CLEARWATER — This looked like Countryside’s moment — its time to break through.
After four losing seasons, the Cougars had offensive weapons and a staunch defense that earned them a pair of wins to open the season. And with the Pride of Clearwater trophy on the line Friday night, an award that’s eluded them for seven years, the stage was set to make a change.
But host Clearwater High had the one advantage that made the difference: the closer’s mentality that comes from consistent success. The Tornadoes buckled down and produced while Countryside buckled, leading to a 26-0 victory and a 3-0 start to Clearwater’s campaign.
The stats bear it out. The Tornadoes were 8-of-11 on third-down conversions and scored two of their touchdowns on third-down plays behind the beyond-his-years execution of sophomore quarterback Jaysean Glenn.
Clinging to a 6-0 lead in the late stages of the first half after Countryside (now 2-1) was thwarted on downs at the 27-yard-line, Glenn confidently went to work. Hitting bruising classmate Daimarion Chambers for a 20-yard, third-down completion set the tone, with Glenn taking a 13-yard run option carry deeper into Cougars territory.
And when faced with a long third-down call at the Countryside 20, Glenn went back to Chambers deep in the left side of the end zone. Leveraging his position, Chambers fended off the defender and hauled in Glenn’s arcing pass with 46.3 seconds left in the half, then ran a perfect post route for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 halftime lead.
“There were a couple of times when (Jaysean) made some reads that we’ve been working on in practice or that he’s been drawing on the white board,” said Clearwater head coach Thor Jozwiak. “Then he sees it on the field and he knows what to do. He’s doing a great job at that.”
Then after a rain-challenged start to the second half punctuated by a pair of interceptions from Cougars safety Kai Johnson, Glenn steadied himself and went to work.
“Whenever I throw a pick or make a bad throw, it makes me want to throw a touchdown,” Glenn said. “And whenever I’m on the ground, whenever I get hit, (my teammates) are furious and it makes them want to play harder.”
Working out those frustrations allowed running back Ke’Mariae Bullard to muscle out some tough yardage and get Clearwater into the red zone, but a holding call threatened the drive. Facing third down from the 8, Glenn calmly rolled to his left and flipped a soft toss to sophomore Kelen Durham for the touchdown, his second straight completion after back-to-back picks, and a crucial 20-0 advantage.
On his squad’s clutch execution, Glenn said: “We just played football. We came back to the stuff that was open in the first half and we executed better. It got the offense running and that’s how we put points on the board.”
And when junior defensive end Marquis Robinson Jr. rang up his third sack of the second half to stop Countryside on downs deep in its own territory, Glenn put the game away two plays later on a savvy 6-yard draw play with five minutes left in the contest.
Robinson and his Tornadoes teammates made life miserable for Cougars quarterback Cam Waddington, someone who set a school record with six touchdowns the week before against Hollins. Whether it was heat from junior Christian Jackson (strip sack and fumble recovery on separate plays) or seniors Nathan Klag, Kevin Williams, and Logan Mattea, Waddington was a marked man as his 12-of-24, 104-yard stat-line would show in Clearwater’s second straight shutout effort.
“I think we just have so much chemistry,” explained Robinson of an effort that produced seven sacks, five other tackles for loss, and a third-quarter Zair Wilburn interception. “When we all play together, we play at a higher level. We lock in.”
“When Marquis makes a big play, everyone on the bench yells, “Duuuuuval!,” said Jozwiak of the former Jacksonville resident. “He’s really coming on strong. We knew he had the ability and he’s really stepped up and made the plays. I’m excited to see him growing into his own success.”
That spelled doom for the Cougars, who started out strong with drives of 12 and 14 plays but couldn’t finish them off. Countryside possessed the ball for almost 16 of the first half’s 24 minutes but went 5-for-18 on late-down plays and never ran a play inside the Tornadoes’ 20.
That kept the rivalry trophy on Gulf to Bay for another year.
“We’re just going to keep coming to practice and working,” junior Ryder Mouzon concluded. “Come to work every day looking to get 1% better.”
