Arrows clinch playoff spot with last-second win over Tupelo

By Danny C. Davis

The Clinton High Arrows earned a trip to the MHSAA playoffs in dramatic form on October 29, thanks to senior kicker Luke Hopkins’ 40-yard field goal as time expired. The kick lifted Clinton to a 17-14 win and a 4-2 record in Region 2-6A and 5-4 overall record. The Arrows wrap up the regular season Thursday night, November 4, against Jackson Murrah at South Jackson Field near Forest Hill High School. But Clinton is assured of the 3rd or 4th playoff seed when the playoffs start November 12. CHS will likely travel to Southaven or South Panola for the first round of the playoffs.

Luke Hopkins

Getting the playoff berth did not come easy for the Arrows. CHS lost starting quarterback Jordyn Battee the week before late in the first half against Grenada and were forced to use junior running back Juan Taylor at quarterback against Tupelo, who also happened to have the toughest defense in the region.

“I am so proud of this team and how they responded to adversity and found a way to win against the biggest and most physical defense that I have seen in my nine years here at Clinton,” said Arrows head coach Judd Boswell. “We were tied at the half, and I told the team that someone in this room was going to make a big play in the second half that would win the game for us tonight. It just happened to be our kicker, Luke Hopkins. Not only did he make that kick, but he punted his best of the year late in the game, which flipped the field for us and forced Tupelo to start their drives deep in their own territory. But I also credit Juan – he put us in a position to win, and our defense just shut Tupelo down when we had to have it. And, of course, our defense is playing at a high level right now.”

With the game tied 14-14, it all came down to the final two minutes of the game. The Clinton defense forced a Golden Wave punt and took possession at the Tueplo 40. JaKobe Calvin, who led the Arrows’ offense with 23 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, gained 7 yards. Taylor threw a pass to DeAndrae Kelly for 7 yards, and Clinton ran the clock to one second. That set CHS up at the Tupelo 23 for a 40-yard attempt.

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“Coach Boswell came over and asked me if I felt confident on a 40-yard attempt,” said Hopkins. “I said I was good for 40 yards. I was not nervous. I had the same situation in the ninth-grade Little Six Conference championship game against Madison Central, and knew I could make it.”
Actually, Hopkins was kicking on the same field into the same goal post from the same position on the field as when he converted the winning kick in the ninth-grade championship game exactly three years earlier.

“Give credit to our long snapper, Joseph Peabody, and holder Creston Garlington,” said Hopkins, who also starts for the CHS soccer team. “With Jordyn Battee out also as the holder, Creston had to step, and we only had this week to work together.”

A lot of credit should go to Juan Taylor’s play at quarterback, too.

“Juan did what he had to do to help us win this game,” said Clinton offensive coordinator Lee Martin. “It is tough to come in and learn the offense in one week. We fumbled two times in the first quarter, which is not like us; and Juan helped get us settled down and our offense going.

Taylor had 20 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown and completed three passes for 50 yards. But those completions were some kind of big. On the Arrows’ opening drive, he connected with DeAndrae Kelly for 31 yards to the Golden Wave 18 yard line and kept it 6 yards to score to put the Arrows up 14-7 with 6:42 left in the third period.
Clinton’s defense has now played lights out the last three games, only giving up three touchdowns in the last twelve quarters. They held Oxford to one touchdown, shut out Grenada a week before and held Tupelo to negative yards rushing and two scores, one coming off a trick play.

The Arrow defense held Tupelo to -11 yards rushing on 18 carries and 215 yards of total offense.

“We felt like we could stop their run and force them to have to throw,” said Clinton defensive coordinator Hammer Morgan. We had them stopped in the second half and then got a pass interference call – and then they got a guy open for a long pass touchdown. We are playing well but have still got to play better pass defense. But I am proud of the way we played tonight on defense and on offense and special teams.”

Leading the Arrows defense was Xynarius Haynes with a quarterback sack and four tackles. Tywon Alexander and Quinton Whitehead each had four stops. Jacquavian Carter and Kamarius Carter had three solo tackles each.

“We made a couple of mistakes early, but then calmed down,” said Carter. “I don’t think anybody we play wants to try to run against our defense.”

A week earlier, the Arrows shut out Grenada 23-0. Calvin scored on two 5-yard touchdown runs, and Battee threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Veshone Malone. Battee suffered a torn meniscus in his knee late in the second period and had successful surgery and is expected to be ready to play when the playoffs start on November 12.

“Murrah is our next game, and we have a short practice turn around to play Thursday,” said Boswell. “We need to focus on Murrah right now, our next opponent, and will look at who we play in the playoffs after the Murrah game. The team has done of a good job of not looking ahead all season, and that is what I expect this week.”