The seventh-grade Bobcats punched their ticket to the Mountain Athletic Conference’s championship game.
Clear Creek hosted the Fannin County Rebels last Wednesday in the semifinals, and the one-sided game ended with the Bobcats coming out on top, 38-0.
“Fannin played pretty tough. Our biggest problem is sometimes we don’t get out of the starting blocks too well,” said head coach Willie Dodaro. “That’s one thing we’re really going to emphasize this week. (Title game opponent) White County is starting to play some really good ball. We had a tough time when we played them over there (during the regular season). We had to come back from being down a touchdown at halftime.”
The Bobcats were equally dominant on both sides of the ball. CCMS scored touchdowns on five of six possessions, while limiting the Rebels to one first down in each half.
CCMS scored on three straight drives to start the game and the Rebels offered little resistance. Clear Creek fullback Peyton Chancey and halfbacks Douglas Callihan and A.J. Callihan got involved in the running game on the Bobcats’ first drive, which began at their 43. On the sixth play, Douglas Callihan tested the right edge and burned the Rebels for a 27-yard touchdown run.
A.J. Callihan added the conversion for an 8-0 lead 3:56 into the game.
When CCMS got the ball back, a 23-yard Douglas Callihan run moved the Cats across midfield to the Rebels’ 41. The 65-yard drive ended on the seventh play, and this time it was Chancey who scored from 9 yards out to cap the seven-play possession for a 14-0 lead 6:20 before the half.
CCMS used some trickery on its third series. It took just five plays to move 56 yards and A.J. Callihan’s 24-yard reverse and conversion extended the Cats’ lead to 22-0.
Fannin’s two possessions of the second half both ended on downs. Meanwhile, the Bobcats embarked on their longest drive of the game when they got the ball in the third quarter.
The series covered 93 yards and included eight plays. A 14-yard pass from Jace McCollum to Chancey on third down extended the drive to the Cats’ 38. On the ensuing play, it was Chancey again, and this time he broke loose for a 59-yards run down to the 3-yard line.
Two penalties moved CCMS back to 22, and Chancey scored from 12 yards away to cap the drive. He also added the conversion and CCMS led 30-0 1:29 ahead of the fourth quarter.
Clear Creek’s final touchdown came on a two-play drive and Douglas Callihan roasted the Rebels a final time on a 47-yard touchdown run. Brayden Walker scored the conversion to cap the decisive victory, 38-0.
“Our goal is to be prepared and come out and play an entire four quarters,” said Dodaro. “We need to compete all four quarters. We may be coming out and getting shutouts (all season), but people don’t see what we see. It’s more of what we need to do to complete this team and make it better.”
CCMS will host White County Thursday at 5 p.m. to decide the championship.