Dragons home for third straight week; Knox West visits next
Clinton will host its third straight game of the 2018 season when Knoxville West visits Clinton City Football Field this Friday. — Conner McCarty
This game will be an important one, as Clinton needs to win to have a shot at the post-season. Plus, the Dragons have lost four straight games and if there is any chance of turning their season around, Clinton needs to take care of business this Friday.
Offensively, there was improvement from weeks prior. The return of senior running back Josh Breeden added another element to Clinton’s important ground game. Both Breeden and senior Isiah Washington are crucial to the Dragons’ success. Together they rack up 590 of Clinton’s 854 total rushing yards this season.
As a whole, the Dragons average 171.1 yards rushing per game. However, Clinton averages 39.8 runs plays a game, thus only average 4.3 yards per rush.
Senior quarterback Luke Harrison has 300 yards on 18 completions this season, which further proves that he can be effective when he hits his mark. Senior wide outs Cody Parker and Brantley Nichols are Harrison’s favorite targets.
The receiving duo are straight up play makers.
Parker has 108 yards on six receptions, and Nichols follows with 64 yards on three receptions.
The Dragons offense would be much more dangerous if they could get the ball in their hands more often.
Defensively, the woes continue, especially in the secondary.
The Bobcats put up 322 yards passing last week, and struck paydirt four times through the air.
Clinton needs to find some sort of quick fix, because their opponents are averaging 253.8 yards per game and 19.8 yards per catch this season.
The Dragons’ run defense is improving—allowing on average 155.6 yards a game, which is not bad. Parker leads the Dragons defensively with 26 total tackles, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.
Followed by sophomore Trevor Linderman, who is having a good season. He is Clinton’s best pass rusher, and has 24.5 total tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, and a quarterback hurry. Both Parker and Linderman will need to be big for the Dragons’ defense this Friday night.
West travels to Clinton after a 21-6 home loss to Farragut. On paper, the Rebels are a hard team to compare Clinton to. It is a good thing football is not played on paper. West won a close game over Hardin Valley Academy (15-12), but lost close games to both one-loss Bearden (9-0) and Oak Ridge teams (24-21).
The Rebels have been able to compete in close games, but have been unable to come away with wins. West has put 20-plus points on the board this season, and could do so again this Friday.
Clinton needs to be stingy defensively, use clock and control the tempo on the offensive side of the ball. If they can do so, an upset and much needed region victory is possible.
It can be stated again—both teams need to win this game, expect a good episode of Friday Night Lights.