By Joshua Huff, sports editor
CLAY – Clay-Chalkville’s resurgence resumed this past Friday as the Cougars continued to shake off a two-game September slump in what was a 49-0 thumping of region opponent Pell City. The victory was the second consecutive for Clay-Chalkville. The Cougars have defeated their past two opponents 62-13 since returning from a bye week on Sept. 27.
Photo by Ron Burkett
“They are a special group because of just the quality of young men they are,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Drew Gilmore said of his team. “They are super easy to coach because there are no egos. You don’t have to deal with any of that. They’re really good kids and really talented football players. That’s always fun.”
Against Pell City, the Cougars were led by a stout defense and an offense helmed by quarterback Damione Ward. He finished the game with 217 passing yards on 11-of-14 passing for three touchdowns.
In addition, Kaleb Johnson went 3-of-3 for 113 yards with three touchdowns.
“The defense just played lights out,” Gilmer said. “… Our tackling was better and our communication was better. We just put the emphasis on being a physical football team, and we saw a lot of kids flying around making plays.”
The victory catapulted the Cougars to 2-2 in Class 6A, Region 6. The Cougars sit just behind Gardendale (6-1, 3-1), Pinson Valley (5-2, 4-1) and Oxford (7-0, 4-0). Clay-Chalkville has played both Pinson Valley and Gardendale this season – both of those games resulted in a loss.
This road gets no easier for Clay-Chalkville as the Cougars travel to face region No. 1 Oxford this Friday. The Yellow Jackets have been the darlings of Region 6 with an offense that averages 42 points per game and a defense that allows just 13 points per game.
Oxford is coming off of a 38-20 victory over Shades Valley. The victory clinched a playoff spot for the Yellow Jackets. This coming matchup will be a redemption game for the Yellow Jackets. Clay-Chalkville has defeated Oxford in the third round of the playoffs for the past two seasons. The Cougars have won five in a row.
The last Oxford victory over Clay-Chalkville was during the 2011 season.
The Cougars enter the matchup averaging 31 points per game. Clay-Chalkville has scored 122 points in region play, which is the third most. Defensively, the Cougars give up 21 points per game and have the fourth best defense in Region 6.
Clay-Chalkville has had difficulty against teams within the top four of Region 6. The Cougars fell to both Pinson Valley and Gardendale in consecutive weeks.
Of note: Clay-Chalkville is 3-0 in away games this season.
