By MONTE DUTTON

Clinton came home to Region 4-3A a bit healthier and went back to business with a 51-28 victory over Union County in front of another near-capacity crowd at Wilder Stadium on Friday night.

Neither half started well for the Yellow Jackets. Their very first snap sailed over quarterback Keyshon Harden’s outstretched arms. When he chased it down, Kaden Crawford was there to crunch him for a safety.

The Red Devils also scored on their first play from scrimmage, Tray Cook catching a 19-yard touchdown pass from Tushawan Richardson. Clinton led 9-0 after only 49 seconds.

On the first play of the third quarter, Clinton’s quarterback, Tushawon Richardson rushed 57 yards for a touchdown.

Crawford, a versatile senior, was splendid in many ways, and for the third week in a row. Head football coach Corey Fountain calls him the Red Devils’ “Swiss Army Knife.”

All he did against the Yellow Jackets, in addition to the safety, was catch seven passes for a school-record 191 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown reception from Richardson and a 50-yard catch that set up a score. Clinton ended a two-game skid.

“He’s awesome on offense, defense and special teams,” Fountain said. “On offense, he’s catching balls. He’s everywhere on the football field. He’s a physical football player and that’s the kind we want.”

“If we can be healthy, I think we’ll go far,” Crawford said. “We just do our jobs the way we’re coached and fully believe in Coach Fountain. We’ll be fine.”

Richardson completed 8/12 passes, and seven were direct hits on Crawford’s position. The eighth completion was a 19-yard touchdown strike to Tray Cook.

Oh, by the way, Clinton rushed for 244 yards and an average gain of 7.4 yards. The multi-directional, multifaceted infantry used six weapons, five of whom netted 25 or more yards and four of whom scored touchdowns. D.J. Clark led the troops with 84 yards in 10 carries. Richardson had 68 yards in four tries, Kason Copeland added 8-41, Tray Cook 4-27 and Javen Cook 6-22 with two scores.

This time Clinton (5-2, 1-0 region) won. At least seven players of impact have gone down to injury, one for the season, one for the regular season and five who either played or will be ready for the next game at Woodruff on Oct.13.

Shrine Bowl selection Zay Johnson was back. So were linebackers Brett Young and Carson Glenn. Tackle Tre Aiken went down Friday night, though.

“It’s good to be back,” said Johnson. “We’ve got a lot of people back. We’re all hungry and want to win our region, the Upstate and the state championship. That’s our goal. Next we start preparing for Woodruff on Monday. We’re locked in and ready. We’re all a little banged up, but we’re gonna be back (in two weeks) better than ever.”

Fountain was unwilling to condone Union’s face-saving late touchdowns.

“We’re going to work on fundamentals this coming week,” he said. “We’re going to work on getting healed up and going from there.

“Our guys can’t put it in cruise control. It doesn’t get easy. You’ve got to keep your foot on the gas, moving forward. That’s what we’re trying to stress to our guys. Don’t get satisfied. You can’t take any plays off. Don’t worry what happened last play. You’ve got to play now and win that play.”

Union County (1-6, 0-1) only averaged 2.5 yards a rush but found success in the passing game. Harden hit 14/28 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Cam Owens netted 101 yards in 19 carries, but three of the five Union players who made rushing attempts finished with negative yards.

Clinton converted 7/10 third downs, didn’t have a fourth down and scored touchdowns on all four of its red-zone visits. The Red Devils lost two fumbles, and Richardson threw a pick that tipped off the outstretched hands of the intended receiver into the hands of the Yellow Jackets’ Cente Williams late in the first quarter.

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