Dragons drop heartbreaker
The Clinton Dragons ended their 2017 season last Friday night with a heartbreaking 38-36 loss to visiting Karns.
The Beavers took the first possession and fumbled on their second play from scrimmage. Clinton’s Luke Johnson recovered the ball to give the Dragons the ball at the Karns’ 35-yard line.
After gains by Reagan McKamey, Josh Breeden, and Cameron Washington, it looked as though Clinton had a first down to keep the drive going but a holding penalty pushed the ball back to the Karns’ 38-yard line.
The Dragons attempted a 55-yard field goal but it came up short and the Beavers took over on their own 20-yard line.
The visitors from Northwest Knox County went to work. On a nine-play, 80-yard drive, Teahzjawon Hodge-Harper touched the ball eight times. He scored on a two-yard plunge into the end zone.
Edson Castro kicked the extra point and the Beavers took a 7-0 lead with 6:04 remaining in the first quarter.
Following a touchback on the ensuing kick-off, the Dragons started from their own 20-yard line. They picked up a first down on a 14-yard pass from Luke Harrison to Cody Parker. Harrison then ran for 10 yards and a personal foul penalty added 15 more yards. The promising drive ended when the Beavers’ Jaquese Clark intercepted a pass at his own 19-yard line.
The Clinton defense forced a quick three and out but the Dragons’ offense struggled and had to punt.
On the second play of the next Karns possession, the Beavers fumbled again and Jackson Leinart recovered the ball to give Clinton the ball at its own 17-yard line.
On the first play of the possession Harrison completed a 55-yard pass to McKamey, who got behind the Karns defense.
Six plays later, Breeden ran it in from 15 yards out.
Garrett Zody nailed the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:25 left in the first half.
The Beavers answered with a 70-yard kickoff return by Trey Hawkins to set up Karns with a first down at the Clinton 29-yard line.
Two plays later, Daniel Kitts threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Gillespi.
Castro kicked the extra point to put Karns back out in front 14-7 with 6:33 remaining in the half.
A penalty on the ensuing kickoff gave Clinton the ball on its own eight-yard line. Harrison found Parker for a 10-yard gain and Breeden ran for six more.
Isaiah Washington then broke free for a 48-yard gain and Cameron Washington ran for six more yards.
Four plays later Cameron Washington scored on a three-yard run.
Zody added the extra point and the game was tied at 14-14 with 2:45 remaining in the half.
The Dragons’ defense forced a punt but the offense could not cash in before halftime.
Clinton opened the second half with an 11-play, 58-yard drive that was capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Washington.
Zody kicked the extra point to give the Dragons a 21-14 lead with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
The Beavers answered with a promising drive but it ended when Luke Johnson intercepted a pass to give Clinton the ball at its own 32-yard line.
Momentum shifted quickly just two plays later as the Beavers’ Hodge-Harper intercepted a pass to give his team the ball on his own nine-yard line.
Two plays later, Hodge-Harper scored on a 77-yard run.
Castro then tied the game at 21-21 with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter.
The Dragons’ offense sputtered and opened the fourth quarter with a punt.
Karns put together a seven-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Hodge-Harper.
Castro kicked the extra point to give the Beavers a 28-21 lead with 8:57 left in the game.
Clinton answered quickly as Breeden scored on a 48-yard run.
Zody kicked the PAT to tie the game at 28-28 with 5:29 remaining in the game.
Karns responded with a six-play, 80-yard drive. The key play was a 56-yard touchdown pass from Kitts to Thomas Harper.
Castro kicked the extra point to give the Beavers a 35-28 lead with 2:41 left in the game.
It looked bleak for the Dragons as they started from their own 21-yard line.
On second and 10, McKamey ran for a short gain. Harrison then completed consecutive passes to Andrew Niner to move the ball near midfield.
Two plays later Isaiah Washington streaked past the Karns’ defense and scored on a 43-yard run.
Trailing 35-34 with 52 seconds left on the clock, head coach Randy McKamey rolled the dice and went for the two-point conversion. Clinton fans exploded in cheers as Cameron Washington plunged into the end zone to give the Dragons as 36-35 lead.
Following the ensuing kickoff, the Beavers took over on their own 36-yard line.
Although Karns threw an incomplete pass on first down they picked up 15 yards on a roughing the passer penalty. The Beavers pushed to the Clinton 40-yard line. They were called for holding but the Dragons were flagged for another personal foul. The end result was first and four for Karns at the Clinton 33-yard yard line.
On the next play, the Beavers were called for intentional grounding to move the ball back to the Clinton 38-yard line.
Kitts then fired a pass into the end zone but Isaiah Washington went up and batted down the pass on a fantastic defensive play.
Facing third down, Kitts completed a short pass to Hodge-Harper. The Beavers took a timeout with 8.8 seconds on the clock. Castro came on to attempt a 46-yard field goal. The kick was good to give Karns a 38-36 lead with 1.7 seconds left in the game.
Time expired on the following kickoff and the Beavers escaped with the win.
“I really felt comfortable running the football [on the final drive]. We had all three timeouts. Isaiah and Cameron [Washington] were running the ball well. We thought we would try to draw them offside and then go for two. We didn’t have a play called but we noticed they were giving up the inside. We called the 30-wedge. It’s just a classic football play. Our linemen wanted it. Our seniors wanted it and we got it [two-point conversion] in the end zone,” said Randy McKamey, head coach of the Dragons.
“It’s unfortunate for our kids,” he said of the final scoring drive by Karns. “I know exactly what they are feeling. My senior year Halls hit a field goal with one second on the clock to beat us. I didn’t want to take my helmet off but I can look at them and say, ‘Guys, the sun came up, life went on, and here were are.’ That doesn’t help right now but one thing it did do was it left this team hungry and let this team know we can compete. There were a lot of sophomores and juniors on that field tonight. We’re excited about being on the rise.”
Isaiah Washington rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He finished with 241 all-purpose yards.
Josh Breeden rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
Cameron Washington had 76 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Harrison finished 5-16 for 93 yards and he rushed for 16 more.
For Karns, Hodge-Harper finished with 248 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.
Defensively, Trevor Linderman led the Dragons with 12 tackles, including a sack.
Johnson had 11 tackles and an interception.
In limited action due to injury, Parker had three tackles but forced two fumbles.
The Dragons finish the season 2-8, 0-6 in Region 3-5A while the Beavers finish 3-7, 1-5 in the region.
Game Stats
Karns CHS
First downs 21 25
Rushing yds. 297 370
Passing yds. 145 107
Comp/att/int 9-13-1 7-19-2
Total yds. 442 477
Turnovers 3 2
Penalties 13-99 13-78
Time of poss. 19:38 28:21