By MONTE DUTTON
I washed my face in the morning dew / Bathed my soul in the sun / I washed my face in the morning sun / And kept on moving along
Of course, Tom T. Hall wrote it. He didn’t have a morning of 7-on-7s at Clinton High School in mind, but even a simple country song is applicable to many situations.
Football is limited in the early summer. Imagine a team as an army. In June, it gets to practice its marksmanship. In early August it goes on maneuvers. The infantry goes to work.
Later in August, the army is deployed. Players take shots. They trade licks. Life is not at stake, just limb.
I can’t really speak for young men taking part half a century later, and there was no 7-on-7 back then, but as far as I could tell on Tuesday, it looked like fun.
August practices are not fun. They are necessary steps to success. I used to get mildly nauseated before practices. I suffered a virus known as dread.
The Red Devils were not perfect in their passing game nor in the defense of said passes against seven other bands of aerial specialists.
It’s ridiculously early, and they will not be limited to the pitch and the catch when it gets real.
What is now the work in progress is just the buildup to a time not too distant when pads start popping. They do all they are allowed to do for now.
What did I do back in Bedrock besides keep a steady lookout for tyrannosauri?
I hauled hay. I shelved the weekly order at my grandfather’s grocery store. I fed the cattle and bush-hogged the pastures. I jogged a two-mile course around the farm. I played slow-pitch softball. I jumped rope in the carport.
A young player was all on his own, but if he lollygagged around now, there would be hell to pay in August.
If everyone back then knew what everyone now knows, the players would have been better, but the players now would have been worse back then because they wouldn’t have known any better.
To argue otherwise is ridiculous. What if Jim Brown or John Unitas was playing now? Naturally, he’d be better.
And Clinton High School’s football team is going to get better between now and Aug. 23, when Woodruff comes to town.
All that hay will be in the barn.
One common denominator is the early schedule.
Clinton opens against Woodruff, Laurens and Newberry. Fifty years ago, and before and after, that was the case.
Few great college baseball programs have young head coaches. I don’t know why, but I thought about it.
Perhaps it’s because an inordinately high number postponed their coaching careers bouncing around the minor leagues.
The Post 56 Junior American Legion baseball team, coached by Peyton Spangler, split a road doubleheader on Monday night at Bateburg-Leesville.
B-L won the former of two five-inning games, 4-2, and the Red Devils captured the latter, 9-0.
Catcher William Addison and infielder Graydon Watkins had the only two Clinton hits in game one.
The winning pitcher, Carter Bouknight, and also drove in two of Batesburg-Leesville’s runs. Tanner Finley took the loss.
Angel Vargas pitched three perfect innings, striking out two, and Camden Finley allowed only one hit, walked two and fanned four in two innings on the bump.
Luke Young, playing first base for the Red Devils (3-2), doubled and went 2/3, scoring twice.
Third baseman Tanner Finley and second baseman Watkins also provided two hits apiece.
Trey Smith chipped in Batesburg-Leesville’s only hit.
In the Senior American Legion ranks, Golden Strip Post 271 (Simpsonville) improved to 3-1 with a 6-3 decision over Anderson Post 14.
Laurens southpaw Jordan Hudson, who struck out six, picked up a save, pitching four innings in relief of Luke Jones.
Three Raiders – Hunter Nabors in center field, DH Owen Pridgen and Ben Willis at short – started for Golden Strip. Pridgen doubled and Willis singled in the game.
Led by two hits apiece from Matthew Rollinson and Jake Peterson, Chapin-Newberry Post 193/24 defeated Easley Post 52 by a score of 3-1.
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