Dragon defense shines ... Offense not so much in 14-7 loss to LC

October 11, 2023 by Dan McWilliams Special to The Courier News

The Clinton Dragons did not allow an offensive score at Lenoir City on Friday, but the host Panthers kept the visitors’ offense in check in a 14-7 football victory.

The loss, Clinton’s fourth in a row, dropped the Dragons to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in Region 3-5A games. Lenoir City improved to 5-2, 2-0.

Clinton likely is in the playoffs with its one region win in the five-team region, where the top four finishers make the playoffs. But the Dragons are looking at a road game to start the postseason. Lenoir City most probably clinched a home playoff game with the win over the Dragons.

Quarterback Josh Keith completed 15 of 28 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, to pace the Dragon offense at Lenoir City.

Wesley Phillips led Clinton receivers with five catches for 90 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

Jawan Goins caught four passes for 24 yards, and Jeremiah Lee three for 33 yards.

The Dragons’ rushing attack was held to 37 yards on 24 carries.

D’Mon Marable recorded a single rush for 28 yards, and Chauncey Felts added 24 yards on five carries.

Four sacks and two wild snaps from center hurt the Clinton rushing stats, and the Dragon offense also lost three of its four fumbles. Emanuel Ortiz was true on his only extra-point kick.

Marable again topped Dragon defenders with 18 tackles, including five solo hits, with one tackle for loss of 5 yards and one forced fumble. Bo Wright made 14 tackles for Clinton. Jayson Graham, Jerius Hundley, and Felts added seven tackles apiece. Felts had two TFLs for 5 yards and Hundley one TFL for 3 yards. Rhett Seivers recorded five tackles for Clinton and one TFL for 4 yards. Lavelle Pendergrass had four tackles and one TFL for 3 yards. Derek Bean and Eric Page made three tackles apiece, and Jermaine Blair and Lee had two tackles each, with a half-tackle for loss apiece. Donnavin Pencek recovered a fumble for the Dragons.

Lenoir City threw the ball only three times, rushing 44 times for 150 yards. The Panthers’ Trey Wilhite, taking the ball on direct snaps, led the offense with 15 carries for 62 yards before leaving the game with an injury. The Dragons outgained the Panthers 205 yards to 155.

The game was relatively penalty-free, as Clinton was flagged just three times and the Panthers only once.

Dragon head coach Darell Keith was understandably disappointed after the game.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “We had a problem establishing the run. We had a problem completing passes. It’s like we fix one thing, and something else breaks. We got the defense working and clicking, and now the offense isn’t working. I don’t have a clue. I’m at a loss for words.”

Keith complimented the play of defensive lineman Blair.

“Jermaine Blair, a guy we brought over from offense who hadn’t played defense since probably middle school, I thought he did a great job,” the Clinton coach said. “Jermaine Blair was able to come in and do some things for us that we didn’t know he could do. That’s a silver lining. Defense played lights out.

Clinton stopped Lenoir City’s offense on downs on all four of the Panthers’ possessions in the first half but trailed 14-0 at the midpoint.

Lenoir City’s Keller Cooper returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to the Clinton 46-yard line. Cooper netted the Panthers’ only first down of their first drive with a 16-yard carry, but the series ended at the Dragon 19 when Wilhite was stopped for 2 yards on fourth-and-6 by Marable and Page.

Felts’ 13-yard run and Marable’s 28-yarder gave the Dragons two first downs in as many plays to start their first drive. But a high snap from center led to a 21-yard loss, with Cooper recovering the loose ball to give Lenoir City the ball at the Dragon 45.

The Panthers would again lose the ball on downs. Wilhite opened the series with a 13-yard run, but Seivers and Marable stopped him on the next play for a 2-yard loss. Pendergrass tackled Tristan Carino for a 3-yard loss two plays later, and Blair and Hundley combined to tackle Cooper for a 1-yard loss on a pass by Wilhite on fourth-and-10 from the Dragon 32.

Lenoir City tallied on defense on the next Dragon possession. On the second play, Jaxson Utter stepped in front of a Keith pass to Deameion Leavell and intercepted it, returning the ball 28 yards for a touchdown. Riley Pickett’s extra-point kick gave the home team a 7-0 lead with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter.

