Clay County to host MTCS Thursday

CELINA-The Clay County Bulldogs got their fifth-straight win here on homecoming last Friday night when they outlasted the Cannon County Lions 30-21.

The victory moved the Dawgs to 5-1 on the season heading into a Thursday night home matchup with Middle Tennessee Christian this week.

“It was a good win,” head coach Bruce Lamb said of last week’s game, where Clay County controlled time of possession with a physical downhill rushing attack throughout.  “Offensively we lined up and did what we do.

“We played extremely hard and keeping their offense off the field was huge.”

Dominating offensive line play paired with the one-two punch of seniors Reece and Nolan Adams led to the Dawgs averaging over five yards per carry in the victory.

Reece Adams rushed for 181 yards and a touchdown, while Nolan Adams had three scores and 147 yards.

“The last couple of weeks we have really seen how they can dominate a game,” Lamb said of his offense.  “We line up in the power set and they pretty much know what’s coming at them, but nobody’s been able to stop it.”

Points were at a premium in the first half, as the Dawg defense shut out Cannon County and Clay County got on the board on a Nolan Adams one-yard rushing touchdown.

The score capped a 69-yard, 15-play Bulldog drive, which ate up most of the second quarter and sent the Dawgs into intermission up 6-0.

Clay County then opened the third quarter with another methodical scoring drive, where Nolan Adams ran it in from a yard out again and Reece Adams rushed for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.

Senior Cole Eads then turned back the Lions with the first of two interceptions he had on the night when they were threatening to score, before a Bulldog three-and-out followed.

The teams then traded touchdowns, as Cannon County struck on a long pass play to make it 14-7 following an extra point and Clay County answered with another Nolan Adams rushing touchdown and Reece Adams’ second two-point run to go ahead 22-7 early in the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back Lion touchdowns on big plays followed, which quickly made it a one-point game at 22-21 with just over six minutes to play.

The Dawgs then put the game away when Reece Adams found pay-dirt from six yards out and Nolan Adams hit Eads for the two-point pass to give Clay County a nine-point cushion at the 2:42-mark.

Eads sealed Cannon County’s fate on their ensuing drive with a game-clinching interception and the Dawgs held on for the victory.

“We gave up three big plays, but overall I thought we played good,” Lamb said.  “They have a high-powered offense and it showed, but we lined up and drove the ball, and that was huge in this win.”

Bulldog stats

Clay County totaled 339 yards of offense on 66 plays, with 64 being rushes for 336 yards and two passes for a total of three yards.

Nolan Adams went one for two through the air with a three-yard completion to Eads (2PT).

Reece Adams was the leading rusher (30/181 yds./TD/2 2PT), Nolan Adams wasn’t far behind (31/147 yds./3TDs), and both senior Waylon Cherry (1/-1 yd.) and freshman Nemo Hamilton (2/9 yds.) also had carries.

Reece Adams led the Dawg defense with six tackles; junior Cage Ashley had five; and Nolan Adams, Eads (2INTs), Cherry, and sophomore Isaiah Burnette all had four each.

Senior Bryson Sharp (TFL) and Hamilton made three tackles apiece, while seniors Kolton Brown and Ethan Hayes, junior Rolan Holaway, and sophomore Tucker Walker each had one tackle.