Twice on Friday night, the Central Holmes Trojans overcame double-digit deficits to take a lead against Clinton Christian.
But they weren’t able to do it three times as the homesteading Warriors held on to take a 45-35 win over the Trojans on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Central Holmes falls to 0-1 and will host 0-1 Brookhaven Academy on Friday.
Central Holmes coach Mitch Womack said it was a typical first game but one that he team could have won.
“It was our first game and you are going to have mistakes and we had our share of them,” Womack said. “We let that game get away from us. We had a great chance to win that one. There were a handful of blown assignments that really cost us. You play that type of game and give that type of effort, you expect to win. The effort and grit were there. I’m not upset about the effort, it was there. We played extremely hard. They just made a few more plays.”
The Warriors got off to a fast start with a pair of big passing plays. After swapping punts to open the game, Clinton hit a 78-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0 with 6:51 left in the first.
After the Trojans turned the ball over on downs at the Clinton 23, the Warriors went 77 yards in five plays, finishing off with a 36-yard touchdown pass to go up 13-0.
But the Trojans answered right back as they went 63 yards in two plays when Mike Jones ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run. Dan Lindsey hit the PAT and Clinton led 13-7.
The Trojans got the ball right back when Cayton Edwards recovered a fumble. Two plays later, Lamarion Buchanan ripped off a 47-yard run. Lindsey’s PAT was good Central Holmes retook the lead at 14-13.
But Clinton answers right back with a 71-yard touchdown pass and led 19-14. After recovering an onside kick, Clinton then hit a 46-yard touchdown pass and led 25-14, a score that held until halftime.
“I think the biggest thing is we gave up two CDs in the first half on blown coverages,” Womack said. “We just blew coverages and you can’t do that against good teams. They had really good skill kids. And we you are playing 4A schools, you can’t give them second opportunities. But I was proud of how we continued to come back when we got down.”
The Trojans got the ball to start in the third quarter as they went 70 yards in eight plays as John Ward hit John Hudson Ward on a 55-yard touchdown pass. Lindsey hit the PAT and Clinton led 25-21.
The Warriors answered as they used a fake punt to get deep win Central Holmes territory and scored on a 7-yard run to go up 32-21.
But Central Holmes answers with a big play of their own as backup quarterback Josh Robinson hit John Hudson Ward on a 52-yard touchdown pass. Lindsey’s PAT was good and Clinton held a slim 32-28 lead.
After an interception by defensive lineman Eli Carr, the Trojans took the lead when Buchanan hit Ashton Tate o a 10-yard touchdown pass. Lindsey’s PAT was good and Central Holmes led 35-32.
But Clinton got a 25-yard touchdown pass after winning a jump ball and went bak up 39-35. After turning the Trojans over on downs at their own 36, Clinton got a 53-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 left in the game for the final margin of 45-35.
“It’s a game we should have won and had plenty of opportunities,” Womack said. “We came out healthy. A lot of our mistakes are coachable mistakes. The good thing about it is the kids played hard and were hurting after the game. It hurt them not to win that game and stung a little and that’s a good thing.”
The Trojans had 394 yards of offense with 242 rushing and 152 passing. Buchanan had 144 yards rushing on 19 carries while Mike Jones had 77 yards on 10 carries. Josh Robinson was 5-of-6 passing for 81 yards while John Ward was 3-of-5 for 61 yards. John Hudson Ward had four catches for 113 yards while Ashton Tate had two catches for 36 yards.
Mason Wiysel led the defense with 13 tackles while John Ward had six tackles and two interceptions. John Riley, Josh Robinson, Cayton Edwards and Gibson Parrish each had four tackles apiece while Mike Jones had three stops. Eli Carr and Aiden Adcock each had an interception for the Trojans.
This week’s game
The Trojans will be at home this week as they host Brookhaven Academy.
Last week, Brookhaven lost 27-14 to Adams Christian. Last year, Brookhaven took a 40-14 win and went 8-3 and lost 45-38 to Kirk Academy in the Class 4A playoffs.
“They are another Class 4A school that we have to face,” Womack said. “They are big and physical and have some speed and try to throw it around. It’s another tough challenge for us. I hope we match up better with them than we did against Clinton. Being at home will home and we are excited about that.”
