Clay County heads downriver to Jackson County Friday for the Clash on the Cumberland

WESTMORELAND-The Clay County Bulldogs came up a field goal short last Friday night in a 17-14 loss to a determined Westmoreland team.

The Dawgs dropped to 1-1 on the season, after the Eagles (1-1) fended off a Clay County second-half rally.

The first half featured a defensive struggle, as a Kade Perry 36-yard touchdown run for Westmoreland, paired with an Eagle conversion kick, served as the only points in the opening 24 minutes.

Clay County’s first-half drives ended in two turnovers, a pair of fourth-down stops by Westmoreland, and a punt.

All of the Bulldogs’ offense in the first and second quarters was produced by senior tailback Ayden Soto, who caught the team’s only completed pass in the first half and was responsible for the entirety of the Dawgs’ rushing yards in the contest.

Led by brothers Hayden and Reece Adams, Clay County’s bright spot was their defense, which held the Eagles out of the end zone after their initial score and allowed the Dawgs to head into the break only down 7-0.

Westmoreland opened the third quarter with a sustained drive to set up what turned out to be a decisive 35-yard field goal, which handed them a 10-0 lead at the 4:46-mark.

Clay County answered on their next possession, as senior quarterback Nate Adams hooked up with his junior brother Nolan Adams for gains of 20 and 30 yards respectively, before Soto capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run and senior Manny Hernandez kicked the extra point.

The Dawgs had pulled within 10-7 of the Eagles, but Westmoreland’s Cooper White quickly gave them back a cushion.

White took the ensuing kickoff back 80 yards for a touchdown, and the Eagle kicker was true again to change the scoreboard to 17-7, but Clay County returned the favor on their next offensive play.

Nate Adams hit senior wideout Lance Burchett for a 64-yard scoring strike, before a subsequent Hernandez kick sliced the Westmoreland advantage back to 17-14 with 2:27 left in the third period.

The score then remained the same throughout the final frame, as another Clay County turnover stopped their first drive and their next ended in them punting deep in their own territory.

The punt came after the Dawgs found life with a goal-line stand to turn the Eagles over on downs with just over six minutes to play, but Clay County’s final advance stalled and Westmoreland ran out the clock for the three-point victory.

Bulldog stats

The Dawgs only mustered 245 yards of total offense, after posting over 400 in their season opener.  The total was made up of Soto’s 90 rushing yards on 13 carries (TD) and Nate Adams’ 155 yards (TD/INT) through the air on seven of 19 passing.

Burchett (1/64 yds./TD)—who also had one rush for no gain, Nolan Adams (4/65 yds.), Soto (1/8 yds.), and junior Waylon Cherry (1/6 yds.) all had catches.

Defensively, junior Reece Adams led the way with 10 tackles (TFL), his senior brother Hayden Adams recored nine stops (2 Sacks/FF), and senior Worm Smith made eight tackles.

Juniors Kolton Brown and Bryson Sharp had six stops each; Burchett, Nolan Adams, and sophomore Roland Holaway all recorded four tackles apiece; Soto (Sack/FF) made three; senior Kaden Strong and junior Cole Eads (Sack/FF) had two each; and Nate Adams had one tackle.

Friday night

Clay County travels downriver to Gainesboro Friday night to face Jackson County (2-0) in another edition of the Clash on the Cumberland.

The Dawgs downed the Blue Devils 47-7 in Celina last year and shut them out 40-0 in 2022 and 35-0 when the series was renewed in 2021 after a two-year hiatus.

Clay County has won five-straight games over Jackson County by a combined score of 190-22.

So far this season, the Blue Devils have beaten Clinton County, KY 28-14 and Sale Creek 26-6.

The Blue Devils currently play in Class 2A’s Region 3 with Westmoreland, Monterey, Trousdale County, Smith County, and East Robertson.

Tune in to Horizon Sports Network coverage of Friday night’s game in Gainesboro to hear Bulldog head coach Bruce Lamb’s thoughts on the Blue Devils during the H&H Auto and Equipment Parts Pregame show starting at 6 p.m., one hour prior to kick off at 7 p.m.

Coverage can be found online at www.dalehollowhorizon.com or on the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page.