Red Tornadoes wreck Chargers' home win streak

Friday night's battle between reigning Class 4A State Champion Clinton and Heritage Hall, one of the top teams in Class 3A, was expected to be an exciting one – and already had a lot of hype surrounding last year's outcome. In 2021, the Chargers came back from a 14-0 deficit to win 39-24. Charger coaches and players knew going into this year's contest that Clinton's only loss of the season last year left a bad taste in their mouth.

The first quarter got off to a slow start. Heritage Hall received the ball first, but the opening sequence was plagued by three successive punts – two by the Chargers and one by the Red Tornadoes.

On their second possession the Tornadoes drove down the field, but Jaxon Carter intercepted a pass to give The Hall a lot of momentum in a stagnant game.

Both teams punted again on the next possessions. A 27-yard pass from Andy Bass to Rashuad Smith was the first big play on offense the Chargers experienced, but the ball was poked out on the tackle and swarmed on by the Red Tornadoes.

With momentum from the turnover, Clinton drove down the field with little time remaining in the first quarter. In what looked like a break for the Chargers, a Clinton running back fumbled the ball just before he entered the endzone; it turned out to be a fumble recovery by the Tornadoes and the first touchdown of the game. Clinton led 7-0 with 0:22 left in the first quarter.

The second quarter was just as much a defensive grinder as the first. At one point, Clinton had the ball on the Chargers side of the field. Deciding to go for a first down on a crucial fourth and nine, Jaxon Carter hawked the ball again and snagged his second interception of the game.

Neither team scored in the rest of the second quarter, and both teams undoubtedly went into the locker room seeking to make game-winning adjustments.

On Heritage Hall's first drive of the second half, following a punt from Clinton, all looked well until a faulty handoff between Andy Bass and Barrett Travis caused the ball to be fumbled and recovered by Clinton.

The Charger defense stood strong and got the ball back.

After a solid drive put in from the Chargers, Bass lasered in a short slant to Orie Walker for a touchdown to tie up the game with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

The tie didn't last long, though, as Clinton connected on a deep 67 yard bomb that put the Red Tornadoes up 14-7 – just one minute after the Chargers had tied it up.

Another impressive, long drive from the Chargers set them up in Clinton's red zone facing a fourth down. Attempting to tie the game once again, Bass threw another slant to Orie Walker. Pounding off the chest of Orie, who was defended physically, the ball dropped to the end zone grass. While there was an outrage from the Chargers' sideline and stands, no flag was thrown for pass interference and Clinton took over near their own goal line.

After many successful, gut-wrenching running plays, Clinton was set up for fourth down around the Charger 30 yard line. The Red Tornadoes decided to go for it and connected once again in the endzone on a thirty yard deep pass, skillfully hauled in despite solid defense from Jordyn Harris. The big fourth down touchdown for the Red Tornadoes put them up 21-7 with 2:54 left in the game.

In a desperate attempt to get back in the game, Bass threw an interception on a short cross field pass, which was returned for a pick six. Clinton had all but secured a 28-7 win, with just 2:41 left on the clock.

As the clock hit zeroes, the 37-game home win streak Heritage Hall dating back to the 2017 season ended abruptly. The last home loss was in 2016 versus Cascia Hall in the state semifinal when Blake Adams '18, the Chargers' starting quarterback, was injured. The regular season 18-game win streak, held since September 2020, also ended.

To finish the night, Andy Bass connected on 18 of 33 passing attempts for 185 yards and a touchdown; he added 31 rushing yards. Liam Burton led the team in receiving with 75 yards, while being tied with Rashaud Smith and Orie Walker on catches at 5.

Defensively, the leading tackler in the game was the electric senior middle linebacker Cooper Cookson, with 17 tackles plus a sack. Close behind him, Burton registered 15 tackles and Walker took down 14 Tornadoes. Charlie Ghaniabadi was big in stopping Clinton's inside rushing attack with 11 tackles. Jaxon Carter came up huge in the defensive backfield for the Chargers with two interceptions. Jack Harris also added a sack.

Despite a disappointing loss for the Heritage Hall squad, a chance for redemption against another 4A opponent comes on Friday, September 16, against a solid John Marshall team. A victory could get The Hall right back on track for their hopes of a gold ball. Come out and support. Go Chargers!

Written by Ewan Jansen '23

Photos by Dawn Freeman

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