Clear Creek ran wild against the Dawson County Tigers.
The CCMS Bobcats made the trip last Wednesday as its eighth and seventh graders earned decisive football victories. The eighth graders took the field first, and CCMS scored 24 unanswered points to untie the score en route to a 46-22 win.
The seventh-grade Bobcats forced a pair of turnovers, and they attacked through the air and on the ground. CCMS scored on its first four possessions to snag a 32-0 victory.
Eighth grade
Dawson struck first in the eight-grade game on a 35-yard run for a 6-0 lead. CCMS responded with touchdown drive that ended with halfback Douglas Callihan racing 27 yards to pay dirt. The conversion failed and the score was knotted at 6-6.
The Tigers’ next possession ended with an interception by Bobcat cornerback Mason West. A 45-yard sweep by Callihan and 23-yard gallop by fullback Peyton Chancey advanced CCMS deep into Tiger territory. Callihan scored on a 2-yard run and added the conversion for a 14-6 edge.
DCMS answered with a 41-yard touchdown pass into triple coverage when it got the ball back. Their successful two-point play made it 14-all.
CCMS then went on to score three unanswered touchdowns. The first was a 39-yard pass from quarterback Jase McCollum to Callihan, who then broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown run on the Cats’ ensuing drive. Chancey added the next touchdown. He had runs of 23 and 9 yards before a 21-yard run into the end zone.
West added the conversion for a 38-14 CCMS advantage in the fourth quarter. Dawson put a six-play drive together to cut the Cats’ lead to 16 points.
Clear Creek answered with a six-play drive of its own. West ran for 20 yards before Chancey rumbled for 26 yards on two carries. Callihan scored the final touchdown on a 4-yard rush. Adolfo Bautista addded the two-point conversion.
Seventh grade
Ryan Rellinger was a thorn in Dawson’s side in the seventh-grade game. He was there for interceptions on the Tigers’ first two drives, and he returned the first one 48 yards to set up the CCMS offense in Dawson territory.
Clear Creek’s five play, 30-yard drive ended with Rellinger scoring on a 5-yard pitch. Madden Hopkins added the conversion for an 8-0 lead to start the second quarter.
After Rellinger’s second interception, it took CCMS just one play to score offensively. Quarterback A.J. Callihan delivered a strike to a wide open Rellinger for a 73-yard touchdown. Hopkins’ successful two-point conversion moved CCMS ahead, 16-0.
The Cats’ next drive needed seven plays and 37 yards. Callihan scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run and added the two-point conversion as the Cats’ lead ballooned to 24-0.
Clear Creek’s fourth possession added eight more points. Rellinger ran for 11 yards before Callihan picked up 17 and Hopkins hit the middle for 10 more. Callihan took the ball across the goal line from a yard away and Hunter Newhart added the game’s final points on the conversion.
CCMS eighth graders are 3-1 on the season while the seventh grade is 3-0. The Bobcats traveled to Towns County at press deadline.