Carol City takes out frustrations on American in 45-0 victory

A week after a deflating last-second loss last week to Northwestern that cost it the district title, Carol City took out its frustrations in a 45-0 victory over neighborhood rival American on Thursday night at Traz Powell Stadium.

The win closed out a 5-3 regular season for the Chiefs, who will head north to take on Fort Lauderdale Dillard in the first round of next week’s playoffs with a possible eye on a rematch with Northwestern if they can take care of business.

As the District 13-8A runner-up, American (4-5) is also playoff bound and will take on Columbus at Tropical Park.

“It was tough loss last week but we were able to come out and regroup [Thursday night] and take care of business,” Carol City coach Aubrey Hill said. “It was a quick turnaround week but the way these kids played in all phases of the game [Thursday] will allow us to get past that and get ready for Dillard next week.”

Hill watched his team come out efficient and focused right out of the gate as quarterback Marlon Smith connected two long passes on the team’s opening drive, a 46-yarder to Victor Tucker and a 35-yard touchdown hookup to Kevaughn Dingle for 6-0 lead.

It went to 12-0 on the next possession when Terrence Horne Jr. scored from 12 yards out and became 20-0 early in the second on a 1-yard touchdown run by Camron Davis and ensuing two-point conversion. Following a safety, Davis bolted 41 yards for a score to make it 30-0 at the half.

Davis enjoyed a big night for Carol City, with 78 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns. His third score was an 18-yarder midway through the third quarter that got the running clock going.

“It was time for me to be quiet and be humble and just come out here and work hard for my teammates,” Davis said. “I just gave it my all this week in practice and it showed up on the field [Thursday night]. It was important to just come out here and get this thing done so we can just look ahead and move forward from here and go try and get Dillard next week.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Carol City takes out frustrations on American in 45-0 victory."