A new school record for rushing yardage and 5 touchdowns by Javen Cook were more than enough for Clinton to earn a 3-0 region mark with a 56-14 win Friday over Landrum.
Playing on Senior Night, Cook ran 13 times for 334 yards, averaging 25.7 yards every time he touched the ball. The previous single-game rushing mark had stood since 2006.
Cook set the new record on the second play of the second half on a long scoring run, after he had lost yardage on the first play. Clinton had taken the second half kickoff, having won the coin toss and electing to defer, despite leading 50-7 at that point.
Cook had ended the first half with an 81-yard scoring run with 17 seconds until halftime, after Landrum had run back a kickoff for its first score. The visiting Cardinals ran the ball 15 times to gain 45 yards and went 7 for 19 through the air for 61 more. Their offensive attack was stymied by 3 Clinton interceptions.
Cook’s record-breaking performance should signal “to all the teams in this region that he is the MVP,” said Clinton Football Head Coach Corey Fountain. The Red Devil runner will compete post-season in the Touchstone Energy Bowl in Myrtle Beach.
“Every day in practice (Javen) gives us everything he’s got, and that translates onto the field,” Fountain said. “(Also) we blocked well.”
Clinton ran the ball 34 times and gained 533 yards, also a new school single-game record (previous was 522). Clinton was 2 for 5 passing for 22 yards and a touchdown (Jaydon Glenn). KJ Vance ran the ball for 85 yards and a touchdown, and Angelo Cromer ran for 56 yards and a touchdown. Clinton’s 10 penalties for 94 yards negated some long runs.
Fountain said he was not happy with execution early in the game. “I was a little disappointed in how we started with procedure, people taking themselves out of the game. We addressed that at halftime. We have to be clean as we finish region and head to the playoffs.”
Clinton plays at Blacksburg on Friday, then has Halloween as its bye week. Then, the Red Devils, now with a commanding 3-0 record in Region 1 Class AA, start “the third season,” the State AA playoffs.
“We will celebrate today, and Sunday we’ll start preparing for Blacksburg just like they are a top team in the state,” Fountain said. “We have to play to our standards, if we will continue to win in the playoffs.”
Clinton jumped on 3-5 Landrum early and often. Cook scored the first Clinton touchdown and added the 2-point conversion. Cromer added a scoring pass on an option from quarterback Owen Glenn. After an interception, a Cook run and 5-yard facemask penalty moved the ball to the Landrum 14. From there, Jaydon Glenn caught a scoring pass. Then, Vance reeled off a 32-yard scoring run, staking Clinton to a 30-0 lead with 6:42 left in the first half. An Owen Glenn long run was wiped out by a block in the back penalty, but Cook set sail again, this time on a 66-yard scoring jaunt. Clinton recovered a fumble at the Landrum 14, and Cook pushed the ball into the end zone again.
Landrum ran back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.
But they left too much time on the clock, as Cook’s 81-yard scoring run pushed the lead to 50-7, and teams traded touchdowns – Cook’s record-breaking, early third quarter run and a Landrum pass - down the stretch.
Fountain said the varsity Red Devils (now 6-3 and on a 4-game win streak) have called up 21 players from the junior varsity, since that season has ended with Clinton’s opponents shutting down their JV programs for the season. “It’s awesome that we got to play everybody. That is great for us,” the coach said. “We want these players to push the starters.”
