Monte Dutton's Blog

Furman aims to put Western Carolina behind

By MONTE DUTTON

(Furman photo) Click here.

Most everyone who watches sports overreacts.

When I wrote about NASCAR for a living, occasionally I drew the ire of a famous driver (or owner, family member, sponsor, PR rep, etc.) for something I wrote.

“You think I’m tough? Read my mail,” I’d say. “I’m Fans Light.”

Back then, I wrote the copy for a nationally syndicated page that ran in hundreds of newspapers every week. I read hundreds of letters, a few of which ran on the page. I still get lots of letters. They offer me credit cards, storm windows, gutters that won’t require cleaning, etc.

Social media is about the same. Occasionally a lie fools me. I’m getting better at discernment.

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Last year the Kansas City Chiefs got hammered in the Super Bowl, which caused much of America to forget they made it to the Super Bowl. I watched them play Detroit Sunday night. They’re still pretty good.

Gradually reaching the point, I was astonished on Saturday when Western Carolina clobbered Furman, 52-7. I was astonished earlier when Presbyterian College, located in my hometown, upset the Paladins in overtime. Several times I’ve thanked the Almighty for making me otherwise occupied that day. (I was commemorating the 50th anniversary of a high-school football team on whose roster I was listed.)

Go Big Red.

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Remain calm. All is well. Relatively. Furman has won its other four games, all close, against William & Mary, Campbell, Samford and East Tennessee State.

Clay Hendrix is a straight talker. Ask him a question, and he’ll give a straight answer. He’s as Furman as the Bell Tower.

“Hat’s off to Western Carolina,” he said right off the bat. “They just beat us every way possible. They outplayed us, out-physicaled us and outcoached us.”

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Everything piled up. Furman (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) committed five turnovers. The second half was one of missed opportunities by the Paladins and one big play after another for Western Carolina (4-3, 3-0).

“It is just one game,” Hendrix said. “It’s about how you respond. We didn’t all of a sudden become a bad football team. We played really poorly, as poorly as I can remember. We’ve got to fix some things. When we get a chance to make a play, we’ve got to make a play.

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“We’ve done some really good stuff, and I thought we were continuing to make progress until Saturday.”

Wofford (1-5, 0-2) has lost four games by a total of eight points. It doesn’t make much difference in the rivalry of Paladins and Terriers. Wofford was 5-7 last year, 2-9 the year before, and the Terriers beat Furman 19-13 both times.

The Paladins aren’t as bad as Saturday seemed. Erskine isn’t as bad as Saturday seemed.

Raleigh Herbert (Furman photo)

“It’s about every game, every practice,” said linebacker Raleigh Herbert. “You want to have that mindset where you go out there with that mindset where you put everything into it. You learn from the good. You learn from the bad. At Western, there was a lot of bad, but there was some good we can build on.”

Guard Luke Petit said, “This team has a lot of talent. We’ve just got to take that talent and put it to good use. We’ve got to grow each and every day. It’s going to take the next level of detail and execution to win.”

“We’ve got the right guys in our program,” said Hendrix. “We’ve got to become a better fundamental team. We’ve left points on the field all year long.”

“The best teams are player-led teams,” said Herbert, who is one of the captains. “Leadership is everything. Short-term memory means nothing. We’ve just got to move on.”

Luke Petit (Furman photo)

“It’s easy to get down on yourself,” Petit added, “but it’s never acceptable.”

Crazy things happen. Sometimes a player tells himself he’d better be ready, and himself just doesn’t believe it. It can be a collective thing. I’ve been seeing it since that high-school team a half century ago. It happens in middle schools. It happens in the pros.

It happened in Cullowhee. The Catamounts took no prisoners. Storms never last. Hard times pass with the wind. Jessi Colter wrote it. It’s got to be true.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Ayers to bring his passionate message to TD Club

By MONTE DUTTON

Mike Ayers (Monte Dutton photo) Click here.

If you’ve never seen Mike Ayers speak to the Laurens County Touchdown Club – and there’s an opportunity every year – it’s time to experience the longtime Wofford College head coach from close range.

It’s a lot like having Mike Ditka at The Ridge, though both Ayers and Ditka are nothing if not originals.

Wofford won five Southern Conference championships – 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2017 – at the helm of the Terriers.

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Even now, at age 77, Ayers is a man of great inspirational qualities. He was 207-139-1 in 30 seasons at Wofford. Since Ayers retired, resigned, whatever, after the 2017 season, the Terriers are 30-51. They haven’t enjoyed a winning season since 2019.

Based on his energy level, Ayers could coach the Terriers again on Saturday.

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During his career at Wofford – Ayers also spent three seasons as head coach at East Tennessee State – he won the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS Coach of the Year. He was inducted in 2022 into the S.C. Football Hall of Fame.

