Eagles fall at Clay-Chalkville
CLAY – Oak Mountain High School fell short at Clay-Chalkville Thursday night, losing to the Cougars 21-14 in the final contest of the regular season for each school.
The Eagles’ (6-4) bid for a comeback in the second half was doomed by two empty trips inside the Cougars’ 5-yard line paired with a wild sequence of events. Following an Edward Osley 2-yard touchdown plunge that gave the hosts an early second-half advantage, Oak Mountain marched 65 yards in eight plays, reaching the Clay-Chalkville 3-yard line. The Cougars (9-1), however, thwarted the scoring chance and forced and recovered a fumble to maintain their lead.
The Eagles showed resolve on the ensuing defensive possession when Mattox Vines broke through and blocked a Cougars’ punt to give Oak Mountain prime field position. The Eagles offense stalled at the 3-yard line once again and LaMar Croskey of Clay-Chalkville raced in off the left edge and blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt on fourth down.
Junior quarterback Evan Smith led one last opportunity for the Eagles into Cougars territory late – including a fourth-down conversion via 12-yard Noah Young reception – but a desperation heave with time winding down was picked off at the goal line by Kameron Peterson and Clay-Chalkville was able to run out the final few seconds.
Smith was consistently explosive, amassing 208 rushing yard and two scores on 13 attempts, including an 81-yard burst on the first play from scrimmage and a 77-yard scamper midway through the second quarter. Despite the dynamic scoring plays, the Cougars defense managed the option attack against its foe well, led by senior linebacker Jonathan Harris, who bottled up the dive portion of the ground attack all night and chipped in with a sack.
“Jonathan is a great football player and he has played well the entire year. I’m so proud of him. He’s a great person and a kid that comes to work every day and I’m happy he had a good game tonight,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Drew Gilmer said.
Clay-Chalkville used a balanced attack that featured three different Cougars notching touchdowns. Quarterback Khalib Johnson tossed a 59-yard strike to Marquarius White and running back Lazarius Hinkle picked up a 14-yard touchdown run in the first half in addition to Osley’s third-quarter score.
“Everyone came out healthy and we got a win and end on a positive note going into the playoffs, which is what you want,” Gilmer said.
Both teams qualified for the state playoffs in their respective classifications. Oak Mountain will travel to play Austin, the top seed from Class 7A, Region 4. Clay-Chalkville hosts Southside-Gadsden in the opening round of the 6A playoffs.
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