Football | 9/13/2025 8:40:00 AM

BRANDON -- The Clinton High School Football team made too many mistakes against the Brandon Bulldogs on Friday night.

These miscues are fixable, but the game's result goes down as the first defeat of the season.

Clinton senior placekicker Braylon Spann converted all three of his field-goal attempts, but penalties and turnovers were too costly as the Arrows (2-1) dropped their non-district contest to the Bulldogs, 14-9, at Bulldog Stadium.

"The turnovers are one thing, but the penalties probably frustrated me more than anything," Clinton Head Football Coach Hamer Morgan said. "The five-yard penalties that create problems for any momentum. We have to clean those up."

CJ Campbell gave the Bulldogs (2-1) the lead with a 59-yard touchdown run during the second quarter. Later in the quarter, Sladen Shack's tunnel-screen pass to Lahare Bolls went 20 yards for another Brandon score with 40 seconds remaining before the intermission, 14-6.

Spann made kicks of 40 and 30 yards in the first half, and the senior added a 38-yarder with 11 minutes, two seconds remaining in the game. Another special teams' highlight was Dayson Scott's recovery of a muffed punt, setting the Arrows up in Bulldog territory.

"I am really, really proud of the special teams," Morgan said. "I thought they had a really good night in all facets of the game. They helped keep us in it."

Clinton stopped a Brandon fourth-down conversion that would have ran out the remainder of the clock late in the fourth quarter. With 12 seconds remaining at their 7-yard line, the Arrows completed a pass but, in an attempt to lateral the reception to a teammate, they lost the ball back to Bulldogs with three seconds left, sealing the red and black's fate.

The turnovers and penalties started on the opening drive and resulted in a mountain that was too tall to overcome. The Arrows gave the ball away six times -- five interceptions and one fumble -- and committed eight penalties, tallying 80 yards.

Despite the penalties and turnovers, the Arrow defensive unit stymied Brandon, keeping Clinton in contention in the Jackson-Metro Area's longest continuous rivalry. The defense only allowed the Bulldogs to 10 first downs and 194 yards. Of those 194 yards, two plays made up 40 percent of Brandon's total offense.

Dallas Johnson recovered a fumble, which he returned 20 yards, during the first. Miles Bass intercepted a pass toward the end of the third, setting up Spann's final successful kick to make the game 14-9.

"(Brandon) is a really good team," Morgan said. "We gave up a couple explosive plays, but other than those plays, I thought we were rock solid, creating some turnovers by them."

UP NEXT

The Arrows return to Arrow Field on Friday, September 19, when they take on the Pearl Pirates at 7 p.m.