GAINESBORO-The Jackson County Blue Devils dealt the Clay County Bulldogs a stinging region defeat here Friday night, beating their longtime rivals 34-6.

The Blue Devils gained control of the contest with two late scores in the second quarter to take the lead, and totally dominated play from that point on.

Clay County took the lead at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter, following the second of two early fumble recoveries by Dylan Collins. The Bulldogs drove 34 yards for a score after Collins’ second recovery, with Justin Owens going five yards to give the Dawgs a 6-0 lead.

The Blue Devils finally dented the scoreboard at the 3:43 mark of the second period on a one-yard dive. Uriah Bowman’s PAT put Jackson County up 7-6 and they would never trail again. 

Jackson County pushed the lead to 13-6 with a huge score just before intermission, driving 82 yards in six plays. Kaleb Allen connected with Jordan Godwin on a 31-yard scoring pass with 29.6 seconds left in the half. The PAT was no good.

It was all Blue Devils in the second half. Clay County’s Nick Cox broke off a long run for a TD that was called back in the opening seconds of the third quarter, and that was the Bulldogs’ last hurrah.

Allen scored on a five-yard run at the 7:42 mark of the third period to make it 20-7, and the Blue Devils added two more scores before game’s end. They completely shut down Clay County’s offense in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs no first downs and a minus 21 yards. Clay County did not record a first down from the midway point of the second quarter through the end of the game. 

Both teams are now 3-4 on the season. Jackson County broke a four-game losing skid with the region win, while Clay County lost for the fourth time in their past five games and have dropped three in a row. The Bulldogs have scored 14 points in those four losses.