Shamrock hosts Clarendon in District 2-2A Div. II duel on Friday night
There are important games with playoff implications all across the state at this point of the season.
One of those games will be played in Shamrock at 7 p.m. Friday when the Irish host the Clarendon Broncos in a District 2-2A Division II matchup that could shake up the standings.
After an intense battle last fall that ended with a 42-41 victory by Clarendon, the Irish are looking to avenge that loss while the Broncos are aiming to begin their district schedule with four straight wins.
"Shamrock is going to be a tough game for us," Clarendon coach Clint Conkin said. "They're a tough team, and I think our guys are playing well right now. It should be a fun atmosphere and a good game with a lot of playoff implications on the line. They're in a spot where if they can knock us off they can move into second-place. If we can win, then we set ourselves up for a district title matchup with Wellington."
Clarendon is led by senior playmaker and Texas Tech commit Jmaury Davis and junior Lyric Smith. The pairing have had great showings throughout the season and are a tough duo to stop for any defense.
Conkin has also been impressed this season with the play of junior quarterback Harrison Howard and the undersized line on the offensive side. The Broncos have averaged 37.0 points per game through eight contests and are riding a six-game winning streak as they travel to Shamrock.
Clarendon has scored more than 40 points in each of those six games and will be looking for another standout performance on that side of the ball this week in what’s expected to be a rainy and cold environment.
"We have to get out to a good start and keep playing for four quarters," Conkin said. "We can't let up because Coach (Jeff) Caffey is going to have his guys playing for four quarters no matter what the score is. If we get a chance to get up, we can't let off the gas. It should be a fun one."
Shamrock will rely on their strong linebacker corps to limit the Clarendon offense. The Irish have outscored their last two district opponents Wheeler and Quanah by a combined score of 90-13 and have allowed only one score in four of their eight games.
Offensively, the Irish are led by senior running back Caden Peevey and senior quarterback Kit Macina.
Peevey is one of the top rushers in the region, who has 1,058 yards and 18 touchdowns. He is averaging a whopping 11.3 yards per rush and has five games where he has finished with over 100 rushing yards.
Macina is a dual-threat option that has solid receiving targets in juniors Braxton Allen, Rodney Holmes and Terry Menefield. One player that has really impressed Caffey this season is senior Hunter Stroope, who has 286 yards of total offense and five touchdown scores.
"Our players feel like we can compete," Caffey said. "We're playing really good team ball right now. We've got to limit their big plays and not let them hit the big one for us to have a chance. I think if we limit turnovers then we're able to have good game management on the coaching side, and I think that would be a huge plus for us."
Shamrock scored 28 points in the fourth quarter of last year's meeting and pushed an eventual 10-win district champion Clarendon team to the brink. It was a large step forward for an Irish team that has not endured much success prior to Caffey in the past decade.
The two teams meet again on Friday night for what is another highly-anticipated rivalry matchup.
"I think this is going to be a good, hard-fought game," Caffey said.
CLARENDON AT SHAMROCK
District 2-2A Division II Football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: El Paso Field, Shamrock
Records: Clarendon 6-2, 3-0; Shamrock 6-2, 2-1
Coverage: Follow @ShawnMoranNews on Twitter for live updates, plus post game video, stories and photos to appear on amarillo.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Shamrock hosts Clarendon in District 2-2A Div. II duel on Friday night
