The battle of Clear Creek and Pickens middle school football broke out last Thursday.
CCMS hosted the visiting Dragons, and each school came away with a decisive victory. Clear Creek’s eighth graders trailed PCMS throughout, and Bobcat turnovers turned into Dragons touchdowns in the second half. CCMS added a late score in a 38-8 loss.
The seventh-grade nightcap showcased halfback Douglas Callihan, the freight train who ran through and away from the Dragons. Callihan’s four touchdowns were more than enough as the defense’s shutout gave CCMS 40-0 victory.
Eighth grade
CCMS moved the ball into Dragon territory on its first two possessions before turning the ball over on downs. Meanwhile, Pickens scored a pair of touchdowns on passes of 42 and 55 yards for a 14-0 lead with 3:59 left in the half. After a Bobcat punt, PCMS advanced to Clear Creek’s 5-yard line as the halftime clock expired.
PCMS used nearly all of the third-quarter clock with a 12-play drive, but CCMS held Pickens on downs. However, the Cats’ next three drives ended with fumbles and Pickens took advantage.
A 63-yard Dragon touchdown run on first down made the score 20-0 after the conversion. The next drive only covered 19 yards and needed four plays for a 28-0 lead. On Clear Creek’s next offensive play, the Dragons stripped the ball away and returned it for a 38-yard touchdown.
Down 38-0, Bobcat Hunter Britain took the ball around the left edge for a 65-yard touchdown gallop. Britain added the two-point conversion, and PCMS drained the final 3:19 off the clock.
Seventh grade
Callihan recovered Peyton Chancey’s onside kick to begin the seventh-grade game, but the Cats’ drive fizzled at the Dragons’ 15 with a fumble. Pickens’ next two possessions ended on downs, and its third concluded when A.J. Callihan stripped the ball away from a Dragon receiver and Douglas Callihan recovered.
Clear Creek’s remaining three drives of the half all ended with points. Their first touchdown came on a one-play possession and was a 31-yard pass from Jace McCollum to Douglas Callihan. Clear Creek’s next drive covered 39 yards on four plays, and McCollum snuck across the goal line for the touchdown ahead of Douglas Callihan’s conversion for a 14-0 CCMS lead.
Douglas Callihan scampered around the right edge for a 57-yard touchdown run on the first play of the next drive. Mason West’s conversion made the score 24-0 in the Cats’ favor.
Douglas Callihan was there once again to receive the third-quarter kickoff, which he returned 70 yards untouched through the middle of Pickens’ coverage team. West’s conversion extended the lead to 32-0 and a running clock was initiated.
West ended Pickens’ next drive with an interception, and the Cats’ final scoring drive needed six plays and spanned 69 yards. Douglas Callihan trotted into the end zone on a 46-yard touchdown run to cap the drive, and Chancey’s conversion finished off the Dragons, 40-0.