Nolan, Reece Adams Combine For 339 Yards & 4 TDs In Clay County’s 30-20 Win Over MTCS

By Michael Lindsay

The Clay County Bulldogs (6-1) were in action a day early this week and won their sixth consecutive game on Thursday as they defeated Middle Tennessee Christian School, 30-20.

“Our kids just kept playing,” said Clay County head coach Bruce Lamb. “Our kids like playing hard-nosed football and that’s what we’re all about.”

Cousins Nolan and Reece Adams combined for 339 rushing yards and 4 total touchdowns in the win. Quarterback Nolan Adams had 218 rushing yards and a score while Running back Reece Adams had 121 yards and 2 rushing TDs. The duo also connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass.

“We give the football to Reece and Nolan, and they do the work,” said Lamb. “Those guys up front open the holes, and that’s the way we play.”

“We’re used to it at this point,” added Reece Adams. “Me and Nolan had 30 carries each last week so it’s nothing new. The boys up front help us out a ton.”

After forcing a punt, Clay County marched down the field and scored on their opening drive as Nolan rushed in a 22-yard QB scramble on fourth down followed by a Reece 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead with 6:00 remaining in the first quarter.

MTCS answered on their next drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to make the score 8-7 Clay County after one quarter.

The Bulldogs extended their lead early in the second quarter via a one-yard Reece Adams touchdown run and successful 2-point conversion with 10:05 remaining in the period to go up 16-7. MTCS answered again less than 4 minutes later as they broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter to make the score 16-14 Clay County.

After trading empty possessions, a Nehamiah Hamilton punt return to the MTCS 35-yard line set the Bulldogs up deep in enemy territory with 49 seconds remaining until halftime. Clay County took advantage and marched down to the 3-yard line, where Reece Adams punched in his second rushing touchdown of the evening with 1 second on the clock to give his team a 22-13 halftime lead.

The visiting Cougars pulled back within a score late in the third quarter via a 32-yard touchdown run to pull within 2 points at 22-20 with 27 seconds left in the period.

“I thought our defense did good, but they busted a few plays on us,” said Lamb. “They have a lot of speed, and that’s the most speed we’ll see until the playoffs and that’s why we wanted to play them. We’ve got to fix some tackling, but we will.”

Clay County pushed their lead back to two possessions with 10:09 remaining in the fourth quarter as Nolan Adams connected with Reece Adams on an 11-yard touchdown pass followed by a Nolan 2-point conversion to go up 30-20. The Bulldog defense held strong from there as a pair of interceptions by Cage Ashley and Cole Eads in the final 8 minutes sealed the Clay County victory by a 30-20 final score.

“We’re getting better,” said Lamb. “I don’t think we’ve peaked yet, and I think we’re heading that way.”

Clay County improves to 6-1 overall on the heels of their 6th consecutive victory. The Bulldogs are off next Friday before opening Region 4-1A play on Friday, Oct. 17 at Red Boiling Springs (0-6).

“We’ve finally got it rolling,” said Reece Adams. “That first game of the season was rough, but that really flipped a switch in us. It’s such a blessing we have to play this game, and we take it for granted. After that, we locked in and when we do what we need to do, we’re pretty dang good.”