Clay meets East Ridge in bowl at South Laurel

MANCHESTER, Ky. — After a tough loss to Harlan County, Clay County will look to take another step forward this week as the Tigers turn their attention to East Ridge.

Clay County led Harlan County 14-12 at halftime before falling behind in the second half. Even after facing a 27-14 deficit, the Tigers answered with a touchdown and remained within one score the rest of the way.

Tiger head coach Mike Sizemore saw plenty of positives in the opener but said improvement remains the focus.

“We want to continue to show improvement at several areas, and we always keep the fundamentals at the heart of what we are trying to do,” Sizemore said. “So, we are going to continue to work on taking correct steps, correct angles, tackling, block shedding, and all the other characteristics and skills that really determine if you're going to have success on the field.”

Sizemore said the Tigers will use lessons from the opener to prepare for Friday.

“I am proud of our guys in our Week 1 game, and we are ready to take the things that we need to work on into practice this week and see if we can improve on them before Friday night comes around,” Sizemore said.

East Ridge will present a different challenge for the Clay County defense.

“They have a very unique offense,” Sizemore said. “It's a little unorthodox from what you see on most Friday nights, and they have done a good job running their scheme this early in the season. We have got to be ready to get lined up and put it all on the line to be able to slow them down.”

East Ridge's defense will also test the Tigers.

“Defensively, they get after you pretty good in an odd front, so our kids have to have a great week of practice after playing a tough, hard-fought game on Friday night and be ready to strap it up and play another tough game this week,” Sizemore said.

Offensively, Clay County will look to build on an encouraging opener that included success through the air and on the ground. Running back Weston Bowling scored twice against Harlan County.

Sizemore believes his team has the mentality to improve throughout the season.

“I like this team this year and I feel they have the intangibles to get better from week to week if they keep the main thing the main thing,” Sizemore said. “We want to come out and be excited to play, make sure we are getting our calls and alignments correct and then go out and execute to the best of our ability for four quarters.”

Friday's game will be another neutral-site contest, with Clay County and East Ridge meeting at South Laurel High School in London.

“When you wear that Clay County on your jersey, and have had a little bit of success, you're going to get everyone's best shot every week you play,” Sizemore said.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.