FRIDAY SPORTS: Gamecocks beat UNC; HS football Friday; Braves complete sweep of Cleveland

*Quick offensive strikes from Connor Shaw and Mike Davis helped No. 6 South Carolina (1-0) dispatch of North Carolina (0-1) 27-10 in the college football season opener at Williams-Brice Stadium. On the third play from scrimmage, the senior quarterback Shaw found sophomore wide receiver Shaq Roland over the middle for a 65-yard touchdown strike, putting the Gamecocks in the lead 7-0. Mike Davis rushed for 115 yards on the night, including a 75 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. The game was delayed for the more than an hour and a half due to lightning and storms in the Columbia area.

*A big day for football on Saturday, as #5 Georgia pays a visit to #8 Clemson. Kick off on ABC is set for 8:00 PM. ESPN’s popular “Gameday” is on hand. The show will originate from Bowman Field near Tillman Hall beginning at 9:00 AM, Saturday. Fans can arrive in the area no earlier than 6:00 AM. Other notable matchups across the southland on Saturday include: Louisiana Tech at NC State, FIU at Maryland, BYU at Virginia, Alabama vs Virginia Tech, Kentucky vs Western Kentucky, Oklahoma State vs Mississippi State, Rice at Texas A&M, Toledo at Florida, Louisiana-Lafayette at Arkansas, Washington State at Auburn, LSU vs TCU, and on Labor Day night, Florida State at Pitt.

*Furman will travel to Gardner Webb Saturday in a game to be heard on WGOG. Air-time is 5:00 PM with the tailgate show, with kick-off to follow at 6:05 PM.

*High School Football returns to the radio Friday night as West-Oak visits Walhalla. We’ll come on the air at 7:00 PM with the Northland Communications Pre-game show. Kick-off is set for 7:30 PM. Down the road in Seneca, the Bobcats open the season against the Greer Yellow Jackets. Elsewhwere around the upstate: Laurens at BHP, Dixie at Crescent, Easley at Daniel, Westside at Hanna, Liberty at Travelers Rest, Palmetto at Powdersville, Pendleton at Pickens, Wren at Woodmont. In northeast Georgia: Franklin County at Stephens County, Elbert County at Buford, Cedar Shoals at Hart County. You can hear all the scores from around the state following our broadcast on the Edwards Auto Sales Scoreboard Show with Tony Medlin.

*In the majors on Thursday, Brian McCann hit a three-run homer, Kris Medlen pitched seven scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves completed a sweep of the Cleveland Indians with a 3-1 win. The Braves begin a weekend set with Miami Friday night at 7:30 PM at Turner Field.

*In the NFL preseason Thursday, the Carolina Panthers powered to a 25-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Charlotte. In Atlanta, Jordan Todman ran for a touchdown for the second straight week and Mike Kafka threw a fourth-quarter scoring pass to Jeremy Ebert to lift the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 20-16 win over the Falcons.

*The NFL has agreed to pay $765 million to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed concussion-related health problems, including dementia, that they say were caused by on-field hits. The unprecedented settlement was announced Thursday, resolving a major legal and financial challenge for the NFL.