Varsity flag football quarterback Taylor Sims attempts to evade a tackle from a South Gwinnett High School defender during the Gladiators 18-6 win over the Comets. According to safety Addisyn Huff, a junior, the Gladiators played well but still had room for improvement. “I feel like our performance overall was decent. There’s a lot we can work on, but I feel like for the first two games we did pretty good,” Huff said. “(Heritage High School) is a good team and they’re undefeated, so I feel like we competed (well), but we definitely have a lot of work to do.” Photo by Lucas Donnelly
The CCHS flag football team played their first games ever on Oct. 18, winning against South Gwinnett High School in the first before dropping the second to Heritage High School.
It didn’t take long for the Clarke Central High School varsity flag football team to win their first game ever.
In the initial game of a doubleheader played in Billy Henderson Stadium, the Gladiators came from six points down against South Gwinnett High School to win by a score of 18-6. The CCHS defense allowed a touchdown on the Comets’ first possession but proceeded to shut out SGHS throughout the rest of the game.
“I was really excited about our defense. We came out and they scored on us early, we didn’t give up, we didn’t put our head down, (and) we end up with two interceptions (and) a lot of tackles in the backfield,” head varsity flag football coach Cherrelle Pass said. “I give kudos to my rushers who was applying pressure (and) causing chaos.”
“I was really excited about our defense. We came out and they scored on us early, we didn’t give up, we didn’t put our head down, (and) we end up with two interceptions (and) a lot of tackles in the backfield.”
— Cherrelle Pass,
head varsity flag football coach
More than wreaking havoc, the Gladiators’ defense also contributed to the scoreboard. On a day when the CCHS offense never scored, the defense picked up the slack in the first game, intercepting two passes in the second half and returning them for touchdowns to put the game beyond the Comets’ reach.
“I was happy about my touchdown, I’m not gonna lie,” safety Addisyn Huff, a junior, said. “It felt good just working as a team to get the job done.”
Members of the Clarke Central High School varsity flag football team get ready for a play during the Gladiators first victory ever over South Gwinnett High School. After beating the Comets in the first game of their doubleheader, the Gladiators lost the second contest against Heritage High School, which head varsity flag football coach Cherrelle Pass believes is due to the team’s fitness levels. “The endurance and the conditioning of giving it all in your first game and knowing that you got another 45-minute game that (you’ve) got to do maybe an hour later,” Pass said. Photo by Lucas Donnelly
Click on the photo to view the whole gallery on our Flickr!
The Gladiators’ second game didn’t go as smoothly as their first, with the team losing to Heritage High School by a score of 0-37. However, Pass hopes the experience the team gained from the contest will serve them well during the rest of the season.
“We (can) take away the actual experience now (that) we got (what it feels like) under our belt. I think the girls got that jitter out,” Pass said. “(We can) even go (into our next games) a little bit more relaxed and comfortable.”
