Football | 8/31/2024 1:30:00 AM

VICKSBURG -- Viking Stadium's red scoreboard looked quite different for the Clinton High School Football team on Friday night.

Last season, the Arrows had some key injuries and untimely turnovers in the season-opening game against the Warren Central Vikings. This time around, Clinton made the big plays and secured a roller-coaster win in the 62nd Red Carpet Bowl.

For Jakobe Williams, looking at the final score, his emotions overtook him.

"I was in tears," Williams said. "It feels good to beat Warren Central. Last year, the same exact game. Our starting defensive end got hurt, and we lost 28-7. As soon as I saw that scoreboard and saw the Arrows had won, I let it all out. Hard work actually pays off."

Williams rushed for two, first-half touchdowns, Clinton blocked and returned a punt in the third quarter, and the defense recovered three fumbles as the Arrows defeated Warren Central 26-20 at Viking Stadium on the campus of Warren Central High School.

"We have preached on that football is going to have ebbs and flows," Clinton Head Football Coach John Carr said about his first win with the Arrows. "It is who can keep their composure for 48 minutes. You have to be even keel. I am very, very proud of the way we finished.

"I am extremely proud of our players, and you saw how much it meant to them," Carr added. "Our fans, cheerleaders, and band gave us a great following tonight. I am more happy for our players, fans, and community to get out to a 1-0 start."

It was the 60th meeting between the two rivals from the former Little Dixie Conference. Friday night's win was the Arrows 28th win against Warren Central, and the first win over their Warren County foes since a second-round playoff win in 2020.

The Arrows led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the Vikings would not go away. Warren Central scored 10 unanswered points, including a three-yard rushing touchdown with 7:23 remaining in the game to whittle down the score.

However, Clinton's defense would come up clutch one more time as they did so many times Friday night. As the Vikings attempted their potential winning drive, Clinton forced a fumble at its 37-yard line. A scrum ensued. Jaiden Jefferson emerged from the mass of bodies with the football and a Clinton win.

"Unbelievable, Coach Hamer Morgan has preached that we need to find ways to dig deep when they get in our territory," Carr said. "The defense kept us in the ball game early, and they allowed us to hang on."

Clinton's defense stopped the Vikings three times inside the Arrow 5-yard line, including twice from the 1-yard line on fourth downs. On top of the defensive stops, the Arrows forced and recovered two fumbles in the first half.

"Warren Central put us in a bind a bunch," Carr said. "Inside the 1-yard line two times, having to punch it out of there, the defense came up with some turnovers. So, so tremendously proud of our guys to find a way to win."

Leading 12-10 at halftime, Clinton came out of the locker room with a points flurry. The Arrows faced a third-and-3 when Josef Walker used his improvisation to elate the traveling Arrow faithful. The junior quarterback rolled to his right, scrambled down the sideline, picked up blockers and could not be denied as he raced 73 yards for a score. Braylon Spann added his first of two extra-point field goals.

"I knew we had the juice after that score," Walker said. "A lot of people doubted us, and we wanted to turn this thing around. Last year, we had a lot of adversity and didn't handle it. To come out here tonight, and get the win, it feels amazing."

The following possession saw the Arrows block a Warren Central punt. As the punter delayed his kick, the Arrows broke through the special-team line and blocked the punt. The blocked football rolled to the 5-yard line, and Ashton Nichols recovered it, finding the end zone untouched.

In the first quarter, following Warren Central's reverse-pass touchdown, Clinton answered with its first scoring. On the 14th play of the Arrows' series, Williams plunged into the end zone from one yard out. Then, in Clinton's following possession, the senior running back received a hand-off six out of the 10 plays and scored from Warren Central's 1-yard line again. Clinton would not trail the rest of the game. 

"Coach Jarvis Cole always tells me to pound the rock," Williams said. "No matter where we are, near the goal line, you have to score."

THE STATS

Williams rushed 20 times for 80 yards. The senior had 14 rushing attempts for 64 yards during the opening two quarters. His longest run was 10 yards.

Walker was 16-of-24 passing for 87 yards, and he rushed 10 times for 69 yards. Jaydann Hollins led the receivers' group with seven receptions for 20 yards. Jaden Johnson received five passes for 21 yards, Erich Johnson collected three catches for 31 yards, and Phillip Burchfield had a 15-yard reception.

The Arrows gained 253 yards on 66 plays. The offense collected 15 first downs.

Defensively, Chad Holliday and James Farr had nine tackles each. Donovan Shaffer, who had the Arrows' lone sack, wrangled seven tackles, and Justin Singleton tallied six.

Shaffer and Anthony Blake each recovered two of the three fumbles.

UP NEXT

Clinton faces another non-region road trip, playing Northwest Rankin High School on Friday, Sept. 6, in Flowood. The kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Cougars defeated the Arrows in the 2023 season, 21-14, at Arrow Field in Clinton.