By Gary Lloyd
Clay-Chalkville is coming off its lone loss of the 2013 season and is facing the only Class 6A, Region 7 opponent to beat it last season.
The Cougars (6-1, 4-1) play Huntsville (5-2, 4-1) on Friday at Milton Frank Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The storylines are everywhere.
Clay-Chalkville is coming off its first loss of the season, a 24-21 defeat at Gadsden City last week. Senior quarterback Hayden Moore suffered a high ankle sprain in that loss, so will he play this week or won’t he? Huntsville has the same region record, its lone loss at Oxford, a team the Cougars beat in September. If Huntsville were to win, it would sit atop the region with Oxford, assuming the Yellow Jackets beat Albertville on Friday. And finally, Clay-Chalkville lost 21-20 at home to Huntsville a year ago, so is redemption on the Cougars’ minds?
Clay-Chalkville senior running back Sidney Battle
file photo by Ron Burkett
Last season, Huntsville turned three turnovers into all three of its touchdowns to surprise the Cougars. After that loss, Clay-Chalkville reeled off five consecutive wins before falling to Hoover in the Class 6A semifinals.
Last week in Moore’s absence, sophomore Darryien Wilson stepped up big for Clay-Chalkville, completing all 10 of his pass attempts for 166 yards and a touchdown.
If Moore is out Friday, Clay-Chalkville will need to rely on the capable backfield of senior Sidney Battle and junior Terrelle West, who are averaging a combined 167 rushing yards per game. Senior wideout Brian Clark is a mismatch for almost every defense, and he has 422 receiving yards and seven scores on 29 receptions through seven games. He can go up and get the football regardless of who’s throwing it his way.
This game is huge for Clay-Chalkville and Huntsville, so expect an all-out war on the field Friday night.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
