Marcom carries Clay County High School Dawgs to 36-8 win over Devils
By THOMAS P. WEAVER
HORIZON Editor
Marcom’s outburst came on just 12 carries and ranked him fourth all-time among top Bulldog single-game rushers.
“He hit a beast-mode at some point in that game and just decided he was not going to be tackled,” head coach Matt Bates said of Marcom’s determined running style—where he not only used his speed to break loose, but also finished his runs with aggression by punishing would-be tacklers. “He was in his own world out there and I don’t recall him ever going down with any less than two or three guys on him.
“He looks faster, bigger, and he’s just solid. He’s worked all summer, he’s gotten himself in shape, and it paid off with a very impressive night.”
After the Blue Devils dominated time of possession in a scoreless first quarter, a big defensive stop led to Marcom igniting his team with back-to-back 30-and-40-yard runs, to set the Dawgs up on the 12 yardline when the first buzzer sounded.
Then on the first play of the second quarter, junior quarterback Jake Ashlock hooked up with senior B.J. Emberton for the first of two touchdown passes they combined for in the contest and, after a failed kick, Clay County led 6-0.
The Dawgs quickly made it a two-score ballgame on their next possession, when Marcom broke loose for 38 yards and capped the 70-yard drive from 23 yards out with his first touchdown of the night.
Ashlock then found senior tight end Hayden Cherry for the two-point conversion and Clay County went up 14-0 with 7:49 remaining in the first half, but the Blue Devils didn’t fold.
A 30-yard Jackson County touchdown pass and a successful two-pointer followed. The sequence cut the Bulldog margin to 14-8, but Marcom was having nothing of it.
“I didn’t have to say anything,” Bates said. “They said it themselves and we marched right down the field, just methodical, stuck it in, and I felt like that almost really ended them.”
After Ashlock hit Cherry for a 26-yard gain, Marcom broke another highlight-reel run—this time for 32 yards—which put the Dawgs back in business on the four-yardline.
Junior Wyatt Burks’ touchdown run served as the answer and a conversion by sophomore John Copeland extended the black-and-gold lead back out to 22-8 at intermission.
With the Blue Devils shell-shocked, Clay County piled it on in the second half with two more scores.
Marcom ripped off consecutive 26-yard jaunts, before crossing the goal-line from 15 yards out to find paydirt a second time.
His final touchdown, paired with another Ashlock-to-Emberton connection and a conversion from the star of the night, accounted for the final 28-point margin.
“We finally got everybody healthy and in the lineup, and you saw it clicking,” Bates said of his wing-T attack. “If we can maintain this run game and get a little more efficient with the pass, I don’t know where the limit is for us right now.
“The entire unit played really, really well.”
Marcom was the spark behind Clay County’s explosive offensive production, but the fuel came from solid offensive line play from senior bookends Zach Strong and Joseph Jolin, sophomores Dalton Goad and Seth Eads, and freshman Wade Coons.
Not only did they open holes up front, but they also gave Ashlock the time he needed to throw for over 100 yards and the two scores.
“It was one of the better performances I’ve seen in a while from those guys up front,” Bates said. “They adjusted to the game and played really well.”
The same group helped the Dawg defense rise to the occasion throughout the night, as Jolin, Goad, Coons, and Cherry all recorded momentum-swinging sacks. Clay County also picked off two Jackson County passes—one interception each by senior Dalton Shrable and junior Zach Ballantyne.
Copeland, Burks, and Strong were the leading tacklers in the game, while a host of others also had good nights on that side of the ball.
“We couldn’t stop them early and it was frustrating, but we bowed up when we had to, gained control, and turned them back,” Bates said of his defense. “All of those guys did their jobs and made some big plays too.”
The Dawgs will look to get to 2-0 this Friday night, as they make the short road trip to neighboring-county rival Red Boiling Springs for their Region 4-A opener. Game time is 7 p.m. and Horizon Sports Network live-stream coverage at www.dalehollowhorizon.com begins with the Carquest Pregame show at 6 p.m.
Stats
Clay County racked up 459 yards of total offense, including 354 yards on the ground and 105 yards through the air.
Ashlock accounted for all of the passing yards, going 6/12 with two touchdowns and an interception.
Emberton was the leading receiver (3/44yds/2TDs), while Marcom (1/32yds) and Cherry (2/29yds/2pt) also had catches.
Marcom led the way with 272 yards on 12 carries (2TDs/2pt) and Burks was the second-leading rusher (6/42/TD). Copeland (2/28yds/2pt), freshman Kolby Boles (1/18yds), senior Dakota McGee (1/4yds), freshman Carson Sharp (3/0yds), and sophomore Jacob Burnette (2/-10yds) also had carries.
Copeland’s 8 tackles led the way, but Burks wasn’t far behind with 7 and Strong had 6. Goad (sack), Marcom, Emberton, and sophomore Bryson Burchett all had 5 stops, while Cherry (sack), Jolin (sack), and fellow senior Austin Ritter had 4 each.
Burnette tallied 3 tackles and Coons (sack), Shrable (INT), Ballantyne (INT), McGee, Eads, Kolby Boles, junior Michael Herrera, sophomore Jonathan Boles, and junior Jonathan Maynard all recorded one stop apiece.
HORIZON Editor
CELINA-Senior running back Jared Marcom put Clay County on his back last Friday night in their season-opener and carried the Dawgs to a 36-8 blowout win over downriver rival Jackson County with a historic 272-yard, 2-touchdown performance in the 65th edition of the Clash on the Cumberland.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION-Senior Jared Marcom (#24) kicked off his final season as a Bulldog with a bang, behind good line play like this, where freshman Wade Coons (#60) leads the way. (photo courtesy CCHS Media/visit cchsmedia.zenfolio.com for more)
“He hit a beast-mode at some point in that game and just decided he was not going to be tackled,” head coach Matt Bates said of Marcom’s determined running style—where he not only used his speed to break loose, but also finished his runs with aggression by punishing would-be tacklers. “He was in his own world out there and I don’t recall him ever going down with any less than two or three guys on him.
