North Clayton routs Riverdale

“We knew Ladarrius coming as a true freshman had something special, we didn’t know it was that special,” said Eagles coach Rodney Hackney. “That takes a lot of pressure off [Jackson]. A lot of people key in on Clarence so that gives us a little breathing room. ... Those two together can be pretty tough.”

Mathis’ early touchdown run set the tone for a first half that centered on big plays and big mistakes.

North Clayton looked to be in control throughout the first period as they forced a quick three-and-out from the Riverdale offense. But two first-quarter fumbles stalled the Eagles offense, and eventually Riverdale junior quarterback Lamont Knox took advantage. On the opening play of the second quarter, Knox broke two tackles on a quarterback-option and sprinted 73 yards to even the score at 7-7.

Just before halftime, the Raiders threatened to take the lead, thanks to another Eagles’ miscue. On a fourth down, North Clayton lined up to punt from deep in their own territory, but Jackson’s low-lining punt bounced off of one of his linemen and into the backfield. Riverdale recovered at the Eagles’ 4-yard line.

But the North Clayton defense shut down the Raiders on three straight goal-to-go plays. And with just under one minute remaining, the Eagles stuffed Riverdale running back Tony Warren at the edge of the goal line to send the game into halftime tied 7-7.

“They showed a lot of toughness. We gave them the ball, what, inside the 10, I think?” Hackney said. “To stop that, any time you can do that, you got a good defense.”

But in the end, the duo of Jackson and Mathis proved to be too much for the Raiders’ defense. As a scoreless third period wound down, Jackson’s ball-carrying moved the Eagles deep into Riverdale territory and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Mathis again gave North Clayton a seven-point lead with a winding, cross-field 13-yard touchdown run.

Now leading 14-7 early in the fourth, North Clayton’s defense got only better. A pair of interceptions and a strip-and-recovery from Jackson, who doubles as a linebacker, prevented the Raiders from mounting any type of comeback.

“We just made too many mistakes,” Riverdale coach Nick Thomas said. “You can’t make too many mistakes on good teams like that; they come back to bite you.”

From there North Clayton secured their lead with a 37-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Dennis Johnson to senior wide receiver Kyle Taylor and with Jackson’s first touchdown of the season.

NORTH CLAYTON 26, RIVERDALE 7

North Clayton 7 0 0 19 — 26

Riverdale 0 7 0 0 — 7

NC — Ladarrius Mathis 72 run (Sandaly Traore kick)

R — Lamont Knox 73 run (Jano Taylor Cllino Kick)

NC — Mathis 13 run (Traore kick)

NC — Kyle Taylor 37 from Dennis Johnson (kick failed)

NC — Clarence Jackson 1 run (pass failed)