No. 1 Griffin wears down North Clayton

By Glennis Curry

For the AJC

Top-ranked Griffin overcame three first-half turnovers and wore down a pesky North Clayton defense to beat the Eagles 26-14 on Friday at Southern Crescent Stadium in Riverdale.

Enlarge photo

Josh D. Weiss, Special North Clayton's Khalil Stinson (5) is tackled by Griffin's Chandler Worthy (24) and Corey Moore (14).

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The Bears (6-0, 4-0 in Region 4-AAAA) got a field goal from Austin Lee, a safety and a touchdown run by Buck Hancock after North Clayton tied the game at 14 in the third quarter. North Clayton beat Griffin 23-20 last season on the way to the region title, and Griffin avenged last year’s defeat despite two lost fumbles and an interception by quarterback Marcus Waller.

Fifth-ranked North Clayton (6-1, 4-1) was outgained 350-122 and lost for the 23rd time in 25 games between the schools.

“I told my guys you lost to a good football team that’s scored a lot more points than they scored tonight,’ North Clayton coach Rodney Hackney said.

The Griffin defense allowed seven points, two more than its average, and North Clayton’s other touchdown came in the first quarter when Clarence Jackson returned an interception 72 yards for a score. Waller’s pass was tipped by a defender and into the arms of Jackson, who crossed the field and ran up the left sideline.

Early in the second quarter, Waller lost a fumble at the North Clayton 5 after a 20-yard scramble. He rebounded to tie the game 7-7 with seconds remaining before halftime, connecting with Chandler Worthy for a 40-yard touchdown pass.

“We lost our center, and any time you do that it’s tough,” Griffin coach Steve DeVoursney said.

Griffin recovered its onside kick to open the second half and scored four plays later on Waller’s 3-yard run. Waller hit Denarius Appling for a 44-yard pass on the play before and hopped over the North Clayton defense to put the Bears up 14-7.

North Clayton responded with a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a touchdown run by freshman LaDarrius Mathis. Mathis, in his first game since separating a shoulder in the season opener, gashed the Griffin defense for a 26-yard run earlier in the drive before scoring on third-and-goal.

Griffin’s defense contained Jackson, who had rushed for nearly 160 yards a game before Friday. He finished the game with 13 rushes for 46 yards. Overall, North Clayton gained 67 yards on 26 rushes.

“We won the field position game in the second half,” DeVoursney said. “We were just fortunate. North Clayton has a good football team and they will be around later on.