Dragons fall to second-half surge from ’Cats

September 27, 2023 by Dan McWilliams - Special to The Courier News

Oak Ridge overcame an 18-17 halftime deficit to defeat the homestanding Clinton Dragons 37-24 on Friday before a packed stadium in a battle for the Region 3-5A lead.

The Wildcats (4-1, 2-0) won their 50th game out of 62 and their 14th in a row in the 80-year-old series with Clinton. The Dragons (2-4, 1-1) last defeated their county rival in 2008 and ’09. Last week, the two teams combined for 138 offensive plays and 805 total yards of offense.

Quarterback Josh Keith completed 22 passes in 43 attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns for Clinton, but the Dragons’ senior signal-caller had two throws intercepted. Keith also paced the Dragon ground game with 15 carries for 43 yards. Clinton’s leading rusher, Jawan Goins, was held to 11 yards on nine carries.

Wesley Phillips caught both of Keith’s TD tosses, covering 67 and 24 yards, finishing with three receptions for 98 yards. Goins led Dragon receivers with nine catches for 94 yards. Deameion Leavell added six catches for 65 yards.

Clinton again continued its streak of scoring non-offensive touchdowns as Chauncey Felts opened the scoring against Oak Ridge with a fumble return for a touchdown, and D’Mon Marable capped the first half with a long interception return for a score.

Marable posted another big tackle day for the Dragon defense with 19 total hits, 11 solo. Jayson Graham followed with eight tackles, all solo, and one sack for a 7-yard loss. Felts and Jerius Hundley added seven tackles apiece, with Felts making one tackle for loss for 3 yards. Leavell, Goins, and Parker Searle made five tackles each for Clinton. David Ortiz recovered a fumble, and along with Derek Bean made four tackles in the game. Lavelle Pendergrass recorded three tackles, including two TFLs for 4 yards, and he forced one of Oak Ridge’s two fumbles in the game.

De’Jauvis Dozier was the standout for the Wildcats with 41 carries for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Blaine Stansberry went 10-for-17 passing for 187 yards and a TD with one interception. Almani Rembert caught the scoring pass and led Oak Ridge receivers in yardage with 111 on three catches. Brandon Heyward caught the most passes for the Wildcats with five for 42 yards and also rushed three times for 42 yards.

Oak Ridge outgained Clinton 445 yards to 360, although the Dragons ran 71 plays to the Wildcats’ 67. Oak Ridge rushed 50 times for 258 yards while the Dragons were held to 57 yards on 27 carries on the ground.

The Wildcats had the superior kicking game with four successful extra-point tries in four attempts and a 3-for-3 performance on field goals from Eli Pearson. Clinton missed its only extra-point kick and was 0-for-3 on two-point conversions. Pearson used short kickoffs to try and induce the Dragons into a mistake, but the home team cleanly fielded each kick except for one that was fumbled and recovered by Clinton.

Time of possession was even in the game, as the Dragon offense had the ball for 24 minutes, 2 seconds, to the Wildcats’ 23:58. Clinton, though, posted two drives of more than six minutes, one in each half, that ended with a turnover on downs.

The teams totaled 22 penalties in the game, 12 on the Wildcats for 97 yards and 10 on Clinton for 91 yards. The Dragons hurt themselves with three unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties and two personal fouls.

Rembert and Stansberry couldn’t execute a handoff on the game’s second play from scrimmage, and Felts picked up the loose ball and ran 43 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick went off the right upright, but the Dragons had a 6-0 lead only 20 seconds into the contest.

Pendergrass and a host of Clinton defenders helped stop Dozier for no gain on third-and-one from the Oak Ridge 45-yard line to force a punt on the game’s next offensive series.

Wildcats’ JT Gormley and Vashawn Nalls combined on a 7-yard sack of Keith on the Dragons’ ensuing play, and Heyward picked off Keith’s first pass of the game, stepping in front of a Clinton receiver at the Dragon 24 along the sideline.

Oak Ridge converted the turnover into points, driving 24 yards in seven plays. Six of the snaps went to Dozier, who tallied the touchdown on a 1-yard run. Pearson’s extra point gave the visitors a 7-6 lead with 5:57 remaining in the first quarter.

Clinton answered with a 68-yard drive in 11 plays for a touchdown. An unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Oak Ridge after the first play of the series moved the chains, and Leavell caught an 18-yard pass on third-and-10 to advance the ball to the Oak Ridge 34. Keith ran 7 yards on fourth-and-6 from the 30 for another first down, and Phillips caught a 24-yard TD pass three plays later, coming open over the middle and nabbing Keith’s pass at the 7. A two-point run failed, but Clinton led 12-7 with 1:49 left in the opening period.

