The Clarke Central High School varsity football team took home a win against East Paulding High School in Death Valley on Nov. 16 and for many CCHS seniors, this was one of the last games they will play during their high school career. CCHS Senior Ja’quarus (Bull) Grant values his teammates and his time spent as a Gladiator. “It felt good to be celebrating with my team about something we did together,” Grant said. “The most important thing I have learned from playing football at Clarke Central is to go hard physically, but also be coachable.” Photo by Kelly Fulford
In the first playoff game hosted at Clarke Central High School’s Billy Henderson Stadium since 2011, the Gladiators defeat the East Paulding High School Raiders and advance to the third round of the state playoffs.
After a 35-13 win in the first round of the Georgia High School Association AAAAA state playoffs at Arabia Mountain High School last week, the Clarke Central High School Gladiators advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and took on the East Paulding High School Raiders in Billy Henderson Stadium in the first home playoff game CCHS has hosted since 2011.
The Gladiators’ offense and special teams were triumphant against the EPHS defense in the first quarter and persevered throughout the rest of the game to result in a 24-7 win.
EPHS quarterback Skyler Melton fumbled the ball two minutes into the first quarter, turning the ball over the Gladiators. CCHS kicker Christian Bryan scored a field goal bringing the Gladiators to a 3-0 lead with nine minutes left in the quarter.
CCHS safety Edrin Summerour, who usually wears No. 7, switched jerseys with No. 27, his brother CCHS cornerback Edwin Summerour, and made some impressive plays wearing his brother’s number on his back.
“We started off with a turnover that got the game going and we just played solid and sound the whole game,” Edwin said. “(We switched jerseys because) I was playing both ways, so I wanted to switch it up, give it a little spice in the playoffs.”
CCHS junior quarterback Isaac Ward completed a pass to tight end Chris Johnson,who scored a touchdown followed by a successful PAT by Bryan, giving the Gladiators a 10 to nothing lead at the end of the first quarter.
After another fumble by the Raiders, Ward threw an interception with minutes left in the second quarter, but the Gladiators forced a turnover. CCHS junior running back O’Brien Barnett rushed up the field and scored a touchdown with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
The CCHS offense was dominant up until the fourth quarter when the Raiders scored a touchdown with two minutes left in the game, according to CCHS wide receivers coach Aaron Cavin. In the last seconds, CCHS running back Jonathan Sewell ran 40 yards to complete a touchdown, making the score 24-7.
“They played awesome. (The) fourth quarter’s always sloppy, but we had that long touchdown by Sewell to seal it. That felt good,” Cavin said. “We did a good job running the ball, OK throwing the ball, defense did a phenomenal job, special teams is pretty good, but we’ve got to stop all the penalties.”
CCHS will compete at Warner Robins High School against the Demons in the GHSA AAAAA Elite Eight Nov. 23.
