Football | 11/1/2024 7:55:00 PM

GLUCKSTADT -- The Clinton High School Football team scrapped and clawed in the second half against the Germantown Mavericks on Friday night.

The Arrows' second-half effort was not enough in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Region 2-7A game riddled with playoff implication.

Self-inflicted mistakes and Germantown's 15 unanswered points, in the fourth quarter, doomed Clinton to a 53-35 loss at Maverick Stadium. The loss placed the Arrows in a win-or-go-home scenario in the season's final game.

Coming out of halftime with a nine-point deficit, the Arrows got to work, chipping away at the Mavericks' advantage. Jakobe Williams capped a nine-play series with a 22-yard run that set up his two-yard touchdown run two plays later -- the Arrows trailed 30-21. Josef Walker, who was 18-of-38 passing for 370 yards on the night, continued the rally as the junior quarterback connected with Jaydann Hollins for a 32-yard score. Then, Walker found Erich Johnson, who led the Arrows with five receptions and 147 yards, for a 53-yard strike at 1:43 remaining in the quarter, cutting Germantown's advantage to 38-35.

Although the Arrows had positive momentum during the rally, Clinton muffed punt return that resulted in a Maverick touchdown and gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, keeping the home team in the lead.

After Clinton's furious, third-quarter rally, the Mavericks silenced the visitors devastating drives that ended with touchdowns. With those drives, the Mavericks pulled away for good.

Germantown (6-4, 1-3 Region 2-7A) opened the game with 16 unanswered points. A 59-yard touchdown pass, a 24-yard field goal, and a 1-yard run led the Mavericks to the early first-half advantage.

Clinton found the scoreboard when Walker utilized to a screen pass to find Aaric Beasley who raced 19 yards to the end zone in the second quarter. Braylon Spann added his first of three extra-point field goals.

Williams, who rushed for 34 yards, scored his first rushing touchdown when he broke through the goal line from the Mavericks' 1-yard line with 3:19 left in the first half, cutting the deficit to 23-14. 

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• Trevis Coley intercepted a Germantown pass and returned it 20 yards. Coley added six tackles.
• Jaiden Jefferson collected 10 tackles on Friday night.
• Adam Alexander had nine tackles from the linebacker position.
• Donovan Shaffer and Miles Bass each had five tackles.

PLAYOFF ASPIRATIONS

Though the loss is a major setback, the Arrows (4-5, 1-2 Region 2-7A) still have a potential playoff berth in front of them. Clinton hopes to take care of its destiny against the Madison Central Jaguars this upcoming Thursday at Arrow Field. The game kicks off a 7 p.m.

The only option for the Arrows to clinch the playoff berth is to defeat the Jaguars and secure the Region 2-7A second seed. A loss would eliminate Clinton from playoff contention due the MHSAA tiebreaker rules.