By Britney Bailey, For The Tribune
CLAY — The Clay-Chalkville Cougars (5-0, 3-0) took down the Center Point Eagles (4-1, 2-1) at home Friday night, 56-19 to stay undefeated and atop the 6A Region 6 standings.
Eagles quarterback Jabari Collier put the first points on the board in the first quarter with a 1-yard run, and after a successful PAT, it was 7-0 for Center Point. The Cougars responded with a 16-yard pass from Kamari McClellan to Jaylen Mbakwe to give the Cougars six, but McClellan’s two-point try was unsuccessful.
Afterward, Clay-Chalkville head coach Drew Gilmer had nothing but praise for Mbakwe, who finished the game with three catches for 46 yards and the score.
“He’s a selfless person that will do whatever it takes for our team to win,” Gilmer said. “He’s the reason that Clay-Chalkville is successful.”
With 2:59 left in the first quarter, Center Point still had the lead. But not for long. McClellan directed another scoring drive, this one capped by a McClellan pass to Mario Craver for a 29-yard score with :24 seconds left in the quarter. All told, the Cougars scored four times before the Eagles found the end zone again.
With 11:00 to go in the second quarter, McClellan found Mario Byrd for 66-yard touchdown pass, and then to the Cougars’ Rodreckus Johnson hit a 36-yard run to find the endzone with 4:57 left in the period. Bravis Cave added on two with the PAT to give the Cougars a 26-7 lead at the half.
The Clay-Chalkville defense knocked star Center Point quarterback Jabari Collier out of the game as halftime neared. With half of its two-headed monster on offense sidelined, the Eagles relied on Gerrell Perry to come on in relief.
“I’m proud of my guys,” Center Point head coach George Bates said after the game. “Our signal-caller went down in the first half. We had to face adversity against a very good team. It’s one bump in the road, playoffs are still there.”
Center Point found the end zone to start the third quarter with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Perry to Troy Bruce to add six, and the Eagles were still within shouting distance, 26-13. Bruce — a former All-State running back — answered again after the Clay-Chalkville defense recorded a safety in the third quarter and Rodreckus Johnson bulled in for a touchdown from 10 yards out.
Bruce returned a Cougar kickoff 72 yards to the house, to make it 40-19, and then Clay-Chalkville really laid the hammer down.
Craver scored again with a 29-yard touchdown pass from McClellan, and a successful two-point conversion from Aaron Osley made it 48-19. Osley followed up with a touchdown of his own with two minutes to go in the game, and a two-point conversion from Isiah Miles to put the Cougars up 56-19 for the final.
The Cougars will face Thompson on the road next Friday, September 23. Center Point will take on Fairfield at home.