Blue Eagles host Bearcats in region action
Seeking to chalk up a win in Region 3-AAAA, the Clover High School football team will host Rock Hill Friday night.
Kickoff for the cross-county rivals is set for 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
The Blue Eagles were outscored by home-standing Fort Mill 46-30 last week. In the meantime, Rock Hill fell to the Gaffney Indians 12-3 in a low-scoring region game.
“Fort Mill got off to a 14-0 lead, then we scored,” said Blue Eagle head football coach Chad Smith. “Honestly, it was between a seven- and 14-point game all night. They stopped us three times and we stopped them once. So it really came down to who could stop who.”
The visiting Blue Eagles were productive offensively, scoring 30 points on 33 plays.
“Offensively, we’re starting to get some stuff done,” Smith said. “We’ve still got to improve defensively, of course. You always have to improve offensively, but at the same time, we’re getting better each and every week. We’re excited about it.”
Smith lauded the Blue Eagle players for battling hard.
“We didn’t get the ball in our hands enough,” he said. “They did a great job keeping it away from us. Fort Mill is 5-2 right now. We wish we could’ve made it 4-3. They’re a good team. We were right there with them.”
Smith said the Blue Eagles have got to figure out a way to make a few more plays.
“The last two weeks are about what we expected of our offense,” he said. “We rushed for 400 yards and scored 30 points. We needed to score 17 more points last Friday.”
Added Smith: “The offense is definitely moving the ball, probably the best since we’ve been here. If we can tweak some things defensively, we should be pretty dangerous.”
Senior running back Cody Payne, who missed playing time nursing an injury, returned to the lineup as the impact player he has become. Payne rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries, averaging 11.55 yards per carry. He also scored a touchdown.
Willy Clark continued to make his presence felt, toting the pigskin nine times for 84 yards, averaging 9.33 yards per carry. Tenchi Her made his presence felt in a huge way with a 74-yard touchdown scamper.
Quarterback Noah Lindsay continued his stellar play with a rushing touchdown and a 31-yard touchdown toss to Clark.
Smith calls Rock Hill a dangerous team. “They’re a phenomenal defensive team,” he said. “We’ve just got to see how it goes with them.”
He said Blue Eagle players and coaches are glad to return to the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium. “We always have a great crowd,” he said. “It’s truly a team effort. I’ve got faith in our kids.”
Smith said a region win Friday night would be big for the kids from Blue Eagle Country.
“We had the same record last year at this point and were able to beat Rock Hill at Rock Hill,” he said. “Hopefully, history will repeat itself. It’s gonna be a big time challenge. They’re very athletic and very aggressive.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Blue Eagles host Bearcats in region action."