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Stafford stomps Cougars Date published: 10/5/2002
If Stafford senior Thomas McClelland didn't have Courtland's full attention before last night's nondistrict game, he earned it in a hurry. All eyes were on McClelland as he fielded the opening kickoff on a hop, worked in behind his wedge of blockers, then busted the play 90 yards down the sideline for a tone-setting score just 17 seconds into the game. The touchdown was the first of five on the night for McClelland, who confounded the Cougars defense all night and equaled the school's single-game scoring mark in the process as the Indians rolled to a 41-13 win. "You know he's going to get the ball, and you just can't stop him," Courtland coach Mike Bishop said. "I asked my defensive coordinator if there was anything we hadn't called yet, and he said we'd called every defense we had. And we couldn't stop them." McClelland came into the game as the Fredericksburg area's leading rusher (621 yards in four games), and he did nothing to jeopardize that claim with last night's performance. The senior gained a season-best 194 yards on 31 carries and scored at least one touchdown in every quarter. McClelland had scoring runs of 2, 3, 4 and 15 yards as Stafford won its fourth straight game and improved to 4-1 for the first time since 1981. "It was just another game with the line pushing people back again and us doing what we do best," McClelland said. "It was the same plan as every other game--just run the football until they force us to pass, and we didn't have to do that tonight." The Indians first two drives ended in missed field goals, but McClelland capped the third possession with a 4-yard burst on a sweep to the left. After a Courtland fumble, the Indians covered 70 yards in 12 plays and led 21-0 before the Cougars had recorded their second first down. Stafford finished with 354 rushing yards, a season high. Tim Sullivan added 54 yards on the ground, Derrick Burton had 45 on three carries and Traveyan Chambliss scored on a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter. "They're awesome," Bishop said. "That's the best team we've seen, no question. They execute so well, it's just amazing. They are just a physical football team. We must have been given up 50 pounds per man to them."
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