Local Notes
Laurens County Touchdown Club
- 2024 Awards Banquet
- Wednesday night the The Ridge, the Laurens County Touchdown Club held its annual Awards Banquet… There were several speakers at the meeting and the Keynote Speaker was Mr. Brian Mance… He is a former Clemson football player and he has coached at various levels until some neurological illness caused him to suddenly be paralyzed from the neck down… His story was an inspiration and very motivational… If you would like to read more about him and his struggle to overcome physical problems, click here.
- After he spoke several players were honored as being Players of The Week since the club’s last meeting…. Then it was time for the club to honor the three high schools and one college player who had won the Lakelands FCA Character Awards… In alphabetical order they are Nathan Bell from Laurens Academy, Noah Garrett of Clinton HS, Noah Roberts of LDHS and Warner Bush of Presbyterian College.
- The next order of business was to honor the All-County Team… The members of that team had been announced earlier and if you want to see the complete list of players who made the team, their position and school, click here.
- The final item on the agenda was to name the Coach of the Year and Player of the Year… Coach Corey Fountain of Clinton HS was named the Coach of the Year as he guided the Red Devils to a Class AA State Championship this past season… For the first time in the club’s history, two players were named as Co-Players of the Year… The Co-Players of the Year are Garrett Murphy of Laurens Academy and Tushawan Richardson of Clinton HS… Both had stats some impressive it was hard for the club to single out one of them.
- A video was shot of the meeting that is about an hour and 30 minutes long… At the time of this posting, it was still being processed and uploaded to YouTube… When it becomes available, you will be able to click here to view it…Should be noon today… It takes a while to edit and process a video that long… After that is finished, I will create a slideshow of photos taken last night at the meeting and it will be available later in the day by clicking here.
- Congratulations to Coach Fountain, Garrett Murphy, Tushawan Richardson and all the other players honored last night!
Clinton HS
- Up Next… The Red Devils basketball teams were supposed to be traveling to Fairfield Central last Friday night (1-10-25) but they did not… I believe those games are now scheduled for Tuesday, 2-13-25… The Red Devils will host the Columbia Capitals tomorrow night stating with girls’ action at 6:15.
Laurens HS… The Laurens Raider went ahead and traveled to Wren Thursday night to take on the Golden Hurricanes before the bad weather sets in Friday.
- Girls: Wren 57 – Laurens 36… The Lady Raiders came out and outscored the Hurricanes 13-11 in the first quarter, but the Hurricanes are a seasoned team that historically have good basketball teams and they came back to lead 26-20 at half… After that, the Hurricanes continued to pull away and take a 57-36 win over the Lady Raiders… The Hurricanes had 4 players scoring in double-digits while the Raiders had only 2… Nyri Allen finished with a game-high 19 points and Zoe Young 14… The only other Raider to score was Alayiah Carter who hit one three-point shot… The Hurricanes are now 11-5 overall and 1-1 in region play while the Raider fall to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in region play.
- Boys Wren 76 – Laurens 59… I hate to have to report that according to the MaxPreps site, the boys fell to the Hurricanes 76-59… The Hurricanes came out and outscored the Raiders 42-25 in the first half and led 63-42 at the end of the third quarter and the Raiders did outscore them17-13 in the final 8 minutes but it was too little too late… The Hurricanes were led in scoring by Abijah Franklin who had a game-high 32 points… The Raiders were led in scoring by Q Watts who scored 15 points and Will Thomson who finished with 10 points… TyJ Jones, Damyyo Watts, DJ Martin and Nigere Brown scored 5 points each… Q. Anderson, Trendon Brown and Zee Simpson all finished with 4 points and Hikeem Burnside rounded out the Raider scoring with 2 points… The Hurricanes improve to 13-3 overall and 2-0 in region play while the Raider are 9-5 overall and 1-1 in region play.
