Kinard-Shelton honored as Touchdown Club player of the week; Mike Ayers to speak Oct. 15
October 6, 2026
The Laurens County Touchdown Club is proud to announce that for games played on Friday, October 2nd, the Player of the week is Thornwell Charter School Junior Running Back/Defensive Back Trumani “Tru” Kinard-Shelton.
Tru Kinard–Shelton is a junior two–way player for the Thornwell Saints who played an awesome game on Friday Night in Thornwell’s loss to Calhoun Falls. Calhoun Falls defeated Thornwell 44-28. In the game against Calhoun Falls, Tru Kinard-Shelton ran for 73 Yards and a Touchdown and scored twice on Two-Pont Conversions for Thornwell. Tru was all over the field on defense for the Saints recording 8 Tackles, 2 for a loss and even intercepted a pass.
Head Coach Adams Dean stated, “Tru is a pleasure to coach. He works hard every day and is a great teammate. Tru does whatever is asked of him for his team. He is a quiet leader that everyone looks up to, and he always steps up to every challenge. Thornwell Charter School is blessed to have Tru as a student-athlete.”
The Laurens County Touchdown Club will honor Kinard-Shelton on October 15th at the fifthTouchdown Club meeting of the year. The meeting will be at noon at The Ridge in Laurens with School District #56 Nutritional Services serving the meal and the food service line opening at 11:45 am. Player of the Week awards will be presented in 2026 by Farm Bureau Insurance of Laurens County.
The October 15th meeting will feature highly popular Coach Mike Ayers, former head football coach at Wofford College who guided the Wofford program for 30 years, as our featured speaker.
Coach Ayers won the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the most outstanding FCS Head Coach in the Country during his tenure as well. Additionally, Ayers is a member of the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame as a 2022 inductee.
The Laurens County Touchdown Club meets every other Thursday throughout the football season at The Ridge located in Laurens at 301 Exchange Road and the public is invited. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15. All meetings are at Noon with the food service line opening at 11:45 am.
Additionally, the Farm Bureau Insurance of Laurens County “Player of the Week’ awards will be presented for the October 2 and October 9 High School football games, and we will have a recap from all of the coaches of the local High School teams and Presbyterian College.
