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Clarke Prep wins 57-20 The Clarke Prep School Gators took care of business this past Friday night as they dispatched the Patriots of Pike Liberal Arts 57-20 at Hamilton Field in the first round of the AISA Class AAA playoffs. The Gators scored on all nine possessions they had in the contest as they completely over-powered the team from Troy. Jason Gates recovered a PLA fumble at the CPS 37-yard, after the Patriots had one play on their first drive. Clarke Prep's offense needed just six plays to hit paydirt, aided by a 41-yard burst from Brett Bradford, as quarterback J.D. Powell capped the drive with a 3-yard keeper. The attempt sailed wide but the Gators had a 6-0 lead with 8:44 left in the first period. After forcing the Patriots to turn the ball over on downs the Gator offense got the ball back at the PLA 38-yard line. Powell flipped a 14-yard pass to Chad Dickinson for the touchdown. The try for two came up short as CPS took a 12-0 with 3:39 left in the stanza. The Patriots answered as they drove 66-yards in 10 plays with Jerel Foster diving in from 2-yards outs to cap the drive. The kick sailed wide left, but Pike Liberal had cut the lead in half 12-6 with 10:51 left before halftime. It took just three plays for the Gators to make up the points as Taylor Becton sprang free for a 54-yard touchdown. Hunter Mayton kicked the PAT and CPS had a 19-6 lead with 9:35 left in the second quarter. The Patriots tried to get back into the contest but their potential scoring drive was halted at the CPS 14-yard line when Chad Dickinson recovered a PLA fumble. From there Clarke Prep took to the air as Powell connected with Becton for 30-yards, Dickinson for 10-yards and Tanner Tucker for 24-yards. The drive stalled at the 14-yard line when Mayton was called on to convert the 31-yard field goal, making it 22-6 to close out the first half's scoring. Clarke Prep had the first possession of the second quarter. On the second play Bradford found daylight and raced 56- yards for the Gator touchdown. Mayton made the point-after try, increasing the lead to 29-6 with 11:05 to play in the period. The following Patriot possession came to an end when Dickinson intercepted a pass at the Gator 20-yard line. Near midfield Powell tossed a screen pass to Becton who raced 46-yards for the next CPS score. Mayton was true with his kick and the Gators led 36-6 with 5:03 left in the third quarter. The Patriots answered the touchdown when Foster scored on a 3-yard run. Foster also ran in the 2-point conversion making it 36-14. As the period came to a close CPS increased their lead when Bradford powered in from 3- yards out and Mayton kicked the PAT, making it 43-14. On the ensuing kickoff PLA fumbled and Austin Lee Crawford cradled the loose pigskin at the 39-yard line. After Powell hit Dickinson with a 33-yard completion, Becton capped the drive with a 3-yard run. Powell ran for the 2-point conversion, increasing the lead to 51-14 with 11:32 left in the game. Randy Nichols closed out the scoring for the Gators with a 6- yard run with 3:28 left in the game. The attempt failed, leaving the score at 57-14. On the game's final play Foster found the endzone with a 2-yard TD, making the final score 57-20 in favor of Clarke Prep. Becton led all rushers with 171 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 81 yards and a score. Bradford had 143 yards on 11 carries and two scores. Nichols added 45 yards on four carries with a TD. Powell was 7-of-8 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Dickinson caught three passes for 57 yards and a score. Tucker caught two passes for 40 yards. Foster paced the Patriot offense with 118 yards on 25 carries and three scores. The Gators (9-2) now advance to the semi-finals of the playoffs this week as they host the Rams of Faith (8-3) Academy. Faith beat Glenwood 27-18 last week. It is a rematch of the second week of the season in a game that the Gators won 43-35.
Game time at Hamilton Field is 7 p.m.
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