Mason City stops Lions in first game of the season, 9-7

[caption id="attachment_12482" align="alignleft" width="270"] Clear Lake’s Zach Tatum struggles to gain some more yards for the Lions as the Mason City defense closes in. Lending a block is Halston Southwick (40). Tatum led Clear Lake’s rushing game with 56-yards on 23 carries.[/caption]

by Randy Truesdell for the Mirror-Reporter

Clear Lake Head Football Coach Jared DeVries will tell you it wasn’t exactly how he envisioned his coaching debut— a 9-7 defeat against Mason City in non-district action at Lions Field Friday, Aug. 28.  With the loss of 17 seniors from last year’s 10-1 team, the Lions stumbled against their Class 4-A rival under a steady rain in both teams’ opener.

“It’s this team’s expectation to win every game and that’s the mindset we have and the mindset I want them to have,” explained the first year coach. “We just didn’t do the things to make that happen,” DeVries added. He also pointed out turnovers and penalties hurt his team throughout the night.  “I’ll take responsibility for that. I’ve got to do a better job.  We have mistakes to correct and we’ll correct them,” he added.

The Lions managed only 112-yards of total offense with 43-yards on the ground and 69 through the air.  To make matters worse, Clear Lake coughed up the ball seven times, losing three of those fumbles along with one interception.  But DeVries isn’t looking for any excuses. 

“We told the kids to look in the mirror.  Whether you did something right or wrong, learn from it, correct it and put it in the past,” he explained.

On the flip side, the Lion defense kept the Mohawk offense in check most of the night, allowing only one touchdown while giving up a total of 234-yards. Mason City rushed for 96-yards on 22 carries and put the ball in the air 28 times for 138-yards.

“Our defense held their own,” DeVries said.

Senior Justin Sholly led the charge with 13.5 total tackles, including six solo from his linebacker spot. Fellow seniors Ben Mason had seven solo tackles with Zach Tatum and Jarod Anderson each totaling four. Tanner Berger also chipped in 3.5 tackles. Sholly also picked off a Mohawk pass in the second quarter and rambled 15-yards, setting up the Lion’s only touchdown of the evening.

Sophomore Zach Lester got his first varsity start at quarterback and was four of 13 for 69-yards and one interception. DeVries pointed out this was a “big stage” for Lester, but he’s sure he will learn from it and respond. Tatum hauled in three passes for 51-yards and Parker Pitzen had one catch for 18-yards. Tatum also led the Lions in rushing with 56-yards on 23 carries. Carter Garrington managed 22-yards on 11 carries and a touchdown and Nick Eggers rushed for 18-yards on three totes.

Mason City was first on the scoreboard when running back Austin Schrader grabbed a swing pass and rambled 24-yards down the sideline with 4:46 left in the first quarter. The point after was good, giving the Mohawks a 7-0 lead. The Lions hit pay dirt with a Garrington one-yard plunge to tie the score with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter after Jarod Anderson’s extra point was good.

The third quarter provided the difference in the game when the Lions were pinned at their own one-yard line facing fourth down. Punter Zach Tatum scooped up a low snap and darted to his left only to be tackled from behind in the end zone for a safety, giving the Mohawks a 9-7 advantage and all the scoring they would need.

DeVries, however, said he did learn a lot about this team. “We have a tough bunch of kids that will fight to the end and experience will pay off,” he stated. “The big fear and challenge for us is that we’re all on the same page,” DeVries noted about learning the new verbiage on defense. “This team will continue

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to grow and get better.”

One glaring statistic was time of possession.  The Mohawks held onto the ball over 31 minutes, compared to Clear Lake’s 16.  The teams were even in several categories with nine first downs each and in penalty yards, nine for 46 for the Mohawks and eight for 56 yards for the Lions. Clear Lake held Mason City on 1-12 efficiency on third down and the Mohawks did not convert any of their three attempts on third down. Clear Lake was four-of-12 on third downs and was also unsuccessful on three attempts on fourth down.

Waiting in the wings, another non-district contest this Friday is 3-A power Webster City, a North Central Conference foe. The Lynx bring back 230-pound fullback Gavin Dinsdale and a good nucleus from last year’s team. Webster City defeated Gilbert in their home opener 35-14 and would like nothing more than to beat Clear Lake after losing 16 straight to the Lions. 

“They’ve got a good team; it will be a hostile environment,” said DeVries.  “But we expect to win, that’s our expectation every game. We’re going in there to win, not just to play better or just compete.”

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