- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
|
C.D. Spight rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals' 53-36 loss at Henry Clay Friday night in Lexington. (Sun photo by Bill Thiry / September 15, 2012) |
LEXINGTON — The George Rogers Clark football team couldn’t keep up with Elijah Bell.
The junior running back rushed for 369 yards and two touchdowns to lead Henry Clay to a 53-36 victory over the Cardinals on homecoming night for the Blue Devils.
It marked the second consecutive week Clark has given up more than 50 points in a contest. The Cards surrendered 54 points in a 47-point loss to Bryan Station last week in the Cardinals’ home opener at Cardinal Stadium. Clark’s scoring output was its highest of the season, but the performance by Bell overshadowed the Cards’ offensive showing.
“He’s in a class all by himself,” Clark coach Steven Collins said. “He runs well and he’s got good vision. He’s tough.”
Darian Skinner and Cadarrel Spight combined for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Skinner led the Cards with 159 yards and Spight added 126 and both players scored two touchdowns each. Skinner also threw for 48 yards, including a 32-yard strike to Brent Stoneking.
“We wanted to get the ball in Skinner’s hands a little more and it worked out,” Collins said. “We blocked well up front and we were able to do some things and score. He’s a warrior.”
However, Collins was disappointed in his team’s four turnovers.
“Those things are just killing us,” Collins said. “Maybe it’s just (a matter of) getting more physical in practice or whatever the case may be. We’ve got to shore that up and protect the football.”
Collins was pleased with his team’s ability to keep scoring despite fighting from behind during most of the contest.
“There’s no quit in this team — I love them to death,” he said. “They’re going to fight and they give you everything they have and I’m very, very proud of them.”
Henry Clay (3-2) was perfect in the first frame, scoring on their first three possessions, and built a 20-6 advantage by the end of the quarter. Bell opened the scoring with a 64-yard touchdown run, while Anthony Lindsey finished off a pair of drives with two touchdowns. Bell rushed for 214 yards and one score in the first half, with 113 of those yards coming in the opening quarter.
Clark (0-4) fell behind 20-6, but crawled back on Skinner’s 2-yard touchdown run and conversion to make the score 20-14. Henry Clay threatened on the ensuing drive following a 56-yard scamper by Bell, but Logan Burchett stalled the drive with an interception in the end zone. Clark drove to the Blue Devils’ 29-yard line, but failed to cash in on the potential scoring opportunity following a fumble deep in Henry Clay territory with 38.5 seconds remaining in the first half.
Cole McCarty’s 65-yard touchdown run following the fumble was negated by an illegal block on the back, but the hosts managed to punch in a score despite the penalty. The miscue by the Cards resulted in Davion Jackson’s 12-yard touchdown run with 9.1 seconds left in the half. The conversion by Bell gave the hosts a 28-14 advantage, but Skinner’s 53-yard run to end the half narrowed the margin to 28-20 at the break.
The score before the half was a break that had eluded the Cards in their first three games.
Skinner paced Clark’s offense with 130 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns in the first half. Spight chipped in with 62 yards and one touchdown.
Bell opened Henry Clay’s scoring and duplicated the feat to open the second half with an 80-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter, giving the Blue Devils a 34-20 lead.
The two teams traded turnovers before Bell sparked another Henry Clay score with a 60-yard run following a Clark miscue on a bobbled snap. The turnover by the Cards came following Nick Bailey’s fumble recovery after Clark failed to convert on fourth down. The long run by Bell set up Rhoman James’ 4-yard touchdown pass to Logan Gross on fourth and goal. The score by Gross gave the hosts a 40-20 lead with six miniutes left in the third quarter.
The Cards responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Spight. Skinner’s conversion pass to Kyle Wipert narrowed the margin to 40-28 at the 3:51 mark of the third quarter.
Clark’s defense surrendered 570 yards, but the Cards forced three turnovers, including a pair of fumbles. Clark also blocked two point after attempts by the Blue Devils in the second half.
The junior running back rushed for 369 yards and two touchdowns to lead Henry Clay to a 53-36 victory over the Cardinals on homecoming night for the Blue Devils.
It marked the second consecutive week Clark has given up more than 50 points in a contest. The Cards surrendered 54 points in a 47-point loss to Bryan Station last week in the Cardinals’ home opener at Cardinal Stadium. Clark’s scoring output was its highest of the season, but the performance by Bell overshadowed the Cards’ offensive showing.
“He’s in a class all by himself,” Clark coach Steven Collins said. “He runs well and he’s got good vision. He’s tough.”
Darian Skinner and Cadarrel Spight combined for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Skinner led the Cards with 159 yards and Spight added 126 and both players scored two touchdowns each. Skinner also threw for 48 yards, including a 32-yard strike to Brent Stoneking.
“We wanted to get the ball in Skinner’s hands a little more and it worked out,” Collins said. “We blocked well up front and we were able to do some things and score. He’s a warrior.”
However, Collins was disappointed in his team’s four turnovers.
“Those things are just killing us,” Collins said. “Maybe it’s just (a matter of) getting more physical in practice or whatever the case may be. We’ve got to shore that up and protect the football.”
Collins was pleased with his team’s ability to keep scoring despite fighting from behind during most of the contest.
“There’s no quit in this team — I love them to death,” he said. “They’re going to fight and they give you everything they have and I’m very, very proud of them.”
Henry Clay (3-2) was perfect in the first frame, scoring on their first three possessions, and built a 20-6 advantage by the end of the quarter. Bell opened the scoring with a 64-yard touchdown run, while Anthony Lindsey finished off a pair of drives with two touchdowns. Bell rushed for 214 yards and one score in the first half, with 113 of those yards coming in the opening quarter.
Clark (0-4) fell behind 20-6, but crawled back on Skinner’s 2-yard touchdown run and conversion to make the score 20-14. Henry Clay threatened on the ensuing drive following a 56-yard scamper by Bell, but Logan Burchett stalled the drive with an interception in the end zone. Clark drove to the Blue Devils’ 29-yard line, but failed to cash in on the potential scoring opportunity following a fumble deep in Henry Clay territory with 38.5 seconds remaining in the first half.
Cole McCarty’s 65-yard touchdown run following the fumble was negated by an illegal block on the back, but the hosts managed to punch in a score despite the penalty. The miscue by the Cards resulted in Davion Jackson’s 12-yard touchdown run with 9.1 seconds left in the half. The conversion by Bell gave the hosts a 28-14 advantage, but Skinner’s 53-yard run to end the half narrowed the margin to 28-20 at the break.
The score before the half was a break that had eluded the Cards in their first three games.
Skinner paced Clark’s offense with 130 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns in the first half. Spight chipped in with 62 yards and one touchdown.
Bell opened Henry Clay’s scoring and duplicated the feat to open the second half with an 80-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter, giving the Blue Devils a 34-20 lead.
The two teams traded turnovers before Bell sparked another Henry Clay score with a 60-yard run following a Clark miscue on a bobbled snap. The turnover by the Cards came following Nick Bailey’s fumble recovery after Clark failed to convert on fourth down. The long run by Bell set up Rhoman James’ 4-yard touchdown pass to Logan Gross on fourth and goal. The score by Gross gave the hosts a 40-20 lead with six miniutes left in the third quarter.
The Cards responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Spight. Skinner’s conversion pass to Kyle Wipert narrowed the margin to 40-28 at the 3:51 mark of the third quarter.
Clark’s defense surrendered 570 yards, but the Cards forced three turnovers, including a pair of fumbles. Clark also blocked two point after attempts by the Blue Devils in the second half.
