After a workhorse performance on both offense and defense to help lead Bledsoe County to a 27-21 comeback win over nonregion rival Sequatchie County, Hunter Clark had just one thing on his mind Friday night.
"I'm going home and going to bed," the senior running back said when asked how he planned to celebrate. "I'm too tired to do anything else."
Clark rushed 20 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns: a 67-yarder in the first quarter, a 20-yarder to bring the Warriors within two points in the third quarter, and the go-ahead score on a 4-yard run late in the fourth. He also had two sacks for a defense that held the visiting Indians scoreless in the second half.
"It wasn't always pretty, but we executed a lot better in the second half," Clark said. "It's Sequatchie, so it's a big game for us, and I just tried to do as much as I could to help us win."
Indians quarterback Payton Campbell threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jackson Tate, including a 17-yard connection that opened the scoring. After Clark tied the game with the 67-yarder, Campbell put Sequatchie (4-2) back in front on a 12-yard touchdown run, then added to the lead when he hooked up with Tate on a 19-yard pass with 43 seconds remaining before halftime.
Bledsoe (4-2) answered with Braiton Boring's 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, closing within eight points at the break.
"We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, and Sequatchie is a good team, so they took advantage of the turnovers," Warriors coach Dewayne Tabor said. "Our kids came in at halftime and were adamant that they were going to play better in the second half. And that's just what they did.
"Hunter had some explosive plays, some really big plays on both sides of the ball, and this was a really big win for us."
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area high school football games)
Baylor 35, Ooltewah 0: Caleb Hampton scored four first-half touchdowns as the Red Raiders (5-0) built a 28-0 halftime lead over the Owls (0-5). Hampton's scoring runs covered 3, 5, 13 and 18 yards, and he also had a 35-yard run that led to a touchdown.
The game's first score was set up by a 45-yard punt return by Tyler Rice, and a 32-yard pass from Whit Muschamp to Amari Cooper set up Baylor's final touchdown of the first half.
South Pittsburg 42, North Jackson (Ala.) 19: Junior quarterback Kamden Wellington set three program passing records, completing 17 of 30 passes for 439 yards and six touchdowns for the Pirates (4-2).
Both defenses controlled much of the first half. The Chiefs (1-4) scored first, but the Pirates answered with two touchdowns before halftime as Wellington hit Nas Starkey on a 6-yard pass and Racash Kelly on a 28-yarder.
Two South Pittsburg turnovers in the second half led to touchdowns that pulled the Chiefs within one score, but Wellington hit Jayden Mount on touchdown passes of 87 and 16 yards, Kelly on a 34-yard score and Jace Stone on a 50-yard strike. Mount finished with four catches for 164 yards, Kelly had eight catches for 119 yards and Starkey caught three for 106 — all in the first half.
Tyner 35, Soddy-Daisy 7: Markel McKinley ran for two touchdowns and more than 100 yards, and Josh Jackson threw for two scores to lead the Rams (6-0) to the nonregion win. Jarius Cameron ran for one score and caught a touchdown pass, while Jonah Chapman had two sacks and Rayshaun Hinton picked off a pass to lead the defense, which has allowed 13 points this season.
Meigs County 20, McMinn Central 7: The Tigers (4-2) ran the ball 60 times for 305 yards, led by Tuff Ricker's 164 yards on 26 carries (including two touchdowns), and Tylan Kraskouskas added 93 on 16 in the nonregion win.
The Chargers (4-2) were held to 197 total yards, including 83 on 24 rushes.
Silverdale Baptist Academy 37, Donelson Christian Academy 7: Senior quarterback Brett Rogers accounted for 314 total yards and four touchdowns to lead the Seahawks to a nonregion win over last season's Division II-A state champion.
DCA took a short-lived lead in the first quarter, but SBA (4-2) reeled off 34 unanswered points.
Rogers threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns covering 44 and 35 yards to Cameron Bowen, and the quarterback also ran 14 times for 138 yards with touchdowns covering 49 and 60 yards. Bowen caught 10 passes for 140 yards, while Brody Lamb led the defense with eight solo tackles, two for loss and two sacks, and Maleak McAlister had five tackles, with two for loss.
Chattanooga Christian 44, CAK 14: Boo Carter accounted for 245 total yards and all six touchdowns for the hosts in the DII-AA East Region win as the Chargers (5-1, 3-0) outgained CAK 430-84 in total yards.
Marion County 42, Forrest 35: Sam Pickett accounted for 268 total yards and four touchdowns, including the winning 79-yard run with 22 seconds remaining. He ran 11 times for 123 yards and caught nine passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns in the nonregion road win.
