By MONTE DUTTON

Wilder Stadium is a special place. The fans love it. They’re right on top of the action. Not many high-school home venues are more intimidating.

Not every game is as perfect as Clinton’s 56-7 victory over North Central on Friday night. I’d hate to have to drive home to Kershaw after the Red Devils turned the Knights inside-out in front of about 3,500 fans, most of whom were delirious.

The North Central players, coaches and fans faced 112 miles of misery. Are you there? Say a prayer for the pretender. He started out so young and strong, only to surrender. – Jackson Browne.

“First off, I want to give glory to God,” said Shrine Bowl and N.C. State-bound tackle Tre Aiken. “If we keep stacking days like I know we can, if we keep punching people in the mouth like I know we can … we can be great.”

Mismatches are common in the playoffs, which typically begin with high seeds – i.e., Region 1-2A champion Clinton versus Region 4 fourth-place North Central – playing low ones. In this instance, however, both the Red Devils and the Knights met with 7-3 records and no common opponents.

Let’s just note that the mystery ended quickly.

“Our defense came out hot, ready to go,” said Clinton head coach Corey Fountain. “We were ready for everything we were going to see. [North Central] plays a lot of defensive formations. Our guys were locked in.

“We don’t loosen the screws in the playoffs. We put pressure on them during the week so that the game is more fun and laidback.”

Clinton (8-3) scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and four in the second. Junior quarterback Owen Glenn raced 51 yards up the middle, finding the end zone on the game’s third play, 59 seconds in. The 42-0 halftime score got the clock running full-time in the second half.

The Red Devils compiled 399 total yards to the Knights’ 118. In the first half, it was 304-27.

The Red Devils never punted. Javen Cook rushed for touchdowns of four, 41 and 17 yards on consecutive possessions. As a team, Clinton rushed for 335 yards. Cook (9 carries, 115 yards), K.J. Vance (6-67), Glenn (2-49) and Rhett Gilliam (6-41) took turns invading the North Central (7-4) secondary. Pablo Hernandez hit eight straight extra points, one shy of the school record.

Cook ran his rushing yardage to 1,541 yards and his touchdown total to 31.

Maison Tinsley scored on a 30-yard interception return. Glenn completed 3/6 passes for 43 yards, hitting P.J. McGowan on an 11-yard touchdown. Gilliam and Ryland James added second-half rushing scores of 13 and five yards, respectively. The only Clinton drive that ended shy of the end zone took place in it as Glenn threw a first-quarter interception.

On the opposite rim of the frontier, the Knights rushed for 115 yards – same as Cook by himself – and 15 passing. North Central finally scored with 1:12 remaining on a 40-yard run by Quayson Peoples, an exciting play perpetrated mainly against former Clinton JVs.

The Clinton ranks were fortified by the return of several players – Gilliam, Chris Boyd and Ashton Sherfield among them – after long injury absences.

“It’s a huge momentum boost for our kids, having those guys back,” Fountain said.

Once 2-3, the Red Devils, who take on Saluda (6-5) at home next week in round two, have won six straight games by scores, in order, of 60-0, 49-6, 50-29, 56-14, 48-7 and 56-7.

“We wanted to go straight into them,” said Fountain. “We wanted to be the hammer, not the nail, and we were that tonight.

“Our coaches did a great job of preparing them. Our kids did a great job executing the game plan in all phases. We’ve got to do that every week.”

Clinton, the reigning state champion, has won 20 straight games against Class 2A opposition. The Red Devils are 54-13 all-time in playoff games at Wilder Stadium, which opened in 1960.

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