Arrows fall at Germantown 39-28

By Danny C. Davis

The Clinton Arrows were eliminated for the MHSAA Class 7 A football playoffs for the fourth year in a row after a tough 39-28 loss on the road to the Germantown High Mavericks. Clinton dropped to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in Region2-7A.

Clinton closes out the season at home Thursday night, November 5, against Madison Central at 7 p.m. The game will be senior night for CHS band, football players and cheerleaders.

It has been 1,488 days since Clinton has beat the rival Madison Central Jaguars on October 7, 2022, at Madison, when the Arrows won 38-31. The last win over MCHS at Arrow Field was in 2016, led by running back Cam Akers.

A win at Germantown would have given the Arrows the fourth seed in the playoffs and a trip to meet #1 Tupelo.

Although CHS lost at Germantown, the Arrows did not go away quietly. Clinton fell to a 15-0 deficit, but battled back to take a 21-18 halftime lead. But, like in earlier games this season, the Arrows had a hard time putting together two good halves of good football and came up empty.

After receiving the second half kickoff with the lead, Clinton started a good drive from their own 20 to the Maverick 46-yard line but turned it over on a fumble. After that, the Mavericks outscored the Arrows 21-7 in the second half to win 39-28.

“I am proud of how hard we played tonight and just kept coming back,” said Arrow head coach Hammer Morgan. “Germantown has averaged 40 points a game, and they have a big offensive line and were just so hard to stop running the ball. Our quarterback Jaden Jones has gotten better every game, and he made some big plays tonight with his feet and throwing the ball.”

“Although Clinton’s record may not show it, they are a good football team, and it was hard for us to come back and win tonight,” said Maverick head coach Russell Mitchell. “I tell you what, if Clinton could have made the playoffs, I think they could beat any Region 1-7A North team in the playoffs other than Tupelo and advance to the next round of the playoffs. With the right breaks, they could beat just about anybody.”

Behind Jones, Clinton had 364 yards offense. Jones passed for 207 yards. Freshman wide receiver Ayden Johnson was a bright spot for the Arrow offense. Johnson led Clinton receivers hauling in 5 passes for 116 yards and 2 TDs, including a 44-yard bomb from Jones in the end zone that pulled the Arrows within four points 32-28.

“Ayden is really going to be good receiver and help us the next few years,” said Morgan.

After that, Clinton couldn’t stop Maverick running back Syrone McBeath, who sealed the game for Germantown with a 23-yard TD run with only minutes remaining to make it 39-28.

Jones had 17 carries for 78 yards rushing and scored on a two-yard run in the second quarter. Trevion Casnel scored on a defensive TD also in the second quarter, returning an interception 38 yards.

But Clinton’s longest run from scrimmage was a 12-yard run from Boskey Evans who had 12 carries for 61 yards.

The Arrow defense struggled to stop Maverick running back Syrone McBeth, who had 31 rushes for 165 yards and three touchdowns, and Maverick QB Langston Bransom who had 13 attempts for 141 yards. The Mavericks totaled 273 yards rushing and had 401 total yards of offense.

Linebacker Malik Jackson lead the Arrow defense with seven solo tackles and one assist. Casnel had 6 solo stop and 3 assist.

A week earlier, Clinton suffered their worst loss of the season at Oxford, falling 52-21. Oxford finished the regular season as the top team in Region 2-7A.

After Boskey Evans ran 60 yards to score for the Arrows on their first possession, Oxford scored 21 unanswered points. Jones scored on a 2-yard run to close the gap to 21-14. Oxford scored 14 more in the second quarter to make it 35-14 at the half. Jones scored on a 52-yard run to make it 35-21 in the third. But that was as close as Clinton would get. Oxford scored 17 second half points to make it 52-21.

Oxford’s Davis Carruth, a transfer from Parkland Academy in McComb and nephew of former Green Bay Packer running back Paul Ott Caruth Jr., caught four touchdown passes and had 139 receiving. Charger QB Price Renovick, a transfer from Memphis University School and a Tulane University commit, riddled the Arrow secondary for 381 yards. The Chargers had 550 yards total offense, compared to 381 yards for CHS.

“We just weren’t able to get much pressure on their quarterback, and their receiver Carruth made some big catches,” said Morgan.

Defensively for CHS, Devin Harris had six solo stops and four assists, Jackson had five solo stops and four assists.

All photos Special to The Clinton Courier