Clinton edges Laurens on last-second touchdown as county teams split Friday night
August 31, 2026
Laurens County’s four high school football programs finished 2-2 on Friday, Aug. 28, with the county’s biggest rivalry game decided in the final seconds at Wilder Stadium.
Clinton scored on the last play of the night to beat Laurens District 55, 29-22. Red Devils quarterback Owen Glenn connected with junior tight end Caleb Gary in the end zone with two seconds remaining, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive that started with 2:26 on the clock. The touchdown was Gary’s first varsity reception.
The finish was a departure from recent meetings between the two schools. Clinton has now won six in a row in the series, but the previous three came by a combined 134-15, including a 50-0 result last season. This time the game was tied at 22 for nearly nine minutes before the winning drive.
Laurens running back Travion Robinson opened the scoring with a 62-yard run at the 9:36 mark of the first quarter and later broke free on a 35-yard run that put the Raiders ahead 14-8 with 7:54 left in the second. Clinton senior running back Rhett Gilliam answered early with a 6-yard scoring run, and a two-point conversion carry by Damajia Crooks gave the Red Devils their first lead of the night. Gilliam added a 1-yard touchdown, and Bryland James scored on a 1-yard run with 1:12 left in the second quarter to put Clinton up 22-14, a margin the Red Devils held until Laurens tied it.
Clinton moved to 1-0 on the season. Laurens fell to 1-1.
In Greenwood, Laurens Academy was in control when the weather intervened. The Crusaders led Cambridge Academy 30-6 when officials called the game because of lightning in the area. Laurens Academy was credited with the win and improved to 2-0.
Thornwell Charter School came up just short at home, falling 17-14 to visiting Spartanburg Day School. The Saints dropped to 0-2 in what is their first full season of varsity competition after two years spent largely at the sub-varsity level. Spartanburg Day evened its record at 1-1.
All four programs return to action Friday, Sept. 4. Laurens District 55 hosts Southside Christian, Clinton travels to Newberry, Thornwell opens Region 1-1A play at Ware Shoals and Laurens Academy hosts Cathedral Academy. Kickoff for each game is set for 7:30 p.m.
