By THOMAS P. WEAVER
HORIZON Editor

CORNERSVILLE-The Clay County Bulldogs made a statement here last Friday night.

The Dawgs improved to 3-0 on the season, and, to get there, they beat Associated Press #5-ranked Cornersville 38-12 on the road in a hostile environment.

“Had it been in the postseason, I think you could definitely say that,” Clay County head coach Jake Johnson said when asked if knocking off the other Bulldog team could be considered one of the best wins in school history. “We still made some mistakes obviously and there are some things we need to get better at, but as far as playing as a complete team, it’s by far the best game we have pieced together.

“It’s a great signature win, but coming back down to earth and humbling ourselves, in the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing but putting a target on our backs—we are going to get everybody’s best ball from here on on out.

“We have officially arrived in the eyes or our competition.”

The arrival came via a quick-strike offensive attack countering the size and strength of Cornersville, as Clay County built an early two-score advantage.

Junior All-State receiver and return man Alec Kerr exploded for back-to-back scores, the first coming on a 45-yard punt return and the second off the arm of freshman quarterback Nate Adams—who was true with a quick strike that was quickly turned into an 89-yard touchdown.

Kerr finished the game nearing 300 all-purpose yards, including 113 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

“He has kinda been silent the first couple of games, whether it be people doing a good job of game planning for him or whatever, but man he was electric as ever—probably one of the top performances he’s ever had,” Johnson said of Kerr, whose impressive legwork resulted in a 12-0 lead for Clay County with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. “He set the tone.”

Though shellshocked, Cornersville quickly answered on their next possession, after taking the ensuing kickoff back to the Clay County 10-yard-line and punching it in from there to make it 12-6, but the Dawg defense bowed up after that.

While their opponent’s possessions ended in punts, Adams heated up in the second quarter and finished the night with nine completions on 15 attempts for 259 yards and four touchdowns (3 passing/1 rushing) in his first start under center in relief of injured junior signal-caller Keaton Arms.

Junior Joseph Marcom, who got the nod replacing injured senior tailback Carson Sharp, set up the first of back-to-back scoring strikes from Adams to senior wideout Grant Strong with his powerful running.

Marcom had rushes of 13 and 17 yards amidst a 10-play scoring drive capped by the first touchdown of Strong’s career, which he snatched out of the air in the back of the end zone to put his team ahead 18-6.

Marcom then broke free for a 20-yard bruising run on Clay County’s next possession, before Adams found a streaking Strong from 35 yards out to make it 24-6, but Cornersville still didn’t fold.

Right before intermission, they put their physical run game on display and had it first-and-goal at the 8-yard-line, where junior Hunter Kyle decided he wasn’t going to let them score.

Kyle dropped the Cornersville quarterback for a sack and then shut them out of the end zone with a fourth-down stop to send Clay County into the locker room with the three-score lead.

“That was huge for us,” Johnson said of Kyle’s touchdown-saving play. “He’s such worker and hard-nosed.

“He fights and scrapes and claws, and he’s the kind of kid you want to get behind.”

Cornersville opened the second half with another sustained drive and powered it in for a score to change the scoreboard to 24-12 early in the third quarter, before Clay County rallied again.

Adams converted a crucial third-and-long play by stepping up the pocket, avoiding the rush, and delivering a laser down the seam to junior Jimmy Burchett for a 46-yard gain.

Kerr capped the seven-play scoring drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown to put his team ahead 30-12 with just under three minutes to remaining in the third, before slamming the door on Cornersville in the final period.

He made the most of another punt by taking it 60-plus yards into scoring position and Adams ran it in from two yards out. Kerr then added the exclamation point with a two-point-conversion catch to account for the final margin.

“With what Alec did, Grant Strong’s two touchdowns, Jeff Spivey with a huge catch, Jimmy Burchett, Joseph Marcom running hard, Nate Adams being smart and effective with the football, Hunter Kyle being absolutely dominant, Wade Coons, Levi Garrett, all those guys up front, I can’t name them all,” Johnson said, as he realized he would have to mention every player that hit the field due to how impressive they all were. “I can’t really say anything negative other than a couple of miscues.

“We challenged all of our guys and they answered in a gigantic way by playing full tilt the entire game.”

Stats
Clay County had a total of 335 yards of offensive output on 45 plays, including 76 yards rushing on 30 carries and 259 passing yards.

Adams accounted for all of the yards through the air (9/15 3 TDs) and Kerr was the leading receiver with four catches for 113 yards (TD). Burchett (2/53 yds.), Strong (2/33 yds./2TDs), and Spivey (1/60 yds.) also had receptions.

Marcom was the leading rusher (21/75 yds.), while Kerr (7/7 yds./TD) and Adams (2/-6 TD) also had carries.

Defensively Burchett and Marcom (Sack) led the way with seven tackles apiece; Kyle (3 Sacks/TFL), Kerr, senior Wade Coons (TFL), and sophomore Austin Anderson (Sack/2 TFLs) each had five stops; and Garrett (Sack) and Strong (INT) both recored four.

Rounding out the tackle list were senior Eli Smith with three, sophomore Weston Birdwell (Sack) with two, and Adams and junior John Hamilton with one each.

Up next
Clay County hits the road again this Friday night to face Jo Byrns (3-1) in their region opener.

Johnson described the Red Devils as an improved team presenting a challenge.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenge, because they are riding high and close to being 4-0 truthfully.

“It’s celebrate the win and Monday we are back to work.”

Johnson said they had a “really good” quarterback that is “just as much of a threat with his legs as he is with his arm” and talked about the tradition of Jo Byrns.

“Coach (Tom) Adkins does a great job with those guys,” he said, “and, man, that’s a tough place to play.

“They’ve improved and they are a quality program.”