The Clinton County Bulldogs went scoreless Friday night in its 34-0 loss against Celina, Tennessee.
Clinton County moved to 0-2 on the year.
Head Coach Rocky Tallent said the final score didn’t indicate how the game went.
“The Dawgs played with much more fight on Friday night at Clay County,” Tallent said. “The final score made the game look lopsided but it was far from that. The Dawgs were down at the half, but only by a score of 6-0. We played well in the first half on both sides of the ball, but the offense turned the ball over four times in the half, which killed several promising drives.”
Clinton County lost two fumbles and had two passes picked off in the first half, one of which was picked off at the goal line of Clay County.
“Had it not been for the turnovers in the first half, Clinton County could have easily had a halftime lead,” Tallent said. “The Bulldog defense stepped up and played well in the first half, only allowing one score. We opened the second half with an a onside kick which we recovered, but were unable to capitalize on.”
Clay County took control of the game as the Dawgs ran out of gas in the second half.
“We had several missed tackles and blown coverages on the defensive side of the ball and couldn’t get any traction on offense either,” Tallent said. “On the positive side of things, it was a huge improvement from our week one loss for our team and they really dug in and fought for about two and a half quarters, but just couldn’t maintain their fight for the whole game. We have played a lot of players in the first two games, some of whom are young and still getting their varsity legs under them. We took a step forward last Friday night in Clay County and will look to build off that in hopes of getting our first victory of the season this Saturday, September 4th, at McCreary Central at 6:30 p.m.”
Clinton County’s offense was lead by sophomore quarterback Bently Boils who was 10-23 for 100 yards passing with two interceptions.
On the receiving end of most of those passes was senior Bryson Cross who had four catches for 80 yards on the night.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Dawgs were led by junior linebacker Malachi Upchurch with eight tackles, as well as Cross with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
Junior linebacker Allen Pierce added six tackles and junior Dylan Anderson had four tackles. Freshman Kade Beaty had three tackles and a half a sack and Freshman Scout Bryant added a half sack as well.
“We have had some good play from some young guys this year, which is always positive and our upperclassman are bringing along the underclassmen nicely to get them ready for the lights of Friday nights,” Tallent said. “Our team is starting to mesh as a unit and we have some growing to do, but this past week was a step in the right direction even if the scoreboard didn’t seem like it was.”