Clarkdale celebrates with 48-8 league win

By By Austin Bishop / EMG regional sports director
Oct. 9, 2004
The homecoming court was announced at halftime at Clarkdale High School on Friday night, but the celebration began early.
The Bulldogs scored the first five times they had the ball on the way to a convincing 48-8 win over Division 5-2A foe Williams-Sullivan.
"This was a big win for us, it really was," said Clarkdale head coach Jud Gartman. "It gives us a little bit of an edge (in the hunt for the playoffs)."
But Gartman also knows his 2-4 Bulldogs still have their work cut out for them.
"We play the toughest team on our schedule next week," Gartman said. "Philadelphia has a good football team for sure."
When the Bulldogs host the Tornadoes next week it will be for the Division 5-2A lead, as both teams will come in with 2-0 league marks.
Clarkdale held Williams-Sullivan, now 2-5 on the season, to just 10 yards of total offense and one first down in the first half of play.
"Once we got ahead of them early, we really had control of the game," Gartman said.
It took the Bulldogs just five plays to move 55 yards on their opening possession, with Chris Sirven scoring on a 14-yard run with 7:16 left to play in the opening quarter. Kevin McKissack's kick, the first of six he would make on the night, gave the winners the 7-0 edge.
Clarkdale's next possession saw the Bulldogs score on just two plays, as Jack Norton broke off a 31-yard run, followed by a 28-yard scoring jaunt by fullback Chris Skinner with 4:26 left in the quarter.
The Bulldogs took over at their own 17 on their next possession and moved it 83 yards on just five carries with Norton scoring from 1-yard out with 11:54 in the half. The key runs in the drive were a 43-yarder by Skinner and a 36-yarder by Norton.
Clarkdale made it 28-0 on a 12-yard run by Sirven on fourth and goal and then the defense got in the picture as Lamegtrius Forbes picked off a pass and ran it back 35 yards for a score to put the winners up 35-0 with 5:33 left in the half.
The last CHS touchdown of the half came on a 2-yard run by Ezonte Johnson as the Bulldogs led 42-0 at the break.
Clarkdale scored on its first possession of the second half as Norton scored on a 1-yard run to make it 48-0.
Williams-Sullivan picked up a late touchdown when quarterback Kentrell Horton scored on a 39-yard run. Horton also ran in the two-point conversion.
Norton led Clarkdale with 113 rushing yards on nine carries, while Skinner had 103 yards on six carries and Sirven had five carries for 79 yards.
Clarkdale had 301 yards of total offense, while Williams-Sullivan finished with 98 yards.