GoClinton.com
CLINTON – The magic wore off in week two for Clinton. Greer brought the magic in evidence at Wilder Stadium, and the Red Devils’ game went up in a puff of smoke Friday night.
The final score was 40-8.
“I thought they played well,” Greer head coach Will Young said of his Yellow Jackets. “They played hard. To open the year up like this is a good thing.”
Greer appears abundantly deserving of its ranking of 16th in a poll of the state’s schools, but Clinton (1-1) was wildly mistake-prone.
Whoever heard of a 58-yard onside kick return? Greer’s Brodie Wright scored on one.
The Yellow Jackets (1-0) responded to Clinton’s lone score in 23 seconds because Wright took his time – the kick was more of a squib than the classic onside -- and used up a great tract of pasture picking his way to the far end zone.
Clinton nearly scored on its first two possessions, running out of downs both times. A Charlie Craven pass to Donovan Blackmon gained nine yards when 10 were required.
The Red Devils fell similarly short on their next possession, though the pass that wasn’t quite long enough went to Bowen Tiller.
Greer led 13-0 at halftime, but the third quarter was a chamber of horrors for the Red Devils, who had trouble with shotgun and punt snaps, interceptions and the aforementioned receiver of a short, tumbling kickoff.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be thankful for the adversity that you’re given,” Clinton Head Coach Andrew Webb said. “It’s another opportunity to develop mental toughness.
“We had some guys who never flinched. Their effort was great. Their attitude was great. Then we had some, quite frankly, who I thought shied away. We started getting our butts whipped, and they were looking for a way out. We’ve got to move on with the ones we can count on,” Webb said.
Greer put a broad emphasis on the term “balanced attack.”
It wasn’t just offensive balance that characterized the Yellow Jackets. Greer scored once on a pass — 26 yards from Mario Cusano to Dorian Lindsey — and three times via the run, once by Cusano and twice by Adrian McGee.
The Yellow Jackets also produced touchdowns via returns. Troy Pride picked off Clinton’s Charlie Craven and returned it 59 yards for a score, and the final touchdown was the rarity, the kickoff return of the squib variety.
A week after the thrilling upset of A.C. Flora, the Red Devils seemed off-kilter from the beginning that set the stage. The game opened with a 79-yard drive, unfortunately out of a possible 80.
Then Greer roared 99 yards the other way, needing just nine plays to do so and scoring on versatile quarterback Cusano’s 26-yard pass to Lindsey.
Three possessions later, the Yellow Jackets scored again on McGee’s nine-yard run. The big play on the drive was a 54-yard pass from Cusano to Pride.
Back came the Red Devils, but not far enough. Another pass, Craven to Bowen Tiller, was just shy of the goal.
This time the Yellow Jackets didn't respond immediately, but three possessions later, McGee scored on a nine-yard run. A play earlier, Cusano had connected with Pride for a 54-yard gain.
“Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose, and sometimes you’ve got to go shake a man’s hand,” Webb said. “The bottom line, if you’re a Clinton Red Devil, you’ve got to fight till the clock runs out …
“We didn’t do a good job of reading our keys,” Webb said, referring to the defense. “We were out of position so many times. Instead of being in the right position, and making the tackle, we were out of position and trying to get back to make diving tackles.”
Next week: Riverside at Greer, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Riverside lost to Eastside, 0-25
Scoring summary
Greer 7 6 27 0 – 40
Clinton 0 0 14 0 – 14
First quarter
Greer – Dorian Lindsey 26 pass from Mario Cusano (Nick Roberson kick) 4:09
Second quarter
Greer – Adrian McGee 9 run (kick failed) 5:08
Third quarter
Greer – Adrian McGee 2 run (pass failed) 9:46
Greer – Troy Pride 59 interception return (Nick Roberson kick) 5:29
Greer– Mario Cusano 3 run (Nick Roberson kick) 3:45
Clinton – Donovan Cook 24 pass from Charlie Craven (Holmes run) 0:31
Greer – Brodie Wright 58 kickoff return (Nick Roberson kick) 0:08
Team Statistics
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|
CHS |
GHS |
|
FIRST DOWN |
16 |
13 |
|
RUSHES / YARDS (NET) |
40/181 |
33/258 |
|
PASSING YARDS (NET) |
117 |
104 |
|
Passes Att/Comp/Int |
17/10/2 |
14/7/0 |
|
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS/YARDS |
57 / 298 |
47 / 362 |
|
Fumble Returns / Yards |
0 / 0 |
0 / 0 |
|
Punt Returns / Yards |
0 / 0 |
1 / 1 |
|
Kickoff Returns / Yards |
5 / 104 |
2 / 72 |
|
Interception Returns /Yards |
0 / 0 |
2 / 96 |
|
Punts (Number/Avg) |
4 / 19 |
2 / 41 |
|
Fumbles / Lost |
3 / 0 |
1 / 0 |
|
Penalties / Yards |
6 / 45 |
14 / 139 |
|
Possession Time |
26:42 |
21:18 |
|
Sacks By: Number/Yards |
1 / 11 |
1 / 6 |
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GHS |
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
CHS |
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• Stats provided courtesy of Red Watson, Yellow Jacket Sports Network