Caldwell Helps Newberry Rout Clinton

CLINTON | As a way to honor a rivalry that began in 1920, a championship belt is presented to the winner of the Newberry-Clinton game each season. If Friday's 96th series meeting had been an actual boxing match, Newberry quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1850165' first='Kenton' last='Caldwell'] would've been declared the winner by TKO by halftime.   Caldwell's sensational senior season continued Friday with a 420-yard, six-touchdown performance as the Class 3A No. 7-ranked Bulldogs rolled over Class 2A No. 1-ranked Clinton, 41-12, at historic Wilder Stadium. Caldwell ran 21 times for 222 yards and four touchdowns, and completed 19-of-22 passes for 198 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Three games into this season, Caldwell's accounted for 16 touchdowns.   "We've been preparing for this all week. We knew what we had to do. We weren't nervous or scared," Caldwell said. "We just had to be mentally focused and that's how we got the W. Shout out to my whole team. Everybody played good tonight."   Caldwell set the tone for the night immediately. He ran for 13 yards on the game's first snap. On third-and-two three plays later, he glided for 23. On the next play, Clinton's Zy Butler broke through and sacked Caldwell for a four-yard loss. Following his lone negative play of the night, Caldwell ran for 12 yards to the Red Devils' eight-yard line. On third-and-goal from the one, Caldwell kept for the touchdown.   Not to get lost in the dazzling performance by Caldwell should be the job Newberry's defense did containing Clinton's offense, which was coming off a 50-point output last Friday. That unit set the tone for its night on Clinton's first possession. [player_tooltip player_id='1603990' first='Angelo' last='Cromer'] was dropped for a one-yard loss on the Red Devils' first play, and Newberry's [player_tooltip player_id='1771835' first='Caleb' last='Johnson'] made a great tackle to stop Cromer for a two-yard loss on the next play. That left Clinton in a third-and-long, which should be goal No. 1 for anyone trying to knock off the Red Devils.   "We were just reading their guards the whole week in preparation for them. Tonight, we just read the guards and it led us to make plays in the backfield," Newberry linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1267311' first='Julian' last='Senn'] said.   After the three-and-out, Caldwell went back to work on Newberry's next drive. He went 5-for-5 through the air to set up his 14-yard touchdown run. He scored from four yards out on the next possession to push the lead to 20-0 early in the second quarter.   Clinton got a desperately needed big play on the next snap when [player_tooltip player_id='1161156' first='Javen' last='Cook'] raced 76 yards down the left sideline before Newberry freshman Zy Shelton managed to catch him from behind. However, Shelton's hustle didn't pay off when Red Devils' quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='630150' first='Owen' last='Glenn'] kept for a touchdown on the next play.   The teams traded a pair of touchdowns, before the only thing that stopped Newberry all night happened. Time expired in the half with the Bulldogs driving to Clinton's 15-yard line and the Bulldogs settled for a 27-12 lead at the break. The Red Devils' touchdown with 1:07 left in the half was set up on a terrific end around play when Graydon Watkins raced for 19 yards on fourth-and-16.   Clinton looked to build off its late score in the first half when it's offense took the field to open the second half. A couple of third-down penalties by Newberry extended the drive, but it stalled after reaching the Bulldogs' 41.   Following a punt, Caldwell picked up right where he left off. After drinking and dunking to [player_tooltip player_id='816735' first='Jamel' last='Howse'] in the first half, Caldwell hit the South Carolina committed receiver for gains of 20, 10 and 29 on this drive. The last one set up a three-yard touchdown run by Caldwell with 3:37 left in the third quarter that removed any doubt that this was Newberry's night.   "We're blessed. We've got a lot of four-year starters who've been getting their butts kicked here for awhile. They've been putting in the work because they were tired of losing to Clinton," Newberry coach Cedrick Jeter said. "Our offensive line did a great job. ... That's another group of veterans who've taken their lumps."   Outside of that sack on the Bulldogs' first drive, their offensive line led by left tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1615022' first='Eli' last='Sanders'] and 6-foot-6, 330-pound monster left guard [player_tooltip player_id='1771858' first='Kalvin' last='Sims'] did a great job of keeping Caldwell's jersey clean all night.   Howse led Newberry's receivers with 100 yards on nine catches, including a 10-yard touchdown catch that pushed the lead to 27-6. [player_tooltip player_id='1099127' first='Jamere' last='Crooks'], who made a fantastic grab in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs' final score, had 70 yards on five receptions. [player_tooltip player_id='1672927' first='Ty' last='Abrams'] rushed 12 times for 65 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards also for Newberry.   Defensively, the Bulldogs allowed just 53 yards passing and turned in the game's lone turnover on an interception by [player_tooltip player_id='1771817' first='Cordell' last='Jackson'] in the fourth-quarter.   "If you want to be the man, you've got to be the man," Jeter said. "They're (Clinton) champions and we want to be champions. We've got to beat great teams like this. It's definitely going to prepare us for the long haul."   Cook finished with 109 yards on 11 carries to lead reigning Class 2A state champion Clinton (1-2) and he also had a 37-yard reception. Glenn had 45 yards on six rushes.

CLINTON | As a way to honor a rivalry that began in 1920, a championship belt is presented to the winner of the Newberry-Clinton game each season. If Friday's 96th series meeting had been an actual boxing match, Newberry quarterback Kenton Caldwell Kenton Caldwell 5'11" | 160 lbs | QB SC would've been declared the winner by TKO by halftime.