Historic senior class finishes with most wins in program history

SOUTH PITTSBURG-For the fifth time in seven years, the Clay County Bulldog football season came to an end at the hands of the South Pittsburg Pirates Friday night.

And for the second-straight year, it happened in the Class A State Quarterfinals.

Despite the 45-0 shutout, Bulldog head coach Bruce Lamb said his team has no reason to hang their heads.

“They left everything on the field,” he said of his team.  “They played their butts off and it just didn’t come out our way this time.

“We would have loved to have gotten a couple more games in, but it’s hard to beat 11-2.  That’s a great season and these guys have nothing to be ashamed of.”

And Lamb contributed the majority of Clay County’s 2025 success to a historic eight-member senior class made up of Nolan and Reece Adams, Kolton Brown, Waylon Cherry, Cole Eads, Ethan Hayes, Bryson Sharp, and Kayson Monroy Hidalgo—a group which will go down as the winningest graduating class in program history.

“It’s definitely about those young men,” he said.  “What a great job they’ve done of leading this team.

“When you look at it… three-time region champions in four years, third round three times in four years, being in a State Semifinal, being in a State Championship game… all of those things are incredible.

“Plus 41 wins out of 53 games.  You just don’t find many that have even played that many games and won that many in a four-year career.  Just super proud of those guys.”

The seniors have been with Lamb since he took the Clay County job four years ago, and when he spoke of them it was evident they had a special relationship.

“I just love them,” Lamb said.  “I told them I’m going to miss them… their leadership and so many different things, but maybe most of all them just being around.

“They are such good kids and I’m going to miss them being part of this program.  I just hate to see every one of them go.”

Besides the group accomplishments, individual records have also been broken by members of the class.

Reece Adams became the program’s all-time leading tackler this season, set the program’s single-season tackling mark last year, and entered the 1,000-yard rushing club as a senior, before finishing with a total of 1,446 yards.

Nolan Adams also smashed the Bulldog single-season rushing record with his first carry against South Pittsburg Friday night and set the new bar at 1,849 yards by game’s end.

But it wasn’t enough to get by a stacked Pirate roster, including Class A Mr. Football semifinalist duo Ja’Mychal Buckner and DaYon Cooper—who both had touchdowns in the win over the Dawgs.

“They’ve got some players now,” Lamb said of South Pittsburg.  “And they are good all the way across the board.  When you make a mistake they are going to make you pay for it and they did.”

The Pirates took advantage of a couple of missed tackles on their opening possession and went up 7-0 just a minute into the game with an explosive touchdown pass.

But it remained a one-score contest well into the second stanza, as the Clay County defense got the stop they needed on South Pittsburg’s next possession.

“Our kids stepped up and stuffed them inside the 20,” Lamb said.  “It was a huge fourth-down stop and we knew we had to have some good things happen early to keep us in the game.”

Clay County took over on their own 14-yard line and began a march, which included four first downs and a fourth-down conversion.

The 14-play drive ate up the remainder of the first quarter, before it ended with a fourth-down interception in South Pittsburg territory.

“We were just lining up and getting what we could,” Lamb said, “but then they started loading the box and sending them after us, and it was a lot to handle.”

The Pirates drove for their second score on the ensuing possession, before adding another prior to intermission to head into the locker room up 21-0.

“Overall it was a good first half for us,” Lamb said.  “If we could have finished that drive, we were right there.”

The Clay County defense then bowed up again on South Pittsburg’s opening drive of the second half, when they held the Pirates to a field goal to keep the score at 24-0, but the Bulldog attack couldn’t gain any traction the rest of the way.

South Pittsburg went on to add three more touchdowns down the stretch and end Clay County’s season.

“I’m just proud of this team,” Lamb said.  “And even the South Pitt coaches were very complimentary of them.

“They went out there and they played their hearts out, were very respectful, and very disciplined in what they did, but sometimes you are just outmatched.”

Lamb did say he was looking forward to what the returning Bulldogs will bring to the table in the future and quashed any rumors about his potential retirement.

“Those young guys stepped up and I’m excited about what the future looks like for those guys,” he said when asked about his return next season.  “My plan is to be back next year, yes.”

Bulldog stats

Clay County mustered 144 total yards of offense on 42 plays against South Pittsburg, including 35 rushes for 137 yards and seven yards through the air on one of seven passing (3INTs) by Nolan Adams.

The one completion went to Cherry for the seven yards and he also rushed one for -1 yards.  Nolan Adams was the leading rusher (13/70 yds.), while Reece Adams (20/67 yds.) and sophomore Isaiah Burnette (1/1 yd.) also had carries.

Nolan Adams led the way defensively with eight tackles, Reece Adams made six, and junior Cage Ashley had five.

Sophomore Cole Ledbetter had four tackles (TFL); Sharp made three (TFL); Cherry, Burnette, and junior Rolan Holaway had two apiece; and junior Oliver Boles (TFL) and freshman Nemo Hamilton made one each.