Coach Ayers won the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the most outstanding FCS head coach in the country, during his tenure as well.  Additionally, Ayers is a member of the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame as a 2022 inductee. A native of Georgetown, Ky., Ayers served assistant stints at his alma mater, Georgetown College, as well as Newberry, Richmond, Wofford and ETSU.Thursday’s meeting begins at noon. Tickets are available for $15 at the door. The food line – Big Air is catering – opens at 11:45.Also to be honored at the TD Club is Logan Bragg, freshman quarterback of the Laurens Raiders, as Player of the Week. Logan Bragg (TD Club photo)The Raiders won their first game of the season and did it with gusto. Laurens overran Greenville’s Southside High School on the road, 58-0.Bragg completed 14/19 passes for 294 yards, throwing four touchdown passes. “Logan has been the standard for the program,” said his head coach, Greg Porter. “It’s not often that a ninth grader is leading a football program, but this young man shows up every day prepared and ready to give his best in practices and games.”Clinton (5-3, 2-0 Region 1-2A) rose to No. 2 in this week’s Class 2A S.C. Media Poll rankings.The Red Devils have won three games in a row by a combined score of 159-35. Next up is a visit to Wilder Stadium from Landrum (3-4, 0-1). Click here.Last week, in a 50-29 victory at Chesnee, three running backs – Javen Cook, K.J. Vance and Angelo Cromer – are produced more than 100 yards on the ground. Cook rushed for 182 yards in 15 carries, scoring four touchdowns. Vance ripped off 177 yards in only seven attempts. Cromer needed just four carries to put up 106.Altogether, Clinton rushed for 508 yards, averaging 15.4 per carry.Defending a state championship, the Red Devils have netted at least 219 rushing yards in their last 17 games, among them a 56-22 victory at Landrum last year. Click here.Blacksburg (1-7, 1-1) upset Landrum, 14-6, last week. The Cardinals have dropped their last three games.In the state rankings, Clinton trails only Central (6-0) of Pageland in the poll. Strom Thurmond (6-1), coached by Clinton native Andrew Webb, is third, followed in order by Timberland, Hampton County, Philip Simmons, Fairfield Central, Saluda, Batesburg-Leesville and Chester.Clinton closes the regular season at Blacksburg on Oct. 24. Click here.Odds do not favor Laurens (1-6, 1-1 Region 1-4A), which visits Piedmont to face Wren (5-2, 2-0).Last week the Golden Hurricanes defeated Fountain Inn, 45-34. The Fury (4-3, 1-1) defeated Laurens, 26-7, on Oct. 3.The prolific Laurens Academy Crusaders (7-1, 2-0 SCISA 8-man Region 1) are off on Friday but travel to Winnsboro to face Richard Winn (3-4, 2-0) on Oct. 24.  LA faces its region foes twice, meaning that its 36-22 win over Winn on Sept. 12, doesn’t count in the region standings. Click here.The region title likely comes down to the Crusaders’ home game against King Academy (8-0, 2-0) on Oct. 31. The Knights defeated LA, 60-34, on Sept. 19.Stetson University (3-4, 2-1 PFL) of Deland, Fla., visits Presbyterian (6-0, 2-0) at Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Blue Hose have won 10 straight games over two seasons. Click here.The Blue Hose defeated the Hatters, 42-14, last season.
PC's Jonah Pierce was voted to the Big South preseason all-conference team in men's basketball.
The 6-10 senior from Sanford, Fla., averaged 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in a 2024-25 season curtailed early by injury, made the second team.

The Blue Hose were picked to finish sixth in the nine-team conference, behind High Point, UNC Asheville, Longwood, Radford and Winthrop, and ahead of Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb and USC Upstate.

Presbyterian finished fifth in the Big South last season, going 14-19 overall and 7-9 in the conference. The Blue Hose take on Clemson on Friday night in an exhibition game at Littlejohn Coliseum, beginning at 6 p.m. Click here.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Those Blue Hose keep rolling along

By MONTE DUTTON

Steve Englehart (Monte Dutton photos) Click here.

When football season started, hopes were high at Presbyterian College. The Blue Hose had improved from 1-10 to 4-7 to 6-6 in Steve Englehart’s first three years as head coach. They won their last four games in 2024.

Things were clearly looking up, but damn.

No one expected PC to beat Mercer and Furman. No one expected them to be 6-0 overall; a few envisioned 2-0 in the Pioneer Football League. No one expected the Hose to be ranked 19th in the coaches’ FCS poll or 21st in the one released each week by something called Stats Perform.

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PC doesn’t offer football scholarships. Most of the teams in FCS do. Another such school, Harvard (4-0), of which you may have heard, is 20th in the coaches’ poll and 18th in Stats Perform.

Presbyterian is battling Harvard so far for tops among the scholarship-deprived. In Cambridge, Mass., fans ask, “Who’s Presbyterian?” In Clinton, no one asks, “Who’s Harvard?”

The latest conquest was a 31-25 victory over Butler (4-3, 2-1).

Nathan Levicki Click here.

“It’s hard to win football games,” Englehart said, “and it’s really hard to win on the road. Butler was a really good opponent. … They had a really good game plan.

“They did everything they to really grind up the clock. Their quarterback (Reagan Andrew) was outstanding. Their offensive line was outstanding. They did everything they could to limit our possessions, and they did. The key to our win was that we were able to hold them to (four) field goals.”

