CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville High football (1-3, 0-2) hosts Northeast (3-1, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in a Region 7-5A contest.
No coach in football perhaps envisions going 1-3 to start their season. Despite losing a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, Clarksville football coach Isaac Shelby isn’t making any excuses when it comes to wins and losses.
“We lost a lot of seniors and have a lot of sophomores and transfers playing right now,” Shelby said. “Sophomores make more mistakes than seniors, but they are improving each week. Every year our goal is to be playing our best going into Week 11.”
Last Friday in a 24-21 loss to Dyer County, Wildcat running backs Juland Lafortune and Rashawn Boling combined for 175 yards rushing on just seven carries. Even against one of the city’s toughest runners in Rossview’s Diivonta Phillips, the Eagle defense has yet to allow a single 100-yard rusher to this point in the season. Northeast football coach Brandon Clark shared what he has seen from Clarksville’s backfield this week in the film room.
“I think they run the ball hard,” Clark said. “Both backs do a really good job of keeping their feet moving and patiently following their blocks.”
Northeast wide receivers Jaylen Bussey and Dez Fort left their imprints all over the Eagles’ win against West Creek, hauling in three total touchdowns.
Clark discussed just how important the emergence of each pass catcher has been for the Eagle offense in its entirety.
“It’s always good to have guys to throw to,” Clark said. “I feel like this has become somewhat of a tradition at Northeast the last few years of having above average receivers. They have really been working on the precision of their routes during the last few weeks of practice. Knowing that you always have a chance to advance the ball with Jaiden Puig throwing the ball has really helped our run game as well.”
The Eagle defense has been nothing short of spectacular through three games played. Linebackers Kamari Williams and Elijah Leaupepe are the heart and soul of Northeast’s defense, but there are also a number of unsung heroes that are key contributors in both the front end and back end of the defense.
“Our defense has been playing together as a unit,” Clark said. “Defensive end Gage Robinson and defensive tackle Gabe Austin have really been improving each week. Paulzon West at corner has been one of the most improved players of the year so far. Sean Spencer was moved from backer to safety from last season and he has excelled at that position for us.”
After splitting time under center as a freshman, Wildcat quarterback Davin Garinger has now taken over the role in a full-time capacity. Shelby assessed the promising sophomore’s overall performance thus far in year two.
“Davin is getting better every day,” Shelby said. “He is at school in meetings everyday by 6:15 a.m. He is working with a brand new crop of receivers and that group has had some injuries early in the year. He will be fine.”
After Friday’s matchup with Northeast, Clarksville’s remaining strength of schedule lets up considerably. Even so, Shelby still isn’t letting his team get ahead of themselves.
“We played a very tough schedule early on in our season,” Shelby said. “At this point last year, we had the exact same record against the exact same teams. We take every game week-to-week. Friday is a huge game because it is Friday. The week after will be the same.”