CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville football traveled to Northeast Friday in search of its first region win of the year. The Wildcats got off to a fast start with their run game, scoring 28 points right out of the gate en route to a 49-32 victory over the Eagles.
Clarksville football coach Isaac Shelby said he was pleased with the overall performance he received from his team against the Eagles.
“I thought our kids played really well,” Shelby said. “There’s some spots we need to clean up in some different areas, but that’s true every week whether you win or lose. Our kids played really hard I thought.”
Northeast football coach Brandon Clark gave insight into how the Wildcats were able to have sustained success on the ground throughout.
“I was really impressed with how physical they are,” Clark said. “They run veer option also, and that is such a pain in the neck for a defense to coach against. It’s really a play that keeps you up at night it really does. You get so sucked in to stopping the option play, that the other plays hurt you because you’re so focused on stopping veer. I’m really impressed with their line and what they do over there.”
Freshman quarterback Jaiden Puig rallied the Eagles, as Northeast scored 18 unanswered points to cut the deficit to 10 early on in the second half.
Clark discussed the poise his young signal caller demonstrates and how good he can potentially be.
“I’m really impressed with how he gets the ball off,” Clark said. “He does a good job of listening to Coach Pardue. Coach Frazier calls the plays and then Coach Pardue signals the plays in and gives him things to look for. Not that we’re spoon feeding him or anything like that, but he’s growing. He already has great leadership qualities as a freshman and I’m just impressed. He’s the best freshman quarterback I’ve had as a head coach before.”
Clarksville quarterback Colby Cook scored two first-half touchdowns to help the Wildcats pad their lead. Shelby gave a few reasons as to why Cook has a knack for finding the end zone when the CHS offense gets deep into its opponent’s territory.
“He’s a senior and he’s tough as nails,” Shelby said. “I mean that’s it. He plays hard and I love Colby Cook.”
Northeast’s defense didn’t have an answer up front as CHS’s offensive line took over in the trenches. The inability to stop the run plagued the Eagles, as Seth Phillips got things started with a 15-yard touchdown run on the Wildcats’ first possession of the game. CHS would score on its next two drives, building a commanding 21-0 lead after one quarter of play.
“I thought we executed the game plan well,” Shelby said. “We wanted to see if that was something we could take care of early. Give them kind of a different formation and it worked out. It was a good job by the coaching staff and good job by the players.”
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Puig found Jaylin Bowser over the middle of the field who proceeded to take it 80 yards for a touchdown.
The Eagles clawed back as Puig hit Desean Evans for an eight-yard score, making it 28-12 at the break.
On Northeast’s opening possession of the second half, Puig found Tomario Vereen who took it the distance for six points.
CHS’s defense recorded multiple takeaways after Puig had trouble reading the Wildcat zone coverage.
The Wildcats took advantage with two more Phillips’s scores and capped off the game with a 15-yard touchdown connection as Davin Garinger hooked up with Quantae Hicks to make it 49-18.
Late in the game, Bowser once again showed off his explosiveness, running back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown before CHS’s Yamil Marsh found pay dirt for the final score of the game.
Northeast (1-6, 1-3) hosts Northwest (3-4, 1-2) Friday, Oct. 10.
“They run the ball a lot,” Clark said of the Vikings. “We have to stop the run. I mean that’s just the bottom line. It’s all about defense. Offensively, we’re gelling and coming together and defensively, we’ve got to find this chip on our shoulder to stop the run.”
Clarksville (3-4, 1-2) travels to take on Kenwood (2-5, 2-2) Friday, Oct. 10.