After coming off of a disappointing 2017 football season where expectations were not met, Clarksdale got off to the start it was looking for in its spring game with a 13-10 win against Oxford in Vaught-Hemmingway at Ole Miss on Thursday, May 10 thanks to a late goal-line stand.
The Wildcats are in Class 4A, while Oxford is a 6A school, but Clarksdale was up to the task.
The goal-line stand came on an Oxford fourth down at the Clarksdale 1-yard-line with two seconds remaining. Senior lineman Maurice Reese-Calhoun led the way on the tackle for Clarksdale as part of a team effort.
“We spread the ball around to various players,” Wildcats coach Henry Johnson said. “Defense played pretty consistent. We shut them down to 10 points. Anytime, we can beat Oxford, it’s great for us, regardless of the time of season.”
Senior outside linebacker Kevin Smith also caused a fumble the Wildcats recovered.
Senior quarterback Cameron Matthews had a 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter with senior kicker Kylon Lampkin connecting on the PAT to give Clarksdale a 7-0 lead.
After Oxford tied things up on a first-quarter touchdown and took a 10-7 lead on a second-quarter field goal, junior running back Javeon Dear ran for a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give Clarksdale a 13-10 lead.
“We had a pretty good night,” Johnson said. “We ran the ball pretty effectively.”
Lampkin’s PAT failed on the second touchdown and he also missed a field goal that could have tied things up at 10-10.
“We’ve just got to get special teams right,” Johnson said.
The defense carried the Wildcats for much of 2017, but Johnson believes his group is well-rounded in 2018.
“We’re feeling so much better,” Johnson said. “We’re feeling fantastic going into the season. We feel like we’ve got a pretty good chance.”
