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Cloverdale football falls to 1-1
Cloverdale's football team looked to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2010 and only the third time in the last 20 years when the Clovers took on Clinton Central Friday night.
The hosts tripled their offensive output on the scoreboard from the week prior against Brown County but left themselves too big of a deficit to overcome, falling to the Bulldogs 26-18.
Cloverdale head coach Jarrod Duff said the squad fought hard but wasn't able to overcome a catalog of errors.
"We made a lot of mistakes but I was really proud of how we competed, especially at the end of the first half and in the second half," Duff said. "We suffered some injuries and had to send some kids into different roles that they don't play a lot.
"When we lose a few guys, it changes what we can do but I thought our kids battled."
Clinton Central put the first score of the game up after quarterback Keenan Orr crashed in from three yards out to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Cloverdale scored two plays later after Max Secrest scampered 65 yards on a pass from Brandon Hughes to set up a one-yard surge by Ethan Boyd, cutting the deficit to 7-6.
The Bulldogs responded right away after Orr hit Tyler Burns for a 19-yard score and opened up a 14-point gap when Orr snuck in via the pylon on an eight-yard run four minutes later.
Seeing the game slip away, the hosts got a break when Orr fumbled and Steven Allen recovered the ball on the Clinton Central three-yard line.
Boyd hammered in his second score of the game to bring the Clovers within eight at 20-12.
The lead went back to 14 two plays later when Jalen Moore slipped out of a pileup and flew 45 yards to give Clinton Central a 28-12 lead by the break.
Cloverdale dominated the second half of play but was frequently frustrated in its attempts to turn the advantage into points.
The hosts were stalled out three times inside the Clinton Central 30-yard line, finally breaking through to score with 2:38 left in the game on Boyd's third score of the game, this time from a yard out.
One final chance with under minute to go petered out with an interception that sealed the game for the Bulldogs, giving head coach Isaac Sturgis his first win and sending the Clovers to a 1-1 record.
While the offense gained 356 yards, Duff noted the squad had to continuously battle as it racked up 126 yards in penalties.
"We would shoot ourselves in the foot a lot." Duff noted. "We'd be driving the ball and make a mental mistake like run the wrong way on a play or get a false start and back ourselves up.
"But we kept battling, kept getting back up, we played hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win even though we made those mistakes because we played with heart and determination."
With a trip to Rockville beginning a three-game road swing, Duff said the squad had to be ready for a challenge.
"It's going to be a good challenge," Duff said. "Rockville has a good program and a good group there this year.
"We're going to have our hands full and we've got to have a good week of practice, continue to play the right way and work on the little things."
At Cloverdale
Clinton Central 14 12 0 0 -- 26
Cloverdale 6 6 0 6 -- 18
Scoring
1st Quarter
CC -- 4:59 Orr 3-yard run (Douglass kick) 0-7
CL -- 4:26 Boyd 1-yard run (XP no good) 6-7
CC -- 1:29 Burns 19-yard pass from Orr (Douglass kick) 6-14
2nd Quarter
CC -- 9:24 Orr 6-yard run (XP no good) 6-20
CL -- 5:50 Boyd 3-yard run (Conversion failed) 12-20
CC -- 5:06 Moore 45-yard run (XP no good) 12-26
4th Quarter
CL -- 2:38 Boyd 1-yard run (XP no good) 18-26
Next Game: Cloverdale (1-1) travel to Rockville next Friday.