CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville High football hosted Northeast Friday in an intriguing Region 7-5A showdown.
In what would later prove to be an impressive 44-14 statement win for the Eagles, Northeast football coach Brandon Clark was proud to see his team execute in all phases of the game.
“I think coming into the season we thought that we would be more of a spread team,” Clark said. “We’re really finding an identity under center running the ball. That’s kind of a surprise to me, but it’s a great surprise. It has opened up the passing game for sure and I’m proud of the entire offense.”
Eagles running back Juwan Harris had a huge night on the ground, scoring three touchdowns while running roughshod over the Wildcat defense.
“I have to give credit to my line for blocking well,” Harris said. “I couldn’t do it without them. They push me in practice which makes me just become a better player overall.”
When it comes to his style as a runner, Harris models his game after Tennessee Titans halfback Derrick Henry.
“He reminds me a lot of myself,” Harris said. “He’s been one of my favorite players for a long time.”
Northeast quarterback Jaiden Puig continued his stellar play under center, throwing for three scores in the victory.
“Our quarterback is doing a good job of transitioning from being in the gun all of the time,” Clark said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how different it is for a quarterback to all of a sudden have to move under center. There’s a lot more footwork involved with what he has to do. We’ve challenged him from the get-go and he’s doing what we want him to do under there.”
The Eagles put together a 16-play, 79-yard scoring drive out of the halftime break, converting on multiple fourth downs along the way. Clark was pleased with the playcalling balance which featured a steady dose of both the run and the pass.
“We just knew we had to keep getting positive yardage,” Clark said. “I knew that if we could at least get three yards at a time, I felt good about going for it on fourth and short with the run game we had going on.”
Northeast defensive backs Sean Spencer and Paulzon West combined for two interceptions and had numerous pass breakups throughout in the Eagle secondary.
“They are super athletic and have really learned to be disciplined along the way,” Clark said. “I think that’s where you can get some great defenses. They listen, they’re coachable and the whole defense is just playing really well right now.”
Scoring summary
Northeast kicker Nick Kaufmann put the Eagles on the board first, connecting on a 20-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
With six minutes left to play in the first half, Harris found paydirt from seven yards out on first-and-goal to make it 10-0.
Jamez Generrett later scored on a fullback dive, as Northeast padded its lead to 16-0.
From the Wildcat five-yard line, Harris scored his second touchdown of the quarter before Puig found his receiver in the end zone for the two-point conversion.
After the impressive scoring drive by the Eagles to start the second half, Gavin Baxter ignited the Wildcat crowd with a 90-yard kick return for a touchdown.
Northeast took a 30-7 lead into the final quarter of play.
With eight minutes left to play, Puig connected with Jaylen Bussey for an 18-yard touchdown.
On the next Eagle possession, Puig threw a jump ball to one of his favorite targets, Dez Forte, who hauled it in for a 23-yard score.
Rayshawn Bowling recorded the final points of the game on a seven-yard touchdown run with 17 ticks left on the clock.
Up next
Clark shared what he’s hoping to see from his team in the upcoming weeks against Northwest and Henry County, as the regular season winds down.
“If we can take care of business this coming week against Northwest and we can get into the Henry County game with both of us being undefeated in the region, we can try to take home the region championship.” Clark said. “It’s something that we’ve talked about since the Kenwood game, but we’re still taking it one week at a time.”
Northeast (4-1, 4-0) travels to take on Northwest at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 in a Region 7-5A matchup.
Clarksville (1-4, 0-3) hosts Kenwood at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 in a Region 7-5A contest.