Clinch wallops Brooks County in Battle of Route 84

Published 12:46 am Saturday, September 1, 2018

HOMERVILLE, Ga. — The Battle of Route 84 was a one-sided contest. 

Clinch County beat Brooks County in an “old-fashion butt whooping” in the words of Trojans head coach Maurice Freeman.

The Panthers won 37-7 at home in their first game in The Boneyard since winning the Class A Public state championship last season. 

In its first game of the season, Clinch squeezed out a single-digit victory against Hebron Christian Academy. The outcome was never in doubt against Brooks County.

The Clinch offense made its impact felt early and often. Using a flex offense to keep Brooks off balance, the Panthers were able to keep possession and have extended drives.

The Panthers had a 10-point advantage with two minutes remaining in the second quarter and the ball on their own 41-yard line. Tyler Moorehead spun out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage and ran 59 yards before being dragged down at the 1-yard line, where he fumbled into the end zone and Brooks recovered the football. A touchdown would have given Clinch a three-possession advantage before halftime.

After much debate between the Clinch sideline and officials, the call on the field stood and Brooks took over the ball to run out the clock to end the half. 

But the ruling ultimately seemed to light a fire under the Panthers, especially in star Trezmen Marshall. The two-way University of Georgia commit scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the second half to extend the Panthers a 24-point lead with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Holding a sizable lead, the Panthers defense was relentless. Clinch attacked Brooks sideline to sideline and came up with an interception just when it appeared the Trojans began to gain momentum.

After the interception Marshall put the nail in Brooks’ coffin by beating two Trojan defenders to the pylon for his fourth score of the night. Marshall finished with four touchdowns and 132 rushing yards.

“My mindset was to blow them out,” Marshall said after the game. “I know they’re good and they try to bring the hammer, but I didn’t think that they could compete with us this year.”

Marshall has confidence that the Panthers will be prepared for any opponent that they’ll face this season. 

“They know what’s coming for you,” Marshall said. “They know we aren’t coming in soft. We aren’t going to take this game and think we’re all that but you have to respect us.”

Brooks entered the game coming off a 43-6 win against Mitchell County in its season opener. Being on the other side of a blowout after a big win may be enough to deflate some teams, but Freeman says his team can respond.

“We have to get mentally tougher in spots,” Freeman said. “They brought it to us and we didn’t bring it back. We have to regroup and go back next week. I’ve had this happen to me before and I’ve done it to other folks. We just have to regroup.”

Moving forward Freeman will be looking from more from his seniors saying: “When the chips are down I need you to stand up.”

Clinch’s head coach Jim Dickerson didn’t relax until the final whistle blew, but after the game he took a moment to cherish the victory.

“It’s a rarity winning against Brooks County that’s something you cherish,” Dickerson said. “The game was much closer than the actual scoreboard showed and I didn’t feel safe until the final whistle.”

UP NEXT

Next week the Panthers will play at home against Dooly County who faced Clinch in the GHSA playoffs last season.

For Brooks County, they’ll return home to face Bainbridge who are 2-1 on the season after losing to Lincoln high school in Tallahassee, Fla.