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Stetson (2-4, 2-1 PFL) is next. The Hatters play the Hose on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bailey Memorial Stadium. After losing to, among others, Harvard, 59-7, Stetson has recently defeated Davidson, 35-32, and Morehead State, 21-14. Presbyterian defeated the latter, 41-0. Stetson has won two league games in a row after losing 13 straight over three seasons.

Here in South Carolina, PC is already a phenomenon. Elsewhere, the Blue Hose are still flying under the radar, the FCS coaches and stats performers notwithstanding.

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On Monday, Englehart conducted his weekly media conference. The Advertiser’s John Clayton and yours truly shared the scoops. Each week he answers questions that are mostly variations of how in hell are you doing this?

The general answer is, “We’re good.” He was also peppered with questions such as, “Did you see a lot of friends and family at Butler?” (yes) and, “Did you go to Saint Elmo’s?” (yes). (Saint Elmo’s is a downtown Indianapolis steak house that also serves a mean shrimp cocktail.)

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Clayton has been on hand for our PC games so far. Yours truly has witnessed three. Both of us are fully cognizant of the miracle taking place in our midst. It’s been a treat comparable to Saint Elmo’s shrimp cocktail.

Butler dominated the middle portion of the game and led, 22-18, early in the fourth quarter. Then, on the first play after the third of Ryan Short’s four field goals, Collin Hurst hit Nathan Levicki on a 75-yard scoring toss, and PC launched its only long, time-consuming drive, capped by Zach Switzer’s three-yard rush with a minute left.

“Both teams played extremely hard,” Englehart said. “It was a well-fought victory for us on the road.

“Our kids kept fighting for 60 minutes. There’s just no give-up in our guys. … Our guys don’t seem to get rattled when games are close.”

So far, so fantastic.

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For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Furman hits the mountains flat

(Furman photo) Click here.

Not only did Furman not come to play at Western Carolina. As it turned out, I didn’t come to watch.

I followed the Presbyterian game electronically. It started at 1 p.m. – PC has played at 1 the last four weeks – and the plan was, to borrow from the TV guys, to pick up the action when the Blue Hose’ game at Butler was decided.

By then, it was too late. Remarkably, the game in Cullowhee, N.C., was scoreless after a quarter. From then on, Western Carolina recited multiplication tables and Furman couldn’t even add.

The final score, excruciatingly, was 52-7. Great Caesar’s ghost. Ye Gods.

Click here.

Taron Dickens passed for 220 yards and four touchdowns. A 24-point second quarter greased the Paladins’ skids. DIckens’ touchdown strikes covered 50, nine, 41 and six yards to power the Catamounts (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) to their fourth consecutive victory and second straight triumph over the Paladins (4-2, 2-1). Western Carolina opened the catastrophic second quarter with a Marcus Trout 44-yard field goal.

Dickens followed with 50-yard scoring strike to M.J. Rossin and nine-yard toss to Josh Perry.

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Ken Moore finished off the half when he intercepted Furman quarterback Trey Hedden’s pass at the Catamount 36 and covered 64 yards to the end zone.

 Furman put together its only scoring drive of the contest before halftime, covering 75 yards in 10 plays for Joshua Burrell’s eight-yard touchdown catch with 13 seconds on the clock.

It got worse and even exponentially.

Joshua Burrell (Furman photo) Click here.

Western Carolina doused any hope of a Paladin comeback in the first two minutes of the second half when Dickens found Malik Knight behind coverage for a 41-yard scoring pass that extended the lead to 31-7.

Dickens hit 17/24 passes and added 48 rushing yards.

The Catamounts outgained the Paladins 522-366 and accounted for 302 rushing yards. Had it been a war, it would have been a slaughter.

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Furman suffered four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions in the end zone and another that went as a pick-six.

Ethan Harris paced Furman with 12 catches for 95 yards.

The Paladins’ top receiver, Ja’Keith Hamilton, exited the game midway through the first quarter and did not return.

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Furman returns to action next Saturday with a noon contest at Wofford (1-5, 0-2), which won, 31-14, over Norfolk (Va.) State. The Terriers have defeated Furman in both of the past two seasons, by an 18-14 margin each time.

Take a look at the stats here.

(Furman graphic) Click here.

Much football remains to be played. Perhaps there are some spoons full of sugar left to help the medicine go down.

Then there’s basketball season, where the Paladins were picked second to Chattanooga in the annual preseason poll of SoCon coaches.

Cooper Bowser and Tom House were named to the preseason all-conference team

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Bowser, a junior from Woodbridge, Va., returns to anchor the Paladin frontcourt this season after averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game a year ago. The 6- 11 forward’s 57 blocked shots, including 26 in league play, helped him earn a spot on the 2024-25 SoCon all-defensive Team. Among his top performances last season, Bowser powered Furman to a victory over Seattle in Las Vegas with 17 points and 12 rebounds, helped the Paladins to an overtime win at The Citadel with 13 points and a career-best 14 boards, and totaled a career-high 21 points in a January win over Samford.

