FRIDAY SPORTS: Clemson goes to 3-0; HS Football Friday; Chiefs defeat Eagles

*It wasn’t always pretty, but the third ranked Clemson Tigers went on the road and opened ACC play with a hard fought 26-14 win over NC State. The high powered Clemson offense came out of the gate slow and didn’t score its first touchdown until the final 3:00 minutes of the first half. It was a 13-6 game at halftime. It looked as if the Wolfpack were going to take the lead in the third quarter on a long touchdown run by Bryan Underwood. However, the officials ruled him out of bounds and three plays later Vic Beasley picked up a sack and forced a fumble leading Tajh Boyd to hit Martavis Bryant on a 30 yard touchdown to give the Tigers a two score margin. Clemson’s kicker, Chandler Cantanzaro became the school’s all-time leading scorer, as Dabo Swinney’s club goes to 3-0 on the season.

*Golden Corner High School Football Friday night will pit Seneca against Walhalla in the Western AAA opener at Razorback Stadium. We’ll be on the air with the Northland Communications Pregame Show at 7:00 PM. Elsewhere, West-Oak opens region play after an off week by hosting top-ranked Daniel. BHP travels to Palmetto, Crescent is at Blacksburg, Powdersville will host Liberty, Pendleton travels to Chesness, Wren will host Emerald and in Northeast Georgia, Stephens County goes to Walnut Grove.

*The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 26-16 Thursday night in Philly. Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was sacked five times by the Chiefs’ defense, which also forced five turnovers. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith went 22 of 35 for 273 yards, while Vick was 13 of 30 for 201 yards with one touchdown.

*The Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox both clinched playoff spots Thursday, the first teams to do so. The Dodgers clinched and won the NL West with a 7-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, while Boston ensured it will at least get a wild card spot with its 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Its magic number to clinch the AL East is just one game.

*Furman and South Carolina State will resume their football series beginning in 2014, the schools have announced. The Paladins and Bulldogs, who last squared off in football in 1998, will play Sept. 20, 2014, in Orangeburg, and in Greenville in 2015.