Rams come out on top in opener against Clinton Middle Hawks

August 9, 2023 by Ken Lay

The 2023 football season opened on a winning note for Robertsville Middle School last Thursday night at Blankenship Field.

The Rams defeated the Clinton Hawks 34-14 in their home opener.

They got off to a fast start when Kipton Feagan returned the opening kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown, said Coach Tyler Carr.

That was the first of two special-teams touchdowns. King Sandoval returned an errant snap on a Clinton punt for another score.

The Rams (1-0) seemingly put the game away early as they opened a 34-6 lead.

Running back Trace Jackson and quarterback Whit Renegar each had short touchdown runs. Robertsville also scored on defense as Josh McClure returned an interception for a touchdown.

Carr said he was pleased with his team’s effort in the season opener, particularly on defense.

“I went into the game very nervous about how our defense would respond to playing against a spread offense,” Carr said. “We had seen a Wing-T in our scrimmage.

“But we played well and we came out focused and aggressive.”

For the Hawks, they faced an uphill battle as they fell behind early, but Coach Eric Woodard said that he found some positives for his team to build upon as quarterback Brenden Hayden threw a touchdown pass to Austin Phillips and Camryn McCaffrey scored on a long touchdown run. Xavier Gallaher also scored a two-point conversion for the Hawks (0-1).

“We did get behind early, but our kids didn’t quit,” Woodard said. “Our kids battled and they didn’t give up and we’re a step closer to where we want to be than we were last week.”

The Rams return to the gridiron this week as they host Christian Academy of Knoxville at Blankenship Field. Kickoff for the showdown is 6:30 p.m.

Clinton hits the road again this week. The Hawks play at Loudon Thursday night at 6:30.

In other area games last week: Norris defeated Lenoir City 30-12 Saturday morning, and Spring City routed Jefferson 44-6 Thursday night.