On Friday, October 20, the Karns Beavers faced the Clinton Dragons at Clinton for the last away game of the season. Clinton walked away with the win, defeating the Beavers 48-18. However, the final score doesn’t tell the whole story, as Karns showed many of the same strengths that we have been seeing from them all season. 

Carson Paul struggled with turnovers in this game, throwing 2 interceptions. On the other hand, he also reached a season high for completion percentage with 65.2%. Alex Idol had a great game with 51 total yards and a touchdown reception. The Dragons had trouble stopping him. Team captain Kareem Ellis had some thoughts about how he thought the offense performed this season.

“Our biggest strength is definitely just running the ball straight up the middle,” Ellis said.

On defense, Karns struggled with pass defense, giving up 203 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. Karns did slightly better against the run, only giving up 110 rushing yards. Junior Ethan Bogges was giving Clinton’s quarterback very little time to throw, with 3 quarterback hurries. 

“I think that if we would just play as a team and work together we would be a much better defense.” said junior Alex Idol.

Idol also said that the team struggled with “staying in their gaps and learning how to read a play before it happens.”

Clinton played a very dirty game, with 50 yards in just penalties, compared to just 20 yards for the Beavers. Karns also had four more first downs than the Dragons and more than tripled Clinton’s time of possession. Assistant coach Hunter Fendley had his own opinions on the team as a whole this season.

“One thing we have is that our kids never quit…they kept fighting and played hard.” Fendley said. 

Fendley also said that “a battle that we fought all year was lack of experience,” as we had many players who were in their first year ever as starters. 

Lastly, there are some unofficial superlatives, decided on by Ellis, Idol and Fendley. The unofficial offensive MVP for this season is senior wide receiver Walker Lockhart.

“Definitely Walker Lockhart, he came back from a torn ACL and continued to play hard and make a huge difference in every game,” Ellis said.

The unofficial defensive MVP goes to junior linebacker Hunter Owens. 

“Hunter Owens, our starting linebacker, makes a huge impact every game, even though he’s not the biggest on the field, he’s pretty quick and makes a big difference,” Idol said.

The unofficial Surprise Player of the Year goes to junior lineman Austin Kirk.

“Austin Kirk missed a lot of time last year, but he came back, worked really hard in the offseason, and he had a really good season for us this year,” Fendley said.

The Beavers will play Lenoir City at home on Friday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m. for the last game of the season. The theme is Camo Night, so don’t forget to wear your camouflage! It is also senior night for Karns, so make sure to show up and support the seniors as they play their last game ever for Karns. Go Beavers!