Clinton sees progress at UT 7-on-7 tournament
Clinton High School’s football team competed in the University of Tennessee’s Josh Heupel 7-on-7 tournament last Thursday, giving new Coach Jake Dawson a chance to evaluate some fresh faces.
“We were a little short-handed,” Dawson said. “We have some guys who are finishing up work with other sports. But we had some guys have a pretty good day. We were efficient throwing the ball, and on defense, we executed really well. I thought we competed really well.”
Juniors Silas Weaver and Jaylon Benjamin split duties at quarterback, and both were effective and efficient, according to Dawson.
“I was really, really pleased and saw some good things,” he said. “Ryin Jones and Hayden Ferguson both played well on offense and defense. And Cam Anderson also played very well on both sides of the ball.”
The Dragons, who will begin the 2025 season with their third head coach in as many years, will continue preparations until the TSSAA-mandated two-week dead period begins Monday, June 23. Teams may resume activities on July 7.
“We’ll continue to lift and work until the dead period,” Dawson said. “Then, after the dead period, we’ll come back. We’ll have the big 7-on-7 tournament in Powell (July 10-11), and then we’ll have a scrimmage against Grace on July 21.”
The time and location of the scrimmage against the Rams have not yet been finalized.
“That’s to be determined,” Dawson said.