Lions hitting on all cylinders

(Above) Clear Lake’s Zach Lester picks up some ground yards during Friday night’s game against Hampton-Dumont, while Rhys Glidden looks to make a block.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

Practice makes perfect, they say.  Clear Lake Coach Jared DeVries said his team had their best week of practice.  And sure enough, that was followed by a 51-12 route of Hampton-Dumont Friday night.

“We were hitting on quite a few cylinders,” said DeVries after seeing his team improve to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in Class 2A, District 2.  Hampton-Dumont fell to 0-4, 0-6 despite statistically having one of the best offenses in the district.

Friday night it was the Lions’ offense that shined.  Clear Lake quarterback Jaylen DeVries threw for five first half touchdowns and 214-yards through the air.

At the start it appeared the Bulldogs had come ready to upset the Lions.  They took the opening kickoff 66-yards on four plays to jump out to a 6-0 lead in just under one and one-half minutes.

Clear Lake responded with a quick score of their own, marching from the H-D 35 to the end zone in six plays to knot the score.  DeVries hit Zach Lester on a 30-yard pass for a TD.  Lester added a PAT to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.

After a Bulldog three-and-out Lester returned the Bulldog punt from the 44 to the H-D 18.  In just three plays the score was 13-6.  DeVries and Lester again successfully executed the jump ball pass for a TD.

The landslide continued when Clear Lake’s defensive pressure caused a fumble on the Bulldogs’ next possession.  Nick Danielson picked up the ball and scooted 31-yards to give his team a 19-6 lead.  The Lions were unsuccessful in their two-point conversion try.

It was still looking like it would be a close game when H-D’s Hunter Sutter broke away for a 69-yard touchdown run.  The extra point was missed again, leaving the score a competitive 19-12.

From there, it was all Lions.  In less than two-minutes DeVries led the team down the field, utilizing the running game of Alex Snelling and receiving corps of Lester and Drew Enke.    Lester grabbed a seven-yard TD pass to cap a six play, 50-yard drive and put the team ahead, 25-12.

The Clear Lake defense set up the next score, as Sean Wendel lit up Sutter, causing a fumble.  Joey Monson grabbed the ball and the Lions were back in business in the red zone.  This time DeVries found Enke on a 17-yard pass play, 31-12.

There was more fast and furious play from the Lions in the second quarter—  The Lions used only 1:12 to score again, as Snelling powered into the end zone for a 37-12 lead.

Both teams caught their breath midway through the second with stalled drives on each side of the ball.  But with less than three-minutes to play in the half DeVries found Enke wide open in the end zone for another score.  Snelling was successful running a two-point play and the score stood at 45-12 after one half of play.

The Lions amassed 247-yards of offense in a first half which took and hour and one-half to play, compared to 178 for the

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Bulldogs.

A running clock helped the game move faster in the second half.  The Lions made the score 51-12 following a fumble recovery and good runs by senior Rhys Glidden.  Glidden finished the night as the leading rusher for the Lions with 63-yards on nine carries.  Danielson finished with 31-yards on three totes, while Snelling had 23 on 11 carries.

DeVries was 10/15 passing for 217-yards and five touchdowns.

“I would still like to get our running game going more,” said Coach DeVries.  “I think we continue to work hard and it is paying off for these kids.”

DeVries said his defense seemed to wake up after Hampton-Dumont’s first series and then was effective against the Bulldogs’ triple option.

Luke Eggers had an outstanding night, making 11 solo tackles and four assists. The senior made two solo takedowns for losses.  Dalton Grell had six solo and six assisted, while Chase Stuver recorded three solo and one assisted tackle.  Kade Hambly had a solo sack to go with his five solo and two assisted tackles.  Two of his solo shots were for a loss.  Monson, who also had a sack, made two solo and three tackle assists.

This week the Lions host Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (0-4, 0-6), which fell to Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, 45-8, in their last game.  Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. at Lions Field.

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