‘Fight for each other’: Clover offense explodes in first half to defeat Mauldin, 58-31
Clover quarterback Gabe Carroll rolled to his left, dodged an ensuing Mauldin defensive lineman and lofted a pass toward wide receiver Zacch Davis.
There were just two minutes remaining before the break at this point, Clover up 28-21. Despite largely being unable to stop Mauldin — its second-round 5A state playoffs opponent on Friday night — Clover found itself up by virtue of a pair of turnovers; a 34-yard touchdown catch by Zion Robbins; a Davis direct snap that he took for a three-yard rushing touchdown; another Davis direct snap for a six-yard score; a 38-yard reception by Jaylin Lane.
And then, there was this play — a 52-yard touchdown connection between Carroll and Davis.
“The play wasn’t even designed to go to me, so I just ran my route,” Davis recalled with a smile after his team’s 58-31 win. “It was like a short, two-yard route. And then I saw Gabe scrambling, and he gave me that look — that nod…
“I already knew what that meant, so I just ran up-field. He gave it to me at the right place at the right time.”
The Blue Eagles would enter the half with the lead, 35-21. And in the second half, Clover would extend its lead, scoring 23 points and allowing only 10.
The second half began with a Christian Erwin 31-yard field goal. Then, there was a screen pass to Lane that he turned into a 26-yard touchdown pass. Then, another Robbins touchdown reception, and then a 27-yard David Hall touchdown run.
“Everybody on the offense can participate,” Carroll said on Friday night. “We got a great O-Line. Zacch — he can’t be tackled. I don’t know what to say. He’s just real… We all do our role. It shows, and we win.”
Clover had a lot of playmakers on offense on Friday night. Lane caught six passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Davis caught three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and added two rushing touchdowns. Robbins added two touchdown catches as well.
Carroll completed 14-of-19 passes for 323 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. Clover running back B.J. Tims had 11 carries for 70 yards, and his counterpart, David Hall, added seven carries for 111 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, the Blue Eagles were led by Hayden Johnson, who chased down a Mauldin runner right before the half as he was approaching the goal line and forced a key fumble; Cole Pilgram, who notched two interceptions; and Shon Brown, who forced a pair of fumbles.
Mauldin was led by running back George Ford — who caught four passes for 43 yards and rushed 14 times for 130 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re trying to keep on moving to the next round,” head coach Brian Lane said after the game. “We feel good, but we’re not done with what we’re trying to do.”
The Blue Eagles will face the Dorman Cavaliers next week in the third round of the 5A state playoffs. And despite exiting Friday night with its undefeated season intact, the team plans to head into next week with a chip on its shoulder — like it always does.
“They say we haven’t played anybody each week,” Davis said. “We block all the noise out. It doesn’t matter.
“We just fight for each other.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 11:14 PM.
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