Second-half surge fuels Dragons’ rout
Clinton’s Charlie Turbyville and Brendan Hayden team up to bring down Campbell Coun- ty’s Braydon Graham during Friday night’s Region 3-5A matchup. The Dragons improved to 3-1 in region play with a commanding 55-14 road victory over the Cougars. (photo:Ada Rivas-Snider )
Clinton improved to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in Region 2-5A games. The host Cougars fell to 0-6, 0-4.
Dragon quarterback Mason Eckerson rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries and went 16-for-23 passing for 300 yards and three more TDs, leading a turnover-free offense. Austyn Phillips caught a pair of 37-yard TD passes from Eckerson, and new faces dotted the Clinton scoring column as Charlie Turbyville, Aiden Campbell, Brenden Hayden, and La’Dainian Pendergrass scored for the first time this season. Manny Ortiz went 7-for-7 on extra-point kicks for the visitors.
The Dragons rolled up 487 yards of offense and allowed the Cougars only 47 yards in the second half. Clinton recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass.
Jaxson Alcorn led Clinton defenders with 11 tackles while Turbyville added 10 and Torpedo Rodriguez eight. Alcorn, Turbyville, Reed White, Bradon Bunch and Weston Fulford all had a part in at least one quarterback sack.
Campbell County took the opening kickoff and drove for the first score of the game. Braydon Graham, who led the Cougars with 72 rushing yards, scored a TD on a 5-yard run. Drew Croley added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The Dragons responded soon afterward as Will Young caught a 13-yard pass to move the chains, Phillips caught a pitch pass and gained 19 and Eckerson ran for 14. The Clinton signal-caller tallied with an 18-yard run to tie the game 7-7 with 2:56 on the first-quarter clock.
Campbell County drove to the Clinton 25 on its next drive, and Croley attempted a 42-yard field goal. The try was well short, and Hayden returned the miss 100 yards for a touchdown, but it was ruled a touchback as he received the ball while slightly behind the goal line.
Starting the next drive at his own 20, Eckerson ran for 17 and 22 yards and completed a pass to Hayden for 28. Eckerson scored from a yard out to put Clinton ahead 14-7 with 8:14 to go in the second quarter.
The Dragon defense rose to the occasion next as White blasted quarterback Silas Weaver in the backfield for an 11-yard loss and forced a fumble that teammate Campbell returned 9 yards to the Cougar 1.
Turbyville took the next handoff into the end zone for a 21-7 Dragon lead.
The next Cougar possession ended in a fumble caused by Alcorn and recovered by Ferguson at the Dragon 7. After a punt, Campbell County drove a short distance and scored on a 1-yard sneak by Weaver to pull within 21-14 with 9.3 seconds left.
Clinton took the second-half kickoff and never looked back. Hayden caught a 32-yard pass before Eckerson connected with Phillips on a TD toss to put Clinton ahead 28-14. A short punt set up Hayden for a 49-yard touchdown reception and a 35-14 advantage.
The Cougars rolled the dice on fourth-and-1 from their own 14, but Gabe Sanders and White tackled Graham to turn the ball over on downs. Four plays later, Pendergrass scored on a 1-yard tote for a 42-14 Dragon lead as Ortiz made a 30-yard extra point.
Phillips’ second TD reception with 9.2 seconds left in the third quarter gave Clinton a 49-14 lead.
Camdyn Wilcox’s sliding interception preceded an 88-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run by Campbell with 1:48 to play in the game.
