Dragons come up short against Fulton
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Jacquez Johnson runs head long at Fulton during a kickoff return. - Collin Riggs
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Elie Deshomme and Connor Moody team up to stop a rushing attempt and bring down the Fulton runningback. - Collin Riggs
Clinton travelled to Fulton this week to face off in one of the Dragons’ most promising match-ups of the season and one of their best chances to score their first win of the season.
Unfortunately, they lost 24-6.
After a promising first quarter where Clinton stopped Fulton in it’s tracks on the first drive and held them to three points for the quarter, it looked like Clinton might put up a real fight. Multiple times, the Dragons managed to punch their way down the field, only to fall apart just outside the end zone.
Fulton put up 14 points in the second quarter to end the half 17-0, and Clinton started the second half with an impressive drive that might have ended in a touchdown – were it not brought back for a penalty. The Dragons mounted another big play – only for that play to be brought back as well.
The Dragons defense held the Falcons to only a single touchdown in the second half, right at the end of the third quarter, but with their offense still struggling to get a footing, it wasn’t until the very end of the fourth quarter, with only five seconds left on the clock, that Clinton got their first touchdown of the game from a rush by Jacquez Johnson.
Darell Keith, head coach for the Dragons, said they had a hard time with Fulton.
“We had a really hard time assimilating and adapting to their speed, but I thought Jacques Johnson, especially after three weeks off from an injury, played really, really well.”
The Dragons attempted 26 rushes during the game, finishing with only 25 net yards across all 26 rushes. This in sharp contrast with Fulton’s 34 attempts that netted them 182 yards across the game. Clinton did come out on top in the passing game, though, with 170 yards to Fulton’s 151. Joshua Keith continued to start as quarterback for the Dragons, completing 17 passes across 30 attempts and throwing only two interceptions, but he took a beating this week with five sacks as the offensive line struggled to keep Fulton’s defense away from him, losing 30 yards for the Dragons in total.
On receptions, Kendall Lucus led the Dragons, with five receptions totaling 47 yards, followed closely by Jeremiah Blauvelt with three receptions and 44 yards and Johnson with four receptions for 38 yards. Andy King, Wesley Phillips, and Braylon Taylor all finished the night with one reception each.
Rodayvein Truss finished with an interception for the Dragons, returning the ball 35 yards in a banger of a play that set the entire stands full of Dragon spectators cheering.
Unfortunately, the game was rife with penalties, totaling 22 between both teams. Those included unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for both teams. Clinton’s nine penalties cost them 90 yards, while Fulton’s 13 cost the Falcons a whopping 150 yards.
The Dragons don’t play this week, and Keith said the team is going to focus on “having fun, team building, and building morale.”
Keith also said he wanted to thank the fans of the Dragons and the “Clinton faithful” once again.
“Although I really don’t have experience losing on this magnitude, I will forever be a fan of the Clinton faithful,” said Keith.
“That’s the one thing I can really take away from this. They have really helped me and helped all of us through this thing. Every coach’s pride takes over once in a while, and I’ve been beyond humbled from all of this, and the fans have really helped me through it.”