Tilton Pickett was 14-of-23 passing for 167 yards and three scores for the Warriors (3-3), and E.J. Wilson added 110 rushing yards on seven carries, including a 49-yard touchdown.
McMinn County 29, East Hamilton 20: Jayden Miller ran for 158 yards and two scores, and Caden Hester added 126 rushing yards and scored twice in the nonregion win as McMinn County (4-2) rolled up 406 total yards. For the Hurricanes (3-2), Juan Bullard finished with 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns and threw for 148 yards.
Whitwell 49, Red Boiling Springs 9: Wyatt Davis ran for 118 yards with touchdowns covering 41 and 16 yards, and Chandler Britton added 107 rushing yards, including a 39-yard score in the nonregion win. The Tigers (4-1) outgained the Bulldogs 440-239 in total yards, including 306 rushing, and put the game away with a 35-point second quarter.
Bennett McDougal ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns, and he threw for 83, including a 61-yard touchdown to Colton Britton. Wesley Nunley had four tackles and caused a fumble, and Therion Mordecai had an interception to lead the defense.
Grace Academy 56, Tri-Cities Christian 16: Wesley Thompson threw for 92 yards and three touchdowns, and eight Golden Eagles combined for 269 rushing yards as Grace outgained the hosts 429-96 in total yards and built a 44-16 lead by halftime.
Other area scores:
Boyd Buchanan 55, Columbia Academy 7
Brainerd 32, Austin East 6
Clinton 51, Central 21
Franklin County 61, Grundy County 6
Hixson 17, Howard 14
Huntland 28, Lookout Valley 7
Knoxville Grace 35, Notre Dame 18
Polk County 21, Cumberland County 10
Sale Creek 55, Pickett County 6
Tellico Plains 27, Copper Basin 14
GEORGIA
Cedartown 43, Dalton 9: Class AAAA's top-ranked Bulldogs (5-0) used four touchdowns from Harlem Diamond and a stingy defense that allowed 148 total yards to beat Class AAAAA's Catamounts (2-3). Diamond scored on runs of 22, 29 and 36 yards, and he caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Reece Tanner. Dalton's Adriel Hernandez had 42 rushing yards.
North Murray 40, Haralson County 29: The Mountaineers (3-2) won the Region 7-AA opener as senior quarterback Seth Griffin passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more. Griffin connected with Jadyn Rice on an 11-yard scoring pass before hitting Judson Petty on a 20-yard touchdown. Tyler Henry had a pair of rushing touchdowns for North Murray.
Coahulla Creek 25, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 22: The Colts (4-1, 2-0 Region 6-AAA) avoided the road upset as Peyton Gordon rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Kace Kinnamon added a 45-yard run that put them in front 18-12 halfway through the final period.
Gordon's second score gave the Colts some cushion before Dylan Blankenship hit Trevon Gott with a late touchdown pass to get LFO (1-4, 0-2) within three. Coahulla Creek recovered an onside kick with a minute to play to seal the win.
Heritage 47, Chattanooga Prep 0: The Generals moved to 5-0 with the homecoming win over the first-year varsity program. Kaden Swope had touchdown passes of 33 yards to Tyler Cheatwood and 30 yards to Payton Newman while also adding a touchdown run.
Adairsville 49, Ringgold 10: Adairsville put up 408 yards rushing and 585 total in dismantling the Tigers in the Region 6-AAA matchup. Chris Roper had 116 yards and two TDs, with Ethan Blome adding 114 yards and a score and Caden Copeland 129 yards on just six carries for Adairsville (4-1, 2-0). Jonathan Gough had 184 yards and two touchdown passes, both to Grayson Belcher, who had 162 yards on nine grabs against Ringgold (2-3, 1-1).
Gordon Lee 26, LaFayette 22: Nate Dunfee scored on a 12-yard run with less than two minutes to play to lift the Trojans (2-3, 1-1 Region 6-AAA) to victory. It was Dunfee's third touchdown of the night — he scored on a 10-yard run for the game's first points and added a 60-yard interception return — and Holt Roberts also had a touchdown run for Gordon Lee. Dunfee rushed for 135 yards and Roberts had 103.
Dawson Pendergrass rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 209 yards for the Ramblers (1-4, 0-2). Jaden Morris had five receptions for 115 yards, and Sam Hall added 70 yards on five catches.
Other area scores:
Bremen 37, Ridgeland 6
Fannin 47, Gordon Central 6
Model 46, Murray County 0
Pepperell 21, Chattooga 7
Southeast Whitfield 38, Druid Hills 17
St. Francis 26, Christian Heritage 7
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis. Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.