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 House, who arrived in Greenville from Florida State prior to the 2024-25 season, contributed 7.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 34 contests while shooting .406 from behind the arc. The Dayton, Ohio, native excelled over the final month of the season, scoring 26 and 19 points, respectively, in home wins over Mercer and The Citadel before netting 21 points in a SoCon Tournament win over Samford. Over Furman’s last 10 games of the season, House averaged 11.4 points per game and shot .565 from three-point range.

 Chattanooga and Furman each received five first-place votes with the Mocs taking the top spot in the preseason poll by a margin of 77 points to 73. Samford was picked third and ETSU fourth with UNC Greensboro, VMI, Western Carolina, Mercer, Wofford and The Citadel rounding out the poll.

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 Head coach Bob Richey, entering his ninth season at Furman as head coach, welcomes back six players who saw playing time in at least 31 games a year ago for a Furman squad that posted a 25-10 overall record, advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament finals, and received an at-large bid to the NIT.

 Furman is set to open the newly-renovated Timmons Arena in front of a packed house on Sunday, Octo. 26, when it hosts nationally-ranked Alabama in an exhibition. After taking on Big South champion High Point in Rock Hill at The Field of 68 Tip-Off Marathon on Nov. 3, Furman will entertain Sun Belt Conference champion Troy in the regular-season home opener at Timmons Arena on Nov. 7.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Blue Hose keep on pulling the rope

Collin Hurst (8) passed for 175 yards (Monte Dutton photo). Click here.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – PC did it again.

The Blue Hose remained in a state of suspended superiority, defeating Butler, 31-25, in the Selick Bowl in front of 3,682 fans on Saturday afternoon.

Presbyterian (6-0, 2-0 Pioneer Football League) led most of the way but had to come from behind in the second half. Butler (4-3, 2-1) was a worthy opponent, but the Blue Hose’ head coach, Steve Englehart, is himself a worthy Hoosier from Terre Haute. He’s bettered the Bulldogs two years in a row. That probably means a little to him.

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Collin Hurst completed 12/16 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore Justin Montgomery rushed for a career-high 134 yards. Tight end Nathan Levicki scored on a 75-yard catch.

The Bulldogs’ Reagan Andrew was 20/33 for 195, throwing neither a touchdown nor an interception. Ten different receivers caught his passes.

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PC is one victory away from matching the school’s all-time record for best start to a season (established in 1959), winning their third one-score game of 2025 in the process.

Presbyterian now holds a 10-game winning streak that spans nearly a full calendar year, the second-longest active streak of any NCAA Division I football team.

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The Blue Hose have tied Harvard by winning their fifth straight road game.

Presbyterian returns home for, yes, Homecoming, facing Stetson on Saturday for the fifth game in a row at 1 p.m.

Nearly 60 percent of PC’s yards came on the ground as Montgomery and senior Zach Switzer combined for 209 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns.

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Levicki, who caught the touchdown and conversion pass that beat Furman in overtime on Sept. 6, caught his 75-yarder against Butler on the first play after the Bulldogs had taken a 22-18 edge early in the fourth quarter.

It was the longest pass play of the season for the Blue Hose and since a 79-yard score by Cincere Gill at Marist in November 2024.

Presbyterian then forced a Butler punt in the next series and executed a five-minute drive that boosted the lead to 31-22.

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Four times Butler had to settle for Ryan Short field goals, two of them after long, time-consuming drives.

PC’s starting linebackers – Boyce Bankhead, Michael Torres, and Malik Lewis – made a combined 27 tackles altogether, led by Bankhead’s 11.

Presbyterian opened the game aggressively, driving 75 yards in only 1:38 to get into the end zone. Gill scored on a 14-yard slant from Hurst, then Montgomery rushed for a two-point conversion.

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Butler countered with a near-eight-minute sequence of 15 plays, totaling 89 yards and producing its first touchdown of the day. Griffin Caldwell scored on a 14-yard rush.

Zach Switzer consummated a seven-play series with a seven-yard run that hiked the PC lead to 15-7.

PC’s next drive was its longest of the first half, a 10-play stretch took four and a half minutes off the clock. Jett Jackson kicked a 38-yard field goal, putting Presbyterian up, 18-10.

Nathan Levicki (87) (Monte Dutton photo) Click here.

A muffed punt allowed the Bulldogs to close the halftime score to 18-16. The conversion was blocked.

The third quarter belonged to Butler, thanks mostly to an 18-play, 10-minute drive that ended with a successful field goal.

Butler made its third field goal in the early moments of the fourth quarter to go up 22-18,

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Switzer dove into the end zone for his 11th touchdown of the season, leaving the Bulldogs only 55 seconds to work with, down by nine points.

Butler managed to progress far enough for a 41-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, but their onside kick attempt sailed out of bounds.

Andrew also led the Bulldogs in rushing, gained 115 yards in 31 carries.

Stetson (3-4, 2-1) defeatedt Morehead State,21-14, on Saturday.

Take a look at the stats here.

