By Rocky Downing

It was an odd start Friday when Clay Center traveled to Chapman. The Irish fumbled the opening kickoff. But recovered their own fumble and took it 60 yards for an opening TD. The Tigers answered quickly on a 61 yard TD run from Owen Craig. Chapman still led 18-14 late in the 2nd quarter until Cole Pladson’s 18 yard TD gave them the lead 21-18 going into halftime. The Tigers came out in the 2nd half and took over the game; outscoring Chapman 21-0 in the 3rd to go on to a 42-26 final. The Tigers had terrific balance with Pladson throwing for 174 yards with 2 touchdowns and one interception. His favorite target was Walker Henry who had 8 catches for 111 yards. Henry was also a perfect 6-6 on PAT’S. Craig had a big night too with 58 yards rushing and 32 receiving. Weston Hammond who moved to fullback showed up big with 113 yards on 15 carries, Pladson also put up 92 yards on the ground. Hammond, Pladson and Craig each had 2 touchdowns. The Tigers are now (2-2) overall, (2-0) in league play and (1-0) in District. Next up is a road trip to Rock Creek on Friday.