Prime field position and takeaways helped the Clear Creek Bobcats crush Fannin County.
The Bobcats’ defended their home field where the Rebels’ offense was hardly on the field. CCMS took a two-score lead into the half, and the final 16 minutes were much of the same. The Cats tacked on an offensive and defensive touchdown and a late Rebel score cut Clear Creek’s margin of victory to 30-6.
Head coach Willie Dodaro discussed the rivalry win and the Bobcats’ mindset headed into the game.
“They know who they’re playing against. They know those guys. This is like a backyard game, and nobody likes to be in somebody’s yard when they’re not supposed to be,” he said. “They’re in your yard, and you can’t play with them. You gotta beat them up and tell them to get the heck out of your yard.
“I’m happy with the game. We didn’t have many penalties. We did have some snap fumbles, but it wasn’t anyone running with the ball and losing it. We got some turnovers in our favor, and we got a lot of kids on the field. That was a good show for the first game.”
When Clear Creek had its first team defense in the game through three quarters, Fannin only ran 11 offensive plays. The Rebels’ punted on their first possession, and the snap was high. The Cats took over at Fannin’s 31 for their first offensive series.
FCMS received a heavy dose of fullback Parker Chancey, wingbacks Chastain Blakely and Michael Sapp, while quarterback Alex Raper also picked up tough yards on the ground. The drive needed nine plays and drained nearly 6:30 off the clock. The Cats went ahead 6-0 on Chancey’s 6-yard run up the middle.
Bobcat cornerback Myles Keogh was there to end Fannin’s next drive when he intercepted a second down pass.
The Bobcats were back in business at Fannin’s 28, and this time it took them seven plays to reach pay dirt. Sapp’s 14-yard run around the left corner added six more points. Raper completed a pass to Halen Aaron for the conversion and 14-0 lead.
Clear Creek’s Kimper Lowman recovered the kickoff for CCMS, and Raper completed a 22-yard pass to Reece Bramlett as time expired.
A CCMS fumble to start the third gave Fannin life. However, after earning their initial first down of the game, the Bobcat defense came through once again. This time Kamden Becker intercepted the Rebels. He turned on the jets for a 90-yard touchdown return. Following Blakely’s 2-point conversion, CCMS led 22-0 with 2:08 left in the third.
Fannin failed to cover the kickoff once again, and this time Aaron secured the ball for CCMS.
With 45-yards between them and the end zone, the Cats embarked on their final touchdown drive. Raper gashed Fannin for a 27-yard gain on first down. On the fifth play of the drive, Chancey galloped 13 yards for a touchdown. Bramlett added the conversion for a 30-point lead with 7:50 to play.
A running clock was instituted, and FCMS drove 58 yards on six plays for its lone score before CCMS drained the final 2:37 off the clock.
“The defense did a good job,” Dodaro. “We’ve been struggling with snaps the past two weeks (as both quarterbacks were out of state for parts of the summer). The weather was a bad thing for a while too. I’m not making excuses. The kids showed up today.
“They don’t know yet if they can win or lose. They still didn’t grasp that they played well today. Parker did a nice job, and Kam made a big play with the interception. There were really nice plays today.”
A fifth quarter was played where seventh graders took the field and each team ran 10 offensive plays beginning at the defense’s 25-yard line. Fannin reached the end zone once while the Bobcats scored four times. Jaxon Garland had a pair of rushing touchdowns and Kimper Lowman and Joshua Wooten scored one apiece.
Clear Creek travels to Dawson County today with games beginning at 5 p.m.