Robinson-Lewis Field at Dark Horse Stadium was the site of one of the two NCHSAA 2A Eastern Semifinal games on Friday night. This one being between No.1 seeded Clinton and the No. 4 seed West Craven. With the winner advancing to next week’s Eastern Final, two bands and two bleachers full of fans packed into the stadium for the highly anticipated matchup. Early on, it was Clinton throwing their weight around and that fact continued to be the case all night long as the Dark Horses pummeled the Eagles 47-14.

In the first quarter of play, the Dark Horses received the ball first and began their drive on their own 42-yard line. This first drive wasn’t off to the best of starts as Clinton was hit with consecutive illegal procedure penalties before the Dark Horses could even run a play. Now faced with first-and-20, it was an uphill march to get a new set of downs. The visiting Eagles seemed to force the three-and-out to end the drive, but a roughing the passer penalty extended Clinton’s drive. The drive went on to consume more than half of the first quarter and was eventually capped off by a Payson King 31-yard field goal for a 3-0 Clinton lead.

The story of the first half was an impressive defensive show by the Dark Horses. Three-and-outs lined the stat sheet for West Craven as the Eagles just couldn’t catch flight.

The teams exchanged back-to-back punts and the first quarter zipped by for a 3-0 Clinton score.

In the second quarter, Clinton took possession and started to find more success. The Dark Horses found pay dirt for the first time of the night on a 21-yard touchdown hookup from Blake Smith to Davion Smith as Clinton cushioned their lead. The Horses opted for a 2-point try, but the pass attempt was broken up, leaving the score at 9-0 with 7:37 left in the half.

The Dark Horses defense continued to dominate as they stuffed another West Craven possession and force another punt.

This punt was a bouncing roller to Jaheim Faison, who scooped it up and returned it all the way down to the Eagles 35-yard line. One play later, Davion Smith burst through the West Craven defense and was off to the races for another score. This time, Clinton converted the PAT and went ahead 16-0 with 5:16 left.

Like clockwork, Clinton clipped the Eagles wings on another drive cut short after just three plays. This time, though, disaster struck for the Dark Horses. The kick ricocheted off the back of a West Craven player’s helmet and was then touched by a member of the Clinton special teams unit. No one seemed to be aware of what had happened and the Eagles fell on the ball for the recovery.

West Craven took advantage of the opportunity and marched their way down field for the score. A 21-yard pass was the scoring play and with the adding of the extra point the Eagles were back within 16-7 with 2:16 left in the half.

Clinton, though, didn’t bat an eye. They turned right around on their next drive and picked up big chunks of yards on each play as they marched toward the end zone. With 14.0 left in the half, Smith connected with Keasean Williams in the end zone for another passing score to push the Dark Horses lead back to double-digits. The PAT was blocked after a penalty forced a retry and the score was 22-7 at the half.

Out of the break, West Craven had first possession and began their drive on their own 37-yard line. Their drive yielded an unsuccessful fourth down gamble and Clinton took over at midfield. Despite short field position, the drive was marred by a holding call that drove the Dark Horses back and led to a punt.

After the punt, West Craven took over on their own 24-yard line where on the first play from scrimmage, Jatiyuhn Wilson picked off a pass attempt and scampered all 24 yards for the score. The extra point was good and the Dark Horses had taken their largest lead of the game at 29-7 with 8:03 left in the third quarter.

Clinton continued to play lights out on defense, forcing another hard-hitting fruitless drive for the Eagles.

After another punt – not to sound redundant – the Horses reeled off a big return down to the 8-yard line where Davion Smith ran it for another touchdown. The extra-point clanked off the left upright, but the score had been pushed even further to a 35-7 margin with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

West Craven, though, showed some resiliency. The Eagles took their ensuing possession down field and cashed in on a big passing play to set them up inside the 5-yard line. There, the Eagles quarterback ran it in up the middle for the score. After the converted extra point, Clinton was leading 35-14 with 3:20 left in the third quarter.

That proved to be the score at the end of the third as the action shifted to the final 12:00 of play.

Early in the fourth, West Craven had possession and was facing fourth down inside their own territory. Needing points, they opted for a fourth-down try but the vaunted Dark Horses defense got to the quarterback and brought him down for a sack, leading to a turnover on downs. Clinton took over on the West Craven 35-yard line where their first play from scrimmage yielded an illegal shift penalty. Now on the 40, Jakwan Wilson took the handoff and scampered all 40 yards for another Clinton touchdown. Again, the PAT clanked off the left upright, but the Dark Horses were well in control with a 41-14 lead with 9:24 left in the game.

West Craven fumbled the ensuing kickoff and possession was gifted right back to Clinton at midfield. This drive ate up more clock but the end result was one final Dark Horses, this time off the feet of Zyon Simpson who ran it in from three yards out. With the failed PAT, the score rested at 47-14, which proved to be the final margin as Clinton surges into the East Regional Final.

After the game, Clinton head coach Cory Johnson said the Dark Horses are surely going to enjoy this one.

“We’re going to enjoy this victory tonight,” he said. “We played a complete game tonight which we haven’t done in a few weeks. We did a great job tonight so we’re going to celebrate that.”

When asked about how well his defense played, Johnson said that’s been a staple to the Dark Horses all year.

“We’ve played great defense all year. Coach McFatten and Coach Grady both called a great game tonight and the kids made the plays. They’re just ball players, though – can’t take credit away from them, they execute the plays that are called.

He wrapped up by simply saying “I’ve got the the best coordinators in the state. They do their homework and our guys play hard. That’s it.” And just as he has done all season, Johnson concluded with, “Go Horses.”

Go Horses indeed as they now move on to the Eastern Regional Final where they will host another Eagles team, this time from the No. 3 seed Northeastern, who defeated Southwest Edgecombe 35-20.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. at Dark Horse Stadium.

Ja’daques Wallace, 32, breaks away from two would be tacklers for a first quarter ground gain.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DSC_4794.jpgJa’daques Wallace, 32, breaks away from two would be tacklers for a first quarter ground gain.

Oscar Bennett, 56, sacks West Craven’s QB, Trent Casey, 5, early in the game.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DSC_4831.jpgOscar Bennett, 56, sacks West Craven’s QB, Trent Casey, 5, early in the game.

Boogie Smith hauls in a first half touchdown pass from Blake Smith.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DSC_4887.jpgBoogie Smith hauls in a first half touchdown pass from Blake Smith.

Jakwan Wilson, 24, finishes off a West Bladen ball carrier during the second quarter.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DSC_4913.jpgJakwan Wilson, 24, finishes off a West Bladen ball carrier during the second quarter.

Jaheim Faison shifts into another gear on a long punt return during the third quarter. Faison took this punt inside the Eagles 10 yard line setting up another Clinton score.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DSC_5102.jpgJaheim Faison shifts into another gear on a long punt return during the third quarter. Faison took this punt inside the Eagles 10 yard line setting up another Clinton score.

Spencer Westerbeek came on a delayed blitz to sack West Craven’s TaQuandre Cherry on fourth down late in the game.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DSC_5204.jpgSpencer Westerbeek came on a delayed blitz to sack West Craven’s TaQuandre Cherry on fourth down late in the game.
Clinton to host Northeastern For East Region title

By Daron Barefoot

Sports Editor

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].