Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Cardinals Win Shootout
FARMINGTON — Farmington (552) and Clarksville (462) combined for more than a thousand yards of offense, but the Cardinals prevailed in a 61-41 shootout to wrap up Homecoming celebration.
“Our goal was to get off to a good start in the league, that was a hard-fought ball game,” said Farmington coach Mike Adams. “(Clarksville) coach Khris Buckner does a great job with those guys, and the thing that they do is hard to prepare for, because it is so hard to simulate in practice.”
There were only two punts in the first half (both by Clarksville) as both offenses exploded. The average Farmington drive in the first half was around 2:20. They scored on five straight possessions to take a 33-21 halftime lead, but the fireworks were far from over. Clarksville operated out of a single wing set directed by the coach’s son, sophomore Nicholas Buckner; but he didn’t always line up at quarterback. Nor was he the only passer.
Clarksville took the second half kickoff and covered 66 yards in five plays. Xavier Holland was wide open on fourth-and-goal taking a 9-yard pass from Nicholas Buckner. Fernandez’ kick pulled the Panthers within 33-28 at the 10:06 mark of the third quarter.
Farmington lost the ensuing possession on a fumble, but their defense came up big. Chuck Carlson dropped a run for a loss, then Skylar Montez stopped a run for no gain. Michael Sellers forced a punt by tracking down Nicholas Buckner after a 5-yard gain on third down. The Cardinals cashed in on a short field with senior tailback Caleb Williams, who had 26 carries for 213 yards and 4 touchdowns, turning a sweep left into a 38-yard touchdown by stopping on a dime and reversing field when he was cut off. Farmington couldn’t convert and settled for a 39-28 lead.
Gregory dragged tacklers into the end zone, scoring from 12 yards out and the Panthers went for two. Holland’s catch was stopped at the one by Eric Hill denying the conversion.
Still the Panthers had clawed their way back, making the contest a one-score game of 39-34.
Needing a sustained drive, Farmington’s offense traveled 67 yards in 15 plays, scoring on fourth-and-goal from the 12. Quarterback Trey Waggle hit fullback Jared Oskey at the five. He dived in for a touchdown. Waggle ran in the 2-point conversion.
Next the defense came up with a huge turnover to give the Cardinals separation with a 54-34 advantage. Sellers blocked a punt with Jae Woods recovering and returning the football 24 yards for a touchdown. Reeves booted the point-after and Farmington enjoyed a three-score lead with 7:43 remaining.
Treyton Russell fumbled the kickoff, then made a long return to Farmington’s 47. Seven plays later, Russell took a double-handoff and threw 33 yards to Billy Lindsey for a touchdown. The P.A.T. narrowed Farmington’s lead to 54-41 with 6:10 to to.
Clarksville tried an onside kick but were penalized multiple times and wound up kicking from their own 15. A flag on the runback against Farmington negated a good runback, but junior tailback Reid Turner broke a 47-yard touchdown run to ice the game.
Farmington is on the road at Alma Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.