14 POINTS JUST AREN'T ENOUGH --- w-stats PDF.
Bryson James scored a special teams touchdown and a rushing touchdown and 2-point conversion run, but it wasn’t enough for Clinton Friday night on the road at Powdersville. Despite having an undefeated record to Powdersville’s one loss and being ranked #3 to the Patriots #4 in AAA, the Red Devils were designated as road warriors for the Upper State Championship game, losing 27-14.
James had a third touchdown, a kickoff return, taken off the board by an official’s flag.
This was Clinton’s first trip this far since 2009, the last time they won the AAA State Championship. It is Powdersville’s first Upper State Championship.
Scoring ended with 8:03 left to play, as Clinton held the high-powered Powdersville offense to a field goal, their second for the game. Down two touchdowns. Clinton’s last gasp with 1:14 left to play ended with a 3rd down sack and a 4th down interception.
An early 3rd quarter pick six after a Powdersville field goal was a back-breaker for Clinton, but James came right back on Powdersville’s kickoff with the return for touchdown that was negated by a blocking penalty. Clinton Football Head Coach Corey Fountain, talking about that critical sequence, said, “They hit some plays and scored quick, and we answered back with a kickoff return, and it just happened that we had a penalty. You take away that (penalty) and it might have been a whole different ball game, you know.”
Clinton surprised Powdersville with a blocked punt by Zay Johnson and scoop and score by Bryson James, with Kason Copeland ready to scoop the ball if James hadn’t. Powdersville used a run-pass mix to drive for its first score with 6:57 to play in the 1st quarter. Powdersville intercepted in the end zone on a 3rd down pass, but Clinton got the ball back on a Thomas Williams fumble, and James accounted for the touchdown and 2-point conversion on the ground. That was all Clinton would get – with 3:36 to play in the first half. It was good enough to give Clinton the lead going into the halftime locker room.
Powdersville scored 10 points in a hurry on a field goal and pick six, then James ran back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Trailing the play, someone was flagged for a blocking penalty. Clinton wound up punting, and Williams scored on a nobody covering him catch with 3:09 left in the 3rd quarter. Powdersville then added a 4th quarter field goal, to push its season to 13-1. Clinton ends its season at 13-1.
Powdersville had its only loss to higher-classification Hillcrest by 2 points. Who the home team would be at this level of the playoffs was determined by the SC High School League before the season, making the Red Devils a road team for the first time since an Oct. 21 game at Chester.
The last time Clinton ended 13-1 was 1987, a Keith Richardson-coached team that won the State Championship – its only blemish was an early season loss to Laurens. Last season, Clinton was 11-2 going three rounds deep in the playoffs but denied the Upper State Championship game by Daniel. Last week, Powdersville – who now faces Beaufort in the Dec. 1 State Championship game – ended Daniel’s 36-game winning streak, winning by 1 point, 36-35, on a no-time-on-the-clock 2-point conversion.
For 2022 Fountain talked continuously about the “unfinished business” of 2021, losing to Chapman and not winning the region, and losing to Daniel and falling out of the playoffs. They achieved a goal in 2022 of becoming Region 4 Champions.
“You always reflect on all the good things,” Fountain said, “but, as a coach, this kind of game still haunts you. You always want to end the season with a win. We weren’t able to do it this year. Just going to miss these seniors and the leadership they brought and the work ethic they brought and, hopefully, the younger guys will learn from it.”
