Ava Beats Houston 47-7; Thayer Here Friday for Homecoming

Kyle Clinkingbeard ran for four touchdowns and 233 yards last Friday night at Houston to lead the Ava Bears in 47-7 SCA win over the Tigers.
Cody Wallace scored Ava’s first and final touchdowns of the game, and quarterback Ben Loge scrambled for a 38-yard touchdown run while also kicking five extra points.
Ava’s first score of the night came as a result of a Houston lateral that was fumbled and recovered by Ava on the Tigers’ 30-yard line. After three consecutive runs by Clinkingbeard and one first down, Wallace got the call and took it in from 14 yards out. Loge kicked the extra point to put the Bears on top 7-0.
On the series prior to the Houston fumble, the Tigers had taken the ball to within inches of the goal line but Ava’s defense held and the Bears took over at Ava’s 2-yard line. The Bears punted the ball back to Houston prior to the fumbled lateral.
Ava’s second touchdown came at 7:13 in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Clinkingbeard that concluded a 61-yard drive. Loge’s kick put the Bears up 14-0.
Ava would score again before halftime, on an 11-yard run by Clinkingbeard with 1:43 left. With Loge’s kick the Bears led 21-0 at halftime. That score came on the first play after Houston fumbled the ball and Ava recovered just outside the 10-yard line.
The Bears would take a 35-0 lead in the third quarter on touchdown runs of 4 and 18 yards by Clinkingbeard and two more PATs by Loge. The second score of the quarter which came with 8:24 on the clock resulted from an interception by Wallace at the Houston 36-yard line.
Houston would get its only score of the night with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter.
Houston’s Tyler Smith fielded the Ava kick-off at the Tigers’ 14-yard line and returned it to the Houston 30. Coach David Williams’ Tiger then drove 70 yards, including a 51-yard pass play from quarterback Weston Walker to freshman Ty Wilkins who was finally stopped by Ava at the 6-yard line.
Walker then capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and Rodney Preheim booted the point-after to make it 35-7 after three periods of play.
The Bears began their next scoring drive at the Ava 25-yard line with 10:57 left in the game. The Bears took over on downs after Chance Deal sacked Walker on a 4th-and-10 pass attempt.
The Bears picked up three first downs before Loge scrambled then took off down the far sideline for a 38-yard touchdown run with 7:16 left. After the long sprint, Loge missed his first kick of the evening and the score remained 41-7.
Houston’s next possession was short-lived and the Tigers punted the ball away on fourth down to set up Ava’s final score on the night.
At the conclusion of the runback by Wallace, Houston was flagged for a personal foul giving Ava a first and 10 at the Houston 29-yard line.
Freshman Colton Akers joined Wallace in the Ava backfield and the two of them set up Ava’s final score that would come on an 11-yard run by Wallace with 4:10 remaining. Once again, Loge’s kick failed but the Bears had a 47-7 win salted away.
Clinkingbeard was clearly Ava’s workhorse on the night with 32 carries to his credit. Ava had 311 total yards rushing and nine passing for 320 yards total offense.
Kevin Philpott was the team’s leading tackler with 15. Dillon Adams had 10 tackles and Chance Deal had three tackles for losses.
Wallace had an interception for Ava.
Looking to Thayer this week, Coach Dan Swofford says they are a “good little team” that can both run and pass the ball. The Bobcats are 3-1 on the season with the only loss being to Mtn. View-Liberty. Thayer had the Eagles down in that game but was unable to hold on and win.
This week, which is Homecoming at Silvey Field and C.E. Harlan Stadium, begins a four-week home stand that offsets the grueling road schedule the Bears faced a year ago.
After Thayer, the Bears have Salem on Sept. 30, Liberty on Oct. 7, and Buffalo on Oct. 14. The final two games will be away at Rogersville and Mtn. Grove.
The Bears are 4-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.