“He looks faster, bigger, and he’s just solid. He’s worked all summer, he’s gotten himself in shape, and it paid off with a very impressive night.”
After the Blue Devils dominated time of possession in a scoreless first quarter, a big defensive stop led to Marcom igniting his team with back-to-back 30-and-40-yard runs, to set the Dawgs up on the 12 yardline when the first buzzer sounded.
Then on the first play of the second quarter, junior quarterback Jake Ashlock hooked up with senior B.J. Emberton for the first of two touchdown passes they combined for in the contest and, after a failed kick, Clay County led 6-0.
The Dawgs quickly made it a two-score ballgame on their next possession, when Marcom broke loose for 38 yards and capped the 70-yard drive from 23 yards out with his first touchdown of the night.
Ashlock then found senior tight end Hayden Cherry for the two-point conversion and Clay County went up 14-0 with 7:49 remaining in the first half, but the Blue Devils didn’t fold.
A 30-yard Jackson County touchdown pass and a successful two-pointer followed. The sequence cut the Bulldog margin to 14-8, but Marcom was having nothing of it.
“I didn’t have to say anything,” Bates said. “They said it themselves and we marched right down the field, just methodical, stuck it in, and I felt like that almost really ended them.”
After Ashlock hit Cherry for a 26-yard gain, Marcom broke another highlight-reel run—this time for 32 yards—which put the Dawgs back in business on the four-yardline.
Junior Wyatt Burks’ touchdown run served as the answer and a conversion by sophomore John Copeland extended the black-and-gold lead back out to 22-8 at intermission.
With the Blue Devils shell-shocked, Clay County piled it on in the second half with two more scores.
Marcom ripped off consecutive 26-yard jaunts, before crossing the goal-line from 15 yards out to find paydirt a second time.
His final touchdown, paired with another Ashlock-to-Emberton connection and a conversion from the star of the night, accounted for the final 28-point margin.
“We finally got everybody healthy and in the lineup, and you saw it clicking,” Bates said of his wing-T attack. “If we can maintain this run game and get a little more efficient with the pass, I don’t know where the limit is for us right now.
“The entire unit played really, really well.”
Marcom was the spark behind Clay County’s explosive offensive production, but the fuel came from solid offensive line play from senior bookends Zach Strong and Joseph Jolin, sophomores Dalton Goad and Seth Eads, and freshman Wade Coons.
Not only did they open holes up front, but they also gave Ashlock the time he needed to throw for over 100 yards and the two scores.
“It was one of the better performances I’ve seen in a while from those guys up front,” Bates said. “They adjusted to the game and played really well.”
The same group helped the Dawg defense rise to the occasion throughout the night, as Jolin, Goad, Coons, and Cherry all recorded momentum-swinging sacks. Clay County also picked off two Jackson County passes—one interception each by senior Dalton Shrable and junior Zach Ballantyne.
Copeland, Burks, and Strong were the leading tacklers in the game, while a host of others also had good nights on that side of the ball.
“We couldn’t stop them early and it was frustrating, but we bowed up when we had to, gained control, and turned them back,” Bates said of his defense. “All of those guys did their jobs and made some big plays too.”
The Dawgs will look to get to 2-0 this Friday night, as they make the short road trip to neighboring-county rival Red Boiling Springs for their Region 4-A opener. Game time is 7 p.m. and Horizon Sports Network live-stream coverage at www.dalehollowhorizon.com begins with the Carquest Pregame show at 6 p.m.
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- HAULING IT IN-Senior tight end Hayden Cherry caught this two-point conversion from Jake Ashlock in the big win over Jackson County. (photo courtesy CCHS Media)
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- FENCEHANGERS-A large crowd, including the familiar “Fence-hangers of John Teeples Field,” gathered to cheer on the Dawgs last Friday night. (photo courtesy CCHS Media)
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- IN PURSUIT-Senior Dakota McGee (#23) and Zach Strong (#66) close in on a Blue Devil in the 36-8 rout of Jackson County. (photo courtesy CCHS Media)
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- MEET AT THE BALL-Dalton Goad (#62), B.J. Emberton (#21), John Copeland (#16), and others swarmed Blue Devil ballcarriers to hold Jackson County to one score in the win. (photo courtesy CCHS Media)
Stats
Clay County racked up 459 yards of total offense, including 354 yards on the ground and 105 yards through the air.
Ashlock accounted for all of the passing yards, going 6/12 with two touchdowns and an interception.
Emberton was the leading receiver (3/44yds/2TDs), while Marcom (1/32yds) and Cherry (2/29yds/2pt) also had catches.
Marcom led the way with 272 yards on 12 carries (2TDs/2pt) and Burks was the second-leading rusher (6/42/TD). Copeland (2/28yds/2pt), freshman Kolby Boles (1/18yds), senior Dakota McGee (1/4yds), freshman Carson Sharp (3/0yds), and sophomore Jacob Burnette (2/-10yds) also had carries.
Copeland’s 8 tackles led the way, but Burks wasn’t far behind with 7 and Strong had 6. Goad (sack), Marcom, Emberton, and sophomore Bryson Burchett all had 5 stops, while Cherry (sack), Jolin (sack), and fellow senior Austin Ritter had 4 each.
Burnette tallied 3 tackles and Coons (sack), Shrable (INT), Ballantyne (INT), McGee, Eads, Kolby Boles, junior Michael Herrera, sophomore Jonathan Boles, and junior Jonathan Maynard all recorded one stop apiece.