoff berth is still at stake as the top four teams in the region advance.
Tommy McGaha/ seeyourphotohere.com
Easley’s Sean-Thomas Faulkner takes down Westside quarterback Jackson Williamson during their game Friday night in Anderson.
“We’ve got a week off and we’ve got to regroup and get ready for the next game,” Windham said. “We’ve only played two region games and we’re halfway through. We had some guys that were out tonight and had some guys that got hurt tonight in the game.
“We’ve got to get healthy for the last two weeks and continue to improve. Get healthy and get better — those two things.”
Daniel comes back to win at Ninety Six
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
NINETY SIX — It wasn’t always pretty, but it was enough.
The Daniel Lions (4-3, 0-1) got off their losing skid with a 34-33 come-from-behind victory over the Ninety Six Wildcats on Thursday night at Wilson- Campbell Stadium.
The Lions showed a huge amount of intestinal fortitude under adverse conditions, almost two hours away from home, during a rare Thursday night varsity contest.
Daniel head coach Jeff Fruster said it best when he said, “This win was on the kids.”
“I thought they fought well the whole night,” he said. “My hat is off to Ninety Six. Their record is not indicative of their play. Coach (Mike) Doolittle has a good team down here.”
From the opening whistle, it looked as if Daniel would be making quick work of the Wildcats, jumping out to a first quarter 14-0 lead. As it turned out, an easy victory just wasn’t in the cards, as Ninety Six stormed back in the second quarter to take a 20-14 lead into the half.
“We obviously had a lot of ups and a lot of downs,” Fruster said. “We made plenty of mistakes — it is too late in the year to be doing that.”
Fruster said his team’s handling of adversity was the key.
“I am continually harping about momentum,” he said. “It is about trying to win the turnover margin and limiting the big plays. You just have to find a little bit of success to try to build on. It was definitely sloppy, but a win is a win, and we are going to take it.”
The Lions are as tenacious as their head coach and battled back to right the ship and get the win.
Daniel, which was without the services of several starters, relied on underclassmen to fill the holes left vacant by the injury bug following the previous week’s battle with Wren.
Sophomore backup QB Noah Lupton stepped up and played excellent, going 14-for-25 for 267 yards and one interception. Lupton took over for injured starter Ben Batson.
Fruster said it puts a coach’s mind at ease when he can insert a backup and still get production.
“It helps when he can come in and step up and make big plays,” he said. “It lets you know you aren’t going to lose your whole season if you lose one kid. Lupton made some great decisions, especially with his limited experience. I am proud of him. It puts some pressure on everybody else in that position.”
The game started with both teams feeling each other out, as the Lions’ defense forced punts the first two times the Wildcats had the ball.
The Lions scored first on a three-play, 61-yard drive. The series didn’t start off well as Kiandre Sims was hammered for a two-yard loss, followed by a short two-yard gain when he snagged a Lupton pass on the series’ second snap. They say speed kills, and it did hurt the Ninety Six defense when Lupton spotted a streaking Brandon Peppers and shot a bullet his way. The rest was all Peppers as he dashed 61 yards with 6:13 to play in the first quarter for a Lion touchdown. Nick Muchow added the point after, giving the Lions an early 7-0 lead.
The Daniel defense continued to hold the Cats’ offense in check and forced a punt without the luxury of a first down the next time Ninety Six had the ball.
Starting at the Cats’ 40, Daniel pushed the ball to paydirt in seven plays, the biggest of which was a 25-yard pass from Lupton to Will Swinney. The play set up a first and goal at the Wildcat 4-yard line. A false start penalty slowed the score, but three plays later Lupkin again found Peppers in the back of the end zone for six. Muchow drilled the PAT with 2:24 to play in the first to give his team a 14-0 advantage.
The Lions’ defense seemed on top of their game and continued to dominate the Cats, again forcing a three and out. Daniel was on the march again and pushed the ball 36 yards in eight plays, only to stall at the Ninety Six 12-yard line. Muchow was called on to add a field goal, but missed his mark on the 29-yard try.
Ninety Six had had enough the next time they got the pigskin, producing a 13-play, 80-yard drive for points. Saquon Garner finished the series when he outran the Daniel defenders on a 14-yard scamper. With 4:30 to play in the half, Daniel led 14-7.
The next two score for the Wildcats were gifts. The first was set up by a Lupton interception caught by Wildcat Rytavis Brown. The pick gave the Cats the ball at the Daniel 37, setting up a short field for Ninety Six. The Cats pounded the Lion defense, running the ball six of seven plays. The touchdown came on a four-yard Garner run with 1:13 to play in the half. The door to victory was open, however as the PAT missed its mark, leaving the Cats behind 14-13.
