Arrows crush #13 Warren Central in season opener

By Danny C. Davis

Arrows Vs Warren Central 2025

New Clinton head football coach Hamer Morgan’s Arrows totally dominated #13-ranked Warren Central in the season opener 45-13 at Arrow Field.

CHS will be home again Friday night, September 5, hosting Northwest Rankin. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Clinton lost a heartbreaker at NWR last year 35-34 and will be trying to beat the Cougars for the first time since 2022.

Clinton had played the rival Vikings sixty times since 1965, but the 45 points is the most CHS has ever scored against the Vikings, and the largest margin of victory since Clinton won 35-0 in 1999.

“Our offensive line has really come together, and that was a big factor tonight,” said Morgan, who has been an assistant to CHS since 2015. [Our] two sophomore running backs, Lowery and Albert, really played well, and a big thing maybe that some people did not see was how well our young receivers blocked down field. Our defense forced a lot of punts and created two turnovers. Braylon Spann also kicked very good on special teams.”

“It was a team effort, and I am proud for our players and coaches; and this is something to build on.”

Behind sophomore quarterback Jayden Jones and sophomore running backs Braylon Lowery and Cayden Albert, the Arrows had 453 yards offense. The trio combined for 269 yards on the ground, and Jones completed 12 of 17 passes for 184 yards.

“We worked so hard all summer,” said quarterback Jayden Jones. “I love our offensive line and our running backs. The line blocked great for us tonight and allowed our backs to gain a lot of yards. This is a big boost for us to start the season with a win over a good team like Warren Central.”

Also credit the senior-laden defense that held the Vikings to 216 yards of offense and forced two turnovers.

The young sophomore running backs making their first appearance led the Arrow offense that scored on its first four possessions to go up 28-0. Lowery had 26 carries for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while Albert carried 12 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns on the night.

Junior wide receiver Jaden Johnson caught 6 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, and Albert caught two passes for 46 yards and a touchdown.

The Arrows did not punt until late in the third quarter.

“Before the game, we talked about putting the game on our offensive line, and Coach Wells and Stanford got them ready to play; and they executed perfectly,” said new offensive coordinator Ben Shelton. “Our quarterback, Jayden Jones, showed a lot of poise, and our two sophomore running backs, Lowery and Albert, really grew up tonight.”

CHS led 28-6 at the half and 35-13 after three quarters.

Senior kicker Braylon Spann had five kickoffs for touchbacks and nailed a 33-yard field goal.

Leading the defense was senior linebacker Jaiden Jefferson with nine solo tackles. Jaiden King had five tackles and one assist. Donovan Shaifer had five solo tackles, and Robsen Neblett had four tackles.

“Our kids played really hard tonight,” said new defensive coordinator Britt Rowell. “They did some things that caused us problems, but our kids ran and made tackles. They made big plays, and that helped us beat a very good team tonight.”