Southeast Raleigh holds off Clayton in high school football game of the week

RALEIGH

With some of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the greater Raleigh area on both sides of the ball on Friday in a Greater Neuse River 7A conference showdown, it was instead a fourth-quarter defensive stand that sealed Southeast Raleigh’s thrilling 22-19 victory over Clayton.

Southeast Raleigh’s defense, which had already yielded three scores to Clayton’s Aiden Smalls-led offense, buckled down in the final two minutes.

The Comets took over on downs at their own 32 with just over two minutes to play, trailing by three. Smalls found Noah Smith to push his team to its own 43, but with less than a minute to play the Bulldogs’ Cyrus Gunther came up with his team’s second interception of the night on Smalls, sealing an important home win.

With the victory, Southeast Raleigh improves to 2-1 in conference play and 5-2 overall.

The loss for Clayton is its second of the season, and first in conference play, which drops the Comets into a tie with Southeast Raleigh, both in the Greater Neuse River 7A standings and overall.

Southeast Raleigh took its first lead of the game Friday midway through the third quarter. Set up near midfield by a Keysaun Eleazer interception, the Bulldogs drove deep into Clayton territory on the back of two long runs from James Adams IV, the first to the Clayton 22, the second to the Comets’ 9-yard line.

A few plays later the Bulldogs barrelled into the end zone. Despite a second missed PAT, Southeast Raleigh grabbed a two-point lead at 15-13.

The Bulldogs extended their lead late in the third quarter. After N.C. State-bound running back Christian Freeman rumbled down to the Clayton 1-yard line, Southeast Raleigh punched the ball over the line. A successful PAT pushed the home team’s lead to two scores at 22-13.

Smalls, also an N.C. State commit, led Clayton to within a score at 22-19 after he scampered 9 yards to the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.

N.C. State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren was at the game Friday, with a pair of offensive recruits squaring off against one another.

Low-scoring first half

After missing a field goal early, Clayton got on the board first anyway when Smalls found DeAngelo Ruffin for a 62-yard catch-and-run late in the first quarter. Nate Lunger’s PAT put the visitors on top, 7-0.

The Bulldogs replied quickly, completing a 67-yard pass on the next series. Their two-point conversion failed, though, and the Comets retained a one-point lead.

Clayton turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, but the Comets’ defense picked up its offense immediately when Daniel Lovelace-Davis picked off a Southeast Raleigh pass and returned it to the Bulldogs’ 15. Smalls then found TJ Campbell for a second passing score, pushing the Clayton lead back to 13-6.

Southeast Raleigh pulled back to within four points at 13-9 with a 20-yard field goal that closed out the first half.

The Bulldogs return to action next week on the road at Smithfield-Selma. Clayton will regroup at home against South Garner.