Dragons shine in 3-way scrimmage

Orange and Black defense shuts out CAK, Hardin Valley

August 2, 2023 by Dan McWilliams - Special to The Courier News

Clinton senior quarterback Josh Keith impressed Alabama Coach Nick Saban during a visit to Tuscaloosa, then went out days later and wowed Dragon fans Friday in a home scrimmage against Christian Academy of Knoxville and Hardin Valley Academy.

The scrimmage featured a couple of different formats, but altogether Keith went 13-for-19 through the air for 401 yards and four touchdowns.

Dragon Head Coach Darell Keith, father of the quarterback, was also impressed by his son’s performance.

“This is his senior year,” Keith said. “He’s been doing it since he was 14 years old. It’s kind of expected him to do those kind of things.

“I thought tonight CAK and Hardin Valley did a good job keeping him in the pocket. He’s a shorter quarterback and can’t see, so he made some misreads because they kept him in the pocket. You want to keep an athletic quarterback in the pocket. But I thought overall he did really well. He’s a very talented young man.

“Even me as his coach, I’m amazed at some of the stuff he can do. I took him to a camp last week at Alabama, and I just thought it would be a camp for him to go to. Turns out, Nick Saban liked the kid.”

The Clinton defense allowed a handful of big plays but pitched a shutout for the night.

“We had some moments. We bent but didn’t break,” head coach Keith said. “We have really worked on our defense — fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. We’ve been working on tackling a little bit better, filling in some gaps, but I thought they played really well. I thought they played better than the offense.”

The scrimmage opened with each team getting the ball at its 20-yard line, and the ball was returned to the 20 after each play. Despite that restriction, Josh Keith threw a trio of 80-yard touchdown passes. Purdue commit D’Mon Marable, Deameion Leavell, and Jawan Goins were on the receiving end of the bombs.

The evening concluded with 10-minute series in the regular down-and-distance format. Clinton posted a pair of 7-0 victories over the two visitors, while Hardin Valley topped CAK 18-0 in that format.

In the 10-play series, the Hardin Valley offense and the CAK defense opened the evening with a scoreless tie. CAK’s offense and Clinton’s defense also produced no score, although Derek Bean of the Dragons blew up a screen pass for a 7-yard loss. Jay Duncan of the Warriors made a 40-yard run.

The fireworks started in the next series, when Clinton’s first-team offense made its debut against Hardin Valley’s defense, a 12-0 win for the Dragons. Josh Keith went 6-for-6 for 202 yards and two touchdowns, hitting Marable and a wide-open Leavell for the two 80-yard scores. La’Dailyon Anderson caught a 21-yard pass in the series for the Dragons, and running back Goins rushed twice for 13 yards and caught an 8-yard pass.

Hardin Valley’s offense and Clinton’s defense also battled to a 0-0 tie. Marable made a TD-saving tackle, chasing down a Hawks runner on a 72-yard play at the Dragon 8-yard line. Quarterbacks in the 10-play series were allowed to keep the ball only about 3 seconds before the officials blew the play dead, and the Dragon defense forced a sack with that rule against HVA.

The CAK offense and the HVA defense went scoreless before the Dragon offense returned to the field. Keith hit Goins in 1-on-1 coverage down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown pass. Chauncey Felts and Goins added runs of 20 and 17 yards, respectively, and Braylen Hayden caught a 32-yard pass from Keith. The Dragons did lose a fumble in this series. Keith finished 2-for-4 for 112 yards and a score.

The younger players then got a chance to compete in six-play series. Each series ended up scoreless, with Hardin Valley taking on the CAK defense, the CAK offense facing the Clinton defense, the Clinton offense battling the HVA defense, the HVA offense going against the Clinton defense, and matchups of CAK offense-HVA defense and Clinton offense-CAK defense.

Clinton’s JV defense made two sacks vs. HVA and one vs. CAK. Anderson made a 40-yard run for the Dragon offense against CAK, while Clinton backup quarterback Camden Nelson completed passes of 15 and 7 yards but had one interception. Nelson threw a 14-yard pass against HVA.

In the 10-minute series, Hardin Valley topped CAK by a three-TD margin, scoring on a 14-yard pass, making a fourth-down sack to set up a 2-yard TD run, and ending the series with a 28-yard interception return for a score.

When Clinton took on Hardin Valley, Keith threw an interception three plays in, but Rhett Seivers recovered a fumble to give the Dragons possession again at their own 17. Goins reeled off a 40-yard run, and Marable caught a 17-yard pass on third-and-9 to set up the Dragons at the Hawks 34-yard line. Wesley Phillips then caught a Keith toss for a TD on the next play. Blane Collins kicked the extra point to provide the winning margin in the Dragons’ 7-0 triumph. Hardin Valley ran 10 more plays before the series ended, but they included a sack and a pair of 3-yard losses on the last two plays.

The Dragon defense shone in the final series against CAK. The Warriors had the first possession and took a 9-yard sack before making a 40-yard run for a first down. Felts ended the CAK possession with a 57-yard interception return for a touchdown. Collins’ boot gave Clinton a 7-0 lead it would not relinquish. The Dragon offense had the final possession of the evening, with Goins making a 13-yard run, Jeremiah Lee catching a 15-yard pass, and Leavell having a 19-yard catch wiped off by a penalty only to make a 21-yard catch in the same spot of the field on the next play. Clinton sustained two 8-yard sacks to end the series.

Leavell finished the scrimmage with three catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Marable caught two for 97 and a TD, and Goins hauled in three passes for 88 yards and a TD while rushing five times for 83 yards.

Next up for the Dragons is the annual 5Star Preps Jamboree at Carson-Newman University on Aug. 10 with Greeneville as the opponent. The regular season starts at home when Cleveland visits the Dragon stadium Aug. 18.