The Battle of Laurens County is as old as high school football itself. The two teams have met 95 times on the gridiron, a rivalry dating back to 1909. The Red Devils hold a 59-34-1 advantage in the all-time series and are winners of the last three contests, including a 49-7 drubbing last season.
But things are looking brighter in Laurens as far as football is concerned and the catalyst to that is the hiring of Greg Porter. The Raiders were 36-point underdogs against Hillcrest in Week 0 and held their own in a 16-0 loss. The general feeling around Laurens is that Porter is the man for the job. Porter is on record saying that he loves rebuilding projects and that is exactly what he has with the Raiders.
The Red Devils are in the exact opposite camp. They are coming off back-to-back region championships and deep playoff runs. Clinton lost their opener to Woodruff in an OK Corral-type shootout, 40-36. Tushawan Richardson looked every bit as electric as he did in 2023, rushing for 147 yards on just 14 carries and throwing for another 119 yards. The Red Devils struggled on defense against the Wolverines, giving up nearly 500 yards to Woodruff, predominantly on the ground.
The good news for the Red Devils is that Javen Cook, Angelo Cromer, and D.J. Clark gobbled up yards behind one of the best offensive lines in the area and newcomer Devin Swindler gives Richardson a nice, big target who can get behind the defense.
Unfortunately, the Red Devils will have to duplicate such a performance against a stout Raiders defense led by senior defensive back Javaye Suber and senior linebacker Ja’Mauri Williams. Laurens was able to hold a powerful Hillcrest offense to only 16 points in Week 0 and they will have to bring the heat once again against the Red Devils.
One of the most exciting things to take place in this game will be the battle in the trenches. The Raiders’ high-powered defensive end duo of Mike Brown and Demyjah Watts will have their work cut out for them against the wall that is the Clinton offensive line. The Red Devils returned all five starters on the offensive line from 2023 and they continue to make a heavy impact on the Red Devil offense.
Offensively, the Raiders struggled against Hillcrest in their Week 0 matchup, failing to score a single point. However, everybody has growing pains, and the Laurens offense should be fine moving forward. Senior quarterback Will Thompson went 6-for-11 for 68 yards and an interception against Hillcrest, including a 40-yard bomb to wideout Josh Goodwin. Thompson is looking for his breakout game of 2024 and the matchup against the Red Devils seems to be an intriguing opportunity.
The Clinton defense, led by senior linebacker Brett Young, will try its best to spoil that opportunity. Versus Woodruff on Week 0, the Red Devils let up 40 points to the Wolverines in a 40-36 loss. This cannot be the case if the Red Devils wish to come out on top. Clinton lost a number of notable seniors from the defense from 2023, leaving many noticeable holes. The job will be on Young and senior defensive back Chris Boyd to captain the Red Devils’ safeguard.
Prediction: We have yet to see the Laurens offense fully untracked under Greg Porter, but everyone knows what Porter is capable of. Will Thompson has the ability to lead a high-powered offense and has the weapons around him to do so. The Raider offense will have to get up early on the Clinton defense before Tushawan Richardson and crew get rolling. Ultimately, the Raiders show flashes of their squad’s potential, but the Red Devil offensive line is the deciding factor. Laurens is just not able to get enough pressure on Richardson and the big boys up front create some big holes for Javen Cook to dance.
Final score: Clinton 35, Laurens 24