At first glance it looks like an offensive explosion – 50 points, KJ Vance running for 177 yards and 2 scores, Javen Cook running for 182 yards and 4 touchdowns, and 508 yards rushing. But it was late defense that sealed an important 50-29 win for Clinton at Chesnee’s Eagles Friday night.
Zy Butler’s 4th quarter interception and pass defense by Amari Grant with 1:30 left in the game thwarted the Eagles’ attempt for a late comeback. Just before Grant’s pass break-up, Chesnee had a touchdown taken off the scoreboard by a holding penalty.
Clinton ran 41 plays to tally 539 yards and 50 points, holding the ball for just 19 minutes and 36 seconds. Vance struck on runs of 82 yards and 58 yards to open the Red Devils’ scoring. But if that made it look like Chesnee was going to be knocked out, somebody forgot to tell the home-standing Eagles.
Chesnee held the ball for 28 minutes and 24 seconds and, in that time, produced 348 yards on the ground and added another 138 through the air (10 completions in 25 attempts).
It is an important Clinton win – it gives the Red Devils the important 2-0 advantage in region play, with the chance to go 3-0 in their next match-up, a Senior Night home game against Landrum. Chesnee is 1-1, still with an outside chance of getting a piece of the region title, if Clinton stumbles.
“The first half, the offense was able to do what we wanted to do,” Clinton Football Head Coach Corey Fountain said. “At halftime I told them, ‘Don’t go into cruise control’ and we went back out there and went into cruise control. We’ve got a lot of things to work on. … It got a little chippy in the second half, and we have to get that straightened out.
“We have to build on the momentum going into the game against Landrum. We will have no JV games the next two weeks because the opponents have folded their programs. We will move up some JV players. We need a packed stadium for these Seniors.”
All the regular season football Clinton has left is this coming Friday at home against Landrum and next Friday on the road at Blacksburg. Then, the Red Devils have their bye week, then it’s the Class 2A playoffs.
After Vance’s two early scores, Angelo Cromer ran one in from 74 yards out for Clinton, before Chesnee could crack the scoreboard. Cromer also was a pest on special teams, blocking a punt and wrecking a couple of Chesnee PAT attempts.
Cook scored on a 12-yard run for Clinton’s 4th touchdown. A Chesnee field goal ended the 1st half.
Cook scored again on the 3rd play of the second half. But Chesnee scored. Cook broke away again for a 30-yard scoring run and added the 2-point conversion. But Chesnee scored again. Clinton Quarterback Owen Glenn converted a 4th and 3 at the Chesnee 25, and that led to another Cook score.
And, that was the backbreaker. Chesnee trailed just 43-29 with just over 4 minutes to play, when Clinton went on an 8-play, 47-yard drive capped by a Cook power run for 4 yards into the end zone. Now, with the game at 50-29, Clinton was able to successfully drop back into pass defense.
With his team generating 508 yards on the ground, Fountain’s assessment was, “The offensive line played their butts off, the backs blocked for each other, and Owen Glenn ran the game.”
Just a quick note from The Wolfpack --- the CHS Broadcasting crew, known as the Wolfpack, had a fans’ experience Friday night. They were not inside a press box but, instead, were on the top row of the visitors’ stands to watch the game at Chesnee. They had to secure a generator from Don White Painting to power the broadcast back to Clinton on WPCC AM-FM and the Large Time Network on the Worldwide Web. Because of the power shortage, they couldn’t do sideline reporting, but they were able to secure post-game comments from Head Coach Corey Fountain.
From the messages received by Buddy Bridges, Voice of the Red Devils, the crew also had a large contingent listening from the Ocean Lakes Campgrounds in Myrtle Beach.
The crew also brings Clinton fans of all athletics important information every week on the Saturday Morning Rewind show that broadcasts from Whiteford’s in Clinton. The review of the night before’s football action, and special guests related to other Red Devil sports and activities starts at 9 a.m. every Saturday, followed by a re-broadcast of the Friday-night-before’s football game.
Wolfpack members, Buddy, Gene Simmons, and Harold Nichols, and station owner Pat Patterson also will be at tomorrow’s Laurens County Touchdown Club meeting, Noon at The Ridge in Laurens, where the guest speaker will be retired Wofford College Football Head Coach Mike Ayers. The TD Club meets every other Thursday during football season - and has a season-ending awards banquet in December coming after the State Championships.
Teams of Interest:
Ware Shoals is 7-0 on the season following a 48-0 win over McCormick. The Class A Hornets have defeated 2 Clinton (Class AA) region opponents, 44-6 over Blackburg and 20-12 over Landrum. They have Dixie, Calhoun Falls and Abbeville left. Laurens Academy is 7-1 on the season following a 52-21 Homecoming win over Christian Academy. The Crusaders have Richard Winn and King Academy (their only loss, 60-34) left on their schedule.
