Category Archives: Sports
‘Unbelievable’: Tigers win third soccer national title
By Michael Crouchley
Courtesy The Journal
michael@upstatetoday.com
CARY, N.C. — After an NCAA Tournament run filled with upsets and penalty-shootout heroics, the Clemson men’s soccer team captured its 
third national championship in program history on Sunday.
After winning penalty shootouts over top-seeded Oregon State in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Notre Dame in the Final Four on Friday, Clemson forward Isaiah Reid scored two early goals against second-seeded Washington on Sunday afternoon in Cary, N.C.
Clemson’s experienced defense carried it the rest of the way, as the eighth-seeded Tigers
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Pickens girls win two at home, lose away contest
PICKENS — The Pickens High School Lady Blue Flame won two home games against Belton-Honea Path and Liberty but dropped a game at Pendleton High during the second week of the regular season last week. All three games were non-region contests.
The Lady Blue Flame’s record now stands at 3-3 on the season.
“The Lady Blue Flame continue to work hard and overcome injuries and adversity as a team,” Pickens coach Rikki Owens said. “Seniors Caroline Lucas and Bri Bowens really stepped up this week and exhibited heart,You must be logged in to view this content.
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Lions’ Lawson earns MVP honors at state all-star game
MYRTLE BEACH — Daniel High School senior Jahiem Lawson followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Shaq, with a memorable 
performance in the 73rd annual Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl on Saturday afternoon.
The standout defensive end finished the game with four tackles, including three sacks, and had a pass breakup on the way to earning MVP honors for the North defense in the annual all-star game at Doug
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Picture Perfect
The Daniel Lions pulled away in the second half to beat Camden 45-20 on Friday and wrap up their second consecutive
state championship and second perfect season in a row. The victory marked the first time the Lions had taken back-to-back state titles since 1991-92. Above, Daniel defenders Carson Chasteen, left, and Brodey Conn celebrate after a big play against the Bulldogs. At right, Daniel coach Jeff Fruster holds up the championship trophy after the victory. To read more about the game and see more photos scroll down to the Courier’s final Football Frenzy section of the season. Photos by Carl Ackerman/Courtesy The Journal
A season to remember in Central
Another season has come and gone, and once again the D.W. Daniel Lions are state champions.
Last year, when the Lions won their first state championship since 1998, I said that I didn’t think coach Jeff Fruster and the Lions would make us wait 22 more years for the next championship. I even thought they had a pretty good shot at coming right back and winning the title this season.
With that said, if you asked me a month ago if Daniel was going to win back-to-
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Lions beat Camden for second straight state championship
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COLUMBIA — Going into Friday afternoon’s Class 3A state championship game against the Camden Bulldogs, it would have been hard to describe the Daniel Lions’ performance on the gridiron over the past couple seasons as anything but dominant.
The defending state champion Lions entered with 23 wins in a row — with every victory coming by 14 points or more — and
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Lions dominate Chester in Upper State championship to secure state rematch
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Down 7-3 midway through the first quarter and having just fumbled the ball away, the Daniel High School football team seemed to be in trouble against Chester during the Class 3A Upper State championship game at Singleton Field on Friday night.
But the top-ranked Lions responded immediately with an interception from Boston Miller and gave up just five first downs the rest of the way, as they roared ahead to advance to the Class 3A state championship game with a 41-20 win behind their vaunted defense and senior quarterback Trent Pearman.
“My coordinator (Kirk Ellison) really has them firing on all cylinders,” Fruster said of the Daniel defense. “He puts in a lot of hard work,
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Tigers shut out archrival for first time in 32 years
By Alex Dodd
Courtesy The Journal
news@thepccourier.com
COLUMBIA — After a year’s break, the Clemson football team renewed its rivalry with South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday evening and handled business en route to a 30-0 shutout.
The Tigers — who reentered the Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 22 on Sunday — recorded their first shutout of the Gamecocks sincerolling to a 45-0 win in 1989 in Columbia in what was head coach Danny Ford’s penultimate game leading the Clemson program.
Saturday’s win was the 23rd shutout by Clemson in the rivalry — all of which have occurred in Columbia — and head coach Dabo Swinney appreciated the unique opportunity to shut out South Carolina.
“To be able to come in here and shut these guys out, it’s the first time we have shut them out since 1989,” Swinney said. “Nobody can shut them out, nobody. There is not a defense out there that shut these guys out this year, so it was just an unbelievable complete team effort.”
Clemson (9-3) secured its seventh straight win in the rivalry series, tying the
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Hoops hype
Pickens County kicked off high school basketball season last week with the first-ever Pickens County Basketball Jamboree at Pickens High School. All four county schools were represented during the games, with Daniel’s squads taking on Liberty and Easley taking on Pickens. The games were contested in single 20-minute halves with a running clock. Daniel took both of the matchups with Liberty, winning 14-4 in the girls’ game and 19-16 in the boys’ matchup. Likewise, Easley took both matchups against the Blue Flame, with an 11-7 win for the Green Wave girls and a 22-5 win in the boys’ contest. The regular season is scheduled to begin next week for all four county teams, with the Daniel and Easley teams tangling Tuesday in Central, the same night the Pickens boys and girls head to Belton-Honea Path. Liberty’s teams will host Dixie on Monday night.
Photos by Jessica Mackey/Courier
Easley takes second place at state cheer competition
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COLUMBIA — After finishing third at the Class 4A state qualifier earlier this month, the Easley High School Green Wave cheer team traveled to the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia on Saturday, and by day’s end, they had laid claim to the No. 2 spot in the state.
The Green Wave scored a 283 on the day, good enough for second place in the 4A classification, and just 14 points behind state champion A.C. Flora.
Rounding out the top five in Class 4A were Airport, Irmo and Travelers Rest.
The second-place finish at the 2021 state championship comes just a year removed from Easley’s third-place finish in 2020.