Dozier returned the kickoff 22 yards but fumbled two plays later, with Ortiz recovering for the Dragons at the Wildcat 48. The Dragons, however, would fumble the ball back to the Wildcats at the Oak Ridge 22 on their second play.

Oak Ridge marched 78 yards in 12 plays to retake the lead. Dozier’s runs accounted for most of the yardage, and he also caught a 24-yard pass from Stansberry along the way. Dozier scored the TD on the ground from 9 yards out, and Pearson’s kick gave the Wildcats a 14-12 lead with 10:05 to go in the half.

Clinton then went on a 14-play drive from its own 28 to the Oak Ridge 12 that ended on downs, taking 6:19 off the clock. Goins caught a 17-yard pass and Leavell a 12-yard Keith throw for a pair of first downs early in the drive. Keith ran 18 yards on a draw play on fourth-and-13 from the Wildcat 41 for another first down. Bryson Maddox caught a 3-yard pass for a first down before the drive stalled.

The Wildcats drove for a field goal on their next possession, with Rembert hauling in a 46-yard pass from Stansberry and Stansberry adding a 12-yard run. On fourth-and-5 from the Dragon 8, Pearson booted a 25-yard field goal for a 17-12 Oak Ridge lead with 1:39 on the second-quarter clock.

Maddox caught a 9-yard pass for a first down, but Gormley sacked Keith for a 12-yard loss, leading to a Dragon punt with 1.9 seconds left in the half.

Marable then brought the Dragon fans to their feet with an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown on the final play of the half. A fumble on the exchange on the two-point-conversion run left Clinton with an 18-17 lead at the halftime break.

Dallas Frendt intercepted Keith’s first pass of the second half on the Dragons’ first play after the kickoff, and the Wildcats took over at their own 43-yard line. Oak Ridge scored three plays later as Rembert got in front of a Dragon defensive back at the 10-yard line and reeled in a 54-yard TD pass from Stansberry. Pearson’s kick gave Oak Ridge the lead for good at 24-18 with 10:56 left in the third quarter.

Clinton drove from its own 31 to the Wildcat 7, running 13 plays and taking 6:29 off the clock but losing the ball on downs. Jeremiah Lee caught an 8-yard pass from Keith for one first down, and Keith under heavy pressure later completed a 27-yard pass to Goins. Keith recorded his second 18-yard rush of the evening to move the chains again. Pryce Davis and Bryce Dorsey combined on an 8-yard sack of Keith on third-and-goal from the 6. A 7-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Oak Ridge moved the ball half the distance to the 7-yard line, but an incomplete pass on the next play ended the drive.

The Wildcats padded their lead with another touchdown on their next possession, moving 93 yards in 10 plays. Dozier ran for 25, 16 and 11 yards before scoring the TD on a 5-yard jaunt. Pearson’s kick put Oak Ridge up 31-18 with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Goins caught a 13-yard Keith pass on the next Dragon drive, but that was the only first-down play in the series, and Clinton punted with 7.3 seconds left in the period

Oak Ridge took over at its own 35 and drove for another field goal, helped by consecutive unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties on the Dragons that moved the ball 30 yards. The Wildcats moved to the Clinton 14 and Dozier then ran for a TD, but a chop-block penalty nullified the score. After the drive stalled at fourth-and-20 from the Dragon 24, Pearson kicked a 41-yard field goal for a 34-18 lead with 8:56 remaining in the game.

Clinton answered in three plays as Phillips, wide open over the middle at the Oak Ridge 25, cradled a Keith pass that went for a 67-yard touchdown. A two-point pass failed, but the Dragons had cut the lead to 34-24 with 8:20 to go in the game.

Rembert made a 29-yard run on the Wildcats’ next series, but Graham sacked Stansberry for a 7-yard loss soon afterward. A holding foul and consecutive 5-yard penalties on the visitors led to a 45-yard Pearson punt on fourth-and-34 from the Wildcat 48.

Keith completed a 13-yard pass to Goins for a Dragon first down and ran 12 yards to move the sticks again, but Clinton would turn the ball over on downs with 2:59 on the clock.

Oak Ridge, sparked by a 21-yard Dozier run, drove for another field goal in four plays, with Pearson connecting from 37 yards with 1:08 left for a 37-24 lead.

On the final drive of the game, Goins ran 4 yards for a first down while Leavell caught a 14-yard Keith pass. On fourth-and-6 from the Oak Ridge 42, Keith connected with Goins on an 18-yard pass. Keith spiked the ball to kill the clock with 3.2 seconds remaining before an incomplete pass ended the game.

The Dragons host Anderson County this week in the Rivalry Thursday TV game, the teams’ first meeting since 2020.