Daniel hoped to make a statement before halftime, however it was the Cats who did the deed with a 98-yard interception return for a score as time ran out. The Lions pushed the ball 33 yards in six plays and did manage to get to the Ninety Six 35 with two ticks left on the scoreboard clock. Facing fourth and 11, Fruster pulled Lipton in favor of Charlie Metcalf. Metcalf, who has not taken a snap in a game since his freshman year in JV, had the tough job to heave a Hail Mary into the Wildcats’ endzone and hope for the best.
Ninety Six defensive back Kentavious Williams outjumped the Daniel receivers and snagged an interception at the 2-yard line and out ran the Lions 98 yard for a score. The Wildcats carried a 20-14 lead into the intermission.
According to Fruster, the Lions had been rotating quarterbacks all week in practice.
“We were going to give both of our backups a try so they could prove themselves,” he said. “It was (Metcalf’s) turn, no matter what the play call was. I would fault the play call more than I would the athlete.”
The Lions continued to self-destruct in the second half. The Lions got the ball first to open play. On Daniel’s second snap, Sims lost his handle on the ball and fumbled the ball away, with the Cats recovering at their own 39. On the first snap, Wildcat QB Justin Alford got around end and raced 57 yards to the Lions’ 4-yard line. Two plays later, Garner smashed in from five yards out for a touchdown. After the PAT, Ninety Six led 27-14 with 10:41 to play in the third.
The Lions immediately answered with a four-play, 51-yard drive. Will Swinney was the man as he pulled in a 25-yard catch followed by a seven-yard pass for the touchdown. Muchow nailed the PAT, and the Lions were on the comeback trail, behind 27-21.
The Cats answered with a TD march of their own. In only four plays, Ninety Six went 78 yards. Big plays again short-circuited the Daniel defense with Alford going to the air, first hitting Graham Price for 28 yards. Then he went to the ground and handed the ball to Brown, and the speedy back went 41 yards for a score with 8:21 still to play in the third. Another missed extra point made the score 33-21 in favor of Ninety Six.
It was put up or shut up time, for the Lions and Fru’s Crew knew it. The Lions had to score twice and eat clock. That they did. The next time Daniel had the ball, the Columbia Blue and Gold managed a nine-play, 59-yard drive that was again capped with a nice Lupton to Swinney pass for 14 yards and a touchdown. Muchow added the PAT, and the Lions were down 5 at 33-28.
Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal
Daniel’s Jake Venables returns an interception during the Lions’ win at Ninety Six on Friday night.
Daniel’s defense had to bow its collective back and stop the Wildcats if there was to be a hope of a miracle finish. Muchow’s ensuing kickoff drifted out of bounds, giving the Cats the ball with a first and 10 at the 35. All the Cats had in mind was to grind it out and use clock in the process. The plan looked to be working, with Ninety Six moving to the Lions’ 17-yard line in 11 plays. Facing third and six, Alford elected to try to pick up the yardage himself, only to be met head-on by Daniel defensive end Bru Nimmons, who halted the QB for no gain. The final play saw Alford miss on a pass, giving the Lions the pigskin back and ending the threat of more points for the Wildcats.
The final winning drive for the Lions came as time ticked away. The series was only made possible by a huge interception by Daniel linebacker Jake Venable. The play saw him pick off the ball at the Lions’ 18-yard line and race 44 yards to the Ninety Six 39. Lupton and company pushed the ball the distance in six plays. The series was highlighted by a 32-yard pass from Lupton to Issac Weaver, setting up a first and goal at the Cats’ 2-yard line. It was all Sims as the back pushed in for the score with only 3:29 to play. Fruster elected to go for a two-point conversion, but the try failed when Swinney was hemmed in and denied the endzone. Despite the stop, the Lions had the lead back at 34-33.
The game was iced on the ensuing kickoff. Muchow lined up and somehow miskicked the ball, pooching the kick straight up. The surprised Ninety Six return team never had a chance, with the Lions recovering then running out the clock for the victory.
Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal
Daniel’s Will Swinney celebrates with a teammate after scoring a touchdown during Friday’s game at Ninety Six.
“We are far from where we need to be. I think that is evident with this score tonight,” Fruster said. “But as long as our team continues to give effort and tries to get better, I think we are going to be OK,” Fruster said.
This week the Lions will get a chance to redeem themselves in Region I-4A play following an upset loss two weeks ago to Wren, when the Belton-Honea Path Bears visit Central.
“That is the great thing about being only one region game in,” Fruster said. “The possibilities are still out there. We are still playing for our playoff lives. We are not taking anything for granted. We are not going to succumb to any pressure. We are going to give the teams we play our best.
“I know BHP only has one loss. They have all the stats in the world. Their quarterback can throw it a mile. Their running back has over 1,000 yards. They have weapons. So it is going to be very difficult for us to even slow them down.”
The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. kick on Friday at Singleton Field in Central.
