FORT CAMPBELL, KY (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Academy Cougars traveled to Fryar Stadium for a Thursday night football matchup with the Fort Campbell Falcons. The Cougars dominated from start to finish and won 45-0 to improve their record to 2-0 on the season, highlighted by a three-touchdown performance from Jayden Ladner.
After a quick opening drive stop from Clarksville Academy’s defense, their offense got to work, with Jayden Ladner scoring from five yards out on the ground. Devin Cheek followed suit with his own rushing touchdown on the next drive, and the Cougars jumped out to a 14-0 lead as the first quarter closed.
Both defenses tightened up to make stops after that, but the Cougars got two more scores on the board before the break: Ladner found paydirt for the second time, and Andrayas Scott caught a strike from quarterback CJ Snodgrass in the corner of the endzone to extend their lead to 25-0. Scott led the Cougars with six catches for 85 yards.
“It feels good to see these kids playing with a lot of passion and fire for the game,” said Cougar head coach Steadman Bell. “It’s just been preparation; these guys have prepped themselves well, and it’s a very player-led team. These guys have great chemistry, and it showed on the field tonight.”
| SCOREBOARD: Check out scores from every Clarksville-area football team
The second half kicked off with Kaleb Settles returning a kick to the house on the first play. Ladner completed his hat trick of rushing touchdowns on the next drive, and Josh Reed ended off the scoring with a touchdown rush for himself, putting an exclamation point on a big win for the Cougars in Fryar Stadium.
“Kudos to Clarksville Academy, they have a great group of guys,” said Falcons head coach Henry Mitchell. “Every time we had momentum, we had a bad snap or penalty. That’s not how you win football games. We have to keep pushing on, be disciplined, and realize that the scoreboard is not indicative of what this team is. We have to get back to playing Falcon football.”
As for the Cougars, it’s the first time they’ve been 2-0 since 2022, and they’ve already matched their season win total from last year.
While Bell is celebrating the victory, he knows there’s more work to be done, as region play begins next week. “We have to keep the main thing the main thing,” said Bell. “It’s great to get a win, my dad always told me they’re not guaranteed, so we want to enjoy it. 2-0 is fun, but we have to have a short-term memory, cause it only gets tougher from here on out. Love these guys and love how they’re playing right now.”
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