HPCA looks to ride defense to more success
BY GREER SMITH
ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — WIth a combination of stout defense, solid play from first-time quarterback Chance Clency and two big offensive plays by Lance Boykin, High Point Christian scratched out a 14-7 win over Cannon on Friday.
HPCA head coach Scott Bell expects his defense, which held Cannon in check for all but two series, to be a key to success for the 5-1 Cougars while former fullback Clency continues to develop. He switched positions as replacement for Caleb Homol, who suffered a season-ending injury Sept. 29 in a loss to Charlotte Christian.
“Our defense last year gave up 6 points per game, the year before that it was like 5.5,” Ball said. “Our defense has always been solid but we’ve had offensive weapons. You take the quarterback away, it makes it harder. The first play tonight, they put nine in the box. It makes it really hard to run against the run. It makes us more one-dimentional.”
Unlike the wide-open offense Homol directed, Bell chose a conservative game plan for Clency. HPCA threw only when needed, particularly in second half when most of the offense revolved around Boykin and Clency running.
“What I would like to is work with Chance so we can throw it a little more next week,” Bell said.
Clency didn’t have huge numbers, with just short of 70 yards both passing and running as
Homol looked on from a wheelchair.but Clency only committed one big error, a bad exchange on a handoff that resulted in a fumble that Cannon recovered inside the HPCA 10. The Cougars then came up with its biggest stand of the game, stuffing Cannon quarterback Chris Nelson on 4-and-goal frominside the 5.
“Knowing we can’t stretch the ball down the field and thatwe can’t throw it too often or tow effectively, he did a good job of managing the game,” Ball said. “I’m proud of Chance and what he did tonight. As time goes forward and we work with him, we should be able to do more.”
Ball said he picked Clency as quarterback because of his knowledge of the offense.The Cougars did struggle with his cadence which resulted a repeated false start penalties.
“He knows all the blocking schemes, the check packages so I felt he could manage the game better than anyone else,” Ball said. Cannon, coached by for mer Ledford standout Brad Hoover, took advantage of HPCA’s limited offense to keep it largely in check for all by two possessions.
“They are a gritty team,” Ball said, “Brad Hoover does a good job coachingthat team. They alway play tough on defense. They knew my quarterback wasout. I knew they would stack the box. Cannon did a great job with a great plan. Fortunately, we put 14 points on the board and that was enough.”
HPCA’ s first touchdown came o a 23-yard pass frombClency to Boykin, The second one, which was the game winner, came on a 66-yard run by Boykin, who also starred on defense with two interceptions..
“I knew they were going to key on him as most teams have,” Ball said. “And when your quarterback is down, that just makes it more difficult for Lance to make play in space.”
Cannon couldn’t run the ball as it did in four of its first six games. The visiting Cougars wound up throwing on almost every play but rarely put together a consistent attack.nCannon scored on a 10-yard run by Nelson that was set up by.a 45-yard pass completion. Nelson’s other long completion generated an earlier threat, which ended in a missed field goal.
“We thought we would be able to move the ball at times fairly well,.” Hoover said. “It comes down a chess game and making adjustments. We did to a certain extentbut not well enough.”
Once HPCA putthe go-ahead scoreon the board in the third quarter, Clency attempted just three passes, all in long yardage situations.
“I trusted the defense,” Ball said. “I tried to run the clock,not make any mistakes, not throw any
interception. Looking at his face, I knew he was tired because he al so pl ayed almost every play on defense. I tried to shorten the game and have the defense keep us in the game.”
BY GREER SMITH
ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — WIth a combination of stout defense, solid play from first-time quarterback Chance Clency and two big offensive plays by Lance Boykin, High Point Christian scratched out a 14-7 win over Cannon on Friday.
HPCA head coach Scott Bell expects his defense, which held Cannon in check for all but two series, to be a key to success for the 5-1 Cougars while former fullback Clency continues to develop. He switched positions as replacement for Caleb Homol, who suffered a season-ending injury Sept. 29 in a loss to Charlotte Christian.
“Our defense last year gave up 6 points per game, the year before that it was like 5.5,” Ball said. “Our defense has always been solid but we’ve had offensive weapons. You take the quarterback away, it makes it harder. The first play tonight, they put nine in the box. It makes it really hard to run against the run. It makes us more one-dimentional.”
Unlike the wide-open offense Homol directed, Bell chose a conservative game plan for Clency. HPCA threw only when needed, particularly in second half when most of the offense revolved around Boykin and Clency running.
“What I would like to is work with Chance so we can throw it a little more next week,” Bell said.
Clency didn’t have huge numbers, with just short of 70 yards both passing and running as
Homol looked on from a wheelchair.but Clency only committed one big error, a bad exchange on a handoff that resulted in a fumble that Cannon recovered inside the HPCA 10. The Cougars then came up with its biggest stand of the game, stuffing Cannon quarterback Chris Nelson on 4-and-goal frominside the 5.
“Knowing we can’t stretch the ball down the field and thatwe can’t throw it too often or tow effectively, he did a good job of managing the game,” Ball said. “I’m proud of Chance and what he did tonight. As time goes forward and we work with him, we should be able to do more.”
Ball said he picked Clency as quarterback because of his knowledge of the offense.The Cougars did struggle with his cadence which resulted a repeated false start penalties.
“He knows all the blocking schemes, the check packages so I felt he could manage the game better than anyone else,” Ball said. Cannon, coached by for mer Ledford standout Brad Hoover, took advantage of HPCA’s limited offense to keep it largely in check for all by two possessions.
“They are a gritty team,” Ball said, “Brad Hoover does a good job coachingthat team. They alway play tough on defense. They knew my quarterback wasout. I knew they would stack the box. Cannon did a great job with a great plan. Fortunately, we put 14 points on the board and that was enough.”
HPCA’ s first touchdown came o a 23-yard pass frombClency to Boykin, The second one, which was the game winner, came on a 66-yard run by Boykin, who also starred on defense with two interceptions..
“I knew they were going to key on him as most teams have,” Ball said. “And when your quarterback is down, that just makes it more difficult for Lance to make play in space.”
Cannon couldn’t run the ball as it did in four of its first six games. The visiting Cougars wound up throwing on almost every play but rarely put together a consistent attack.nCannon scored on a 10-yard run by Nelson that was set up by.a 45-yard pass completion. Nelson’s other long completion generated an earlier threat, which ended in a missed field goal.
“We thought we would be able to move the ball at times fairly well,.” Hoover said. “It comes down a chess game and making adjustments. We did to a certain extentbut not well enough.”
Once HPCA putthe go-ahead scoreon the board in the third quarter, Clency attempted just three passes, all in long yardage situations.
“I trusted the defense,” Ball said. “I tried to run the clock,not make any mistakes, not throw any
interception. Looking at his face, I knew he was tired because he al so pl ayed almost every play on defense. I tried to shorten the game and have the defense keep us in the game.”
