Clinton avenges last season's loss to Weatherford with shutout win

WEATHERFORD, OKLAHOMA - A year after Clinton dropped both Interstate 40 rivalry contests, it completed a clean sweep Friday, shutting out Weatherford, 17-0, on the road. 

It was a totally dominant, defensive performance for the Red Tornadoes, a week after defeating another I-40 rival, Elk City. They allowed around 120 yards of offense, forced four turnovers (three fumbles, one interception) and made two stops in the red zone.

Clinton’s offense didn’t pass the 200 total yard threshold, but it didn’t turn the ball over and capitalized when it needed to. After this difficult, two-week stretch, Clinton is in sole possession of District 4A-1, boasting an overall mark of 4-2 and an unblemished district record of 3-0.

CHS head coach John Higbee said his team certainly remembered what happened last year during this stretch, and made sure it changed the results this time around.

The Reds outscored Elk City and Weatherford by a combined mark of 38-7, suffocating both opposing offenses.

In 2022, Weatherford utilized a punishing, wildcat run game to close out its win. This year, CHS took its turn as the aggressor.

“I knew they were going to,” Higbee answered on how they would match Weatherford’s physicality.

“They were mad. They were mad from last year. They hadn’t forgotten, and I reminded them on a daily basis. I started reminding them maybe the third or fourth week of December. I’ve been talking about this game and the Elk City game for 300-plus days."

Higbee also continued to stress the importance of the Reds paying back both their I-40 rivals this season.

“I was constantly reminding them," he said. "I’m sure the Weatherford kids and the Elk City kids were busting their tails to come do it all over again.

"You gave them enough fuel to come get you again, so we’ve been talking about this for a while.”

The Reds took a two-possession lead early and defended it the rest of the way. A bad snap on Weatherford’s first play of the opening drive led to a quick three-and-out.

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CHS responded after the punt by marching 41 yards in nine plays due to the hard running of junior backs Zaedon Collins and Kyn’Tavion Hill. Senior QB Cooper Sulley punched it in from a yard out to get CHS a 7-0 lead midway through the first.

After a punt tradeoff, Clinton pinned Weatherford’s offense back at its own 5-yard line.

Weatherford QB Stone Chism handed off to an in-motion Victor Garcia on a jet sweep. However, the exchange wasn’t clean and resulted in a fumble.

The ball bounced near the end zone, where senior four-year starting nose guard Layden Fuller fell on it to push Clinton’s lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Fuller said the game-changing play just fell into his lap, but he was definitely happy it did.

“I was pretty excited,” Fuller said with a smile. “I just saw the ball laying there, and I jumped right on top of it.”

An overjoyed Higbee said postgame that he wanted to celebrate the moment at that time but was too locked into the game.

“I’ll be honest, I’m so busy trying to figure out the next thing and the next thing that I’ll pat (Fuller) on the back when the game is over,” Higbee said. “We’ll see them on Sunday and watch film. We’ll give all the congratulations then.”

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Up 14-0, Clinton was in its element, stifling the Eagles’ run game for less than two yards per carry and allowing little success in the pass attack until it was too late in the game. The Reds held their aforementioned lead until the start of the third quarter.

They mounted a brief but explosive drive to open the second half that essentially put the game on ice. Collins took a split back pitch to the left, made two cuts and then burst into the open field.

The productive junior back was brought down from behind, but not before he’d picked up 56 yards to put CHS in scoring position. The drive stalled out at the Weatherford 12, but Austin Reynaga connected on a 27-yard field goal to make Clinton’s lead three possessions.

The Eagles continued to try and mount comebacks, but whether it was an interception by Clinton senior safety Garrison Rhoads for a turnover on downs in the red zone, the Reds wouldn’t be denied. They completed the shutout and set themselves up for a tremendous shot at the district title.

-- Collin Wieder | @SBLiveOK