In a hard-fought Carter County battle, Hampton had enough to take the second round.
Conor Jones scored five touchdowns to power the Bulldogs to a 44-14 win over a determined Cloudland in nonconference action. Hampton improves to 6-0 on the season while Cloudland falls to 4-3.
It was a hard-hitting affair on both sides from the opening kick.
The Cloudland defense put the ‘Landers on the board first as Caleb Sluder had as scoop and score that covered 96 yards. Gage McKinney caught a pass from Chase Shell to add the two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs, however, shook off the turnover and went back to work with a 15-play drive that covered 71 yards and ended in the second quarter as Jones scored on a 14-yard run with 9:40 left in the first half. The junior quarterback added the two-point conversion.
After the Hampton defense stopped a Cloudland drive in Bulldog territory with a Dylan Trivett interception, the Bulldogs moved efficiently as Jones hit Morgan Lyons for a 29-yard touchdown with 3:40 remaining in the half. Michael Harrison added the extra point.
Cloudland was unable to recover a loose ball on the ensuing kick, and Hampton struck on the very next play as Jonathan Greenwell caught a 34-yard pass from Jones for the touchdown.
Hampton pushed the lead to 29-8 with just over a minute as Jones ran in from 11 yards out.
The Bulldogs opened the second-half scoring on the opening possession as Jones found Ryan Crumley for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
Cloudland, however, wasn’t going down without a fight.
Gage McKinney picked up the ensuing kick and broke free for a 91-yard return for the score to close the gap.
The teams traded possessions over the rest of the quarter and first part of the fourth quarter – including an interception from Sluder. Hampton got back on the board with just under seven minutes to play as Aiden Vines scored on a 24-yard run and then added the two-point conversion.
The ‘Landers continued to battle as they marched to the Hampton 1 before a fumble ended the drive and allowed Hampton to run out the clock.
Jones finished the game with 16 carries for 117 yards while going 10-of-15 for 195 yards. Vines tallied 15 carries for 56 yards while adding 58 receiving yards. Lyons also had 58 yards receiving.
Cloudland saw Seth Birchfield finish with 105 yards on 20 carries. Shell added 37 yards to the ‘Lander cause.
For more photos, click here. Senior night gallery posted below.
Game-Action Gallery
Senior Night Gallery
