Class 6A second-ranked Clay-Chalkville used a wide-open offense and hungry defense to down Pell City 47-7 in the Region 6 opener.

The Cougars (3-0), who were searching for an offensive identity coming into the game, scored on their first four offensive drives.

Jaylen Mbakwe threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Mario Carver on the game’s fifth play then ran wild. The Alabama commit, who accounted for 238 yards of total offense in the first half, scored on runs of 26, 59 and 2 yards.

The Cougars defense kept Pell City (0-3) on its heels most of the first half with DJ Barber, Patrick Smith and Avion Pickett smothering the Panthers rushing attack. Barber added a 23-yard interception for a score.

Leading 40-0 at the half, Clay-Chalkville coach Drew Gilmer played backups for the second half. Quarterbacks Kamari McClellan and Aaron Fyre ran the second half offense with McClellan firing a touchdown pass.

Pell City, which hadn’t scored in its last three meetings with the Cougars, scored a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the game.

Play of the Game: On the fifth play of the game, Jaylen Mbakwe hit Mario Carter on a 44-yard touchdown pass and the offensive explosion was underway for the Cougars.

By the numbers: Pell City scored a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the game. The score was the first for the Panthers in 16 quarters against Clay-Chalkville.  Quarterback Nikita Getmanshchuk found Zachary Duncan on a 20-yard scoring strike to break the streak.

Game ball: Senior quarterback Mbakwe accounted for 238 total yards and four touchdowns.  He was 7-of-9 passing for 102 yards and one score in the air and rushed six times for 136 yards and three touchdowns in one half of play.

Coachspeak: “It is a big first region win for us. Our offense executed tonight. It is all about getting our athletes in space and we did that tonight.  We are still learning in certain positions.” — Clay-Chalkville coach Drew Gilmer

They said It: “We got overwhelmed. It starts with developing good habits in practice. You can’t make mistakes against a talented team like them. We are still developing and learning. We have to develop the habits in practice.”— Pell City coach Rush Propst

Next: Pell City hosts Center Point.  Clay-Chalkville entertains PInson Valley.