Clayton News Daily

From Staff Reports

Luella cruised past Greenbrier on Friday night for a 42-7 victory in a Region 2-AAAAA game.

The win sets up a compelling game this Friday between county rivals and region foes in Luella (5-1, 2-1) and undefeated Union Grove (5-0, 3-0).

The Lions will host the Wolverines at Luella High Stadium on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Union Grove's football team has two consecutive shutouts and coach Steve Collins credits a strong defensive unit, keyed by coaches Brent Bledsoe, Jeremy Ross and Chad Kollert.

The Wolverines forced four turnovers in the second half en route to a 22-0 win over Douglass on Friday night.

-Phil Albert

Keeping the Officials Busy

Union Grove and Douglass combined for 24 penalties in Friday's Wolverines win.

Union Grove was whistled 13 times for 120 yards, including 85 yards in the second half. Douglass was whistled for 11 infractions for 68 yards.

-Phil Albert

By The Numbers

The Eagle's Landing Christian Academy football team is rolling up some big numbers.

In the last two games, ELCA (5-1, 4-0) has outscored its opponents 108-26.

In its past five contests, the Chargers have not lost a game and improved their Region 5-A record to 4-0, tied for best in the region with Whitefield Academy.

-Doug Gorman

Time Off

The North Clayton Eagles are in the driver's seat of Region 4-AAAA after beating Griffin for the first time since 1974.

North Clayton is 6-1 overall and first in the region at 5-0.

-Doug Gorman

A Painful Score

Woodland's defense had done all it could to keep the Wolfpack in the game. The Woodland offense hadn't done the defense any favors, going three-and-out on each of its five possessions in the first half, yet the Wolfpack had held a resurgent Jackson team to just a field goal when the Red Devils began its final drive of the half with 2 minutes 52 seconds left.

Jackson hadn't been able to exploit Woodland's defense until that drive. The longest play the Wolfpack (4-3, 4-1 in Region 4-AAA) had yielded up to that point was a 14-yard run by Jackson running back Quint McKibben (20 carries, 98 yards).

But then Red Devils quarterback Matt Cawthan connected with Romez Clark for a 15-yard catch. Then he hit Nykemian Mann (3 catches, 102 yards) over the middle for a 29-yard catch that moved Jackson to Woodland's 8.

Woodland had thought it stopped McKibben on fourth-and-goal on Woodland's 1-yard line. But the officials ruled McKibben broke the plain of the goal-line when he extended the ball while stumbling over the line of scrimmage.

"I think it hurt our confidence when they gave that score to them," Woodland coach Scott Schmitt said. "I don't like to argue with the referee, but I feel it wasn't a score. I think we stopped them. It would've been 3-0 going into the half and maybe a little different coming out [second half]."

-Brian Paglia