Clear Creek seventh graders are 2-0 on the season with their latest victory.
The Bobcats hosted Towns County last Wednesday. Possessions were limited with the Bobcats’ time-consuming drives, and TCMS did not do nearly enough with its offense to keep pace with the Cats.
CCMS led by a score at the break and added a third touchdown on its only drive of the second half for a 22-6 win.
“It was a really good game, and we played really well on both sides of the ball,” said head coach Willie Dodaro. “I liked how the offensive and defensive lines played. We had opportunities for our linebackers to make some plays and also for our running backs to make some good runs.”
Fullback Jaxon Garland and half back Joshua Wooten did most of the heavy lifting on the day, and they were depended upon to open the game. They shared carries attacking the middle and the outside, and the nine-play, 54-yard drive ended with Wooten’s 8-yard run to the left. CCMS led 6-0 after the failed conversion.
Garland recovered the short kickoff at Towns’ 46. Quarterback Bennett Brewer got in on the rushing action with a pair of sneaks for 11 total yards. On the drive’s sixth play, Garland ran for 13 yards up the middle for a first and goal at the Indians’ 8. Fullback Blayz McElfresh then rushed consecutively, and his second was for a 1-yard touchdown.
McElfresh added the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead at the beginning of the second quarter.
Towns’ first drive reached the end zone. TCMS needed four plays to cover 65 yards, and a 15-yard sweep added the Indians’ six points to the scoreboard.
An interception ended the Cats’ third series. Clear Creek then forced a TCMS punt and did not allow a yard on the possession.
A penalty and Garland’s 6-yard tackle for a loss stalled the Indians’ drive to start the third quarter.
The Bobcat offense answered with an 11-play, 73-yard drive that took up most of the third and fourth quarters. Garland, Wooten, Brewer and McElfresh handled all of the rushes for five first downs. Wooten hit the left edge for an 11-yard touchdown, and Garland’s conversion pushed the Cats’ lead to 16.
TCMS ran a handful of plays before time expired.
Like Union and Fannin counties, Towns fields one team rather than seperate seventh- and eighth-grade squads. Towns also is not a league opponent. CCMS seventh graders are 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain League.
“Towns had probably six or seven eighth graders on the team, and they were some big kids,” said Dodaro. “It was good to see us play against that because that’s the size we’ll see this week at Lumpkin. I was really proud of how we competed, and we got a lot of kids on the field.”