It was a proper cat-fight when Clay County faced off against Grafton on Friday. The Clay County Panthers fell 64-57 to the Grafton Bearcats. Despite 104 more yards than the Bearcats, the Panthers couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Despite the loss, Clay County still got an impressive performance from Noah Collins, who threw for 544 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.5% of his passes, and also rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Collins' passing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 306 passing yards dating back to last season. Jakoby Nichols did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 136 receiving yards.
Even if they lost, Clay County's defensive line still kept up the pressure with three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut James Grose. He also made seven total tackles, which is notable because Clay County is 3-1 when he posts at least four total tackles, but 1-2 otherwise.
A big part of Grafton's win came down to the chemistry between Cam Foley and his top target Dillan America. Foley threw for 373 yards and eight touchdowns while picking up 11.7 yards per attempt while America picked up 217 receiving yards and five touchdowns. America continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Grafton also got a significant boost from Cash Nestor, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 143 yards.
Clay County's loss dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Grafton, their victory bumped their record up to 2-5.
Clay County will be playing in front of their home fans against Poca at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Poca is coming into the match with three straight defeats on the road, meaning Clay County will have to defend against a squad hungry for a win. As for Grafton, they will venture away from home to square off against Buckhannon-Upshur at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Grafton is facing Buckhannon-Upshur at the right time seeing as Buckhannon-Upshur is stuck on an eight-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
