In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have a couple of Johnston County football teams that share a conference playing in round one of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs.
This world has produced such a matchup, as Corinth Holders gets to make a 13-mile bus trip to Clayton to take on the Comets Friday night at 7.
Records: Corinth Holders 6-4; Clayton 9-1
How they got here: Clayton earned an automatic bid as the second-place finisher in the Greater Neuse River 4A, while the Pirates received a wildcard after finishing fourth in the same league.
Simmons Ratings pick: Clayton -27
Series: Clayton leads the all-time series 12-2, including a 49-0 win last month.
Looking back: The Comet defense held Corinth Holders to 10 rushing yards on 26 attempts, and just 88 yards of total offense en route to a shutout on Oct. 18.
Media: This is the JoCo Sports Game of the Week, presented by ChiroDuo Mobile Chiropractic, and can be heard right here. It’s also available over the air on 102.3 FM from our friends at Curtis Media and the Clayton-centric broadcast is available at wearecrn.com.
Stat pack: Corinth Holders has had a remarkable turnaround under head coach Carl Smith, who came to town in late July from Person County. All four losses are to playoff teams, and narrow wins against Willow Spring and Fuquay-Varina kept the Pirates off the playoff bubble.
David Jarman’s development at quarterback has accelerated Corinth Holders’ timeline. His ability to keep defenses honest has helped the ground game, and the offense as a whole. This, in turn, allows a sneaky good defense to keep the Pirates in games.
Scott Chadwick is a good dude. He doesn’t enter stats on MaxPreps, but he does keep them. And, since he’s a former intern for a radio broadcast, he knows I need them. So, he sent them to me.
Aiden Smalls is completing 58 percent of his passes for 1,353 yards, 18 TD and 6 INT. He’s also rushed for 895 yards and 10 more scores. Noah Smith, who has missed some time with injuries this season, is the second-leading rusher with 614 yards and 7 TD. Terris Hobbs has filled the void with 466 yards and five more touchdowns.
Codie Witmer leads the defense with 93 tackles, Delmont Burt has 72 and Malachi Adkins has 63. As a unit, the Comets have 38 sacks, 10 interceptions, six fumble recoveries and five defensive touchdowns. It’s the best defense I’ve seen this season.
Key to the game: It’s hard to play a team twice in a season, let alone twice in a month. But Clayton had little trouble with Corinth Holders the last time around, and if anything, the teams have somewhat gone in opposite directions since then.
Can Clayton avoid complacency against a foe it has already beaten? That’s the biggest challenge for the home team in this one.
Prediction: Adrenaline and nerves keep it close for a while before Clayton pulls away.