The Dawgs came up short in a district matchup against the Hornets of Metcalfe County last Friday night. It was a tough spot to be in for the team as Clinton County lost starting quarterback Jaxson Mason the week before against Jackson County.
“I knew coming into the game that it was going to be a big change offensively for us and we would have to have some things go our way to be able to compete with the Hornets. We tried to change things up and put in a new offense geared more toward the running game all week hoping we could catch Metcalfe off guard as we typically pass the ball a lot,” Head Coach Rocky Tallent said. “In the end we were unable to get the ground game going and went back to our spread offense before halftime. The game was pretty close during the first quarter as we ate up some clock and the first quarter ended with the Dawgs down only 7-0. We got a few stops defensively that got us the ball back early in the game, but were up against it with field position most of the first half. Eventually we gave up a couple scores and had a punt returned for a touchdown as well.”
Clinton County did put one in the end zone before the half when Kaysn Massengale ran one in. The Dawgs found itself in a 28-6 hole at halftime, but came out and recovered a onside kick to open the second half.
“We had a decent drive that eventually stalled out just outside the red zone. I think that was a big point during the game if we could have gotten one in the end zone that drive and got within two scores at home with a ton of momentum things could have been different,” Tallent said. “In the end Metcalfe milked the clock running the ball a lot and put together another couple of touchdown drives and the Dawgs fell 42-6. I was proud of the effort of the team under difficult circumstances with a new offense, with a new quarterback and several defensive changes due to injuries. I thought we competed until the final whistle sounded. I was really impressed with Massengale as he stepped into the quarterback roll and handled the responsibility well all night.”
Clinton County will travel to Monroe County Friday night to take on the Falcons to finish up district play. Kick off is set for 7 p.m.