ESTILL - The Clarendon Hall JV football team continued its winning ways Thursday night, as the Saints defeated the Patriots of Patrick Henry Academy by a final score of 14–12, avenging the only loss of the season in Week 2, and giving the Patriots their first loss of the season. The JV Saints record now stands at 4 & 1.
Defense was the name of the game for both teams as the Saints won the battle in the trenches. The Patriots took over the ball on a failed 4th down attempt by the Saints, on the Saints own 49 yard line with about 6 minutes left to go in the game trailing by two points. The Patriots were able to burn most of the clock as they marched toward the goal line; managing to get a 1st down and goal on the 6 yard line with 1:58 left in the game. The Saints defense stiffened and limited the Patriots to 3 yards on 4 plays to get the ball back with 58 seconds left to seal the win, as Ben Corbett ran down the quarterback on an attempted pass play to stop the go-ahead game winning touchdown.
With the first quarter coming to a close without any scoring, the Saints were able to put points on the board first with a 13 play 50 yard drive early in the second quarter, ending with a Bobby Ashba 2 yard touchdown run. The Patriots responded with their own touchdown late in the second quarter as both teams were unable to complete their respective two point conversions, knotting the score at 6 apiece at half-time. The Saints regained the lead with 4:30 left in the 3rd quarter on a defensive touchdown as Kameron Earles scooped up a Patriot fumble and scampered 53 yards to the end zone. Ashba added, what turned out to be, the game winning 2 point conversion for a 14-6 lead. The Patriots were able to score early in the fourth quarter, as the defense stiffened and stopped the potential game tying two point conversion and ending the scoring for the night as the Saints re-gained possession and ran the final seconds off the clock.
The defense was led by Corbett who had 14 tackles plus one tackle for a loss, and a forced fumble, Ashba had 15 total tackles, Wells Robinson added 9 total tackles and Dylan Way had 8 tackles, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
The JV Saints will host Andrew Jackson Academy 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2.
