The Wortham Bulldogs offense showed its strength in lighting up the scoreboard with a 76-30 win over the Clarksville Tigers at Brownsboro High School Friday night.
The Bulldogs tallied huge offensive numbers and held off a pesky Tiger offense in the dominating win. Senior running back Kymani Johnson scored four touchdowns and added a fifth on an interception return. Jon Ross Black scored three more touchdowns on the big offensive night.
The Wortham offense had the first possession and scored on the first play of the game. Johnson took the jet sweep and hit the corner for a 60-yard touchdown only 16 seconds into the contest. He added the conversion run for the early 8-0 lead.
Clarksville answered on their first possession. Jonathon Morgan picked up a first down and S’emaji Harris added an 11-yard run to the Wortham 29. Kaiden Taylor caught a short pass and ran in for the 29-yard score and cut the lead to 8-6 on the missed conversion run.
The Bulldogs answered with another score early in the contest. Black ripped off a 23-yard run and a bobble on a backward pass lost 13 yards.
Yancey Bean converted a fourth down with a 13-yard catch to the Tiger five and Black ran in those final five yards to extend the lead to 14-6. Johnson ran in the conversion for the 16-6 lead.
Morgan and Taylor connected for the second time in the first quarter and cut into the Bulldog lead. The 67-yard score put the Tigers close, but they could get no closer on the missed conversion run with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Johnson added a five-yard touchdown run at the end of the quarter and the Bulldogs led 24-12 when Black scored the two points.
Wortham forced a punt on defense and went back to work building the big lead. Bean caught a pass over two defenders down to the two-yard line and Black finished the drive with the two-yard score. Johnson added the conversion, and the Bulldogs lead grew to 32-12.
Johnson intercepted a pass near midfield but could not cover the turnover into points when they fumbled on a sweep.
Wortham got a turnover on downs and moved downfield to add to the lead. Black passed to tight end James Johnson at the Tiger 45, and he broke a tackle, pushed, pulled and struggled to drag the entire field of players to inside the 20 before the ball was stripped away and Clarksville recovered.
The Bulldogs forced a punt and turned the possession into points with three minutes to go in the half. Black scored on an 18-yard run and the conversion run was short and the Bulldog lead was 38-12.
Jordan Daniels put their third touchdown on the board via the pass on a 52-yard score cutting the lead to 38-18. The conversion was short for the third time.
Black and Kymani Johnson connected for an eight-yard touchdown and added the conversion run for the 46-18 lead.
Clarksville added the fourth touchdown pass by Morgan from 65 yards away in the final minute of the first half. They would come up short for the fourth time and the Bulldog lead was 46-18.
Wortham added a final touchdown with second left in the first half. Evan McCoslin caught a 23-yard pass inside the Tiger 20. Black hit Lance Jones on the slant and the Bulldogs put more than 50 points on the board in the half for the second consecutive week. McCoslin added the conversion run for the 54-24 halftime lead.
Clarksville had a turnover on downs in the first possession and the Bulldogs made quick work of the turnover. Jesse Saldana rumbled for 24 yards and Black added a 12-yard run. Johnson caught the 24-yard touchdown pass and the Bulldog lead swelled to 62-24 on the Johnson conversion run.
The Bulldog defense joined the scoring party when Johnson picked off his second pass of the game and he returned it 43 yards for the touchdown. Evan McCoslin added the conversion run and the Bulldogs put 70 points on the board midway through the third quarter.
Wortham added a touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter when both teams agreed to a running clock for the remainder of the game. Tiger defensive lineman Elijah Davis slammed Bulldog runner Darrius Creduer to the ground and netted a personal foul and a first down. McCoslin ran for a 14-yard touchdown and the conversion was short at the end of the third and the Bulldogs led 76-24.
Chilton added a fourth quarter touchdown pass to set the final score at 76-30.
Wortham moves onto the area round of the Division II playoffs and will take the fourth-place team from District 11-2A Division II. Wortham will take on the Mount Enterprise Wildcats at Palestine High School on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
(Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
