October 3- Claiborne made the bus ride into Black Knight territory to do battle on the gridiron. The Bulldogs were after their first win of the Coach Lee era, and it looked like they had one in the bag until late in the fourth quarter. Chuckey-Doak made a late play on defense and as time counted down to zero, a pass-play to the right sealed the win, 19-13.
Claiborne played extremely well on offense as they were balanced and moved the ball but couldn’t complete first half drives of 12 plays, eight plays and five plays. The first score of the game, went to the Knights on a seven-play drive and a successful extra point, 7-0. The half ended with the same score but when the second half started, Claiborne’s offense moved the ball with 12 plays before punting. On the next Chuckey-Doak drive, Noah Burke picked off a pass and gave the ball back to the offense. That seven-play drive resulted in a Bulldogs’ touchdown as Aden Roark found the endzone from four yards out. Roark also kicked the extra point through the uprights to tie the game at seven.
Coming into the final quarter tied, one team had to find a way to break the tie and Claiborne scored on a Kaden Lovin run. In what many Claiborne fans questioned, the Bulldogs went for two instead of the extra point. The conversion failed but the Bulldogs held their first lead at 13-7.
The Knights scored on their next possession to tie it at 13. The Knights tried the extra point to take the lead by one, but Noah Burke timed it perfectly and met the ball at the holder. The block let the Bulldogs remain tied, this time at 13. With just seconds remaining in regulation, the Knights completed a pass to the right side, and the receiver avoided a tackle and ran into the endzone with no time left on the field. Claiborne lost a second heartbreaking game of the season by the final score of 19-13.
The Danny England Motors Offensive Player of the Game was Aden Roark. The Whitaker Insurance Agency Defensive Player of the Game was the entire Bulldog defense as several players made key stops including Roark, Kaden Williams, Owen Stone, Noah Burke, Braxton Stubblefield, Stanton McDaniel, Elijah Poore and others. It was a team effort on the defensive side of the ball. Below are a few photos from CHS student photographer Briele Jones.
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