It wasn’t the start to the 2022 season that Ethel coach Adam Smith was hoping for.
The Tigers struggled and dropped a 35-0 decision to Clarkdale on Friday night in the season opener.
Ethel falls to 0-1 on the season and will travel to Enterprise-Lincoln this week.
Third-year coach Adam Smith said the Tigers fell to a solid Class 3A football team that went to the playoffs last year and finished the season with an 8-4 record.
“We played a really good Clarkdale football team,” Smith said. “We didn’t play our best. We have to get better up front. We have to give more effort and put four solid quarters together.”
Clarkdale used a rugged ground game to run out to a 21-0 halftime lead and added two second-half touchdowns for the final margin.
The Tigers struggled on offense with 90 yards of total offense. Marcus Jones was 2-of-5 passing for 12 yards with an interception.
The Tigers had 78 yards rushing as Jones ran for 32yards on 18 carries. Jaylen Estes and Hunter Corley each had 22 yards on four carries. Estes also had two catches for 12 yards.
On defense, Bobo Hubbert led the Tigers with nine tackles while Jacob hlomanhad seven stops. Anton Clark had six stops while Davon Hunt had five tackles. Walter Wilkerson had four tackles while Kylar Matherne had three and Estes added two stops.
This week’s game
The Tigers will hit the road this week as they travel to Enterprise-Lincoln.
The two teams did not get to play last year but the Yellowjackets went 4-7 on the season.
