DRAMA IN CARTHAGE; Owls fall after Bulldogs tally go-ahead TD in game’s final minute

By Terry Collins Courier Sports

CARTHAGE — The Smith County High Owls football team had their home opener for the 2025 season last Friday night as they hosted Class 1A Clay County.

The two teams met on the gridiron for the first time in 39 years as Clay Co. was coming off a season-opening loss played without starting quarterback Nolan Adams.

Adams, however, returned and led a lethal rushing attack which keyed a 14-7 victory for the visitors from Celina over the Owls which came in dramatic fashion. 

“We battled against a really good Clay County team,” said Smith County High head football coach Matt Dyer. “Coach (Bruce) Lamb is a good coach and does a really good job with his teams. We had a hard time containing both of the Adams kids. We didn’t make plays when we needed to and Clay did. Our guys played hard.”

“We’ll learn a lot from this loss, but it will not define who we are or determine the course of our season. Penalties and turnovers really killed us. We didn’t tackle very well and could not get off of the field enough times on defense. We only ran four plays in the third quarter. ”

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