Dragons find rough sledding at Fulton

October 10, 2018 by Conner McCarty

The Clinton High School Dragons (2-5, 1-2) had a tough task Friday night — defeating the Fulton High School Falcons.

Fulton (6-1, 3-0) was able to jump on the visiting Dragons early, and never looked back. Clinton was unable to match the speed or physicality of the Falcons, and suffered a 51-8 defeat.

Fulton’s offense was uncontainable, and the Dragons moved the ball on some possessions, but struggled to find a true rhythm on either side of the football.

“When we didn’t go backwards because of our delay of games and other (penalties), we were two, three, four yards a pop, which is our gameplan,” said Head Coach Randy McKamey.

Fulton took the opening drive 60 yards in four plays, which were capped off by a 48 touchdown run by Robquan Thomas.

Joseph Majica tacked on the extra point and the Falcons led 7-0, only 1:12 into the first quarter. On their next possession, Fulton would extend its lead with one play, when quarterback Xavier Malone found Kenny Buley streaking down the sideline.

The 78-yard touchdown pass, and Mojica’s extra point, put Fulton on top 14-0, with 7:07 left in the first quarter.

Clinton’s offense would find success on the next drive, moving into Falcon territory. However, a fourth-and four turned into a fourth-and-thirteen after two false start penalties. “We tried to eat clock, but it backfired on us,” said McKamey about Clinton’s penalties. The Dragons’ offense stayed on the field on fourth down, but failed to convert. Fulton would take over possession from their own 38-yardline, and score on their third straight possession. A 22-yard touchdown pass from Malone to Dashaun Mckinne put the Falcons up 20-0, with 9:50 to go until the break. The extra point attempt was missed.

On Clinton’s next drive, the Dragons would start with good field position at their own 49-yardline. However, Clinton failed to covert on fourth down. The turnover plus a personal foul penalty gave Fulton the ball at their own 42-yardline. Fulton would drive into Clinton territory, but the Dragons’ defense would hold. Mojica would bang a 30-yard field goal through the uprights, which extended Fulton’s lead to 23-0, with 2:41 remaining in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Senior Isiah Washington found the Fulton sideline and raced down to the Falcons’ 41-yardline. A couple plays later, from the Fulton 37-yardline, Washington took a snap out of the wildcat formation to the right and carried down the Clinton sideline before being pushed out of bounds at the one-yardline. Junior running back Blake Cooper would punch it in off right guard to put the Dragons on the board. Out of the wildcat formation, Washington would carry up the gut, get stood up, and then was pushed into the endzone by his offensive line. The successful two point conversion cut Fulton’s lead to 23-8, with 1:23 to go in the second quarter.

On the kickoff, Clinton’s onside attempt went out of bounds, and Fulton took over from their own 40-yardline. The Falcons would find the endzone again, on just two plays. Malone looked to his right and found Jashun Fenderson for a 57-yard connection. From Clinton’s three-yardline, Malone would keep around left end, and scramble three yards for six. Mojica’s PAT was good, and Fulton led 30-8 at halftime. The Falcons would keep Clinton off the board in the second half. Fulton would add 21 points in the third quarter, and cruised through a scoreless fourth quarter to their third region win.

Fulton’s offense was extremely athletic and dynamic, and racked up 411 total yards—255 of them through the air. The Dragons won the possession battle, 34:50 compared to Fulton’s 12:50, but Clinton was unable to capitalize. For the Dragons, Isiah Washington led the way with 155 all-purpose yards, and on the ground with 78 yards on 13 carries. Senior running back Josh Breeden followed with 53 yards on 11 touches. Breeden would also tie senior linebacker Luke Johnson for a team-leading four tackles each. The Dragons will return home this Friday, for another region game against the Oak Ridge High School Wildcats. Kickoff for that matchup is scheduled for 7:30.