Category Archives: Sports
Pickens looking to build after disappointing finish in 2020
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — After Pickens’ thrilling win over Easley last season, the first for the Blue Flame against their county rival in a decade, Chad Smith’s squad seemed poised to be a contender in Region I-4A.
However, a disappointing stretch run kept the Blue Flame out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. One year later, Smith is hoping his team can learn from the mistakes of the 2020 squad.
“We just have to continue to be consistent,” Smith said. “In our postseason interviews, our upperclassmen said after they beat Easley, they pretty much relaxed
because their season was made, and you can’t do that. You have to keep plowing ahead. I think we kind of got that monkey off
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Devils hoping to bounce back in Sutherland’s first year
By Ryan Davenport
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — A preseason scrimmage against Carolina High last week may have provided a solid snapshot of things to come for the Liberty High School Football program.
The Trojans were in control early, physically and statistically, but the young Red Devils kept plugging away. Not only did Liberty’s defense recover to pitch a
shutout, the offense eventually reached the end zone three times. Freshmen scored all three touchdowns.
The scrimmage exemplified the building blocks first-year head coach Paul Sutherland’s staff seek to make cornerstones of the program. The Red Devils showed fortitude that eventually allowed them to get the job done.
“We’re day by day right now — trying to get that culture that you show up to work every day on time and put in a good, hard, honest day’s work,” Sutherland
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Easley hoping to build on late-season momentum in year two under Durrah
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
ejolley@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The Easley football team will play the 2021 season with heavy hearts.
Junior defensive back Jordan Jenkins was killed in a car wreck early in the summer. Jenkins started two games as a sophomore and would have likely started
somewhere in the secondary.
“It’s been tough,” second-year Easley head coach Jordan Durrah said. “The biggest thing is the kids just want
to make him happy — to play hard on and off the field. They want to represent him on the field.”
Durrah said Jenkins was a likely starter.
Easley went 1-7 in the uncertain year that COVID-19 brought last season. The Green Wave beat Seneca convincingly in the season finale.
The Green Wave
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Lions begin title defense behind Pearman’s arm and stout defense
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — While last year’s run to the Class 3A state championship represented the apex of a five-year climb to the top of the proverbial mountain, the 2021 Daniel Lions will have to deal with
all the added pressures that come with championship glory.
Luckily, the Lions don’t appear to be fazed by the added expectations, and just a year removed from its first state title since 1998, Daniel is not going to change the way that it approaches the game, according to sixth-year head coach Jeff Fruster.
“For us, it’s about starting over,” Fruster said. “What happened last year was great for the program and great for those seniors. They’ll always be remembered, but every team has its own identity, and right now we’re on a quest to figure out what our team identity is going to be this season. We want to build on the success we’ve built here and try to take it to the next step.”
The expectation remains the same this year, as it has for every year of Fruster’s tenure, and that sentiment is echoed by senior quarterback Trent Pearman.
“Always the same goal,” Pearman said. “We have to start by winning the first one, then keep going game by game all the way to the end.”
The Lions are also still dealing with the effects of COVID-19, as
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Crumpton named SC Middle School Coach of the Year
GREENVILLE — Pickens Middle School head volleyball coach Mellie Crumpton was recently named the 2021 Middle School Coach of the Year by the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association.
Crumpton accepted the award on Sunday evening, July 25, during a ceremony at the Greenville Convention Center.
“To be chosen as the recipient of this award is very exciting and thrilling,” Crumpton said. “I was all smiles Sunday evening as I walked across the stage to accept my award. It was amazing to look around the room filled with such dedicated, selflessly devoted, compassionate coaches and to be sitting there with them was a very humbling experience. It was certainly a moment that I will never
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Pickens’ Clarkson named Academic All-American
PICKENS — The AAU Volleyball National Executive Committee has announced the selection of the 2021 AAU Volleyball Academic All-American recipients, 
and a Pickens High School student is among the honorees.
The award recognizes student-athletes for their excellence in academics as well as athletics.
Faith Clarkson, daughter of Zander and Pamela Clarkson, has been named to the prestigious list. Ranked eighth out of 328 in her class and with a GPA of 5.063, Clarkson is a junior at Pickens High. She is a member of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) and the National Technical Honor Society, is very active at Holly Springs Baptist
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Fire volleyball team excels at AAU National Championship
ORLANDO, Fla. — Carolina One Volleyball 16U Elite Pickens (Fire) had a fantastic run at the 48th annual AAU National Championship from June 26-29.
Playing at the Orlando County Convention Center, Fire finished 10-1 in the four-day event and ninth overall out of 183 teams in the 16U Club Division, ending the club season with a 58-10 record.
The first three days, Fire ousted strong squads from
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Pickens Rec team finishes second at state tournament
PICKENS — The Pickens Recreation 8-and-under softball team had a successful day at the state tournament last week, advancing all the way to the finals.
“I can’t even begin to say how proud I am of these girls,” coach Travis Mitchell said. “They played as hard as I’ve ever seen 
a team play. They played with their hearts. The girls practiced hard for three weeks, and they came ready to play.
“We went into this tournament knowing that we were
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Registration open for fall volleyball, soccer in Pickens
PICKENS — Registration for fall volleyball and soccer has opened at the Pickens Recreation Center on Sangamo Road in 
Pickens.
For volleyball, available age divisions are 7-9, 10-12, 13-14 and 15-17. The soccer age divisions are 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15. Birthday cut-off for both sports is Sept. 1.
Following registration, a skills/evaluation day will be held for each age division. The registration fee provides a jersey to be kept. The fee is $45 for in-city residents and $55 for out-of-city residents. Birth certificates are required at registration.
Anyone interested in coaching or who needs additional information is asked to call the recreation department at (864) 878-2296.
Earnhardt named AAU All-American
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pickens High School’s Bailee Earnhardt has been named to the AAU Volleyball All-American team.
She and two other members of the Blue Flame volleyball team achieved high honors at the national AAU championships in Orlando, Fla.
In the 17 and under Premier Division at the Orange County Convention Center from June
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