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Searching for its first-ever state title, Clay County couldn’t completely overcome a fast start by McKenzie, eventually falling 34-14 in the Class 1A BlueCross Bowl championship game on Thursday at Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium.
Notes from the game:
How it went down: Clay County (13-2) kept McKenzie within reach for most of the contest despite falling behind 14-0 early on. McKenzie scored an early fourth-quarter touchdown to put things away when Jackson Cassidy found Zavier Webber for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Rebels (15-0) up 27-8 with 9:47 to play. Joseph Marcum had Clay County’s first score with a 2-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter, set up by Alec Kerr’s 39-yard run one play earlier. McKenzie scored on the first offensive play when Marquez Taylor went 55 yards to put the Rebels up just 16 seconds in. McKenzie cashed in again when Cassidy connected with Webber for a 69-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter. Etijay Tharpe had the other McKenzie touchdown with 2:28 left in the first half on an 11-yard touchdown run. Kerr added a 16-yard touchdown run with 2:28 to play, but McKenzie added a finishing touch with Cassidy finding Marquez Taylor for a 47-yard touchdown with 1:14 left.
Notable numbers: McKenzie rolled up 376 yards of total offense, including 208 on the ground … Clay County had 29:08 of time of possession … The Bulldogs were 1-for-8 on third down, while McKenzie was 2-for-7 … McKenzie registered seven tackles for a loss, while Clay County did not record one.
Turning point: Clay County took its first possession of the second half and went 70 yards to get inside the McKenzie 5-yard line, but the Bulldogs were turned away on fourth down and unable to chip into a 20-8 deficit.
Key performers: Alec Kerr led Clay County with 22 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown, while Joseph Marcom added a touchdown run as well … Marquez Taylor was named the game’s Most Valuable Player with 163 rushing yards on 15 carries and his late touchdown catch … Cassidy was 7-of-14 for 168 yards and three touchdowns, and was McKenzie’s leading tackler with 11 (seven solo) … Michael Smith had eight total tackles (three solo) to lead Clay County defensively.
