CLAYTON – Desperate for a win after unfortunate showings in its first two games of the 2011 varsity football season, both the visiting Affton Cougars and host Clayton Greyhounds were hoping Friday’s showdown at Gay Field would finally produce some desired results.
As it turned out, Affton wound up suffering its worst loss of the year, falling 49-2.
“I’m proud of how our guys kept playing,” Affton head coach Dan Oliver said. “There’s no quit in these guys. We’ve got a lot to work on, but we’ll take the kids we’ve got and continue to work hard and try to get better.”
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A flurry of big plays, including a 53-yard touchdown run on second play of the game by junior tailback Tyler Walker, gave the Greyhounds a lead they would never relinquish.
Teammate Michael Turner capped a later drive by Clayton, with a 13-yard jaunt into the endzone that along with kicker Andrew Rudolph’s second of four PATs, gave the ‘Hounds a 14-0 lead.
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“It got out of hand pretty quick,” Oliver said. “We’re young. We’ve only got six seniors, and we’ve got a lot of young sophomores out on the field. So we’re going to take some (lumps).”
And unfortunately for Affton, those lumps got worse barely a minute after Turner’s touchdown, when Walker scooped up a blocked punt and raced into the endzone for another score.
But the play of the night came on the first play of the second quarter, when Walker broke free and ran 70 yards for his third touchdown of the first half, and a 28-0 Clayton lead.
“He can definitely play,” Clayton ehad coach Scott Weissman said. “He’s right up there. I’ve coached Jeremy Maclin. I’ve coached Blaine Gabbert. So I’ve seen some good players, and Ty is very, very good.”
Walker’s night was done at the point, but the ‘Hounds were nowhere near finished.
They added another score before the half, and two others in the fourth quarter to build a 49-0 edge, before Affton was finally able to get on the board.
The Cougars, who did rush for 204 yards on Friday, couldn’t sustain much on offense, but did finally produce points when several members of the defense tackled a Clayton ballcarrier in his own endzone for a safety.
Demontay Patrick led the Affton offense with 67 rushing yards, while teammate Conner McNeil added 65 yards on the ground of his own.
Affton, which is now 0-3 on the season, will look to notch its first win, next Friday, when it will host Normandy at 7 p.m.
Clayton, which gave Weissman his first win as a head coach on Friday, will be on the road next week.
On Saturday, the ‘Hounds will travel to North County to play McCluer South-Berkeley, with the opening kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
Score by Quarters
F
Affton
0
0
0
2
2
Clayton
21
14
0
14
49
First Quarter
Clay: Tyler Walker 53 yd run (Andrew Rudolph kick), 11:07
Clay: Michael Turner 13 yd run (Andrew Rudolph kick), 5:10
Clay: Tyler Walker 40 yd blocked punt return (Andrew Rudolph kick), 4:14
Second Quarter
Clay: Tyler Walker 70 yd run (Andrew Rudolph kick), 11:48
Clay: Chris Daugherty 1 yd run (Sam Fox kick), 4:34
Fourth Quarter
Clay: Arvester Oliver 3 yd run (Sam Fox kick), 11:57
Clay: Jason Campbell fumble recovery in end zone (Sam Fox kick), 3:30
Aff: Safety, tackled ballcarrier in end zone, 1:29