Ortiz’s late field goal lifts Dragons over Karns
Clinton’s Jaylon Benjamin completed 19 of 34 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Dragons’ 17-15 win over Karns.
Wide receiver Bryson Maddox led the Dragons (3-6, 2-2) with five catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Jaylon Benjamin completed 19 of 34 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for Clinton. Will’Quis Young added four catches for 24 yards, Braylen Hayden caught three passes for 76 yards, and Ryker Armes had three catches for 33 yards.
Armes also blocked a field goal, recovered a fumble, forced a fumble, and returned a kickoff 39 yards.
Tre Hall intercepted a pass in the end zone for Clinton. The blocked field goal was the Dragons’ first since Zach Page achieved the feat in a playoff game at Soddy-Daisy in 2018.
“We had a lot of kids step up and make some big plays tonight,” said Clinton Coach Jason Hamock. “Hall made the big pick in the end zone. We had the blocked field goal. Braylen had definitely the game of his career so far in high school, made some great big catches for us.”
Bo Wright had 20 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. Travian Bounds made 14 tackles for the Dragons. Armes contributed 10 tackles, including 3.5 sacks for 24 yards. Lucas Butz and Ryin Jones each added nine tackles, and Jaxon Herrell supplied six more.
“I can’t say enough about the defense tonight; the defense is owed a steak dinner this week,” Hamock said.
Karns (3-6, 1-2) outgained Clinton 383 yards to 271, but the Beavers couldn’t score after halftime against the Dragon defense.
Karns running back Avery Westfield led all rushers with 30 carries for 180 yards, and he also threw a touchdown pass on a halfback option.
Simon Tutu caught an 80-yard touchdown from Beaver starting quarterback Austin Slover, who later left the game with an injury and did not return.
Karns struggled with penalties, racking up 15 flags for 150 yards. The Dragons were penalized eight times for 65 yards, all in the first half. Clinton also committed three turnovers in the opening two quarters but none afterward.
Clinton fumbled the opening kickoff, and Karns’ Jonas Zimmerman recovered.
The Beavers committed three false-start penalties and a block-in-the-back foul on their opening possession. Karns punted one play after Wright and Armes combined to sack Slover.
Young caught a 16-yard pass from Benjamin on the Dragons’ first series, but after reaching the Karns 40-yard line, Benjamin threw an interception at the 9-yard line. Chris Boyce picked off the pass for the Beavers.
Four plays later, Slover hit Tutu for an 80-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion pass failed, but the Beavers led 6-0 with 5:15 left in the first quarter.
Armes’ 39-yard kickoff return set up the Dragons at the Beaver 44. Benjamin’s personal season-best 29-yard run moved Clinton closer to the goal line. Maddox scored on a 7-yard pass from Benjamin. A shaky hold on the extra-point snap left the game tied 6-6 with 5 seconds left in the opening period.
On Karns’ next play, Slover mishandled the snap, and Armes recovered the ball at the Beaver 24. However, the Dragons soon turned the ball over on downs at the 9-yard line.
Karns then went on an 11-play, 91-yard scoring drive. Westfield handled most of the work on the ground, with Slover leaving and Ben Styles taking over partway through the possession. Westfield capped the drive by taking a pitch from Styles and throwing a 27-yard pass to Weston Ritter for the score. The extra-point kick failed, leaving Karns up 12-6 with 4:42 left in the half.
The Beaver defense intercepted Benjamin again, with Alex Idol picking off a pass at the Clinton 47.
Karns’ next drive stalled at the 7, and kicker Luis Figueroa Lopez made a 25-yard field goal for a 15-6 Beaver lead with 11 seconds on the clock.
Karns advanced to the Dragon 11 late in the third quarter before Hall picked off a Styles pass in the end zone. Hall had just crossed the goal line when he was hit hard by a Beaver tackler, resulting in a personal foul. A second 15-yard penalty on Karns set up Clinton at its own 31 to start the drive.
The Dragons moved 69 yards in five plays for a score. Armes caught a 21-yard pass from Benjamin on the first play of the fourth quarter, and two plays later Benjamin found Maddox wide open down the right sideline for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Hayden caught Benjamin’s two-point conversion pass, cutting Karns’ lead to 15-14 with 10:42 left.
After trading punts, Karns punted again, giving Clinton possession at its own 42. Hayden made a tough catch for a 44-yard gain, despite close coverage. When the drive stalled at the 8, Ortiz came on to connect on a 25-yard field goal, putting the Dragons up 17-15.
Karns drove from its 34 to the Dragon 17 before Figueroa Lopez attempted a go-ahead field goal. Armes, however, sped around the left end and blocked the kick.
Clinton later punted, but the Dragon defense forced two fumbles by Styles, the last one on fourth down with 1:17 left in the game.
Benjamin then hit a sliding Maddox for a 19-yard pass, securing a first down that allowed the Dragons to run out the clock.
“Hats off to Karns—they played a great game. It was a very physical game,” Hamock said. “Hats off to our coaches—they had a good game plan for us as well.”
Clinton plays its regular-season finale this Friday at Heritage.
