Bulldogs start the season at home, right where they want to be come November

Clay County hosts York for Friday night opener

By THOMAS P. WEAVER

Horizon Editor

CELINA-Two seasons ago, the Clay County Bulldogs made program history by finishing as the Class A State Runners-up, and that accomplishment was aided by six-straight home games played here on John Teeples Field leading up to the State Championship game.

This year, the 2024 version of the Dawgs have the chance to one-up the 2022 legends of fall.

“It is the same as it was two years ago,” third-year Bulldog head coach Bruce Lamb said.  “If we win the region, we host all the way through to the championship.

“We could have seven straight weeks at home—that’s pretty amazing.  So, that’s what our goal is.”

The extended home stand will include three contests played here to end the regular season—including one with conference rival Gordonsville, and four potential playoff rounds prior to the title game, thanks to the Region 4-A champions’ home-field advantage.

“That’s the way it worked out,” Lamb said of the schedule.  “I am pretty excited about playing here in the late fall.

“It’s always good to have a home crowd when games are on the line, and they are all big games.”

The Dawgs will be looking for a big turnout of black, purple, and gold fans then, and from the jump—the latter of which they will need to get off to a good start, as they welcome York Institute to town to kick off the season Friday night.

Senior leaders

With the program’s all-time-leading passer as the centerpiece and a wealth of talent surrounding him, Bulldog Nation is sure to show up—this week and throughout the season, to not only take in the high-octane Clay County attack, but also witness this year’s version of the nasty Dawg defense.

After becoming the school’s first-ever 2,000-yard passer, breaking the career mark for passing yardage, and having every Bulldog quarterback record well within his sights, sensational signal-caller Nate Adams returns to bolster a talented senior class.

“The main one we rely on more than anybody is Nate,” Lamb said of last year’s region offensive MVP.  “He has more experience than anybody on the team, and we expect a lot out of him.

“But we’ve got almost all of our skill kids back, and we look for big things out of all of them.”

The seasoned quarterback doubles as a lockdown defender on the other side of the ball, where he also broke a record last season.

Besides his 2,025 yards and 20 passing touchdowns, Nate Adams also had 11 defensive interceptions to set a bar in 2023.  Like he did with his current total of 4,033 passing yards, he is quickly running down the career interception mark of 27, with 24 heading into the season.

In addition to the record-breaker, skill players Lance Burchett (WR/DB), Ayden Soto (RB/OLB), Worm Smith (RB/ILB), and Eli Burnette (WR/OLB); interior forces Hayden Adams (C/NG) and Kaden Strong (RT/DT); and kicker Manny Hernandez make up a strong eight-man senior class.

Soto was Clay County’s leading rusher a year ago with 816 yards (9TDs).  He and Smith, who were both named all-region last season, will share the backfield and lead the linebacking corps.

“I look for big things out of those two this year on both sides of the ball,” Lamb said.  “They are hard-nosed and do a great job for us.”

The coach also said “we know we have a weapon out there” when it comes to Burchett, who he deemed a “great athlete with quickness and speed.”

After being injured the majority of his junior campaign, Burchett made a big impact in limited action late last season, and his coach thinks he’s primed for a big year.

Lamb described Strong—who is seeing his first major action as a senior—as “working hard and getting better every day,” and he lauded Hayden Adams’ tenacity.

“He goes 100 miles an hour every play, and I look for him to be a leader on this team,” Lamb said.

The veteran coach also explained he expected Burnette to “step in and play a big role,” and he said Hernandez is going to be a welcomed addition, because he “can boom it.”

“We’ve got a weapon we haven’t had with him,” Lamb said of the new kicker.

Personnel

Joining Nate and Hayden Adams, Soto, Burchett, and Strong as offensive starters will be junior all-state wide receiver (55/850 yds./10TDs), region skill player of the year, and brother of Nate, Nolan Adams (WR/DB), along with his classmate Reece Adams (TE/OLB).

Reece joined Nolan on the all-region team as a sophomore and led his team in tackles (80).

Lamb described the duo as “two good weapons,” and he said he expected them both to step up their games this season.

