CLINTON — The Knights of West Bladen needed their “A” game on Friday when they visited the Dark Horses of Clinton, but the hosts made sure that wasn’t possible — shutting down and shutting out the visitors 50-0 in a Four County Conference matchup.

The loss drops West Bladen to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in conference, while Clinton improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference.

The Dark Horses needed just three quarters to score 50 points and get the clock running continually, zipping through the fourth quarter and to a victory.

The bulk of Clinton’s offense came from junior runningback Ryheem Skinner, who rushed for three touchdowns and 272 yards on just 15 carries. All three of his touchdown runs were of 65 yards or more through the Knights’ defense.

The Dark Houses went up 14-0 in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard rushing touchdown by Tyion Wright and an 18-yard touchdown passes from Kris Williams to Jeremiah Pope.

That lead was more than doubled in the second quarter when Williams hit Jonathan Wright with a 36-yard touchdown pass, then Skinner broke loose for a 67-yard rushing touchdown.The PAT and two-point conversion gave Clinton a 29-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Dark Horses put the game away with three touchdowns — a 65-yard run by Skinner, a 13-yard run by Rayquan Faison and a 74-yard run by Skinner — extending the margin to 50 points.

West Bladen sniffed Clinton territory only once. That came as the first half was closing when a penalty helped move the ball to the Dark Horses’ 35, but the half ended on an interception before any real threat could develop.

B.J. Drake led the Knights’ ground game with 48 yards on seven carries, while Malique McDowell had 47 yards on 13 carries and James Moore ran for 44 yards on eight carries.

West Bladen will host Midway on Friday at 7:30 p.m. for Senior Night.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com