Lee caught a 9-yard pass from Keith, and Goins moved the sticks with a 4-yard run for Clinton. Bean added a 6-yard reception for the Dragons. But the drive ended when Utter sacked Keith for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-five from the Dragon 46.

The running of Wilhite, Carino, and Cooper helped the Panthers move to the Dragon 12 as the second quarter began, but Graham and Marable tackled Cooper on a reverse to hold him to a 2-yard gain on fourth-and-3.

The Panthers’ defense would again score on Clinton’s next possession. With the line of scrimmage on the Dragon 8, Clinton punter Blane Collins stood in his end zone on fourth down. However, a poor snap from center was recovered in the end zone by Carter Youell for a Lenoir City touchdown. Pickett’s kick gave the hosts a 14-0 lead with 6:23 to go in the half.

Phillips began the next Dragon drive with a 16-yard catch from Keith, breaking three tackles to advance the ball from the Clinton 43 to the Lenoir City 41. But a sack of Keith by Eli Harrison for a 4-yard loss led to an incomplete pass on fourth down to turn the ball over at the Panther 42.

Lenoir City lost the ball on downs for the fourth time in as many possessions, advancing to the Dragon 28. Felts and Hundley tackled Darius Bass for a 2-yard loss, and Garrett Lee and Marable stopped Wilhite for 5-yard gain on fourth-and-7 with 53.3 seconds left in the half.

Goins then caught an 8-yard and a 21-yard pass from Keith, but the latter was nullified by a holding penalty. Another high snap from center was recovered by Keith, who threw the ball out of bounds on third down. Collins punted 37 yards with 2.9 seconds remaining, and Wilhite took a knee to run out the clock with a 14-0 halftime lead.

The Dragons could not get a first down on their drive to open the second half. A holding penalty nullified a 4-yard run by Marable that would have moved the chains. Collins punted on fourth-and-14 from the Dragon 47. Marable blasted return man Wilhite, who left the game, to force a fumble. Pencek recovered for the Dragons at the Panther 26.

Clinton could not take advantage of the good field position. A run and a pass were both stopped for loss, and Lenoir City’s Bubba Willis tackled Keith for a 5-yard gain on third-and-13. An incomplete pass on the next play turned the ball over to the Panthers at their own 24.

Lenoir City would then hold the ball for exactly 7 minutes, with Cooper taking a short snap on a fake punt and throwing the ball to Harrison for a 6-yard gain and a first down. With Trea Jones subbing for Wilhite as the main Panther runner, the home team advanced the ball to their own 46 before punting.

Clinton took over at its own 16 and drove for its only score of the game as the contest moved into the fourth quarter. Bryson Maddox reeled in a 12-yard Keith pass, and Lee caught a 26-yarder on the first play of the final period. Phillips netted another first down on a 14-yard catch. After a Dragon timeout, Phillips caught an 18-yard TD pass from Keith on fourth-and-5, nabbing the ball at the 5-yard line and motoring into the end zone. Ortiz’s point-after cut the Lenoir City lead to 14-7 with 10:06 left in the game.

Jeremiah Lee’s onside kick was recovered by Youell at the Panther 45, but Lenoir City would soon turn the ball over on downs for the fifth time in the game. Jones ran for 16 yards for the only Panther first down of the drive. Two plays later, Seivers and Andrew McAmis tackled Jones to hold him to a 1-yard gain. On fourth-and-4 from the Dragon 28, Marable and Graham halted Jones for a 2-yard gain to give the ball back to the Dragons with 5:49 on the clock.

The Dragons moved the ball to the Panther 13 in the final seconds but could not score. Channing McCord sacked Keith for an 11-yard loss on the first play, but the Clinton signal-caller then completed passes of 12 yards to Goins and 26 yards to Phillips. Youell sacked Keith for a 2-yard loss before Keith ran 10 yards on fourth-and-8 from the Panther 25 to earn a first down. Two plays later, though, a Dragon fumble was recovered by McCord with 38.4 seconds left, and the Panthers took a knee to run out the clock.

Clinton and Lenoir City have met 26 times in the 100 years since their first two encounters, both played in the Dragons’ inaugural season of 1923. The Dragons hold a 13-12-1 advantage in the series after last week’s result.

The Dragons have their open date this Friday before hosting region foe Karns in their homecoming game on Oct. 20.