Bryson James (AU photo)

Clinton High grad Bryson James, a redshirt sophomore, scored on runs of 73 and 70 yards, setting an Anderson University rushing record with 221 yards in the Trojans’ 35-28 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne.

He also had a third rushing score and averaged 11.1 yards for each of his 20 carries.

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For the season, James leads Anderson (5-2, 3-2 SAC) with 566 yards. The Trojans are at home the next three weeks against Carson-Newman, Wingate and Newberry.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Red Devils ride chariots of fire, 50-29

By MONTE DUTTON

K.J. Vance scored the game’s first two touchdowns on long runs (Monte Dutton photos). Click here.

CHESNEE – A heap of Clinton Red Devils figuratively burned the Eagles’ Nest to a crisp on Friday night. Chesnee swooped, swung and soared but simply couldn’t keep up, falling by a score of 50-29.

Clinton led at halftime, 28-10.

The Red Devils have been playing ball for more than a century, but their rushing total of 503 net yards was almost unprecedented. Clinton (5-3, 2-0 Region 1-2A) fell just 23 yards of a school record, set in 2022 versus Woodruff.

A’Javian James (24) brings down Chesnee’s Kale Thrift. Click here.

In spite of the numbers, Clinton head football coach Corey Fountain wasn’t particularly pleased.

“I think we played all right the first half,” he said. “We didn’t execute great, but we were going in the right direction. I felt like we put it in cruise control in the second half, and I got on them about that. You’ve got to step on the pedal and keep moving forward as fast as you can.

“I was a little frustrated by this game. We got a little chippy. We want to keep it clean and win with class.”

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On Clinton’s second play, junior K.J. Vance dashed 82 yards for a touchdown. On the third play of the second possession, Vance streaked into the end zone from 58 yards away.

Think about this. In his first two carries, Vance rushed for 140 yards. He did not wind up as the game’s leading rusher.

Another senior, Javen Cook, scored four touchdowns (for the second week in a row) and wound up with 182 yards, five more than Vance. The Man Called Zoom saw his total for the season swell to 950 yards and 19 touchdowns. He entered the end zone from 12, 32, 30 and four yards away.

Owen Glenn spots a receiver. Click here.

Three Red Devils – Cook, Vance and Angelo Cromer (four carries, 106 yards, 74-yard TD) – exceed the century mark. The fourth member of Clinton’s Quick Quartet, Zy Butler, suffered a thigh bruise on the first play but recovered sufficiently to intercept a pass by Chesnee’s Evan-Reece Lawter in the fourth quarter.

A crowd of about 2,500 couldn’t afford to blink. Chesnee (4-3, 1-1) gained 479 total yards, Lawter, a junior, rushed for 117 and passed for 138 (10/25 with a TD and a pick).

Click here.

“They do a lot of good things on offense. Give them a lot of credit. They’re a well-coached team. They do a lot of things like us. … We were able to weather the storm, finish strong and get some stops at the end of the game.”

The Red Devils averaged 15.4 yards per run. Junior quarterback Owen Glenn rushed for 43 yards and passed for 31 (4/8). Pablo Hernandez split the uprights six straight times on the conversions, and Cook added a two-point conversion.

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For the season, Clinton has scored 30 touchdowns on runs of 20 yards or more and eight via Glenn passes.

The fire is spreading. Big Red has scored 60, 49 and 50 points in three straight victories. The rushing yards in victories over Union County, Liberty and Chesnee were 274, 435 and 503.

Next up is Landrum (3-4, 0-1), stunned, 19-16, by previously winless Blacksburg (1-7, 1-1) on Friday. The Cardinals take on the Red Devils at Wilder Stadium, where Clinton is only 2-2 thus far. The Red Devils travel to Blacksburg for their regular-season finale.

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“We’ve still got a lot of things to improve,” Fountain said.

Laurens (1-6, 1-1 Region 1-4A) finally conducted a parade that wasn’t rained on.

The Raiders, whose only 2024 victory was 45-0 over Southside (0-7, 0-2), blanked the Tigers, 58-0, this time around. Prior to Friday night’s pleasant trip to Greenville, Laurens had scored 34 points all year.

Click here.

Laurens piled up 291 passing yards and 164 on the ground.

Freshman quarterback Logan Bragg completed 11/16 passes for two touchdowns. Jamy’el Bennett led the runners with six carries for 50 yards. Denari Lee-Jackson had 47 yards in five carries, with a touchdown, and Nehemias Fernandez went six for 42 an two touchdowns.

Brock Franklin kicked eight straight extra points.

The Raiders scored 30 points in the first quarter.

Wren (5-2, 2-0), a 45-34 winner at Fountain Inn (4-3, 1-1), visits K.C. Hanna Stadium next week.

Laurens Academy (7-1) defeated Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach (0-4), 52-21, in the only game played in the county. It was the Crusaders’ second victory over the Saints this season.

Caleb Hardy led LA with 211 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Collins hit 17/21 passes for 157 yards and two TDs, both to Hardy. Hardy and Riley Whitaker each caught seven passes.

Click here.

