Indians hold on for one-point victory over the Lions

A failed two point attempt proved to be the difference in a Class 2A, District 2 battle between Clear Lake and Forest City Friday night, Sept. 24. The Indians held on to post a 20-19 victory and move to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the district.

“It’s been the story of our season unfortunately - too many mental mistakes,” said Coach Jared DeVries, whose team dropped to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in Class 2A District 2 play.  “The kids executed better, but there were too many costly mental mistakes.  We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, making costly errors at critical times.

The Lions started the game confidently and made the Indians pay for a short punt into the wind which gave them the ball at the Forest City 44.  In just three plays Clear Lake found pay dirt and went ahead 6-0.  The touchdown came on a 46-yard TD pass from Thomas Storbeck to Drew Enke.  The extra point kick was blocked.

After the Lion defense kept the Indians out of the red zone, Forest City punter Easton Jacobs pinned the Lions deep in their own territory with a boot to the nine-yard line.  A holding penalty on Clear Lake backed the team up to the four and on fourth down the Lions lined up for a punt.  Trickery did not catch the Indians off guard, as they tackled punter Zach Lester at the 18.  They knotted the score at 6-6 seconds later.

Another touchdown pass early in the second quarter, this time a 28-yard launch to Cody Matz sprinting down the center of the field, lifted the Lions, 12-6. The extra point kick by Aaron Canchola made the margin 13-6.

Forest City was forced to punt on their next possession, but this time Jacobs misfired.  The kick went off his foot and traveled just 13-yards.  The Lions got the ball at the Indian 40, but were unable to take advantage of good field position.

The 13-6 Lion lead held up through halftime, thanks to an incredible interception by Zach Lester.  Lester recorded his seventh pick of the season while laying on the ground.  Luke Johnson’s pass was tipped and fell into his hands on the Lion four-yard line.  Clear Lake rode out the final ticks of the clock and went into the locker room with a touchdown lead.

In the second half the Indians began looking for running room on the outside and they found it early on.  They moved the ball from their own 19 to the Lion 32 before they were forced to punt.  For the second time Jacobs pinned the Lions deep.  An offensive series which started on the one-yard line ended abruptly when Storbeck was intercepted.  An Indian TD and successful two-point conversion put them on top for the first time in the game, 14-13.

Seconds into the fourth quarter the Indians tacked on another score.  Forest City moved the ball 81-yards on 12 plays.  The two-point try was no good, putting them ahead 20-13.

The Lions, who had out-gained the Indians 112 to 20 in the third quarter, started the fourth with a strong drive.  Starting on their own 35, they took the ball to the end zone on 12 plays.  A five-yard pass to Lester resulted in the score.  The Clear Lake coaching staff elected to go for the two-point conversion, which would give them the lead.  Storbeck went back to Lester on the follow-up, but flags flew when the ball fell incomplete.  The Indian penalty moved the ball to the one and one-half yard line for the follow-up attempt.  This time Storbeck handed off to Kyle Calaguas, but he was stopped short of the goal line and the score remained in Forest City’s favor, 20-19.

Coach DeVries said that although hindsight is 20:20, he does not regret his decision to go for two points and the lead, rather than a tie.  “Especially with the penalty moving the ball half the distance to the goal, I would still make the decision to run the ball,” he said.

The Indians hoped to run out the final four-minutes and collect the win, but the Lion defense did its job and got the ball back with 3:22 remaining.  Although deep in their own territory, Storbeck connected on passes to Nick Eggers, Lester and Ryan Atkinson and were nearing mid-field as the clock ticked down.  The Indians stopped Clear Lake’s momentum suddenly with a  interception at mid-field.

The Lion defense rose up determined to give the ball back to their offense for a final attempt to score, and they did just that.  The Indians were forced to turn the ball over on downs, giving the Lions the ball on their own 27.

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