EASLEY — Legendary Pickens High School football Coach Bill Isaacs made it no secret that he did not like Homecoming games.

Isaacs did not like anything that distracted his teams from taking care of business on the field.

“We always try to schedule somebody we think we can beat pretty easy, and I’ll be dogged if we don’t find someway to lose the game,” Isaacs said. “There’s just too many distractions, especially for kids that age. They’re thinking about the dance later that night, the Homecoming queen ... anything but the guys on the other side of the field who want to win more than anything.”

Isaacs talked about changing his policy in regards to the Homecoming game.

“I’ve thought about picking our toughest opponent for the Homecoming game,” he said. “That might help our guys stay focused on the game. Plus, if we lose, at least it will be to somebody who might have beaten us anyway.”

With that in mind, let’s clear up one thing: Easley did not schedule Mauldin as its Homecoming opponent because of the strength or weakness or the team. These days, the size of the probable gate receipts for the game have more to do with such decisions (After all, why would you schedule Homecoming for a game in which there will probably be good ticket sales regardless?).

However, there is the possibility that Mauldin may be the best team on Easley’s schedule this year, or at least the most explosive offense.

The Mavericks are averaging almost 52 points per game so far this season (last week Laurens “shut down” Mauldin by holding the team to just 41 points).

The Mavericks are 5-0, and Friday night’s game represents Mauldin’s last non-conference matchup before beginning play in the tough Region 2-AAAA (with heavy-hitters Byrnes, Spartanburg and Dorman).

The Mavericks are led by running backs Andre Clark and Tiquention who each average about eight yards per carry.

Last year Mauldin built up a 48-0 lead at halftime, then coasted to a 62-0 win.

For Easley, it could depend on which Green Wave team shows up. Two weeks ago, Easley stuffed an high-scoring Eastside team and held the Eagles to just 7 points. Last week, the rainstorm that ended the game early may well have been welcome, as Easley was down 35-0 at halftime against Wren.

The Green Wave only have one home game remaining after Friday night as four of its five Region 1-AAAA games are on the road this season.

Pickens travels to Seneca

For schools on the AAA and AA level, the real season begins Friday night.

Although the results of non-region games may count in some complicated tie-breaker system, the truth is that rarely does that come up.

Good times in non-conference games means absolutely nothing as far as which teams will earn playoffs spot.

Ask Pickens

Last year the Blue Flame was perfect, going 5-0 in non-conference play. Pickens improved to 6-0 with a win over Seneca in the first week of the Western AAA portion of the schedule, but lost the final four game in conference play.

The Blue Flame ended up sitting at home during playoff time, despite a 6-4 regular season record. Ironically, Seneca took the fourth and final playoff spot for Western AAA schools.

Still, tonight’s game at Seneca means a lot for the Blue Flame. Pickens opened the season with three straight wins, but had unexpected losses in the last two weeks against Travelers Rest and Berea.

The Blue Flame are familiar with “streaks” as last year they won the first six games and lost the final four. They would like to see this losing streak end at two games.

Seneca comes into the game with an 0-5 record, which, as previously mentioned, means nothing in the playoff race.

But Seneca is averaging less than five points a game so far this season, and that’s after scoring 14 points last week against Blue Ridge High School.

Pickens, on the other hand, is unlikely to take the Bobcats lightly.

Liberty still seeking first win

The losing streak for Liberty High School has officially hit 10 games, and the Red Devils will have to upset a pretty good Walhalla team this Friday to avoid the streak going to 11.

Walhalla has impressive wins over Blue Ridge and Travelers Rest on its resume, and one loss came at the hands of the Pickens Blue Flame (figure this out — Aug. 21: Pickens 42, Walhalla 10; Sept. 18: Travelers Rest 28, Pickens 23; Sept. 25: Walhalla 21, Travelers Rest 8. Goes to show anything can happen with football).

Daniel travels to Woodmont

Last year Woodmont came into the region-opening game against Daniel with a perfect 5-0 record, and the game was billed as a Western AAA showdown.

Daniel won the game, but Woodmont was able to eventually secure second place in Western AAA, earning a home game in the state playoffs.

This year, the Wildcats come into the game against Daniel winless.