Clover's Defense Dominates Westwood In Shutout

BLYTHEWOOD | Clover's defense traveled down I-77 as the Blue Eagles looked to get back on track from last week's loss. Damien Talford (pictured above) got the game's first score of the night on a pick-six, which was a precursor of things to come as Coach Bennett Swygert picked up win No. 1 as Clover's head coach with a shutout of Westwood, 27-0 on Friday night.   Talford said the defense came into the game confident and that confidence was on display throughout the evening.   “We've got players on our defense that can ball, so that's really it,” Talford said.   Talford on the pick six: "I went to nose guard, and (watching) the running back (on film), we knew that was a known screen for them so once I caught that ball, I knew it was green."   The first quarter was a defensive slugfest as neither team could get much going, outside of Clover's first drive as [player_tooltip player_id='1407416' first='Aaron' last='Shealey'] connected with Collin Bean on a scramble for a 17-yard gain. [player_tooltip player_id='1603816' first='Grady' last='Stone'] connected with Shealey later on a 4th and 4 for an easy completion out of the backfield to the 42-yard line.   [player_tooltip player_id='2210527' first='Ariel' last='Huell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1532410' first='Zyian' last='McWhite'] did a good job of combining on a tackle for loss inside the 10-yard line before Shealey threw an incompletion on third down. The Blue Eagles opted to go for it 4th and 3 with 5:41 to play in the first half on a lengthy opening series, but a false start on Clover pushed them back before an offsides penalty moved them up a bit. [player_tooltip player_id='2212349' first='Elijah' last='Smith'] snuffed out the reverse designed for Stone, forcing a turnover on downs with 5:36 to play in the opening quarter.   Westwood couldn't do much on their first drive, as they were forced to punt. A little later, Smith came up with a nice deflection on a pass on second down from Shealey.   [player_tooltip player_id='1631854' first='Kylen' last='Dopson'] had a nice connection to [player_tooltip player_id='1819299' first='Raylan' last='Stringer'] to end a scoreless first quarter on the next series. The way it ended however, was not pleasant.    The punt was partially blocked by Clover, as they took over at the Westwood 35. Despite a catch on a bubble screen to [player_tooltip player_id='2150843' first='Legend' last='Smart'], the Blue Eagles got no points out of the good field position with under 9 minutes to play in the first half.   The Blue Eagles' defense, however, continued to shine as [player_tooltip player_id='1816494' first='Keaton' last='Huskey'] came up with a sack on third down near the 8-minute mark to keep any Westwood momentum at bay.    Westwood's first big play of the night came off a blocked Clover punt by [player_tooltip player_id='1661229' first='Jayden' last='Hudson'] setting up the Redhawks at the Clover 35, and it was a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard.    But a bad snap put Westwood back at a 3rd and 17, and then the pick six as we mentioned from Talford came.   “I can't say enough about our defense. Our defensive coordinator Mitch Hall, has been in college football for about 25 years. This is his first stint in high school, and he is definitely proving himself worthy,” Clover head coach Bennett Swygert on the defensive performance.   Clover would put a drive together offensively right before the half with Stone getting the bulk of the carries in a two-minute situation. DJ Starr capped the drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown to put the Blue Eagles up 14-0 with 59 seconds to play before the half.   The second half didn't begin until 10:13 p.m. after an over 90-minute lightning delay, but when the teams returned to the field, Clover's offense got going a bit as Shealey found the end zone with a 1-yard touchdown run on a sneak set up by a long run from Starr that extended Clover's lead to 20-0 with 7:06 to play in the third quarter.   “It's sputtering around, and it's no one individual. It's a receiver here, it's a tight end there. It's play calls. I got to own my share of it. On offense, it takes all 11, right? Defense, 10 guys can fall down, one guy can make a great play and they win. We've got to figure out that cohesiveness and really put together a really good offense,” Swygert said about the offense.   The fourth quarter featured a running clock as Sharlton Gentlest Jr recovered a Clover fumble and Najah Potts nabbed an interception before [player_tooltip player_id='1820494' first='Jake' last='Frantz'] capped the scoring with a 78-yard pick six for a touchdown with 2:38 remaining in the contest.    The Blue Eagles, with their reserves in the game, would stop Westwood again on the goal line in the final seconds to preserve the shutout.   UNSUNG PLAYER OF THE GAME    Starr showed nice coverage skills on a second down pass in the second quarter before he ended the drive, by snuffing out a quick pass play with the help of Ashtin Feemster, forcing a Westwood punt. He was all over the football throughout the evening, making plays particularly against the quick passing game whenever the Redhawks tried to throw it short and made his presence felt.   “I just trusted in myself, watched film and just did my thing.” – Starr on his performance

BLYTHEWOOD | Clover's defense traveled down I-77 as the Blue Eagles looked to get back on track from last week's loss. Damien Talford (pictured above) got the game's first score of the night on a pick-six, which was a precursor of things to come as Coach Bennett Swygert picked up win No. 1 as Clover's head coach with a shutout of Westwood, 27-0 on Friday night.