Other junior starters will include Kolton Brown (LG/DT), Kason Monroe-Hidalgo (RG), Waylon Cherry (WR/DB), Cole Eads (WR/S), and Bryson Sharp (FB/ILB).

“That class has a lot of guys who are going to contribute,” Lamb said of his juniors.

Sophomore Roland Holaway (LT/DT) will fill out the starting offensive line and start at defensive tackle, alongside Hayden Adams at nose guard and Brown at the other tackle.

Inside linebackers Smith and Sharp will be flanked by Soto and Reece Adams on the outside, while the Adams brothers, Burchett, Cherry, and Eads will be the mix over the top of the defense.

Eli Burnette and freshmen Cole Ledbetter and Caden Copeland will back up the linebacking corps and play on special teams, while sophomore Cage Ashley and freshmen Fletcher Strong and Isaiah Burnette are reserve defensive backs.  Sophomore Lukas Graves will serve as a reserve nose guard and senior Kaden Strong will rotate in at defensive tackle.

The list of offensive reverses consists of Eli (WR) and Isiah Burnette (WR), Fletcher Strong (QB), Cage Ashley (WR), and freshman Ramzy Hayes (C).  Remaining reserves include junior Matthew Poindexter, sophomores Thomas Ashley and Oliver Boles, and freshmen Jackson Ritter, Tucker Walker, and Jacob Webb.

Schemes

Even though offensive coordinator Jimmy Maynord left to become the athletic director at Upperman, Lamb explained schemes on both sides of the ball will closely mirror those of the past couple of years.

Veteran defensive coordinator Mike Dickerson is back to keep continuity on that side, wile Lamb and assistant Dylan Hayes will work together to lead the offense—which will feature much of what Maynord installed.

“Coach Maynord did a great job,” Lamb said.  “Why change that?

“We will run a lot of the same things, but we are going to do whatever works.”

Lamb said the return of Dickerson to lead the Dawg defense was “absolutely huge,” and he said Clay County was going to be “very aggressive” on that side of the ball this season.

“He understands the game as good as anybody I’ve been around,” the head coach said of his top assistant, who also serves as the Clay County High School principal.  “He puts us in a position to win football games.”

Besides Hayes and Dickerson, Lamb also has Bulldog football alumni Steven Arms and Levi Garrett on staff again this year.

“It’s great to have all of those guys back,” Lamb said.

Schedule

And Lamb knows he’s going to need all the help he can get with the schedule Clay County plays, which features larger schools when it comes to non-conference games.

“We don’t have a break,” he said.  “We don’t have a gimme game.

“We are going to have to play hard each week and give our best, or it could be a long season.”

Following the opener with York this week, the Dawgs travel to Westmorleland on August 30 and Jackson County (9/6) to open the month of September.

They then return home to host Monterey (9/13), before taking three-straight road trips to Portland (9/20), Monroe County, KY (9/27), and Jo Byrns (10/4) for their first conference game.

A bye week follows, before their final three are played here at home against Red Boiling Springs (10/18), Trousdale County (10/25), and Gordonsville on Thursday, October 31.

“It’s going to be tough—believing is the main thing,” Lamb said,  “We’ve got to have faith in each other, get better every game, and be playing our best football at the right time.

“We were picked third in the region and we’ve got to go prove them wrong.”

Besides the obvious motivation born of the preseason rankings, where Clay County was listed behind both Gordsonville and Jo Byrns, Lamb said avenging their 42-41 double-overtime loss to the region rival Tigers last season serves as an inspiration for Bulldog players and coaches alike.

“Yeah, I think about it a lot,” he said.  “I think about it a whole lot.

“Our kids fought really hard and I know they gave everything they had,” Lamb continued.  “And for them to lose such a tight ballgame that meant so much, I know they’ve circled that also on their calendars, and we will be ready.

“We want that region title back.”

Tune in to Horizon Sports Network coverage of Friday night’s game with York for an interview with Lamb 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.

Hear his thoughts on the Dragons—a Class 2A semifinal team a year ago—and much more online at www.dalehollowhorizon.com or on the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page.