Clay County travels north to Glasgow for opener

By THOMAS P. WEAVER

Horizon Editor

GLASGOW, KY-When the Clay County Bulldog football team kicks off their season here Friday night, they will do so with a familiar goal in mind.

“Like we said when we got here in 2022… 15 games, that’s what our goal is,” veteran head coach Bruce Lamb said.  “There’s something about getting to practice on Thanksgiving.

“This is my 33rd year and I think I’ve done it maybe four times.  It’s a very special thing, and I really think if these kids will commit, we can do that.”

It happened in Lamb’s first year at the helm of the Dawgs, when he led Clay County to a 2022 State Runner-up finish.

Last year, his team came up two games shy, as they went 10-3 and notched the program’s third-ever State Quarterfinal appearance.

This year, Lamb’s expectations haven’t wavered, though he knows his squad has work to do to meet them.

“Getting to Week 15, that’s the motivation,” he said.  “We need to expect to be playing then.

“The key is getting better by the end of the year than we are at the beginning, and playing our best when it matters.”

Senior strong

To get there, Lamb will rely on a nine-player senior class made up of seven returning contributors and two newcomers—who will hit the ground running.

All-State wide receiver Nolan Adams has moved to quarterback and former tight end Reece Adams has transitioned to running back.

“We’ve got the speed of Nolan with the ball in his hands, and then, look out, here comes the power of Reece coming right at you,” Lamb said of his ‘thunder-and-lightning’ ground game.  “They are going to be big for us.”

While the running attack of the Adams duo will be the main offensive identity of the team, their classmates Cole Eads, Waylon Cherry, and newcomer Warner Melton will provide the changeup at the wide receiver position, along with tight end/fullback Bryson Sharp.

“We’ve got some athletes out there, so it is going to be one of those things—pick your poison,” Lamb said of his receiving corps.

And to protect them all, Kolton Brown, newcomer Ethan Hayes, and Kason Monroy Hidalgo make up the lineman portion of the class.

“It all starts up front with those guys on both sides of the ball,” Lamb said.  “We need all nine of our seniors to ground us, and I think the maturity of those guys will take care of that.”

Starting alongside Brown (LT) and Hayes (C) in the offensive line will be junior Rolan Holaway (RT) and sophomores Cole Ledbetter (LG) and Tucker Walker (RG), while Hidalgo, junior Oliver Boles, and sophomore Jackson Ritter will serve as interior reserves.

Backing up Nolan Adams at quarterback will be sophomore Fletcher Strong, sophomore Isaiah Burnette will be the reserve running back, and both junior Cage Ashley and freshman Nemo Hamilton will see time at wide receiver.

Defense

Reece Adams, who set the single-season tackle record as a junior, returns to anchor the Dawg defense at inside linebacker, where Ashley will join him as a starter, and Hidalgo and Walker will be the reserves.

Nolan Adams and Eads will be hybrid strong safeties/outside linebackers, Melton will start at free safety, and both Cherry and Hamilton will play the corners.  Strong and Burnette will serve as reserves for the same positions.

Clay County’s four-man defensive front will be made up of Holaway and Ledbetter at the tackles, and Brown and Sharp at the ends, with Hayes (DE), Boles (DT), and Ritter (DE) rotating in.

“I love our four-man front,” Lamb, who will call the defense this season, said.  “In the scrimmages those guys played absolutely awesome, the linebackers played super, and we’ve gotten better since then.

“Those guys right there are the key to what we do.”

Lamb said he likes to “make things happen” on defense and plans to pressure more this year.

“That’s just me and I think we are good enough to do that,” he said.  “We will play a lot more zone over the top, because it’s a younger bunch back there, but that front six (including linebackers), I would put them up against anybody.

“Hopefully we will do our job up front, make them get rid of the ball quick, (because) that’s what we want to do.”

Offense

In order for Lamb to take over the defense, former White County head coach Curtis Beaty came to Clay County to be the new offensive coordinator.

Dylan Hayes will also continue to help with the Bulldog attack, along with Mike Slone—who comes to town after being an assistant coach with Beaty in Sparta.

“Those guys are doing a great job with the offense,” Lamb said.  “For us to get (Curtis) up here with us is huge, and he and Dylan both know what I expect, because they’ve played for me and coached with me.

“And Slone is an experienced coach, and we are lucky to have him around.”

Lamb explained the Clay County offense will look a bit different this season, especially compared to last year when Mr. Football finalist Nate Adams threw for a program record 3,553 yards and 43 touchdowns, his brother Nolan set the single-season receiving touchdown record (19), and their cousin Lance Burchett smashed the single-season receiving yardage mark (1,499 yds.).

“We’ve changed almost completely around,” he said.  “We will be more run-oriented than we are pass-oriented this year.

“We will run a lot of power and counter, and use a lot of deception.  I think once we get everything going, we are going to be hard to stop.”

Friday night

The new-look Clay County team will first test their skills Friday night north of the border at Barren County (KY) High School, where they will face Glasgow, KY in their season opener.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of options,” Lamb said.  “There weren’t many that wanted to play us, because it is a lose-lose situation for a lot of people—beat a singe-A school, you are supposed to, but if you lose, well…

“So, we will go to Glasgow, play in a super-nice stadium with a turf field, and play what is a pretty good caliber football team.”

Lamb admitted he didn’t know much about the Scotties, but said they were “a storied program” who have won “some big games” in the past.

Added to the unknown, the Dawgs will be without Nolan Adams for their first game while he serves a one-game suspension to start the season.

Strong will get the start at quarterback, while Burnette will fill in for the senior on defense.

Schedule

Following their opener in Kentucky, Clay County will travel to Smith County on August 29, before returning home to face a pair of old foes—Jackson County and Monterey on September 5 and 12.

The Dawgs will then take a trip to Hartsville to battle Trousdale County on September 19, host Cannon County for Homecoming on September 26, and welcome Middle Tennessee Christian School (MTCS) to town on Thursday, October 2.

A bye week will follow, prior to Clay County’s Region 4-A slate closing out the season.

They will travel to neighboring-county rival Red Boiling Springs on October 17 and to Innovation Academy of Robertson County on October 24, before hosting Jo Byrns for their season finale on October 31.

With Gordonsville moving to Class 2A, the Dawgs have been dubbed the favorite to repeat as region champions.

“We may be the favorite, but you still gotta perform,” Lamb said,  “It doesn’t matter, you gotta come play every night, and that’s what we are going to do.”

Clay County’s region games are the only Class 1A games they have, with Glasgow being a larger school, MTCS being a Division II private school, and the rest playing in Class 2A.

“That’s the way it should be,” Lamb said.  “You got to come ready to play every week and it gets you prepared.

“I think if we can get a little more prepared by playing up, it helps get us ready for the playoffs.”

Game time Friday night at Barren County High School is an hour earlier than normal at 6 p.m.  The Horizon Sports Network will have live-stream coverage of the game beginning at 5 p.m. on the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page and online at dalehollowhorizon.com.