Dragons making run for postseason
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Clinton senior Luke Johnson (55) and sophomore Trevor Linderman (56) were a powerful tandem while tackling Campbell County’s Drew Jordan (2) for a loss. - Tony Cox
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Clinton’s Isiah Washington may look like he’s appraising the Dragons’ play as of late, but he’s just checking with the line judge prior to the snap. - Tony Cox
The Clinton Dragons played like a football team last Friday night not wanting their season to end this week.
The Dragons kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-21 region victory at Campbell County. A victory this week at Karns in the regular-season finale will clinch the Dragons a playoff spot.
“We prepared for this as a playoff game,” Dragons Coach Randy McKamey said during his postgame comments.
“We came in with our backs against the wall, but we came out swinging. We got behind early, but then we came back. The longer the game went, the better we played.”
The Dragons dominated offensively and put up a strong defense against the host Cougars as Clinton held possession for 35:27 while Campbell had the ball only 12:33.
The Dragons racked up 425 yards total offense to the Cougars’ 260. Clinton’s Cody Parker collected 188 yards of total offense with 115 yards rushing and 73 yards receiving.
“Offensively we had a very balanced offense and that kept their defense not sure what to expect all game long,” McKamey said.
“Another big factor for us was the fact we got strong leadership from our seniors along the sideline. These seniors want to make the playoffs in their final season and they are making sure the rest of the team is on board.”
Defensively, the Dragons forced three Cougar turnovers, including a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
The latter were achieved by Johnny Hunter and Blake Cooper. Reagan McKamey recovered the fumble.
Campbell opened scoring on its second play from scrimmage when Makyle Shepard caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Landon Addington. Riley Wallace’s extra point gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead at the 8:37 mark of the first quarter.
The Dragons responded with an 80-yard scoring drive helped along the way via a couple of Cougar penalties. Cooper’s four-yard run at 4:13 got the Dragons on the scoreboard. Noah Grumbach’s extra point tied the score at 7-7.
After several changes of possession, the Cougars put together a 73-yard drive culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Addington to Devlin Dukes on fourth down with 2:49 to go before the intermission. Wallace’s kick increased the Cougar advantage to 14-7.
Clinton quarterback Luke Harrison threw a long completion to Brantley Nichols to help set up the next Dragon score. Following a pass-interference penalty called against the Cougars, Harrison connected on a six-yard touchdown pass to Nichols with 20 seconds to go before halftime. Grumbach’s extra pointed knotted the score 14-14.
After the Dragon defense stopped the Cougars on fourth down at the former’s 15 during Campbell’s possession to open the second half, the Clinton offense went on an 85-yard scoring drive covering 13 plays. Harrison connected with Parker on a long gain before the two teamed up again with a 45-yard scoring pass at 2:04 of the third quarter. Grumbach kicked the extra point and the Dragons were ahead 21- 14 – never to trail again.
Cooper’s interception of a Campbell pass started the next scoring drive for Clinton. Covering 10 plays, the Dragons added to their lead when Harrison ran into the end zone from the two with 7:56 remaining in the contest. The Dragons then pulled a surprise by faking the extra-point kick as Harrison took the snap and ran into the end zone for two as the Dragons had a 29-14 lead.
Campbell scored one more time as Addington threw a 31-yard pass to Dukes as the latter scampered into the end zone. Wallace kicked the extra point to cut the Clinton advantage to 29-21.
Harrison completed eight of 12 passes for 137 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. In addition to Parker’s four catches for 73 yards and a score, Nichols caught three passes for 59 yards and a TD.
Parker rushed 10 times for 115 yards, Josh Breeden carried 25 times for 83 yards and Harrison gained 35 yards on eight carries, including the score. McKamey finished with 31 yards on eight carries while Andrew Shoopman gained 20 yards via seven rushes.
Statistics
First downs: Clinton 22, Campbell County 9
Rushes-yards: Clinton 59-288, Campbell County 13-64
Passing yards: Clinton 137, Campbell County 196
Comp.-Att.-Int: Clinton 8-12-1, Campbell County 9-22-2
Total Offense: Clinton 425, Campbell County 260
Penalties-yards: Clinton 13-135, Campbell County 9-78
Fumbles-lost: Clinton 0, Campbell County 1
Time of possession: Clinton 35:27, Campbell County 12:33