Clarke’s late TD pushes Eagles past Strasburg in 1-point win

Clarke County had been practicing the play for weeks.

Although they never ran it in the previous seven games, it was the exact play call that was needed to push the Eagles to a 7-6 win over Strasburg at Wilbur M.

Feltner Stadium on Friday night.

After failing to score a single point for over 42 minutes of action, Clarke quarterback Tanner Sipe and running back Wilson Taylor broke through the barrier.

Down 6-0 late, Sipe connected with Wilson Taylor, who hauled in Sipes pass on a fade-stop route for a 5-yard TD near the left pylon.

The touchdown, plus the ensuing extra point by Drake Barton, gave the Eagles (8-0, 3-0 Bull Run District) a 7-6 lead with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter.

It also ended up being the game-winning score in the game matching two undefeated teams.

Me and Wilson have practiced that play all throughout our life, Sipe said.

I mean, no matter what league were playing in.

We were always playing together.

Through practice, just repping it out, I knew he was going to be able to make the play, and I just had to give it to him.

Wilson said the team had a lot of trust in the play after executing it well in practice.

That's a new play this year, Taylor said of the TD.

We put it in training camp, and we were just waiting and saving it for the right time to use it.

And I'd say it was a pretty good time to use it.

We did it a couple of times in warmups.

I had a feeling it would come down to something like that.

Tanner and Wilson, they ran it to perfection, Clarke coach Casey Childs said of the TD play.

Sipes TD pass came two plays after he ran for a 43-yard gain on third-and-15 from Strasburgs 49-yard line.

With pressure coming on a botched screen play to Wyatt Palmer, Sipe rolled out to his left and scampered down the left sideline for a chunk play to set up the TD.

Right off the snap they called out the screen, Sipe said.

They did a great job of sniffing that out, and everybody kind of flowed to the right with Wyatt on that screen.

I was able to get to the outside, running up the sideline, got to break a couple tackles and got a great gain.

Sipe finished the game 4-for-7 passing for 36 yards, one TD and one interception.

Clarke's top rusher, Wyatt Palmer, was held to just 18 yards on 12 carries.

After both teams were forced to punt after Taylors TD, Strasburg (7-1, 2-1) was in position to respond with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Rams drove 57 yards down inside the Eagles 35-yard line.

With 1:22 left, Strasburg quarterback Brayden Hough attempted a pass over the middle.

The pass was instead deflected off the helmet of Clarke County defensive lineman Joseph Stem before launching up into the air into the hands of linebacker Carson Chinn for an interception.

It was actually hit off a head, Chinn said of the takeaway.

It was an end-over-end type of ball, and I was like, Oh, shoot, we just got to scramble for it.

And obviously [I was] the first one to get there, so it was a good feeling to have.

Strasburgs offense looked like it was primed for a triumphant night to start the game.

The Rams went on a 21-play, 97-yard drive capped off by a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Hough for a TD on their first possession of the rivalry matchup.

But, Pablo Mora Hernandez missed the ensuing extra-point attempt, sailing his kick high and hitting the crossbar on the way down.

Strasburg coach Tripp Lamb said losing by one point after missing an extra point was extremely frustrating but added the team will stick by Hernandez.

That's our guy, Lamb said.

He's been good all year.

He wasn't good tonight, obviously, when it counted, but we're gonna pick him up and hell hit them through next week.

Lamb said Clarke Countys physicality gave his offense fits after the first drive.

Those fits included penalties, as Strasburg had 13 penalties for 95 yards on the night.

Physically, we were having some problems, and their physicality turned into some mental mistakes for us, Lamb said.

It's that simple.

We made some mistakes mentally, and it was because of the pressure they put on us.

After the 97-yard drive, the Eagles defense only allowed seven more first downs and 123 more yards.

We were able to get our legs underneath of us, and I thought we played really, really good defense from that point on, Childs said.

Strasburg running back Quincy Williams had a game-high 100 yards on 15 carries.

Takhi Coates added 38 yards on nine carries.

Clarke had just 106 yards on offense and six first downs.

The 5-yard TD pass from Sipe to Taylor ended up tying the game for Clarke County, but it was Bartons extra point that gave the Eagles the lead.

An offsides penalty by Strasburg before the attempt added even more pressure on Bartons shoulders, but he delivered.

The penalty was almost like an NFL icing-the-kicker moment, Barton said.

But we, as a team, played resilient.

I knew there that I had to just block it out.

It worked, and it was good, so I couldn't have asked for much more on the play.

Childs spotted Barton, a sophomore, while watching Clarke soccer games last spring.

Barton was Clarkes goalie, and Childs noticed the kick power he had.

After some conversations, Barton agreed to try out for the team.

He's a good kid, and that's a moment that he won't forget, Childs said.

With the win, Clarke County took sole possession of the top spot in the Bull Run District standings.

With a whole new group of offensive and defensive line starters this season, Childs has been thrilled with how his team has performed.

These kids, they're special, they play hard and they're coachable, Childs said.

If you'd have told me that we're sitting here 8-0 right now, Id take it, for sure, but I don't know if I would have believed it, Childs said.

Clarke will host Luray next week and Strasburg will host Madison County..

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