By Phil Gibson
It was cold and windy at Milton Frank Stadium Friday night, but the Clay-Chalkville Cougars were red hot as they beat the Lee High School Generals 34-0.
“It was a solid game for us,” said Jerry Hood, head coach for the Cougars. “It’s good to be region champions.”
The Cougars established themselves early and often on the defensive end of the ball, recovering two fumbles and a three-and-out on the Generals first three possessions of the game, and allowed only one trip into the red zone all evening.
Offensively, the Cougars started slow but quickly warmed up. After a pair of field goals in the first quarter, junior quarterback Hayden Moore followed up a 31-yard pass to senior receiver DeAndre Woods, who recently committed to Vanderbilt, with a three-yard dash into the end zone for the Cougars’ first touchdown. Moore also had a 17-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Sophomore running back Terelle West added another rushing touchdown in fourth quarter. The Cougars’ lone passing touchdown came courtesy of a 22-yard pass from junior quarterback William Bailey to junior running back Christopher Marshall
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The Clay-Chalkville offense made the most of their depth chart, using three different running backs in place of injured junior running back Sidney Battle. West finished with 65 yards on nine carries and a touchdown, and Marshall finished with 41 rushing yards on five carries to go along two receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Stephone Sheffield finished with 85 yards on seven carries to lead the team in rushing. The Cougars finished with 211 rushing yards and 302 yards of total offense.
The Cougars’ defense and special teams gave the offense excellent field position all night. They never started an offensive possession in their own red zone.
With a win in their last regional game, Clay-Chalkville finished the season in first place in 6A Region 7 and looks to be highly seeded in the upcoming playoffs.
First, the Cougars have to travel to Oak Mountain High School (7-2) for their final game of the season. The Eagles have won four of their last five and are also playoff bound.