LA visits Richard Winn (3-4) next week. The Crusaders won the first game against the Eagles, 36-22, on Sept. 12.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Two seek purple reign

By MONTE DUTTON

Gavin Hall (6) became Furman’s first 100-yard rusher against ETSU (Monte Dutton photos). Click here.

Furman is atop the Southern Conference football standings, at least in the loss column, and the margin is so small.

Western Carolina (3-3), which the Paladins play on Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, N.C., is, like Furman, 2-0 in SoCon play. Reigning champion Mercer has a head start and is 4-0.

The 2:30 p.m. clash is a measure of how much better the Paladins are. Among the youngest, least experienced teams in school history went 3-8 last year after consecutive seasons of 10-3. The Catamounts’ 52-20 victory at Paladin Stadium on Oct. 19, 2024, was a low point, the widest margin ever in a loss to WCU. Furman leads the all-time series, 36-14-2.

Click here.

“It’ll be a huge challenge for us,” Furman head coach Clay Hendrix said. “We’re certainly up for it. We’re getting better. “I think we’re doing a lot of really good things. We can play better.

“We’re trying to win a conference championship. This game is huge for both teams.”

Every Furman (4-1) game to date has been close. An inordinate number of SoCon games has been the same. The Catamounts are coming off a 23-21 victory over Wofford (0-5, 0-2) in Spartanburg. It’s a slog for whichever school winds up winning the title.

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Job one for the Paladins is limiting the effectiveness of Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens, who last week against Wofford completed an NCAA record 46 consecutive passes. Yet the Catamounts scored just 23 points.

In three of Furman’s four victories, the Paladins have overcome fourth-quarter deficits. Most dramatic was last week’s home victory over East Tennessee State. Furman trailed, 22-7, in the third quarter but scored 24 straight points afterwards.

“When you win big games, you get to play more big games,” said Hendrix, “and we like big games.”

Click here.

Demonstrating most the team’s resilience is the defensive platoon, which features end Joshua Stoneking, whose 9-1/2 sacks and 13-1/2 tackles for loss lead the FCS and are part of a unit that owns 18 sacks through five games. A year ago Furman totaled only 20 sacks over 11 games.

Eight players have logged significant time at the nose guard, tackle and end positions.

The play of Luke McLaughlin (28 tackles, sack) and Raleigh Herbert (23 tackles, interception) have helped the Paladins weather the loss of starting linebacker Ryan Earl to injury.

Click here.

“It’s a next-man-up mentality,” said McLaughlin, a redshirt senior from, of all places, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “Each week brings with it a new level of confidence. … and I’ve kind of hit that flow.

“It’s a natural thing, built through preparation each week.”

Furman’s secondary, led by redshirt sophomore safety Billy Lewis (32 tackles, 2 int.), has been similarly deep, including cornerback Jordan Miller, who delivered both a game-saving pass breakup in the end zone and game ending 95-yard interception return — Furman’s third pick-six this year — in the final minute against ETSU.

Click here.

On the offensive wish list is continued improvement in the running game, where Furman is coming off its most productive showing. The Paladins ground out 142 yards, led by sophomore Gavin Hall’s 101-yard effort.

“What it takes is not only offensive linemen doing their job but the running backs doing their job for a successful running game,” said another senior, Ryan Lamb, from Plano, Texas. “It takes 11 guys doing their job on an offense.

“If you have one guy mess up, it messes up the whole play. On defense, you can have a guy out of gap, and someone else can fill that hole. We’ve been really focusing, as a group, on being on the same page with one another.”

Trey Hedden (8) connected on 36/49 passes. Click here.

Despite not having dynamic freshman Evan James available against the Bucs, Furman’s passing game, triggered by sophomore quarterback Trey Hedden, proved it is no one-trick pony as wide receivers Ja’Keith Hamilton (11 rec., 141 yds., 2 TDs) and Ethan Harris (11 rec., 81 yds.) combined to record the first double-double receiving performance in Furman history.  In addition, tight ends Jordan Burrell and Luke Clyburn contributed seven receptions.

Hedden’s 358-yard passing performance versus the Buccaneers, the third highest in program history, saw him complete 36/49 attempts and two touchdowns.  He has completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 1,386 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

Click here.

In addition to television and streaming options, Saturday’s game will be aired over Furman flagship The Fan Upstate and its four stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Blue Hose to face first real PFL test

By MONTE DUTTON

Collin Hurst (8) spots B.J. Atkins (Monte Dutton photos). Click here.

Presbyterian College’s football team has thus far enjoyed a season of magic.

The Blue Hose don’t award scholarships in football. They play in the Pioneer Football League, which is made up of Division I schools that give athletic aid in other sports but not football.

When the Blue Hose are not cavorting about in the far-flung confines of the PFL, they are preoccupied with teams that do give scholarships. They defeated Mercer, Furman, Erskine and Bluefield (Va.) in their first four games. In their most recent outing, they tamed Morehead State, the first PFL foe. The score was 41-0.

Click here.

