With Deion Sanders as the offensive coordinator and his son, Shedeur Sanders, as the quarterback, Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill (Texas) was too much for Clarksdale High School Friday night.
Deion Sanders, an NFL Hall of Famer, will also be the Jackson State University head coach next season, while Shedeur Sanders committed to playing for Florida Atlantic University next season.
With the Sanders father and son combination, the Tigers spoiled the Wildcats homecoming 50-0.
The score was 35-0 at halftime and it was a true mercy rule with a running clock for a second half that took approximately 30 minutes in real time.
The Wildcats (5-2, 1-0 Region 3-4A) are the district champions and will be hosting North Pontotoc in the first round of the playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We’ve just got to get back on our level,” said Clarksdale coach Henry Johnson. “We were outmatched. I thought that from the jump, but I really felt like we could play with them a little bit. We’ve just got to get back to our level of play. We’ll be fine.”
Clarksdale did have some opportunities to score.
Back-to-back holding penalties against the Tigers with Clarksdale quarterback senior Tamera Allen attempting to throw the ball to senior Josh Hollins put the Wildcats near midfield in the first half.
Senior running back Sammie Ray followed with a 12-yard run to put Clarksdale at the Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill 39, but they could not capitalize.
Ray also had a run for more than 50 yards later in the game.
“We had some good runs,” Johnson said. “We just couldn’t finish drives.”
Senior DK Bays, junior Leroy Boulton, senior Quintarius Lester and junior Solomon Kemp all saw carries.
Allen was able to complete the ball to junior Demarios Chatman that helped the Wildcats have a chance to score at the end of the game.
Allen attempted to pass the ball to Chatman in the end zone as the clock ran out, but it was incomplete leaving the Wildcats scoreless.
The Tigers jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
With Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill ahead 14-0, Clarksdale was attempting to punt.
The snap was high so Hollins, also the punter, got the ball and was tackled deep in his own territory.
Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill scored shortly after to take a 21-0 lead.
With the Tigers ahead 35-0 early in the third quarter and the Wildcats deep in their own territory, Clarksdale attempted to punt.
Hollins’ punt was blocked in the end zone leading to a safety for Trinity Christian-Cedar hill. That increased the lead to 37-0.
At the end of the game, the Wildcats walked off the field without shaking hands as Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill players waved to them.
It was a misunderstanding that Johnson cleared up after the game.
“We can’t shake hands with Mississippi,” Johnson said. “In Texas, they can. It wasn’t an altercation. I just had to tell coach that we can’t shake hands. That wasn’t an altercation.”
Johnson said teams are not allowed to shake hands in Mississippi due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clarksdale has made the playoffs every year since Johnson became coach in 2013. This is Johnson’s first district championship with the Wildcats.
Now, he is focused on the playoffs and trying to win a state championship.
“We’ve just got to get them back going, tell them to get over this quick,” said Johnson of the Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill game. “It’s going to be a little process, but we’ve got to get over this.
“We’ve just got to go play. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to come back in this week and work. We’ll get refocused.”
