By Gary Lloyd
Rivals.com had ranked Clay-Chalkville as the No. 59 high school football team in the country as part of its preseason rankings.
Clay-Chalkville posted a 12-2 record last season and reached the Class 6A semifinals.
The Rivals.com ranking lists senior quarterback Hayden Moore as Clay-Chalkville’s key player.
Rivals.com says “The Good” with Clay-Chalkville is that Moore will not be alone on offense. It praises running back Sidney Battle and wide receiver Brian Clark as standouts on the team.
“The Bad” with Clay-Chalkville, according to Rivals.com, is that in 2012 the Cougars won three games by one score and falling by a single point in one game.
“The team was just as close to 13-1 as it was to 8-5, and that narrow margin is worrisome when looking at the losses on defense,” Rivals.com states. “The offense will need to lead the way again after it scored more than 500 points, and being more consistent against better teams will be important.”
Outside of Oxford, which Clay-Chalkville faces Sept. 6, there shouldn’t be many teams in the regular season that worry the Cougars, Rivals.com says.
“The bad thing about that is it will enter the playoffs with a direct path to a semifinal game against Hoover (Ala.) High and the team may not yet know its weaknesses,” according to Rivals. “There are high hopes for Clay-Chalkville, and a one-loss season isn’t out of the question. It will need to be ready if it wants to get beyond Hoover and move up in the rankings.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.