The Clay County Bulldogs take the field to battle Pickett County

CELINA-The Clay County High School football team carried a 45-0 blowout win over Pickett County into their bye this week, after the Bobcats (1-6, 0-3) were no match for the now 6-1 Bulldogs.

After a much-needed week off, the Dawgs will return to action a week from Thursday on October 17 in Sparta, where they will face the Warriors—a team that is currently 4-2 and is set to travel to Livingston Academy (7-0) Friday night.

Clay County will then make a second-consecutive road trip to Monterey (7-0) for what is expected to serve as the Region 4-A championship game on October 25.

The Wildcats are currently tied with Clay County at the top of the conference at 3-0 and they only have the Bulldogs and fellow region foe Gordonsville (2-5, 2-1), along with a non-region contest this week at Class AA Bledsoe County (4-2), remaining on their schedule.

The Dawgs’ trip up the mountain to Monterey and a season-finale matchup at home versus Red Boiling Springs (0-6) will round out their season and conference slate.

By winning one out of two of their final pair of region games, Clay County will host their postseason opener here at John Teeples Field for the first time in history.

A two-game conference sweep would result in the Dawgs’ first-ever region title, a feat no black-and-gold team has accomplished since the 1993 playoff expansion where regions were created eliminating district championships.

Game time in Sparta is at 7 p.m. next Thursday and Horizon Sports Network coverage begins at 6 p.m. with the Carquest Pregame Show online at www.dalehollowhorizon.com.

HEADED TO THE HOUSE-Freshman Jimmy Burchett, who finished the game with 129 all-purpose yards and two scores, breaks a tackle on his way to end zone during his 76-yard, punt-return touchdown—which ignited the Bulldog scoring frenzy in Clay County’s 45-0 blowout of Pickett County. (photo courtesy cchsmedia.zenfolio.com)

Bobcat beatdown

Clay County scored early and often in their demolition of Pickett County here last Friday night and freshman Jimmy Burchett provided the spark for the scoring frenzy the first time a Bulldog touched the ball.

Burchett, who posted 129 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the contest, broke free for a crowd-pleasing, 76-yard, punt-return score just three minutes into the contest and his classmate Levi Garrett added his first-career extra point to put the Dawgs ahead 7-0, but they were far from done.

Freshman tailback Joseph Marcom, who was just one of two Clay County rushers to eclipse the 100-yard mark on the night, crossed the stripe from 11 yards out next, before senior quarterback Jake Ashlock found Burchett for his second score of the contest through the air from the 13-yard-line on the Bulldogs’ third possession.

After Garrett made one of his next two kicks, Clay County had the game in hand at 20-0 before the first-quarter buzzer sounded.

The Bulldog onslaught then continued in the second period, as Ashlock scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, Carson Sharp sprinted into the end zone, and Garrett found his mark again to make it 39-0 heading into the break.

While the Clay County defense locked down the Bobcat attack throughout and posted their fourth shutout on the season, senior fullback Wesley Walker punched it in for his first-ever score to account for the final margin in the fast-moving second half where the clock continuously ran due to the TSSAA mercy rule.

Bulldog statistics

With several players being rested in the contest, Bulldog underclassmen were responsible for the majority of Clay County’s 350 yards of offense, including 23 rushes for 314 yards and four of six passing for 36 yards.

STRONG-ARMED RUNNER-Freshman Joseph Marcom (right) throws a stiff arm to break free from a would-be Bobcat tackler as senior Peyton Vanduyn (#17) throws a block for his teammate who racked up 147 yards rushing on the night. (photo courtesy cchsmedia.zenfolio.com)

Besides Jimmy Burchett’s big special-teams outing (116 PR yds.-TD), both Marcom and Sharp’s rushing totals also surpassed the century-mark. Marcom racked up 147 yards (TD) on 16 carries, while Sharp ran 10 times for 108 yards (TD). Ashlock (5/22 yds.-2 TDs), Walker (3/7 yds.-TD), and freshman Keaton Arms (2/30 yds.) rounded out the ground game.

Ashlock also was perfect through the air (4/4) for 36 yards (TD), while Arms threw a pair of incompletions in limited action before leaving the game due to injury. Ashlock completed passes to Jimmy Burchett (2/24 yds.-TD), junior Brison Burchett (1/6 yds.), and sophomore Andrew Burks (1/6 yds.).

Defensively senior Wyatt Burks led the way with eight tackles and Walker posted four, while Jimmy Burchett, junior John Copeland (TFL), and sophomore Wade Coons (TFL, RF) had three apiece.

JAIL BREAK-Pickett County saw more Bulldogs in their backfield than ballcarriers last Friday night, including constant pressure from (left to right) John Copeland, Dalton Goad, Wade Coons, and Brison Burchett. (photo courtesy cchsmedia.zenfolio.com)

Andrew Burks, Brison Burchett (TFL), and Sharp (TFL) all had two each, while Arms, Garrett (FF), senior Wesley Huff, and freshmen John Hamliton (Sack), Hunter Kyle, and Ricardo McElroy had one each. Freshman Dakota Jacoby also recovered a fumble.

UNDER DURESS-The Dawgs hounded the Bobcat quarterback in Clay County’s win over Pickett County with relentless pressure like this from (left to right) Andrew Burks, Joseph Marcom, and John Hamilton—who recorded a sack in the contest. (photo courtesy cchsmedia.zenfolio.com)