Published: September 02, 2008 04:00 pm            

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Raiders win game of take-away

Central takes advantage of turnovers in 36-26 victory over Clinton County

Christmas came early in McCreary County this year, and Santa was wearing blue and white as he handed out gift after gift to the Raiders Friday night.

Santa, aka the Clinton County Bulldogs, literally handed the Raiders a 36-26 win on opening night of high school football in Kentucky.

The Raiders came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, turning Bulldog miscues into scores and taking a 22-0 lead into the second quarter.

Clinton County used its big quarterback to move the ball downfield against the Raiders, whose biggest weakness was the team’s inability to make solid tackles on first contact, which allowed the Bulldogs to make the final score appear closer than the game really was.

Clinton County was able to keep the Raider offense off the board in the second quarter, which also saw McCreary Central get into the giving mood n a couple of drives. While the Raiders offense hit a snag, Clinton County was able to score once before the break.

The first half ended with Dustin Goins intercepting a Clinton County pass at the goal line and return it nearly 80 yards before getting run down after the clock expired. It was the third interception of the first half for Goins, and all of them came inside the five yard line, taking the win out of Clinton County’s sails.

While McCreary Central’s running game was strong in the first half, the Raiders also scored a couple of touchdowns through the air. After Dustin Stephens hauled in an Aaron Watts pass for a score, Watts rifled a bullet to Timmy Jones for a touchdown to round out the first quarter scoring.

The Raiders continued to pull away in the third quarter, which saw backup quarterback Travis Smith get in on the scoring action, completing his first pass attempt for a touchdown while Watts was on the sideline with leg cramps.

Defensively, the Raiders continued to kill any Clinton County momentum bu picking off virtually every pass attempt, including lineman James Ball getting and interception.

“It’ the first ball I’ve ever caught in my life,” Ball said.

Clinton County added a couple of scores to pull within 36-18 before recovering an onsides kick and adding another touchdown against the Raider reserves.

The Bulldogs pulled within 10 points at 36-26 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates as the Raiders played about 40 kids on their roster, with several getting significant time in the second half.

The Raiders hit the road to Williamsburg on Friday night, and have only two home games remaining on their schedule this season.

        

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