Blue Devils befuddle SAHS

Fifth-ranked SAHS gets just 127 yards of offense in 32-6 loss to Clay

Sports Editor
Published Saturday, October 11, 2003

Clay's defense turned in a below-average performance Friday night.

Entering its annual physical showdown against St. Augustine, the Blue Devils were giving teams 146 yards a game.

The Yellow Jackets would've been fortunate to get that.

Fifth-ranked SAHS saw its perfect mark end at the same point it has three of the last four years, falling decisively to the visiting Blue Devils 32-6.

Unlike the previous four installments that had been decided by a combined 23 points, this one was clinched inside a 4-minute, 41-second span before halftime.

Clay scored two offensive touchdowns and used a 52-yard fumble return by Terrance Butler in that span to hand SAHS its first regular-season loss at home since Oct. 5, 2001, a 13-7 setback to the Blue Devils.

Clay (5-1) gave up just 127 total yards to SAHS (5-1), which came in averaging 391 an outing.

The Yellow Jackets couldn't run (57 yards on 28 carries) and struggled to pass (70 yards) against a suffocating Blue Devils' defense that is even better than advertised.

"We knew coming in that they were a very physical team, and we couldn't turn it over and leave our defense on the field," said SAHS coach Joey Wiles, whose team has surrendered 67 points the last two weeks.

"But this is just a little bump in the road. You don't learn a lot by things always coming easy."

The Yellow Jackets' unbeaten record vanished in a cruel five-minute window before halftime.

Clay used a steady blend of Damon Pifer and William Francis for the first points of the game.

Pifer hit an uncovered Spencer Thomas with a 21-yard pass in the seam to move Clay near the SAHS red zone.

Three runs later, Francis flopped in from four yards out to give the Blue Devils all they'd need.

But Clay wasn't through.

SAHS went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, then surrendered its longest offensive play of the season.

Clay running back Daniel Cilliac took a handoff from Pifer and went straight through the Yellow Jackets defense and 68 yards down the field.

SAHS safety Quintin Hancock saved the touchdown, pulling Cilliac down at the Yellow Jackets' 1. But Pifer snuck in on the following snap, and Clay went in front 13-0.

Defensively, Clay iced the Yellow Jackets offense with a speedy, physical defense that was always finding a way into the SAHS backfield.

SAHS managed just one first down in the opening half and a paltry 19 yards rushing on 11 carries.

"That defense was something serious," SAHS quarterback Carlton Smith said. "That was the toughest defense I've seen. They flew to the ball every play."

A 6-yard scramble by quarterback Bryon Rizzi, and a 5-yard scamper by Smith on a busted passing play were SAHS' longest ground gains.

The Yellow Jackets' only first down of the first half came on a deflected pass from Rizzi to Carlos Hamilton that should've been intercepted by the Blue Devils.

Instead, Hamilton pulled down the bouncing ball in traffic and went 23 yards to the Blue Devils' 45.

But SAHS' next snap proved a summary of the first half, when Butler scooped up the fumble and went back the distance.

"That play sucked the life out of them," Butler said. "The ball squirted loose, and I was just wanting to get it into our territory because I knew our offense would be able to score."

Wiles agreed, pointing to the play as a shift in momentum.

"I think that was a turning point," he said.

SAHS tried to piece together a makeshift rally in the fourth, but it couldn't make up for its lapses in the second.

Smith guided the Yellow Jackets 62 yards down the field in 10 plays, hitting Hancock with a pair of passes to get SAHS into Clay territory for just the second time all night.

Two Ronnie McKnight 11-yard runs brought the ball to the Blue Devils' 1 before Smith crept in from a yard out to erase the shutout.

But SAHS botched the ensuing two-point try, and Clay answered with a vengeance the following drive.

Instead of trying to grind up the clock in the game's final seven minutes, the Blue Devils went airborne with amazing efficiency.

Pifer took Clay down the field in five plays, moving his team 85 yards with ease.

Pifer was 5 for 5 on the drive, including a 30-yard strike to a wide-open Spencer Smith that set up a 26-yard strike to Nolan Carroll in the right sliver of the end zone.

Pifer threw his second touchdown pass on Clay's following drive, flicking the ball to William Kendrick in the flat.

Kendrick did the rest, shuffling off several tacklers and grazing the left sideline from 48 yards out with 4:18 to play for the final margin.