By Allen Hamrick
The Liberty Raleigh Raiders were pounded into dust particles this past Friday as the Panthers kicked butt and took names on the grid iron. The Panthers went down the middle, ran the perimeter, passed, caught, blocked, tackled and defended, scoring 48of their 61points by half time. The game was pretty much like a wagon wheel over a marshmallow- you applaud the effort, but in the end the wagon wheel easily crushes it.
The Noah Collins air show was thrown with pinpoint accuracy as he hit his targets at will. He went 17-22 totaling 311 yards and six TD passes. These yards set him at the top of the food chain in stats breaking the all time CCHS passing yards held by Grant Krajeski, As of now, Noah stands at 4344 yards…and he is only a junior. BJ Williams also got his name in Vegas lights by breaking Joey Myers’s record for career receiving yards with BJ now at 2048 yards… and also a junior. Simply put, the Panther football team is becoming a force to be reckoned with.
After a rough couple of outings early in the season, the Panthers seem to have all their itches scratched and are in tune with the game using their strengths and skills. The running backs are harder to hold onto than razorblades and the receivers are finding their glue and coming up with some plays. The Raiders simply couldn’t get the ball anywhere with the Panthers defense digging deep and stopping any advance. After the half with the score becoming out of reach, the coaches got some new players on the field to give them some field time. The final score of the game was Panthers 61 Raiders 14. It was another good win for the Panthers as they move to 2-2 on the season. Their season now gets into a stretch of games that will test the measure of the Panthers and their skills. They will take their show on the road to Logan this Friday night and will have Lincoln County, Grafton, Mount View, Summers, and Braxton to end the season. Go Panthers!
This night was not all about football – it was homecoming, after all, and the red carpet was rolled out for CCHS royalty. It was a queen’s night in Clay County, a night for the crowning of a new football homecoming queen. The CCHS band and cheerleaders, dressed in their finest, got busy lining up in formation to welcome the new queen to the field to her cheering fans. Olivia Witt, 2023 Football Homecoming Queen, strode across the field with the confidence and poise of royalty to accept her crown as CCHS principal Allen Tanner placed it on her head. She will no doubt be a queen that represents the school well. Her escort was Nathan Wynn. Congratulations to Queen Olivia Witt and the rest of her court. Freshman Princess Audrey Marie Hubbard was escorted by Shane Vaughan, Sophomore Princess Emma Hartshorn was escorted by Devon Rhodes, Junior Princess Evelyn “Evie” Young was escorted by Cory McKinney and Senior Princess Haley Chapman was escorted by Micah Osborne. They all represented CCHS and their families well. Once again congratulations to the queen and her court.
