Clear Creek Middle School now has two championships for the fall season.
The undefeated CCMS Bobcats and one-loss Lumpkin County Indians faced off for the Mountain Athletic Conference’s seventh-grade football title last Tuesday in White County.
The Bobcat defense forced a pair of turnovers in the first half and hardly gave up any ground in the second. Clear Creek’s offense was there for two scores, and sustained drives helped take precious time off the clock in a 14-6 CCMS win.
“For a group of kids, for some of them this was their first playoff games, and for some, this is the first time they’re playing ball,” said head coach Willie Dodaro. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. Between the coaching staff and the players, what a great accomplishment.
“We have a young line and Lumpkin’s line looked a little more intact. We thought our biggest headache was going to be on the line of scrimmage, and we won it in the trenches. All hats off to our line on both sides of the ball. We were real pleased with that.”
When these two teams met during the regular season, a Lumpkin safety accounted for all the points. This time around, the Bobcats and Indians traded touchdowns to begin the game.
CCMS received the opening kickoff, started at its 45 and needed just two plays. After fullback Madden Hopkins rushed for 7 yards on first down, he hit the middle of the line again on the ensuing play for a 48-yard touchdown run.
Lumpkin’s touchdown drive spanned 55 yards as well. The Indians’ tailback and quarterback traded carries, and they scored on a 1-yard draw. After a failed conversion, the score was tied at 6-6 with 3:18 left in the opening quarter.
CCMS punted after three offensive plays on its second drive. LCHS started from the Cats’ 40 and picked up a pair of first downs as it moved in for another score. On the possession’s ninth play from Gilmer’s 4, Bobcat McCoy Sutton was there for an interception in the end zone.
CCMS quarterback A.J. Callihan and halfbacks Sutton and Ryan Rellinger joined Hopkins to gain four first downs as the Bobcats’ offense advanced deep into LCMS territory. However, the Bobcats were stopped at the Indians’ 1-yard line on fourth and goal.
With only 16 seconds left in the half, it appeared the score would remain tied. On Lumpkin’s first offensive play, Hopkins knocked the ball loose from an Indian running back and Kash Chastain recovered for CCMS.
On the ensuing play, Rellinger scored from a yard out, and Hopkins added the conversion for a 14-6 halftime lead.
Clear Creek’s defense only surrendered 3 yards in the second half as Lumpkin’s offense was limited to 11 plays.
While the Cats’ opening possession of the second half did not yield points, and was stalled by six penalties, it did shave 10:03 off the clock. With Lumpkin’s offense held in check, it turned out to be all the offense CCMS needed.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t know if we were going to win a game. So to go 7-0, there isn’t a bigger shocked group of men than our staff.
“The game at Dawson (during the regular season) is where we really felt like we came together as a team. They were pretty well put together, and we were able to control the game completely. That’s when we said, ‘OK, we’re doing good here.’”
Dodaro discussed the Bobcats’ offseason plans, noting, “The weight room is where we need to excel with this group of kids. They’re going to have to get much stronger. That Lumpkin team is going to be a tough challenge next year because they’re going to get bigger and stronger. Our goal is to get much stronger because everyone is going to get much better.”