Parker vs Clay: Redemption

Redemption! That is the motto for the Clay Chalkville Cougars all season. The Cougars have been on a dominant tear throughout the state all season long with a perfect record of 12-0 with massive wins over 7A powerhouse Thompson, the Warrior's only loss this season, and a dominant win this past Friday over formerly undefeated Muscle Shoals 44-27. The Cougars look like they are on the path straight to the State Championship game, but a familiar foe stands in the way. With a record of 12-1, the Parker Thundering Herd is coming to town and looking to pull off a second straight year of sending the Cougars home. Last year, the Herd upset the Cougars 7-6 to send the reigning 6A state champions home early. The game was a defensive stalemate with a little over 300 yards of offense combined by both teams. An early missed extra point by the Cougars would be the difference in the game. An upset that shocked the world of high school football last year. Parker sent the reigning. 6A state champions home and left everyone wondering who could possibly win the state title. Clay Chalkville has dominated most of the competition all season to try to get back to state, but the team that sent them home wants to get to state, too. It's a rematch of arguably the two best teams in the state. But these are two very different teams this year. Clay is led by a 5-Star Alabama commit and athlete at Quarterback Jaylen Mbakwe. Mbakwe has led his teams in the big games all season after taking over against Thompson with 168 yards on the ground and 5 TDs to have one of the biggest regular season wins in recent memory in the state. The Cougars have talent all over the field, though, with Oregon commit JacQwan McRoy up front on the offensive line and 4-star speedster Mario Craver at receiver. The Cougars are also loaded on defense, with Auburn committing D’Angelo Barber at linebacker and Arkansas commit Tevis Metcalf in the secondary. Parker has their fair share of talent. Starting up front with the dominating defensive line duo of Auburn commit Jourdin Crawford and Alabama commit Jerimiah Beaman. Also playing both sides for them is 5-star athlete Na’eem Offord. They also have Malik Muhammad lined up at receiver for them and Cameron Jennings lined up at quarterback.

With tons of talent on both sides of the ball, this game will not disappoint. Not only with redemption on the mind for the Cougars but the implications of the winner headed to the State Championship game. Parker is coming believing they can get it done again and head to Bryant Denny Stadium to play for a blue map. Both teams have been battle-tested all season, as alluded to earlier. Parker took down reigning 5A state Champs Ramsay early in the season and downed Mountain Brook late in the season. Clay Chalkville has taken down 7A powerhouse Thompson, Oxford, and Mountain Brook. Let’s look ahead to this Friday. Parker's defense has not given up more than 20 points throughout the first three pounds and came up high in the second-round win over Oxford. Clay-Chalkville's offense is coming off a dominating performance by scoring 47 to pull away against Muscle Shoals. Clay has played some great defenses all year, but this is by far the most talented one yet. They say defense wins the championship, and I believe this game will come down to which defense can stop the other. I wouldn’t be shocked if we say a game like last year's first-round matchup. Can the Cougars achieve their goal of redemption, or will the Herd be headed to Bryant Denny Stadium on December 8th to play for the blue map?

Photo via Butch Dill/AL.com