- Up Next… The Raider varsity teams are scheduled to host the Westside Rams next Tuesday night (1-14-25) starting with girls’ action at 6:00 pm… We do plan on brining you those games here on Real Radio WLBG and on the internet at www.wlbg.com.
Laurens Academy
- Crusaders on the Road… The Crusaders traveled to King Academy last Tuesday night to take on the Knights n non-region games.
- UPDATED: Boys: Crusaders 43– King 19… I finally got the final score on the Crusaders game at WW King last Tuesday night and it was Crusaders 43 – Knights 19… The Crusaders led 21-10 at the half and continued to outscore the Knights in the second half pulling away to the win… Braydon Burke had a game-high 17 points to lead the Crusaders in scoring… Both Mica Strait and Garrison Vaughn finished with 8 points, Jay Brown 5, Garrett Murphy 3 and Chesney Watkins 2.
- MS Boys: LA 47 – King 13… Last Tuesday the Crusader middle school boys took a 47-19 win over the Knights of King Academy… The Crusaders led 19-6 at the half and continued to outscore the Knights in the last two quarters… Elias Littleton had a game-high 13 points to lead the Crusaders… George Sherer finished with 7 points, Wyatt Little 6, Parker Wilson 5, Riley Whitaker 4, Mason Snider 4, Jensen Tarver 3, Hodges Compton 3, and Reid Campbell 2
- The Crusaders Played Thursday Night… The Crusaders were scheduled to host the Easley Home School Guardians last Friday but due to the weather forecast went ahead and played Thursday night.
- Girls: Crusaders 38 – Guardians 21… Both teams open the game about as cold as the weather as the Crusaders only scored 6 points, but the Guardians scored none… By the half, the Crusader led 17-3 and the only quarter they did not outscore the Guardians was the last (9-3 Guardians) as they went on to take the win… Mackenzie Runyans had a game-high 11 points to lead the Crusaders in scoring and was the only Crusader in double-digits… Sadie Bruyere scored 5 points as di Braylee Burke, Taylor Gagle 3 an Brooklyn Senn, Abby Howard and Madisyn Graham all scored 2 points each… The Crusaders are now 9-3 on the season.
- Boys: Guardians 48 – Crusaders 34… I hate to have to report that the Crusader boys took another one on the chin as they fell to the Guardians by a score of 48-34… The Guardians broke out on top leading 23-15 at the half… The Crusaders matched their scoring in the third quarter (8 points) but the Guardians outscored them 17-11 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win… The Guardians had 2 players scoring in double digits while the Crusaders had only one as Braydon Burke had a game-high 18 points 12 of them coming from behind the three-point line… Micah strait and Garrison Vaughn both scored 4 points each, Chesney Watkins and Elijah Hornberger scored 3 points each and Garrett Murphy rounded out the Crusader scoring with 2 points… The Crusaders are now 5-8 on the season while the Guardians are 8-2.
- MS Boys: Crusaders 47 –Guardians 13… In middle school boys’ action, the Crusaders rolled to a 47-13 win over the Guardians… Elias Littleton led the Crusaders offense scoring 13 points with all but one of them coming from behind the three-point line… George Sherer scored 7 points7 points, Wyatt Little 6, Parker Wilson 5, Riley Whitaker and Mason Snider 4 points each, Jensen Tarver and Hodges Compton 3 each and rounding out the scoring for the Crusaders Reid Campbell had 2 points.
- Up Next… The Crusaders are scheduled to travel to Greenwood Christian to take on the Hawks Tuesday, 1-14-25.
Thornwell
- Basketball… The Thornwell Saints also went ahead and played their games scheduled for Friday night and played them last Thursday night as they traveled down to McCormick to take on the Chiefs in region action.
