BLACKSVILLE – With 90 seconds left on the clock and his team trailing 14-8, Clay-Battelle High School quarterback Corey Coen rolled to his right at the 25-yard line and found receiver Cody Clovis on the sideline.
What seemed to be a simple throw to the sticks for Clovis to then go out of bounds and stop the clock, quickly turned into one of the biggest plays of the season so far for the No. 6 Cee-Bees (7-1) as Clovis broke free against a defender and raced to the end zone to tie the game at 14.
Caleb Hall ran in the go-ahead two-point conversion for a 16-14 lead that would hold in the final minute, after C-B lineman Cameron Mercer secured the victory for the hosts over third-ranked Sherman (6-2) with an interception on a cool Saturday in Blacksville.
“I was trying just to run a fade, and the ball came out of his (Coen’s) hand a little short, which allowed me to come back to it,” Clovis said. “I felt the guy grab me, but he didn’t wrap me up, and when I looked up, I had nothing but green in front of me.”
Coen only completed four passes in the game, but two of them went for touchdowns, both going to Clovis, who opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 59-yard catch and run for a touchdown. Coen tallied 179 yards and the two scores on his four completions.
The two catches Clovis made in the game totaled 134 yards and two touchdowns, as the junior did his best Randy Moss impression on Saturday.
“I don’t even have the words right now,” C-B head coach Aaron Lapoe said. “It’s just beautiful. It’s art in motion. Cody going up and catching the ball and making that play, I mean, that’s just Picasso stuff.”
The C-B defense also played well in shutting down the playmaking ability of the Tide, specifically Trey Lester, who entered the contest as one of the leading receivers in the state in yardage. The Cee-Bees held the Sherman difference-maker to 47 total yards on seven touches. His lone reception for 26 yards gave the visitors their first points of the game in the third quarter.
Levi Sprouse led the Tide with 15 carries for 76 yards. Fullback Dawson Greene added the other touchdown for Sherman that gave it the late lead.
Not only did the Cee-Bees have to fend off the furious comeback bid from the Tide, but the hosts had to overcome their own mistakes as penalties and turnovers plagued Lapoe’s team. Three interceptions and two fumbles that Sherman recovered halted drives in crucial moments for C-B, but its defense forced three turnovers out of the Tide, including the game-sealing pick by Mercer.
“I’ve seen some beautiful things happen with the clock running down,” Lapoe said. “That’s what we told our guys after they went ahead. We had plenty of time, and I looked at Corey, and he gave me a nod that he was ready to go win it.”
With the victory, Clay-Battelle is projected to go from No. 6 to No. 3 in the Class A playoff rankings entering Week 10. The Cee-Bees will host AA-side Oak Glen next Friday before returning home once again for the regular season finale, as Magnolia visits Blacksville.
BOX SCORE
Clay-Battelle 16, Sherman 14
SCORING SUMMARY
C-B – Clovis 59 pass/Coen (2pt. good/Hall 3 run)
SHER – Lester 26 pass/Pauley (2pt. no good)
SHER – Greene 1 run (2pt. good/Atkins 3 pass/Pauley)
C-B – Clovis 75 pass/Coen (2pt. good/Hall 3 run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING: Sherman – Pauley 3/12-84-TD-2INT. Clay-Battelle – Coen 4/12-179-2TD-3INT.
RECEIVING: Sherman – Atkins 1-53, Lester 1-26-TD, Southern 1-5. Clay-Battelle Clovis 2-134-2TD, Ponceroff 1-35, Huggins 1-10.
RUSHING: Sherman – Sprouse 15-76, Greene 8-35-TD, Pauley 5-29, Lester 6-21. Clay-Battelle – Coen 14-89, Hall 11-50, Snodgrass 7-24, Ponceroff 1-13.
