Tate Rice was very good before the storms hit Friday in the First Priority Bowl at Harlan, completing his first three passes for two touchdowns and a 16-0 lead.
Clay County’s senior quarterback was even better two hours later after the storms left, completing seven more passes in a row and two more touchdowns as the Tigers started a running clock late in the first half on the way to a 46-6 rout of the short-handed Green Dragons.
Rice completed 13 of 16 passes on the night for 277 yards and four touchdowns with six receivers catching passes and five Tigers reaching the end zone.
“He’s very efficient and is a heck of a player and makes our offense go,” Clay County coach Mike Sizemore said. “We try to spread the ball around and get as many people involved as we can so you can’t just plan for one person. We have multiple players who can catch the ball and to the things you need to win games.”
While the Tigers were spreading the ball around, the Green Dragons lost players as the game progressed after losing two starters to suspensions in last week’s win at Hancock County, Tenn., as senior quarterback Donovan Montanaro and junior tight end/defensive end Hunter Clem watched the game in street clothes from the sideline. Junior tailback Darius Akal went out for the rest of the night in the second quarter after aggravating an ankle injury. Sophomore running back Sedrick Washington was taken off the field after suffering an apparent concussion in the second half.
But even with the injuries, the Dragons’ playmakers would have had a hard time as Clay dominated the line of scrimmage. Harlan was limited to 23 yards on 19 carries in the first half and finished with 77 yards rushing and no passing yardage or attempts with sophomore Connor Daniels and junior Nate Montanaro splitting time at quarterback.
“We have some kids who are pretty physical up front,” Sizemore said. “I feel sometimes we get labeled as a finesse, passing team, but we have some guys who will block and run and do the things you have to do to win a football game.”
“We were outmatched and a little short-handed too,” Harlan coach Eric Perry said. “I was disappointed we didn’t play better up front. We didn’t practice well all week with all the distractions. When we have three or four guys out, that’s six to eight positions for us. I thought they were better up front than we felt coming in. We knew they had good skilled guys with their receivers and Rice.”
Harlan got off to a great start when Tyquan Vick recovered an onside kick, but the Dragons gave the ball away with a fumble the next play. Rice teamed with Jayden Woods on a 33-yard play before Allen went in from the 1 to cap a four-play drive. Allen also added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 10:03 left in the first quarter.
The Dragons were limited to three plays on offense before Montanaro’s 17-yard punt gave Clay great field position again. Rice found Tyson Wagers for a screen pass that covered 33 yards for a touchdown. Alllen’s two-point conversion pushed the lead to 16-0 with 6:13 left in the opening quarter, just seconds before a storm hit that caused games around the region to be delayed or postponed.
Rice went back to work when the game resumed, teaming Trenton Reid for a 47-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first quarter. Aiden Carr’s two-point conversion made the score 24-0.
Rice rolled to his right and teamed with Aiden Carr for a 10-yard TD pass with 7:12 left in the first half. Allen’s two-point conversion stretched the lead to 32-0.
Clay drove inside the Harlan 20 late in the half before the Dragons made a stop on fourth down. The Dragons turned the ball over two plays later, giving Rice just enough time to found Aiden Wagers for a 15-yard touchdown on the final play of the half to set up a running clock for the second half. Reid added the two-point conversion.
Tyler Sevier’s 8-yard TD run with 6:15 left in the third quarter closed the scoring for the Tigers.
Brayden Doan, Jonah Sharp and Eden Caudill took over the ball carrying duties in the second half and led Harlan on its lone scoring drive. Sharp broke a tackle on a sweep around left end and scored on an 18-yard run with seven minutes to play.
Doan recovered a fumble on Clay’s next play, but the clock ran out after three Harlan runs.
Harlan (1-1) returns to action Friday at Pike Central. The 2-0 Tigers play host to Williamsburg on Friday.