McCombs: Seahawks' Clark finally in spotlight for play on the field
In a key moment in a tense football game that seemed to be full of key moments, Hilton Head Island’s DeAngelo Clark shook off all the baggage he may have been carrying this season and delivered.
In the annual matchup with rival Bluffton High School on Friday, the Seahawks, trailing 7-6 in the fourth quarter, had driven to the Bobcats’ 22 where they found themselves with a decision to make on fourth down with a long yard to go.
Seahawks head coach B.J. Payne didn’t hesitate, hardly even considering running out a kicker. Savannah Reier had a PAT blocked earlier in the quarter and Thomas Farrell had come up short on a long field goal attempt. Maybe kicking never even entered his mind.
Instead the Seahawks lined up in the Wildcat formation with Clark at quarterback.
“Get the first, get the first,” Payne yelled from the sideline, worried Clark might be focused on the big play when all the Seahawks needed was a yard.
Clark made Payne’s exclamations look silly, busting through a pair of arm tackles close to the line before breaking into the open and sprinting for the go-ahead touchdown.
“He’s got an uncanny ability to make people miss and to keep his legs going and to spin off of people,” Payne said. “That’s something he does really well.”
Only a few short weeks ago, it wasn’t clear Clark would get to put that ability to use. The senior transfer from Hilton Head Christian Academy found his eligibility questioned when the Island Packet reported that despite the Clarks’ move to the island, Clark’s mother Alina Hamilton-Clark still held her school board seat in Jasper County.Clark’s eligibility, which required his entire family’s residence on Hilton Head Island, and his mom’s school board seat, which required her residence in Jasper County, were mutually exclusive. Both couldn’t be true.
But before a hearing to determine the validity of Hamilton-Clark’s board seat, which could have sank her son’s eligibility in the eyes of the S.C. High School League, she resigned.
Clark said it never crossed his mind that things wouldn’t work out.
“Nah, my mom, she’s a pretty smart lady,” Clark said. “She made the right move.”
Still, there are likely those who don’t believe Clark should be playing for Hilton Head Island. It would have been easy for Clark to have let the whispers get to him.
But he didn’t.
“It’s a big game. The off-the-field stuff doesn’t matter,” Clark said. “I just kept my head on straight and tried to focus on what needed to be focused on. We’ve got a good team, a really good squad. I think we can make it.”
Payne wasn’t surprised it was Clark who came through with the big play.
“He’s a very good football player,” Payne said. “He’s a great kid, he comes from a great family. He’s truly a great kid. For him to have some opportunities to step it up in a big game was great.”
Clark’s numbers in the Seahawks’ 12-7 win weren’t Herculean -- eight carries for 79 yards, including the 22-yard scoring rumble, and two catches for 12 yards. But he came up big at the right time.
“We make plays. That’s what we do,” Clark said. “But my front line, they did great. I told them just give me an extra push. And I busted it open for a touchdown.”
Clark insisted it didn’t matter that he was the one to score the touchdown. It could have been anybody. As long as somebody did.
“We’ve got other running backs that can do the same things as me, other receivers that can do the same things as me, so it doesn’t matter who gets the ball,” he said. “It’s about getting that W.”
As the Seahawks were gathered on the field, a young boy ran up to Clark and said, “Thank you, thank you for that,” as he gave him a high five and scampered back into the crowd.
Clark continued to exchange congratulations with teammates and fans alike as he took in the post-victory scene.
“It feels good,” he said, smiling. “Let’s do it some more.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2014 at 12:33 AM with the headline "McCombs: Seahawks' Clark finally in spotlight for play on the field."