By Jason Nichols
The Clay High Panthers travelled to Montgomery on Friday evening to take on the Greyhounds of Valley Fayette. Clay was looking to make it two wins in a row after knocking off Roane County last week.
CCHS jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead before Valley was able to respond with their only touchdown of the game to pull within 12-8. Clay scored again before the half making the halftime score Clay 18-Valley 8. After some second half adjustments to Valley’s triple option attack, the Panthers were able to put away the Greyhounds without much resistance the rest of the way. Valley managed only one first down in the second half.
The Panthers had the ground game and the air game working as CCHS ran the ball 49 times for 277 rushing yards, and completed nine of 15 for 120 yards passing. Caleb Wynn led the rushing attack with 109 yards on 19 carries. Isaac Workman chipped in with 53 yards rushing and Alex Grose added 62 on the ground. The passing attack was once again on target as QB Alex Grose threw for 120 yards with three touchdowns. Ryan Burdette hauled in five passes for 48 yards and pulled down two of Grose’s touchdown passes. Isaac Workman caught the other touchdown pass from Grose with his 22 yard score.
Clay County improved to 3-1 on the season with a 37-8 dismantling of the Greyhounds from Valley Fayette. The Panthers picked up 16 first downs on the night and Valley only managed to account for four. Clay had 397 total yards and Valley only had 139 total yards.
The Special Teams for Clay County was working at Valley as well. Senior Zack Ferrebee was successful on two onside kicks leading to Panther recoveries and possessions. Defensively, the team was led by Ryan Burdette who had 11 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Ferrebee also added eight tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, and a tackle for loss.
The Players of the Game this week include Ryan Burdette with his two touchdowns, 11 tackles, and fumble recovery. Isaac Workman added 53 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Zack Ferrebee had two successful onside kicks, eight tackles, and a sack. Alex Grose’s 120 yards passing, 62 rushing, and three passing touchdowns were pretty impressive as well. Kenny Welch and Luke Burnette added a rushing touchdown each for CCHS.
The Panthers will try to improve on their record this coming Friday when the Raiders of Liberty Raleigh travel to Bradley Field for the Homecoming contest. CCHS will crown senior Graci Mitchell as Homecoming Queen.
The JV team improved to 2-0-1 on the season when Clay travelled to Poca last Monday to take on the Dots. CCHS jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and managed to hold on as the night progressed. Defense was the name of the game on Monday as Brandon Rucker was all over the field leading the way with nine tackles. The Panthers forced six turnovers with three fumble recoveries and three interceptions on the evening. Clay was scheduled to take on the Tigers of Wirt this week in JV action. That game was cancelled with Wirt dealing with numerous injuries on the team. So, the Grizzlies of Nicholas will come to Bradley Field on Monday to take on our Panthers.
