Clear Creek hosted rival Pickens, and the Dragons left town with two decisive football losses.
The CCMS Bobcats wrapped up their regular season at home last Tuesday. The eighth-grade Bobcats mauled the Dragons for a 44-0 beatdown.
The seventh-grade Cats continued their winning ways and thumped the Dragons, 30-8.
Eighth grade
The Bobcats entered the game ready for a battle.
“It doesn’t matter what has happened before when you play a team right down the road,” said head coach Willie Dodaro. “The records didn’t matter. They didn’t fear us, and we surely weren’t going to fear them.”
Both teams were bailed out by penalties to start the game. CCMS failed to field the opening kickoff, but Pickens was flagged for offsides. On the Bobcats’ first play, quarterback A.J. Callihan’s 64-yard touchdown pass to fullback Madden Hopkins was nullified by an illegal shift.
Hopkins lost the ball on the drive’s fifth play and the Dragons recovered. However, on their third play from scrimmage, Bobcat Jeremiah Patterson intercepted a pass and returned it for a 55-yard touchdown.
The Dragons tested the other side of the field on the fourth play of their next series, and this time Ryan Rellinger made the interception for the Cats.
Callihan then hit the left side for a 32-yard gain on first down. Three straight runs by Rellinger for 30 yards advanced the Cats to Pickens’ 41. McCoy Sutton also got in on the action for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, a 2-yard sneak by Callihan gave CCMS a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Pickens only gained 3 yards on its third possession and turned the ball over on downs at the Cats’ 41. Callihan ran for 21 more yards on first down, and three plays later, Hopkins rushed for a 13-yard touchdown and added the conversion.
Down 20-0, Pickens punted, and the Bobcat offense was back on the field at the Dragons’ 28. Clear Creek’s drive was highlighted by a 39-yard completion to Rellinger. After a 10-yard gain by Sutton, Callihan scrambled before connecting with Rellinger, who was open along the back line of the end zone.
Callihan’s conversion moved CCMS ahead, 28-0. The Dragons’ final drive of the half came to an end with a sack by Bobcat David Bright.
It only got worse for Pickens in the second half. The Dragons were unable to field the third quarter kickoff, and Clear Creek’s offense was back on the field at Pickens’ 45.
Rellinger, Sutton, Hopkins and Callihan shared carries, and the latter snuck in from 1-yard out. Hopkins’ two-point conversion saw the Bobcats’ lead increase to 36-0.
The Clear Creek defense did not surrender a first down on the Dragons’ only possession of the second half, and Rellinger returned the punt 35 yards to the Dragons’ 30. After a 10-yard run by fullback Kash Chastain, halfback Jeremiah Few scored on a 23-yard option pitch around the right corner.
Chastain’s conversion added the final points of the game. When Pickens was once again unable to cover the kickoff, CCMS ran out the clock.
Seventh grade
The Bobcats and Dragons had to make the most of possessions as the game went by quickly because both teams predominantly ran the ball.
“It was close at halftime and we had to make a couple adjustments,” Dodaro said. “Pickens wasn’t bad, but we just seemed to be better.”
For the Dragons, their success came immediately. On the game’s third play, they broke off a 54-yard touchdown run. The conversion gave Pickens a quick 8-0 lead.
The Bobcats scored touchdowns on all four of their possessions, which included two in each half. CCMS softened the middle of the Dragons’ defense early with runs by fullback Cal Morrison. Later in the game, the Cats hit the outside with halfbacks Silas West and Noah Rice.
CCMS responded to the Dragons’ score with a 61-yard series. Morrison had consecutive runs for 56 total yards, and his second covered 38 for a touchdown. He added the conversion to tie the score.
The Dragons’ next drive ended on downs when their quarterback was sacked by Bobcats Sawyer Rogers and Lawson Chumley, and the Cats’ offense took over at their own 42.
Runs by Morrison, West, Rice and quarterback Slade Smith moved CCMS into Dragon territory. Morrison rushed four straight times to end the possession, and his final carry was for an 11-yard touchdown.
CCMS led 14-8, and Pickens was unable to answer as the half concluded. Morrison and West rushed for 25 and 27 yards, respectively, on the Cats’ opening drive of the third quarter. West shot around the right side on a sweep and took a shot near the goal line. He fell inside the pylon for a 24-yard touchdown and added the conversion for a 22-8 advantage.
The Dragons’ offense earned four first downs by running the ball, but they decided to pass after advancing to the Cats’ 18. However, West was there for an interception, and the Clear Creek offense took over at its 9.
After a 14-yard run by West on first down, Smith connected with Rice for a 29-yard completion. Once in Pickens territory, CCMS kept the ball on the ground with West and Rice. West’s 16-yard gain set the offense up at the Dragons’ 6.
Consecutive runs by Smith added the Cats’ fourth touchdown. West’s conversion accounted for the game’s final points as the Bobcats lead swelled to 22.
The eighth-grade Bobcats have a 5-1 record and hosted Union County in the first round of the playoffs at press deadline. The seventh graders are 5-0 and host Fannin County today at 5 p.m.