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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
Clay-Chalkville wide receiver Mario Craver (4) carries the ball during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
Clay-Chalkville quarterback Jaylen Mbakwe (9) covers Muscle Shoals’ Jamir Goodloe during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
Action during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
Clay-Chalkville wide receiver Mario Craver (4) takes the ball to the end zone during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
The Clay-Chalkville defense stops Muscle Shoals’ Hadden Vance (15) on the run during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
Action during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
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Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
Clay-Chalkville running back Aaron Osley (21) runs the ball as Muscle Shoals’ CJ Ashford (14) moves in on coverage during a Class 6A state quarterfinal game between Clay-Chalkville and Muscle Shoals at Muscle Shoals High School. Photo courtesy of Todd Thompson.
MUSCLE SHOALS – Clay-Chalkville High School senior quarterback Jaylen Mbakwe was seemingly in disbelief.
It’s easy to be shocked as a five-star prospect, one of the best players in the nation, when you accomplish something on the field you previously hadn’t. Mbakwe’s grin grew as the news sank in.
Mbakwe threw for five touchdown passes en route to a 44-27 Clay-Chalkville victory over Muscle Shoals at James F. Moore Stadium in the Class 6A quarterfinals on Friday.
“I had five? Shoot,” Mbakwe said. “It feels good. Getting this offense rolling, showing that we can run and pass. That’s the main thing.”
Mbakwe completed 19-of-23 passes for 301 yards and touchdown passes of 24, 22, 61, 31 and 43 yards.
“They [Muscle Shoals] just do such a good job in the box stopping the run,” said Cougars head coach Drew Gilmer. “We knew play-action was going to be big for us tonight. Luckily, we were able to connect on some and make some guys miss and create some big plays. For the most part I thought [Mbakwe] was really accurate and made some good decisions with the football.”
The game was close for the first half. Clay-Chalkville (12-0) lit up the scoreboard first on a 2-yard Taurus Chambers run. Muscle Shoals (11-1) tied the game late in the first quarter when quarterback Cole Woods called his own number on a 4-yard scoring run. Clay-Chalkville took a 14-7 lead when Mbakwe connected with Corey Barber for a 24-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. An Antone Ellison 48-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter gave the Cougars a 17-7 lead. The field goal was set up by completions of 21 and 14 yards from Mbakwe to Marlon Compton.
“We get the ball and work some two-minute, drive it down the field before half,” Gilmer said. “We were able to connect on the field goal right there. Antone did a phenomenal job drilling that ball. That was a big part of the game that created a lot of momentum because we got the ball coming out of half. That’s a lot of momentum for us.”
Momentum might be an understatement. The Cougars scored through the air on their first three drives of the second half. Mbakwe found Mario Craver for a 22-yard score to go up 23-7. Muscle Shoals closed the gap to 23-14 on a 1-yard run by Natarruean Hampton, but Mbakwe found Aaron Osley one play later on a short route that the running back took 61 yards to put the Cougars up 30-14. Mbakwe found Craver again on the ensuing Clay-Chalkville drive, this time from 31 yards out, to make it a 37-14 game late in the third quarter.
Muscle Shoals scored on a 10-yard pass from Woods to Jamir Goodloe early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 37-20, but Mbakwe found Compton across the middle five plays later for a 43-yard touchdown.
Muscle Shoals got its final touchdown on another Woods-to-Goodloe hookup, this time from 25 yards out on fourth-and-18.
“I didn’t think we played very well defensively,” Gilmer said. “We’ve got to do a better job being physical in the box and stopping the run. Too many busted coverages on the back end. We’ve got to clean that stuff up. They’re better than that.”
For Clay-Chalkville, Mbakwe also rushed eight times for 39 yards. Chambers led the running game with 56 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushes. Osley toted the ball seven times for 29 yards, but also caught two passes for 66 yards and a score. Craver hauled in six catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns, Compton caught five passes for 81 yards and a score, and Barber had 38 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. Defensively, Avion Pickett had a sack, forced fumble and a couple tackles for loss. Mason Daniels recovered a fumble.
For Muscle Shoals, Woods finished 15-of-20 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He added 10 rushing yards, a touchdown, and a lost fumble. Goodloe caught seven passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Hampton rushed 15 times for 72 yards and a score, while running back Jaquess Greene carried the ball 10 times for 71 yards.
Clay-Chalkville moves on to the Class 6A semifinals at home next week against Parker (12-1), which beat Gadsden City 35-20. The Thundering Herd knocked off the Cougars 7-6 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs last season.
“Just focus on the little things that we didn’t do last year,” Mbakwe said. “Block right, be smart, just do things like that. It’s no bigger focus for us. It’s just another game for us. We’re not looking at last year. It’s a new year, new season.”
