Maddox, Herrell lead strong effort in Dragons’ playoff loss

November 13, 2024 by Dan McWilliams Special to The Courier News

The Clinton Dragons took a 14-7 lead early in their first-round playoff game, only to see host McMinn County score the next 41 points to coast to a 48-14 win Friday in Athens.

The Dragons finished the season 3-8 after qualifying for the playoffs as the third seed out of Region 3-5A.

The Cherokees (6-5), the Region 4-5A runner-up, advanced to a second-round game this week at Oak Ridge.

McMinn County avenged its first-round home loss to the Dragons last season.

Clinton’s leading receiver, Bryson Maddox, caught seven passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with more than 1,000 receiving yards.

Dragon quarterback Jaylon Benjamin completed 17 of 33 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

Aalijah Davidson led the Dragons in rushing with seven carries for 29 yards.

Two high snaps from center, totaling 57 yards lost, severely affected Clinton’s rushing stats as the Dragons finished with 20 carries for only 5 yards.

Bo Wright led the Clinton defense with 12 tackles, while Jaxon Herrell added 11 plus an interception.

Konner Riggs made eight tackles, including two for loss, for the Dragons.

Will’Quis Young added six tackles, and Davontae Fortson had five, the latter also having 2.5 tackles for loss. Ryin Jones blocked an extra point for Clinton.

McMinn County running back Jakaryn Dyer rushed 14 times for 173 yards and four touchdowns, while teammate Taylor White carried the ball 14 times for 99 yards and two scores.

As a team, the Cherokees rushed 43 times for 335 yards and six TDs.

Quarterback Luke Lawson went 5-for-12 passing for 102 yards and a TD. McMinn County did not punt in the game.

The Dragons marched 73 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive.

Maddox picked up two first downs on catches of 8 and 14 yards before Davidson ran 16 yards around right end to set up first-and-10 at the Cherokee 20-yard line.

Two plays later, Maddox caught a 20-yard TD pass from Benjamin as he straddled the left sideline in the end zone with a defender on him.

Emanuel Ortiz’s extra-point kick gave Clinton a 7-0 lead with 7:20 remaining in the first quarter.

McMinn County appeared to strike quickly as Dyer ran 79 yards around left end for a touchdown on its first play after the kickoff, but a holding penalty nullified the score.

Using mostly runs by Dyer and White, the Cherokees still moved the ball 79 yards to the end zone in 11 plays.

White capped the drive with a 4-yard TD run. Drew Trapp’s extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 3:41 on the first-quarter clock.

Clinton would punt, but the Dragon defense soon came up huge as Herrell made just the team’s third interception of the season. Herrell returned the ball 11 yards to the Cherokee 26.

After an 18-yard pass to Davidson set up first-and-goal at the 8, Ryker Armes caught a 7-yard pass to the 1. Davidson then, on the first play of the second quarter, plunged over for the touchdown. Ortiz’s kick gave Clinton a 14-7 lead just 5 seconds into the period.

An onside-kick attempt by Ortiz was recovered at the Dragon 45.

Runs by Dyer and a reverse by receiver Dakota Lawson moved the ball closer to the Clinton goal line.

White scored his second TD on an 8-yard run. Trapp’s kick tied the game at 14-14 with 9:13 to go in the half.

Henry Cook sacked Benjamin for an 11-yard loss on the Dragons’ next possession, and Benjamin threw an interception. Kaiden Brewster made the pick at the Dragon 44.

McMinn County needed only two plays to take the lead for good. Dyer ran 6 yards to start the drive and then 38 yards for the TD. Trapp’s kick put the Cherokees up 21-14 with 7:56 showing.

Clinton went three-and-out and punted, and McMinn County drove 45 yards in five plays to score again. The biggest gainer was the last play, a 30-yard TD run by Dyer. The extra point made it a 28-14 game with 6:09 left in the half.

Disaster struck on the next Dragon drive. Clinton moved from its own 20 to the Cherokee 41 largely with the help of two 15-yard penalties on the home team.

After a Dragon penalty led to a fourth-and-15 at the Clinton 46, Blane Collins entered to punt. The snap, however, went high over his head, and Collins fell on the ball at the Dragon 7 for a 39-yard loss.

McMinn County scored on the next play as Dyer ran up the middle for a 7-yard TD and a 35-14 lead with 3:49 on the clock.

Armes returned the ensuing kickoff 20 yards for Clinton, but a high snap from center over Benjamin’s head resulted in an 18-yard loss, and the Dragons soon punted.

McMinn County drove 49 yards in seven plays for its fifth touchdown of the second quarter, with Dyer running the ball into the end zone on a 16-yard play.

Jones blocked the extra point to leave the score at 41-14 with 1:01 left in the half.

Marshall Goodner intercepted Benjamin with 16.8 seconds left, and the game soon went to halftime.

McMinn County wasted little time in scoring again to start the third quarter. White ran 22 yards before Lawson connected with Drew Bottoms on a 56-yard touchdown pass.

Trapp’s kick provided the final margin of 48-14 with 11:05 left in the third quarter.

The mercy-rule running clock was in effect after that point with the lead at 30 points or more.

Clinton drove from its own 15 to the McMinn 20 before turning the ball over on downs.

Benjamin made a 15-yard run, while Maddox caught a 14-yard pass to move the sticks.

McMinn took over with 1:18 left in the third quarter, and with the help of the running clock was able to use up all the remaining time in the game.