Red Devils claim 2A Upper State, head to finals vs. Barnwell

The Clinton football team punched its ticket for a state championship appearance for the first time in 15 years Friday night with a 32-21 victory over Fairfield Central.

The Red Devils will face Lower State champion Barnwell at 2 p.m. Thursday for the Class 2A State Championship at S.C. State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg. Barnwell defeated Manning 37-14 Friday night for the Lower State title.

At Wilder Stadium in Clinton, three Red Devil rushers gained more than 100 yards on the ground as Clinton never trailed the previously unbeaten Griffins (12-1).

Clinton sophomore running back Rhett Gilliam ran for 109 yards and a touchdown, senior quarterback Tushawan Richardson added 102 yards and a score, and junior running back Javen Cook ran for 101 yards on 17 attempts.

“It just feels electric – ecstatic,” Richardson said of winning the Upper State Championship and leading the Red Devils to the state finals for the first time since 2009. “I’m happy for the team. I’m happy for the coaches and the community. Everybody.”

The combined rushing effort from Clinton countered the rushing performance of Fairfield Central running back Ty’Darion Grier, who ran for a game-high 191 yards and two touchdowns. Grier scored on runs of 28 and 1 yards, and quarterback Kaden Diggs added a 19-yard touchdown run that cut a two-score Clinton lead to 19-14 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.

The Red Devils (11-2) built a 19-7 lead before halftime, getting two quick scores in the final 70 seconds of the second quarter.
Gilliam capped a six-play, 84-yard drive to give Clinton a 13-7 lead with 1:10 left in the first half. On the ensuing kickoff, Austin Boyd picked up a fumbled Griffins kickoff return and returned it untouched 20 yards for a score and a 19-7 lead after a 2-point conversion attempt failed.

Clinton built two-score leads three times in the game, and each time the Griffins answered, cutting the Red Devils’ advantages to less than a touchdown, but Fairfield Central could never get closer than four points.

After Grier’s second touchdown with 9:49 to play cut Clinton’s lead to 25-21, Clinton answered with a seven-play, 52-yard scoring drive that ended with a failed trick play on fourth down that both resulted in a touchdown and effectively ended Fairfield Central’s hopes.

On fourth-and-10 from the Griffins 17-yard-line, Clinton head coach Corey Fountain called a hook-and-lateral, but wide receiver Devin Swindler caught the pass from Richardson and dashed into the end zone.

“Devin didn’t like the pitch (as the play was designed) and turned in and made a play,” said Fountain.

The score with 6:33 to play put the Red Devils ahead 32-21, a score the Clinton defense made stand up thanks to a defensive stand following the kickoff.

“All year long all these guys from all these other schools have been getting North-South (all-star) accolades,” Fountain said. “They’ve been getting Player of the Year accolades. There’s two guys on that team with the Offensive Player of the Year Award (Grier) and a Defensive Player of Year award (linebacker Chancery Turner). But we’ve got a hell of a ball club, and we group of guys play together as a team.”

Playoff results from other SCHSL classifications:
Class 3A State Championship: Belton-Honea Path vs. Oceanside Collegiate
Upper State: Belton-Honea Path 30, Mountain View Prep 22
Lower State Oceanside Collegiate 42, Loris 7

Class 1A State Championship: Abbeville vs. Cross
Upper State: Abbeville 42, Lewisville 18
Lower State: Cross 36, Lake View 7

Class 5A-Division I State Championship: Dutch Fork vs. Summerville
Upper State: Dutch Fork 24, Spartanburg 0
Lower State: Summerville 35, Sumter 6

Class 5A-Division II State Championship: Northwestern vs. Irmo
Upper State: Northwestern 58, Gaffney 40
Lower State: Irmo 29, White Knoll 25

Class 4A State Championship: Westside vs. South Florence
Upper State: Westside 35, South Pointe 14
Lower State: South Florence 27, North Augusta 20

CLINTON 32, FAIRFIELD CENTRAL 21

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