- Girls: Chiefs 44 – Saints 18… The trip home for the girls’ team probably seemed longer than the trip down as the Chiefs took a 44-18 win… The Saints only trailed 14-11 at the end of the first quarter but then were unable to score in the second quarter as the Chiefs outscored them 20-7 in the second half… The Saints were led in scoring by Ally Jeter who scored 7 points… KayKay Watts scored 4 points, Graycen Moore 3, Kendra Wilson 2, and both Karleigh Porter and Makenzie Godfrey rounded out the Saints scoring with 1 point each… The Lady Saints are now 3-5 overall and 2-5 in region play while the Lady Chiefs improve to 4-3 overall and 4-1 in region play.
- Boys: Chiefs 76 – Saints 68… The story is much the same for the boys as they fell to the Chiefs by a score of 76-68… The Saints trailed 58-41 going into the final quarter where they outscored the Chiefs 27-18 but it was just too little too late… I do not have any scoring details on the Saints but if I get them I will pass them on to you later.
- Up Next… According to the schedule on MaxPreps, the Saints will travel to McCormick this Friday (1-10-25) for more region games weather permitting. .. NOTE… The updated MaxPreps schedule shows these games were played last night (Thursday) but no score has been reported to me.
Middle School Basketball… All games start at 5:00 pm unless otherwise noted with girls’ game first followed by boys’ game… Note: coaches very often change schedule without telling me… To see the season master schedule click here… NOTE…Dixie and Thornwell do NOT have middle school girls teams this season so the 5:00 pm start will be for the boys’ game… According to the master schedule the games for tonight should be:
- Hickory Tavern at Gray Court-Owings… The Hickory Tavern Panthers traveled to Gray Court-Owings Thursday night to take on the Tigers.
- Girls: GCO 21 – HT 11… In girls’ action the Tigers led 6-4 at the half and the pulled away to a 21-11 win over the Panthers…Caroline Gillespie had a game-high 18 points for the Tigers while Mahaiven Cook scored 9 points to lead the Panthers… Also scoring for the Panthers was Ivy Brock who finished with 2 points… Also scoring for the Tigers Koziah Smith scored 6 points, Jenna Gillian 4 and Addison Wilson 2
- Boys: GCO 52 – HT 21… The Tigers completed the sweep of the Panthers when the boys took a 52-21 win over the Panthers They outscored them 13-2 in the first quarter and led 18-8 at the half…. The Tigers then came out and scored 21 points in the third quarter and that put the Panthers in a hole they just could not climb out of… Dylan Abramowitz had a game-high 13 points to lead the Tigers and Wesley Collins was also in double-digits with 12 points… The Panthers were led in scoring by Ayden Eaton and Jam P. who scored 6 points each… For the Tigers, Preston Owens and Mason Lang scored 5 points each, Jaylin Anderson 4 while Kash Earl, Edmond McDowell, and Andrew Torres had 3 points each… Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers Brayden Filbin and Nick Landrith scored 2 points each… Also scoring for the Panthers Zane R. had 5 points, while both Bentley J and Omar A had 2 points each
- Laurens Middle at Sanders… Games postponed until 1-14-25
- Thornwell at Whitmire… No scores reported to me. Please ask coach to do so for the next game.
- Dixie at Ware Shoals… No scores reported to me. Please ask coach to do so for the next game.
Middle School Schedule for Today (1-13-25)
- Laurens Middle at Dixie (boys only)
- Sanders at Hickory Tavern
- Gray Court at Thornwell (boys only)
- Ware shoals at Whitmire
Local Sports Schedules: All schedules subject to change right up to game time.
- School District 55: To see the sports schedule for this week at LDHS, click here.
- School District 56: To see the sports schedule for this week at CHS and CMS, click here
- Laurens Academy: Click on each of the following to see their schedule: Basketball…. Also you can click on the following to see their schedule on MaxPreps: Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys.… You can also click here to see the master basketball schedule for the Crusade teams. .
- Thornwell: To see the Thornwell varsity basketball schedules and results click on one of the following: Varsity Girls, Boys… Also Master Schedule that includes middle school games click here.
