Yellowjackets sting Pirates, 45-0

GREENLAND — Clinton dominated every aspect of the game en route to a 45-0 victory against Greenland at Jonathan Ramey Memorial Field on Friday.

The Yellowjackets’ Wing-T offense swarmed the Pirates from all sides as nine different players ran the ball during a first half that saw Clinton (3-1, 1-0 in 3A-1) score 32 unanswered points. Meanwhile, senior quarterback Kort Weaver was 5 of 7 passing for 180 yards and a pair of touchdown passes — all in the first half. Several of the completions were to wide open receivers.

“People try to load the box on you and get 11 guys in there to stop the run,” said Clinton coach Chris Dufrene. “You block down, you block down and then you act like you block down as (defenders) come flying up and then we go flying behind them down the seam.

“We don’t pass a lot, but when we do, it’s at opportune times. When you’ve got a good running game, it’s going to open up your passing game.”

A one-yard touchdown run by Clinton senior Wyatt McCoy, his second of the game, with more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter resulted in a continuously running clock due to the Arkansas Activities Association sportsmanship rule.

Despite winning just two games last season, the Yellowjackets were picked by league coaches to win the conference in Hooten’s Arkansas Football’s preseason magazine. They have one of the largest enrollments among 3A schools after dropping down from Class 4A before the season.

“We don’t know a lot about the schools in this conference,” Dufrene said. “Watching Greenland on film, they looked good, but I just thought our kids played really, really well.”

On the opening possession, Clinton drove 63 yards on 11 plays to take the early lead. The Yellowjackets converted on 4th-and-2 with a three-yard run by McCoy. Another key conversion came on 3rd-and-11 when Weaver connected with Charleston Sowell for a 17-yard completion.

The Pirates (2-2, 0-1) were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, but couldn’t capitalized on a muffed punt that was recovered by senior Cole Martin at the Clinton 19-yard line.

After the red zone stop, the Yellowjackets drove 96 yards in six plays to take a 14-0 lead on Dalton Hoyle’s two-yard plunge into the end zone. The drive was highlighted by a pair of 40-yard runs by Jake Ferrell and Weaver, who broke through the first wave of defenders on a quarterback sneak before being stopped just shy of the goal line.

Greenland’s offense managed just three first downs in the opening half. The Pirates were playing without senior running back Michael McAdoo, who suffered a knee injury in last week’s 19-12 loss at Gentry. They couldn’t get much going as they were limited to 35 total yards, including 17 rushing, in the lopsided first half.

“The defense was focused and did exactly what we needed,” Dufrene said. “We flew around and I love seeing 11 guys flying around to the football like that.”