Presbyterian has not opened 5-0 since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president (1959). Dating back to last season, the Blue Hose have won nine straight games, which is something no other Division I school can boast. In the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), PC is one of eight undefeated teams, joining Harvard, Lehigh, Montana, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Tarleton (Texas) State and Tennessee Tech.

Last week Presbyterian (5-0, 1-0 PFL) was off. The leading rusher, Zach Switzer, was one of several players who used the free Saturday to heal some bumps and bruises.

PC defense swarms. Click here.

Here’s hoping a week off wasn’t a buzz kill.

“With the pause and everything, we still practiced the same amount of time that we would have on a regular week,” head coach Steve Englehart said. “We just did things a little differently, took the pads off a little more, focused a little more on some individual and special teams, focused a little more on conditioning and running, gave them Friday and Saturday off and then had them back on Sunday.

Click here.

“Now we’re back on the normal schedule, but the trick is, because everybody took a little bit of a breath, that bye week, after going nine weeks really hard (counting preseason camp), it came at a good time. Now we have to get the edge back.”

Click here.

This is a key game. Last year, PC upset Butler (4-2, 2-0), preventing the Bulldogs from winning a possible PFL title. Drake, of Des Moines, Iowa, won the league. PC does not play Drake (also Bulldogs) this season. The season is young, but the title could wind up being decided by Saturday’s game at 1 p.m.

Zach Switzer (5) Click here.

“Defensively, they’re not going to beat themselves,” said Englehart of Butler. “Their secondary is maybe the best we’ve played. It’s really going to come down to the basics of football.

“How you block. How you tackle. How you execute. And who can do that for the longest period of time. Who plays the most consistently for 60 minutes.”

PC has thus far scored 61 more points (213) than any other PFL member. (Dayton has 152.). The Hose have also allowed the fewest points (65). (Dayton has allowed 80.)

Four of 11 members remain undefeated in league play. Butler and Dayton are 2-0; PC and Drake are 1-0. Saturday’s other games match Saint Thomas (Minn.) at Davidson, Morehead (Ky.) State at Stetson (Fla.), Dayton (Ohio) at Valparaiso (Ind.) and Drake at San Diego.

Presbyterian returns to Bailey Memorial Stadium on Oct. 18 to play Stetson in the Blue Hose’ fourth straight 1 p.m. game.

Click here.

“If you start bad, and then you finish with eight straight, that’s what they remember. If you start good, and then you lose eight straight, that’s what they remember, too. It’s not as important how we started, but it matters how we finish,” Englehart said.

The Blue Hose have heroes in both platoons. Quarterback Collin Hurst could scarcely have played better: .677 completion percentage, 90/133, 15 touchdowns, four interceptions. Five receivers have 14 or more catches. Switzer and Justin Montgomery both average more than 7.5 yards per rush. Six players have at least 20 tackles.

Click here.

It’s a pretty picture.

It was an historic Thursday morning at the Waffle House. A talkative fellow announced he was running for president. Said Trump was going to be his veep.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

Next test for Clinton is trip to Chesnee

By MONTE DUTTON

Javen Cook (3) is little but loud (Monte Dutton photos).

Clinton (4-3, 1-0 Region 1-3A) puts a 15-game region win streak – spanning two classifications and regions and dating back to 2021– on the line Friday night at Chesnee (4-2, 1-0).

The Red Devils and Eagles are in the same region, but to date, they have one common opponent. Woodruff defeated Clinton, 21-13, and Chesnee, 52-17, so there’s that.

Both schools are ranked in the latest S.C. Media Poll. Clinton is third and Chesnee is 10th.

Click here.

The Red Devils won their first region game in a romp, 49-6, over Liberty (4-3, 0-1). Not much that could be said about that game is irrelevant to this one. The reigning Class 2A state champions have sharpened their pitchforks with a pre-region schedule against four 3A and two 4A schools.

The flagship in Clinton’s rushing flotilla, Javen Cook, has thus far run for 768 yards and 15 touchdowns. Angelo Cromer (464 yards), Zy Butler (364) and K.J. Vance (284) are similarly productive, all averaging at least six yards per carry. Cook’s norm is 8.7.

Click here.

Last week the Red Devils averaged 14.5 yards per carry as a team.

History favors Clinton, which has never lost to any of its region opponents. The Red Devils are 3-0 versus Chesnee and Blacksburg, 2-0 against Liberty and 1-0 against Landrum.

Chesnee’s victories are over Pendleton, Walhalla, North Carolina’s R-S Central and Blacksburg.

Click here.

Evan Reece-Lawter has already rushed for 1,202 yards, though he has only scored three touchdowns. Like Clinton, Chesnee concentrates on overland routes.

This could be the week for Laurens (0-6, 0-1 Region 1-4A), which visits Greenville to face Southside (0-6, 0-1).

The Raiders blitzed the Tigers, 45-0, last year for their only victory.

Click here.

It’s likely to be more of the same for Laurens Academy (6-1, 2-0 SCISA 8-man Region 1), which defeated its home opponent, Christian Academy (0-3) of Myrtle Beach, 42-16, on Sept. 5.

