The Knox County Eagles pulled away in the second half to beat the North Shelby Raiders 58-24 in a battle of two undefeated state-ranked teams Friday.
North Shelby marched right down the field on its opening drive.
Thanks partly to its defense forcing a turnover on downs then recovering a fumble, Knox County scored the next 20 points. Cooper Clair had touchdown runs of 22 and 3 yards. A 15-yard TD run by Isaac Shahan was sandwiched in between.
North Shelby stayed within arm’s reach in the second quarter. A five-yard plunge by Drake Prange got the Raiders back within four. A trick play on 4th down by Knox County got the lead back to 12.
Again North Shelby responded with a Drake Prange touchdown run. The Raiders forced Knox into a punt to get the ball back trailing 28-24 but couldn’t take advantage and had to punt themselves. That allowed Clair to strike again.
Knox held a 36-24 advantage at half. North Shelby’s last big opportunity came after forcing a fumble on Knox’s first second half drive, but the Raiders then fumbled the ball back to them and Knox maintained control the rest of the way.
Clair added three more touchdowns in the second half. He finished with 24 carries for 154 yards and six touchdowns to be named the Freeman Financial and Insurance Outstanding Player of the Game. Carssen Hayes ran 15 times for 75 yards.
North Shelby’s Browning and Prange ran for 138 and 111 respectively. The Raiders were playing without do-it-all quarterback Gannon Bowen because of an ankle injury.
Knox County coach Bruce Vannoy Postgame:
North Shelby coach Kent O’Laughlin Postgame:
