10/7/2009 6:00:00 PM Tornadoes too much for Clarkdale
By STEVE SWOGETINSKY Sports Editor
The Philadelphia High School Tornadoes opened play in Region 5-3A with a 39-9 pounding of the Clarkdale Bulldogs Friday night in prep football action.
The Tornadoes, now 6-1 overall, host Southeast Lauderdale this Thursday night in another region game.
The Philadelphia-Southeast Lauderdale football game has been moved up to Thursday because of anticipated weather conditions on Friday.
The Tigers are coming off a 26-21 loss to Kemper County and enter the game with a 2-5 record.
Philadelphia had 194 yards rushing on 41 carries and passed for 165 yards for 359 total yards. The Bulldogs rushed for 88 yards on 35 carries and did not complete a pass. Most of Clarkdale's yardage came in the fourth quarter after the Tornado starters had been pulled.
"Defensively, we were unreal," Philadelphia coach Teddy Dyess said. "The special teams played well. But, we have a lot of work to do on offense. We have got to block and pass a lot better."
"We are looking forward to playing Southeast Lauderdale. They have been a playoff team in past years and they have a good team. We'll go back to work Monday and get ready for our next game."
Physically, the Tornadoes had a size advantage over the Clarkdale Bulldogs who dropped to 2-5 on the season.
"We just could not match up with them," Clarkdale coach Judd Gartman said. "Our kids played hard. Philadelphia has a good team and they were too much for us."
After kicking off to Clarkdale, the Tornadoes forced a punt and set up on their own 37-yard line. Brandon Willis ran six yards for a touchdown, capping a nine play drive with 7:16 left in the first quarter. Lee Smith passed to Latimer Smith for the two-point conversion and the Tornadoes led 8-0.
Philadelphia got on the scoreboard again in the second quarter when Tyriq Patrick scored on a 45-yard TD pass from Lee Smith. Latimer Smith kicked the extra point and the Tornadoes led 15-0 with 9:47 left in the second quarter.
Latimer Smith added a 40-yard field goal with 1:34 left to increase the Tornadoes' lead to 18-0. But Philadelphia wasn't finished.
After forcing a punt, the Tornadoes scored again as time expired in the first half. Georgio Grace connected with Patrick on a 44-yard TD pass play. Smith kicked the extra point and the Tornadoes led 25-0 at the half.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter, thanks to a safety. The snap for a punt went over Smith's head and he booted it out of the back of the end zone. That made the score 25-2 with 10:02 left in the third quarter.
Philadelphia forced Clarkdale to punt and came back to score again. This time, Willis scored on a one-yard run, capping a five-play, 45-yard drive. Smith's kick was good and the Tornadoes led 32-2 with 5:40 left in the third quarter
Willis scored the Tornadoes' final touchdown of the night on a 14 yard run, capping a four play, 29-yard drive that was set up by a bad snap on the punt. Latimer Smith kicked the extra point.
The Tornado reserves finished out the fourth quarter and Clarkdale got its only points on an 11-yard run.
Brandon Willis had 119 yards rushing on 23 carries, while Jeremy Morgan had 33 yards on six carries. Patrick caught three passes for 103 yards while Grace had three catches for 40 yards. Lee Smith completed eight-of-12 passes for 121 yards, while Grace completed one pass for 44 yards.
