Benjamin, Maddox explosive in loss to Karns
Clinton’s Will Young returns a kickoff during Friday night’s home meeting against Karns. (photo:Jackson Ayers | Clinton High School )
The visiting Beavers improved to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the region. Clinton fell to 0-3, 0-2.
Karns running back Cameron George was a big thorn in the Dragons’ side with 32 carries for 236 yards and two touchdowns.
Clinton quarterback Jaylon Benjamin, back under center after missing a game with an injury, rushed for two TDs and went 26-for-42 passing for 363 yards and another score.
Dragon receiver Bryson Maddox put up big numbers again with seven catches for 182 yards and a TD, and he also made a sack and blocked an extra point.
Six other Clinton players recorded at least one catch, including Austyn Phillips with five for 51 yards. Emmanuel Ortiz nailed all three of his extra-point kicks for the Dragons.
Noah Whitt led Dragon defenders with 14 tackles. Jaxon Herrell added 11, Konner Baylis nine, and Ryker Armes eight. Armes and Will Young recovered fumbles for Clinton as Karns put the ball on the ground four times. Zander Huffman tackled two Karns ball-carriers for losses totaling 14 yards.
Clinton took a quick lead with an eight-play, 78-yard drive to open the game. Benjamin connected with Maddox on a 23-yard pass and two plays later found his leading receiver for a 41-yard scoring toss. The home team went up 7-0 with 8:21 remaining in the first quarter.
Karns’ Chris Boyce returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards, and George ran 40 yards on the first snap of the drive. Two plays later, George bulled his way in from the 8 for a TD. Alexis Maciejewski’s extra point tied the game with 7:16 on the clock.
The Beavers later went on a lengthy drive consuming 9:52 off the clock, only to have it end at the Clinton 16 when Davontae Fortson tackled George and forced a fumble that a sliding Armes recovered.
Clinton went three-and-out, leading to the lone punt attempt of the game, but Cameron Anderson’s kick was blocked by Landen Powell and recovered at the Dragon 9.
The Clinton defense held firm as Karns ran only three plays before Luis Figueroa-Lopez kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the Beavers a 10-7 lead with 2:42 to go in the first half.
The Dragons found the end zone in six plays, with Braylen Hayden gaining 28 yards on a screen pass to give Clinton first-and-goal at the 9. Benjamin went left and motored in for the TD, capping a 56-yard drive by leaping over the goal line for a 14-10 Dragon lead with 50.5 seconds remaining.
Karns’ first drive of the third quarter didn’t last long as Armes stripped the football from receiver Jonas Zimmerman after a shovel pass, and Young pounced on it at the Clinton 19.
Benjamin immediately found an open Maddox for a 50-yard pass to the Beaver 31. The Dragon quarterback later scored a TD from 2 yards out to give Clinton a 21-10 advantage with 7:09 on the third-quarter clock.
A Ryin Jones interception for the Dragons was nullified by a penalty on the first play after the kickoff, but the next Karns drive would end at the Dragon 46 as Maddox sacked quarterback Austin Slover on fourth down.
Clinton turned the ball over on downs, three plays after an Anderson 32-yard screen pass that went for a touchdown was nullified by a penalty.
The Beavers then drove 76 yards for a score in 12 plays, with Zimmerman making the biggest gain of 36 yards on another shovel pass. Weston Ritter, taking a direct snap, scored the TD from a yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter. Slover then found Ritter for a two-point pass to bring Karns within 21-18.
Maddox made a 39-yard leaping catch on the next Dragon drive, but a sack of Benjamin by Tyson Ritter and Jesse McGaha led to Clinton losing the ball on downs at the Karns 32.
After a penalty, the Beavers drove 83 yards in 11 plays for the lead. George started the series with a 39-yard run and ended it with a 5-yard TD scamper. Maddox blocked the extra point, but Karns led 24-21 with 3:21 to play.
Armes turned screen pass into a 33-yard play on the next Dragon snap, but the last Clinton series ended on downs with 2:45 remaining. Two Slover kneel-downs finished the game.
The Dragons continue region play this Friday at Knoxville Central.