- PC Sports Calendar… To see the PC athletics sports calendar, click here.
College Sports: For any game mentioned below, click on the score for more details if available.
Playoff Results From This Weekend:
- Thursday, Jan. 9: College Football Playoff Semifinal Game (Orange Bowl) No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 6 Penn State 24 (Orange Bowl)… Penn State took an early lead in this game (10-7 at the half) but the fighting Irish came back to tie the game with 4:38 left in the game… Notre Dame then got the ball back with 29 seconds left when the intercepted a Penn State pass at the Penn State 42 then with 7 seconds left kicked a 41 yard field goal which would prove to be the winning points… Click on the score above for more details on the game. ,
- Friday, Jan. 10: College Football Playoff Semifinal Game (Cotton Bowl), No. 8 Ohio State 28, No. 5 Texas 14 (Cotton Bowl)… This game was tied 14-14 going into the fourth quarter of play where Ohio State scored 14 unanswered point to take the win… An 82 yard scoop and score sealed the win for the Buckeyes… For more information on this game, click on the score at the start of this posting or click here.
National Championship, Monday, Jan. 20, No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Ohio State, (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
- 2024-25 College Football Playoff Bracket… The four teams that will get a bye in the first round of the college football playoffs due to the fact they are the 4 highest rankings of the five major football conferences that won their college conference are Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State… To see the entire playoff bracket click here.
- 2024-25 Entire College Football Bowl Schedule & Information… After the selection Committee filled out the College Playoff Brackets other teams were quickly chosen for the myriad of bowl games that are going to be held between now and the National Championship game on Monday, Jan. 20th next year… If you click here, you will go to a posting on the NCAA website where the list of bowls is posted along with when they will be held, times, TV availability and after they are over the final score.
College Basketball… In the polls the number in parenthesis (?) indicates their rank in the last poll if it is different from the present one… If there is a score given or game(s) click on it to see details on the game(s).
Men
- DI AP Poll… The latest AP Top 25 Poll (1-6-25) had no changes in the top 5… Tennessee is still #1 followed by Auburn, Iowa State, Duke and Alabama … There were some changes in spots 6-10 as Kentucky (10) is now #6 followed by Marquette (8), Florida (6), UConn (11) and Texas A&M (13)…To see the remainder of the top 25 click here.
- DI Scores… To see the scores foe last night and also for the previous couple of days click here… You can also look ahead to the next few days to see who will be playing.
- Standings by Conference… To see the conference standings for each of the DI conferences, click here… It’s a long list so if you want to see say the SEC standings, you have to scroll down a good bit.
Women
- DI AP Poll… The latest AP Top 25 Poll (1-6-25) also had no changes in the top 5…UCLA is still #1 followed by South Carolina, Notre Dame, UConn and LSU (4)… LSU checked in at #6 followed by UConn, Maryland, Ohio State (10) and Oklahoma (9)… To see the remainder of the top 25 click here.
- DI Scores… To see the scores foe last night and also for the previous couple of days click here… You can also look ahead to the next few days to see who will be playing.
- Standings by Conference… To see the conference standings for each of the DI conferences, click here… It’s a long list so if you want to see say the SEC standings, you have to scroll down a good bit.
Pro Sports: For more information on the game(s) below, click on the scores at the start of the section.
NFL
- NFL Playoffs… The NFL is now starting its playoffs and if you would like to see the complete bracket leading up to the Super Bowl click here.
- Wildcard Schedule… The Wildcard games will be taking place this weekend and if you want to see that schedule click here… Once the games are finished you can see the scores and details there also… There is one wildcard game left tonight (Monday, 1-13-25) and that is the Minnesota Vikings at the LA Rams at 8:00 pm on ABC.
- Standings… If you are also curious about the NFL standings, click here,
This & That:
If you have any comments, suggestions, or want to report scores, please contact me via email at: sports@wlbg.com or text me at 864-981-3470.