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Scores and Photos of Friday night high school football - Oct. 2
ALCOA, Tenn. - Other than a few penalties and a self-inflicted miscue on a punt return in the third quarter, Alcoa High School was its usual near-flawless self against McMinn Central on Friday.
The Tornadoes, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A in the state, rushed for 249 yards, kept the Chargers scoreless for the first 46 minutes of the game and got their younger players some much-needed playing time with a 38-7 Region 2-3A victory.
"I was pleased," Alcoa coach Gary Rankin said. "I would like us to play a little smarter, and that is coaching."
Alcoa (6-1, 3-0) scored on each of its first-half possessions and had a kick return for a touchdown to open the second half negated by a penalty.
The Tornadoes' only turnover happened when a long punt return by Dustin Clabough in the third quarter led to a fumble. A teammate ran into Clabough and knocked the ball loose while trying to throw a block.
"We are certainly not as good as we need to be, and there were a lot of mistakes I thought we shouldn't have made, but that's what you practice for," Rankin said.
Mitchell McClung gave the Tornadoes a 7-0 lead with a 1-yard scoring run on a quarterback keeper before TayLen McNear and Malik Salter added to Alcoa's advantage with 23-yard and 5-yard touchdown runs on the Tornadoes' next two possessions.
Ben Smith connected on a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Tornadoes a 24-0 advantage.
Karim Shareef made it 31-0 with 5:14 to go in the third with a 5-yard scoring run, and McClurg put the finishing touch on the game early in the fourth with a 16-yard touchdown run on another keeper.
McMinn Central (2-5, 1-2) managed just 168 total yards, punted on five of its seven possessions and missed on a 34-yard field-goal attempt late in the second quarter.
The win was the Alcoa's sixth straight victory over the Chargers.