COXEY — COXEY – Relying on a stable of running backs, an efficient passing attack and a smothering defense, Tanner rolled to a 62-7 victory in a pre-season jamboree game with cross-county foe Clements on a mildly warm Thursday evening at M.T. Newman Stadium.

The Rattlers, ranked No. 3 in Class 2A after finishing with a school-record 14 wins last season, unleashed 534 yards of total offense and scored nine touchdowns, including seven in the first half.

Senior fullback Kyle Shoulders spearheaded the Rattlers’ prolific rushing attack with nine carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Hayden Stephens scampered for touchdown runs of five yards and 26 yards en route to 89 yards on only six carries.  Fred Rich added two scores and had three runs of nine yards or more. All three did their damage in less than three quarters of work as the Tanner ground game produced 377 yards on 34 carries.

Locked in a hotly contested battle for the Rattlers’ starting quarterback job, sophomore Johnathan Fletcher (5-of-7, 157 yards passing and three carries for 71 yards) and senior Justin Smith both played well while splitting time throughout the first three quarters, according to Tanner head coach Laron White. Fletcher threw a 29-yard TD pass to Greg Maclin (three catches, 69 yards) in the first quarter and a 49-yarder to Desmond Love in the third.

Fletcher also ran 47 yards for the Rattlers’ final touchdown in the third quarter during a blooper-reel type play that began with a high snap that he scooped off the ground. Fletcher then took-off running towards the right sideline, made a beeline through the middle of the field and darted left and right to find the end zone.

“Both of our quarterbacks played well, and they’re making it tough to make a decision on who will be the starting quarterback,” said White, who is entering his tenth season with 91 victories at Tanner. “Johnathan Fletcher uses his feet a little more, while Justin is more of a true passing quarterback. Both of our quarterbacks can play, so we’re going to have to look at the game film and decide who will get the reps as our starting quarterback.

“We’re definitely going to decide on a starter before practice Monday because we have to get ready for game week. Madison Academy is a team that has great players, but we just need to continue to work hard and then we’ll see what happens Thursday.”

The Tanner starting defense, which played less than three quarters, didn’t yield a first down and held Clements to minus 3-yards rushing on 10 attempts in the first half. The Colts’ best first-half drive came on the first series of the second quarter when it faced fourth-and-three from the Tanner 41-yard line as Marcus Mcnaughton threw a dart to Jimmy Marsh near the left sideline, but the Rattlers’ Blake Whitt made a leaping pass breakup

Mcnaughton, who went 8-of-21 for 44 yards with one TD and an interception, and Marsh were able to prevent Tanner’s bid for a shutout with an 11-play drive in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Marsh, who took several snaps at quarterback, started the drive with a 15-yard keeper, Colton Kimbrough ran five times for 19 yards and Mcnaughton hit Austin Sims near the right pylon for a 7-yard TD, with Sims’ PAT making the final score 62-7.

Clements linebacker Christian Wilson recovered a bad snap exchange at the 50-yard line in the fourth quarter and then stopped a Tanner drive deep in Clements territory with a 9-yard tackle for a loss that forced Tanner to punt. Tanner freshman Sydnae Townsend came up with the lone interception of the game when he stopped a Clements drive at the Tanner 20-yard line in the third quarter, while freshman Allen Rios converted eight of nine extra-point attempts for the Rattlers.

The Colts, a 3A school with only 22 players on its roster, took on one of the best small schools in the state to prepare for a brutal Region 8 schedule that includes Lauderdale County, Deshler and Madison Academy.

Tanner, the 2A championship runner-up, will host Madison Academy, the 3A runner-up, 7 p.m. Thursday in the season opener at Rip Swanner Stadium, while Clements hosts county rival West Limestone, a 4A school that went to the second round of the state playoffs in 2011, this Friday at 7 p.m.