Published: September 06, 2008 01:13 am            

Pirates right the ship, beat Clarksville

Huge second half sends Pirates to 43-12 win

CLARKSVILLE — It had all the makings of a nightmare, but in the end, the Charlestown football team continued to make dreams come true.

To do it, the Pirates had to recover from a sloppy first half in which they gave up more than half as many turnovers as they did all last season, giving coach Jason Hawkins what he surely wished for on his birthday. After intermission, Charlestown scored the game’s next 37 points in a 43-12 rout of host Clarksville on Friday.

The victory extended Charlestown’s regular-season winning streak to 12 and put it in control of the Mid-Southern Conference standings at 2-0. It also meant a successful reunion for Hawkins, who stepped onto the field at Clarksville for the first time since his father, longtime Generals coach Dennis Hawkins, departed from the Clarksville program in 2004.

“It’s like coming home,” said Hawkins, who also beat the Generals for the second time as a head coach. “You walk in and everyone is saying hello and I did feel different before the game than usual. It probably was part of the reason we started the way we did.”

The Clarksville defense had something to do with it, too.

Drew Farney, also playing quarterback on the offensive end, intercepted Pirate signal-caller Damon Vest on Charlestown’s opening drive of the game, and later in the first quarter provided another highlight-reel defensive play when he yanked the ball from the grasp of Pirate star Cameron Metzger on the tail end of a 40-yard run.

Still, it would take another Pirate miscue to get Clarksville on the board.

Though Clarksville’s ensuing drive stalled after four plays, Farney’s punt hit a Charlestown player and rolled to the Pirate 26-yard line, where it was grabbed by the Generals. Five plays later, Farney rumbled into the end zone from four yards out for the game’s first score.

Charlestown swiftly answered back with a 10-play, 54-yard drive anchored by Metzger. The running back ripped off runs of nine and 18 yards to set up Josh Graham’s four-yard touchdown run.

Following another General punt, the Pirates appeared to be headed for a score that would send them into the locker room with the lead despite their mistakes. But with Charlestown facing a fourth-and-goal from the Clarksville 4, the ball slipped from the hands of Vest into those of Ryan Gibson, who took the recovery 91 yards for a 12-6 General edge.

“I just told the team we didn’t come ready to play,” Hawkins said. “They thought they we’re going to come in and spank Clarksville, but this rivalry isn’t like that. Clarksville came in with a great game plan.”

With Hawkins imploring his team to leave the first half behind, a single play made it easy.

Junior Michael Baines fielded a Farney punt inside Clarksville territory, dashed to the right and found daylight. The result was a 39-yard punt return touchdown that tied the score and breathed new life into the Charlestown attack.

After Metzger’s first touchdown came on a 13-yard run, Farney tried to rally the Generals by hitting freshman receiver Thomas Threatt with a 70-yard bomb to push deep into Charlestown territory. The drive, however, was thwarted when Cory Houser sacked Farney on a fourth-and-goal at the Charlestown 3.

From there, the rout was on, as the Pirates pinned Clarksville back for a safety and took their next possession for a score that made it 29-12. A 30-yard touchdown run from Baines gave Charlestown 16 points in the first 2:39 of the fourth quarter. Eddie Duran then closed the scoring with an 18-yard scamper with less than two minutes to go.

Metzger and Graham dominated the line of scrimmage on a muddy Clarksville field that was pelted by rain throughout. Metzger ended with 258 yards on 28 carries, while Graham finished with 94 yards.

It all added up to an unlikely result with a familiar ending — Charlestown celebrating on the home field of another downed opponent. And this one was maybe a little more special for a longtime part of the Clarksville program touting a new brand on the gridiron.

“The second half,” Hawkins told the assembled Charlestown contingent after the game, “that was Charlestown football.”



CHARLESTOWN 0 6 14 23—43

CLARKSVILLE 0 12 0 0—12



Scoring

2nd quarter

CL — Farney 4 run (kick failed), 9:58

CH — Graham 4 run (pass failed), 5:26

CL — Gibson 91 fumble return (run failed), 0:45.6

3rd quarter

CH — Baines 39 punt return (kick failed), 10:01

CH — Metzger 13 run (Metzger run), 7:21

4th quarter

CH — safety, 11:45

CH — Metzger 10 run (Stephens kick), 10:59

CH - Baines 30 run (Stephens kick), 9:21

CH - Duran 18 run (Stephens kick), 1:30

        

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