I probably never talked to Taneal Evans more than a handful of times when she was played basketball at Clinton High School, but she was the kind of player who spoke through her exuberance on the court.

Click here.

Evans, 20, was shot and killed on the side of Coleman Road in Clinton on Friday night. Another person is recovering in a hospital.

She was an energetic player, a perpetual-motion machine. It a shame that spirit was extinguished.

Her CHS coach, John Gardner, paid homage to his former player on social media.

Click here.

“Life is too short in the first place, and people treat it like they get redos,” Gardner wrote. “It’s just not fair. Fighting and shooting aren’t the answer. A young life gone way too soon.

“I got to watch Taneal grow up from begging to get on the blacktop to shoot some basketball at [Clinton Elementary School] to hitting game-winning shots at CHS.”

Click here.Caleb Hardy led Laurens Academy (6-1, 2-0 SCISA 8-man Region 1) to a 36-14 victory over Wardlaw Academy, and his two-way artistry – virtually all the Crusaders play offense and defense – led to his selection as the Laurens County Touchdown Club’s Player of the Week.The junior led the offense with 232 yards rushing on 27 carries and three touchdowns.  Additionally, Hardy scored one two-point conversion and had four receptions for 22 yards. On defense Hardy had nine tackles, an interception, a tackle for loss and three pass deflections. Click here.Stated his head coach, Jolly Doolittle, “Caleb is a relentless competitor who cares about the success of the team. He is willing to do anything for team success. He is generally our first option at attacking another team’s defense and the guy we match up on the other team’s best weapon.”The TD Club next meets on Oct. 16 at The Ridge in Laurens at noon. The guest speaker is ex-Wofford coach Mike Ayers. Click here.Clinton football is broadcast on WPCC (96.5 FM, 1410 AM, largetime.net). “Saturday Morning Rewind” is at 9 a.m., followed by a replay of the game from the night before.Laurens can be heard on streaming at GoLaurens.com.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .

 

 

When the Paladins play, don’t leave early

Trey Hedden threw for 358 yards (Monte Dutton photos). Click here.

It’s going to be an exciting season at Paladin Stadium specifically and in the Southern Conference in general.

Look out there. There is no Davidson of old. The lads had best be ready each week.

The names, images and likenesses do not rival Texas – oops, bad example – but in Saturday’s 31-22 victory over East Tennessee State (2-4, 0-2 SoCon), Furman (4-1, 2-0) was money.

The Paladins spotted the Buccaneers, as habitually unfortunate as Furman is heroic, a 22-7 lead. From there, the 10,527 family weekenders gleefully witnessed 29 minutes, 47 seconds of magic and sleight of hand. Furman collectively took an afternoon of sorcery and kept all the bunny rabbits and top hats in reserve.

Click here.

Poor Will Healy. The first-year ETSU coach has lost by four points at West Georgia, 10 to Elon and four to Mercer.

Mercer (4-1, 4-0) is thus far on top. Furman and Western Carolina are 2-0. (The Paladins visit Cullowhee next Saturday.) The surprising Citadel is 2-1. Chattanooga is 1-1. Wofford (0-5, 0-2), Samford (0-6, 0-4), ETSU and Virginia Military (1-4, 0-1) are ornery for cellar dwellers.

ETSU’s Brenden LeBlanc (91) brings down Ja’Keith Hamilton. Click here.

The Paladins have played five close games, at least until near the end, and won four of them. The loss was one point in overtime to Presbyterian, the non-scholarship wonder of Clinton, which also handed Mercer its only loss.

Winning is contagious. So is losing.

Gavin Hall (6) rushed for 101 yards. Click here.

Furman took the lead for the first time with 3:57 to play on a miracle. Quarterback Trey Hedden was hit as he threw. The toss was a dying quail that Ja’Keith Hamilton tracked like had a shotgun. He plucked it out of a crowd of Buccaneers and took it 53 yards to the end zone. A two-point conversion, Hedden to Luke Clyburn, put the Paladins up, 25-22.

It was Hamilton’s second touchdown reception of the day. He and Ethan Harris each had 11 catches. Hedden hit 36/49 passes for 358 yards.

Hedden from the pocket Click here.

Gavin Hall, sophomore running back of Gainesville, Ga., became Furman’s first triple-digit rusher of the season with 101 yards in 23 carries.

ETSU, of course, had plenty of time to win it or force overtime. The Bucs got as close as the Furman 17 and, after 12 plays, faced second-and-10 at the 26.

Click here.

Not that the Buccaneers were without their own memorable moments. Cole Keller scored the game’s first points, blocking Ian Williams’ punt and recovering it in the end zone.

The East Tennessee quarterback, Jacoby Criswell, took a shot at the end zone on the ill-fated 13th. He hurled to the left sideline, where the intervention of Joshua Stoneking affected its flight. Redshirt freshman cornerback Jordan Miller, Conyers, Ga.’s own, caught it cleanly and sprinted 95 yards to the end zone on the game’s final play.

Click here.

Nothing to it. It was only the third longest interception return in school history.

Take a look at the stats here.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports). Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon .