Easley High School junior Casey Brewington (No. 10) gets an interception against Wren in Week No. 2 of the season. The Green Wave football has a week off and then return to play on Sept. 20 at home against JL Mann.
Scott Schroeder | The Easley Progress
Pickens coach James Reynolds and his team bounced back to a 38-34 victory over Liberty last Friday night.
Senior running back Carter McCollum (220 yards on 32 carries) and Landon Pierce (115 yards on 17 carries) combined for 335 yards rushing for the Blue Flame and 4 touchdowns. David Bolden added some big runs in the second half, including the game-sealing victory.
“After a very tough week of practice following our disappointing performance in game 2 (against Walhalla), our players responded in a big way by playing well against a talented Liberty team,” said Pickens coach James Reynolds, whose team climbed to 2-1 on the season. “I was proud of how they stepped up and stayed together. Our team showed tremendous resilience
Cole Evans had a big night on defense for Pickens with 11 tackles. Ethan Briley also had a big 37-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer to give the Blue Flame momentum going into the second half.
Turning the page after a win (for Pickens) …. “Lessons are being taught right now.”
Those were the words of Pickens football coach James Reynolds after his team’s 49-16 loss to Walhalla in Week 2 of the season.
“We just have to get better as a team,” Reynolds said. “You have to get better every day or you won’t get the results on Friday night.”
The unfortunate part of that lopsided loss to Walhalla was that Pickens was losing just 14-10 at halftime. Then, Pickens sophomore QB Brooks Dow suffered an injury in the second quarter and had to leave the game (slipping on the track out of bounds on a play).
Pickens started out the season with a 47-41 victory over Easley in overtime. Yet, Coach Reynolds felt that his team did not continue that extra effort into trying to improve as a team.
“We just have to learn how to handle success,” added Reynolds. “We need to learn how to turn the page after a win. It’s important to perform well (against Liberty) after a poor showing last week (against Walhalla). Liberty is right next to us and all of our kids know each other.”
Senior Landon Pace, who played quarterback the past two seasons at PHS, is expected to step back into the role of QB to lead the team.
Blue Flame sophomore Harrison Clark did score a touchdown for Pickens off an onside kick.
After their first two games, PHS senior running back Carter McCollum has 332 rushing yards on the season.
The remaining schedule for the 2024 Pickens football team:
Sept. 13: ST. JOSEPH
Sept. 20: at Blue Ridge
Sept. 27: BEREA
Oct. 5: OLE MISS
Oct. 12: OFF
Oct. 19: DANIEL
Oct. 25: at Seneca
Nov. 1: at Travelers Rest
Wren football on a roll: It’s always interesting to see how a coach or a coaching staff can motivate a team. It doesn’t matter if it is football, basketball, softball, tennis or whatever the sport.
In the past, I’ve seen the “good cop and bad cop” as they say … the head coach would never lose his cool too much to his team and then he’d have a fiery assistant coach or two who would let loose on the players in pregame or some in some heated timeout (in hoops) during crunch-time. Or, it would be flipped … the head coach was always fiery with heartfelt speeches and you’d have an assistant coach there and letting the players know to not take it personal.
Recently, Easley quarterback Jay Stoker set a single-game record of over 400 yards passing in a 47-41 loss in overtime to Pickens in the season opener. Stoker’s school record was posted on social media for everyone to see. Plus nowadays, the game film and high-level scouting reports are quite impressive.
Wren football coach Anthony Frate had the perfect motivation for his team’s recent 55-7 victory over Easley.
“You watch Easley a week ago (against Pickens) and good golly,” Frate said. “Their quarterback (Stoker) is special. He’s got a cannon for an arm. He’s a special kind of player with his feet.”
Continued Coach Frate, “We feel very fortunate. We were worried. We knew they were going to be solid in some positions that would give us problems. Our safeties are 5-10 and they have a bunch of 6-3 guys. I’m very pleased with how our guys prepared and attacked this game.”
Not to be overlooked, though, was the standout effort of Wren quarterback Colton Bagwell who was 7-for-9 passing for 90 yards against Easley and 2 TDs. Plus, Bagwell had 120 yards on the ground and one rushing TD. Wren running back Reese Price also hit the 100-yard mark rushing (109 yards) to go with 3 TDs.
For Easley, Stoker still finished the night with 13-of-29 passing for 121 yards and two interceptions against a stingy Wren defense. The lone TD for Easley came on a 2- yard pass from Stoker to Kyler Turner. Junior Kobe Preston led the Green Wave defense (6 solos and 3 assists), junior Cason Brewington (6 solos and an interception) and senior Kyler Turner (2 solos and 3 assists).
Wren had 440 yards of total offense, while Easley had 252 yards.
Future of Wren Football: The Wren JV football team is also undefeated this season at 3-0 after a 34-7 win over Powdersville.
Green Wave running game: Easley’s offense showed glimpses of a running game in their opener against Pickens, when senior running back Aaron Tolbert gained 67 yards on the ground. Tolbert also had 60 receiving yards and 40 yards in kickoff returns.
The remaining schedule for the 2024 Easley football team:
Sept. 13: OPEN
Sept. 20: JL MANN (Conference Game)
Sept. 27: WOODMONT (Conference Game)
Oct. 4: at Greenville
Oct. 11: MAULDIN (Conference Game)
Oct. 18: at Hillcrest (Conference Game)
Oct. 25: TL HANNA (Senior Night)
Nov. 1: at Greenwood (Conference Game)
Daniel loses first game, and Easley: The Daniel Lions lost a close 28-23 decision to J.L. Mann. The Lions go to 2-1 on the season. On Sept. 20, it should be a good battle when Easley hosts JL Mann. It would be one of those “signature wins” if Easley that would be huge, and on their homefield.
Santana steps on defense: Former Easley High School standout Christian Santana is a redshirt junior for Lenior Rhyne University. He’s 6-foot-3, 190-pound defensive end and is No. 24. Santana turned in a sack and a 1.5 tackles for a loss on Saturday in a 32-19 win over Bowie State.
Junior High Football: The Gettys Middle School trio of Maddox Raby (No. 6), Malicah Debnam (No. 4) and Leyton Scott (No. 14) have been invited to play in the Middle School Showcase All-Star Football Game on December 29 at Airport High School. Congrats!
Clemson football wins big: The Clemson University football team has won 21-straight conference night games in Death Valley, a streak that dates back to the 2013 season.
The Tigers football team steamrolled to an impressive 66-20 win over Appalachian State University on Saturday night.
Clemson will return at home on Sept. 21 against North Carolina State.
Birthday on this day (Sept. 11) – You’ve got Paul “Bear” Bryant (1913), Tom Landry (former Cowboys coach, 1924) and Ed Reed (1978).
But locally, it is the 61st birthday of Gerald Wilkins who grew up playing hoops in Atlanta. He was nicknamed “Little Nique” after getting drafted in the second round (47th overall) of the 1985 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound Wilkins was a shooting guard. He averaged 13 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the NBA.
Mark your calendar: The 3rd Annual Veterans Charity Golf Tournament will be held on Nov. 4 at the Smithfield Country Club.
Reach Jeff Holt at 864-855-0355.