Dragons soar past Scott 48-13 in home opener
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Clinton’s Bryson Maddox had seven catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the Dragons’ home opener against Scott on Friday night. - Dwayne Wilder
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Clinton’s Ryker Armes scored on a 32-yard “pick six” in the first quarter of the Dragons’ win over Scott last Friday night. - Dwayne Wilder
The Clinton Dragons built a three-touchdown halftime lead despite four turnovers, then cut down on the mistakes the rest of the way in a 48-13 win over non-region foe Scott on Friday.
The win in the Dragons’ home opener gave Clinton a 1-2 record heading into its first Region 3-5A game this Friday against visiting Campbell County.
Dragon quarterback Jaylon Benjamin posted a season-high 311 passing yards with four touchdowns. He finished 18-for-24 through the air with two interceptions.
Backup quarterback Camden Nelson threw a TD pass late in the game.
Bryson Maddox led Dragon receivers with seven catches for 144 yards and two TDs.
Bo Wright, Will’Quis Young, and Austyn Phillips caught TD passes for Clinton as eight different Dragons snagged at least one pass each.
Aalijah Davidson paced Clinton running backs with 14 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Dragon linebacker Ryker Armes returned an interception for a touchdown and made two sacks. Emanuel Ortiz was 6-for-6 on extra points.
Clinton’s offense outgained Scott (0-3) by 414 yards to 73, with the Dragon defense forcing five first-half punts and six overall.
Highlander quarterback Micah Boles ran for two TDs, but had a tough day both rushing and passing with 14 carries for minus-16 yards and going 6-for-15 on his tosses for 54 yards with an interception.
“The defense played really, really, really well tonight; I was tickled to death with them,” said Dragon Coach Jason Hamock.
He singled out senior Tre Hall as the defensive player of the game for Clinton.
The Dragons wasted little time after receiving the opening kickoff.
On the first snap, Benjamin hit Ryin Jones for a 38-yard gain.
Davidson ran twice for 15 yards, and on the next play, Young caught a 21-yard TD pass. Ortiz’s first extra point gave Clinton a 7-0 lead with only 57 seconds gone.
Clinton forced a punt and drove into Scott territory, helped by a 30-yard pass from Benjamin to Maddox.
But on fourth-and-12 from the Scott 42, the center snap went high over punter Blane Collins’ head for a 34-yard loss to the Dragon 24.
Scott, assisted by a pass-interference penalty that nullified a Maddox interception, scored in three plays as Boles tallied from 12 yards out. Houston Stanley’s extra point tied the game with 5:48 on the first-quarter clock.
Lucas Boles recovered a Dragon fumble, but disaster struck three plays into the next Highlander series. Armes stepped in front of a Micah Boles pass and returned the pickoff 32 yards for a touchdown to put Clinton ahead 14-7 with 2:11 remaining.
Scott punted on its next drive, but Micah Boles, playing safety as well as quarterback, intercepted Benjamin at the Scott 30.
Armes, though, sacked Boles for a 15-yard loss on the final play of the first quarter, and the visitors soon punted again.
Armes had a 41-yard TD run wiped off by a holding penalty, and an interception by Scott’s Lucas Boles ended the Clinton drive moments later.
The Dragon defense forced yet another punt, as Noah Whitt harassed Micah Boles into a 1-yard loss on third down.
Clinton took over at its own 26 and scored in nine plays. Davidson ran three times for 25 yards, and Young stiff-armed a defender to earn a first down.
On fourth-and-7 at the Scott 38, Benjamin found Wright on a screen pass to the left, and the Dragon receiver coasted to the end zone for a 21-7 lead with 3:08 to go in the half.
Armes sacked Boles for a 9-yard loss to force the fifth Scott punt of the half. Davidson returned the boot 15 yards to the Highlander 24. Benjamin found Maddox open at the 8-yard line on the next snap, and the Dragon junior receiver dodged one defender before scoring for a 28-7 lead with 58 seconds left.
Lucas Butz recovered a Scott fumble on the next scrimmage play, but despite a 23-yard pass from Benjamin to Young, the Dragons were unable to score before time expired in the half.
After the second-half kickoff, Butz hurried Boles into an incomplete pass to bring on Stanley for his sixth punt of the game. Davidson returned it 18 yards to the Dragon 45.
A Scott offsides penalty on fourth down gave the Dragons a first down at the Highlander 33 and led to the next Clinton score. Benjamin found Maddox open at the 5-yard line on the ensuing play for another TD and a 35-7 lead with 6:43 left in the third quarter.
Wright nearly intercepted a pass on fourth down to give the ball back to Clinton seven plays later.
Maddox caught a pair of 22-yard passes from Benjamin, and Davidson capped the Dragon drive with a 7-yard TD run on the final play of the third quarter.
Ortiz gave Clinton a 42-7 lead with the kick as the mercy-rule running clock kicked in after the winning margin had reached 30 or more points in the second half.
Donnavin Pencek sacked Boles for a 10-yard loss to start the next Scott drive, but the Highlanders drove 70 yards in nine plays for a TD to stop the running clock. Boles scored on a 7-yard run, but Clinton’s Sloan Coleman blocked the extra point. The lead was 42-13 with 5:05 left in the game.
New quarterback Nelson led Clinton 58 yards for a score, scampering 18 yards on one play. Nelson hit Phillips for the TD from 22 yards out with 35.5 seconds left. A fumbled hold on the extra point left the final margin at 48-13.
“First-home-game jitters” might have made the first half a little tougher, Hamock said.
“We had to settle in; we made a few mistakes,” he said. “There are a few things I wasn’t happy with that we’ll go back to work on. I’m never going to settle. These kids aren’t, either.”