WEST LIMESTONE — The Wildcats could do no wrong against Clements, putting on a strong performance in front of their home crowd Friday night en route to a 48-7 victory.
From the opening kickoff, which resulted in a Colts turnover and gave immediate pop to the crowd at James Kennemer Stadium, West Limestone asserted its dominance.
The Wildcats scored on their first three possessions to take a 20-0 lead after 12 minutes.
“We came out and competed — got some momentum going our way early — but we’ve still got some things we need to clean up,” West Limestone coach Shelby Davis said. “Our offense makes me nervous because we throw it so much, but we’ve got a quarterback who can throw it and receivers who can make plays.”
Travis McCluskey scored the first points of the season for the Wildcats on a 1-yard plunge — the first of three touchdowns for the sophomore running back. He claimed another rushing score and also found the end zone following an electrifying catch and run that covered 55 yards.
Senior signal-caller Brady Crawford distributed the ball equally in fueling a potent passing attack Clements had trouble containing. His top targets were Dawson Mewbourn and Ben Malley, both of whom had receiving touchdowns.
The Colts’ lone score of the game came on a 63-yard run by Davin Holloway. Jake Fleming added 89 yards on 18 carries from the quarterback spot.
“Hats off to Clements for playing hard the whole game,” Davis said. “We hated to give that one up, but we tried to play some young guys there at the end, so it is what it is.”
West Limestone’s Kobe Walker pleased the fans with a late touchdown on a 35-yard run.
“The people in the stands don’t realize how much the kids feed off them,” Davis said. “I challenge them every week to get behind us and every week they show up — good, bad and ugly.”
Clements coach Brick Pugh, making his debut with the program, tipped his cap to the home team.
“Some stuff just didn’t go our way tonight,” he said. “West (Limestone) did a good job at taking advantage of those opportunities we gave them. We just could never catch up with them.”
West Limestone hosts East Lawrence next week. Clements, meanwhile, welcomes in Ardmore.