Lions keep pre-season hopes alive with big win

(Above) Clear Lake’s Kade Hambly celebrates after collecting a sack.-Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake Lions played their best game of the season when they needed it the most.  The Lions stunned New Hampton Friday night with a 42-7 victory, keeping their hopes of a post-season berth alive.

Crestwood locked up the Class 2A, District 3 title Friday, staying unbeaten with a 4-0 record in the district. The Cadets are 5-3 overall.  Clear Lake is now 3-1 in the district and 6-2 overall.  New Hampton fell to 2-2, 2-6.

The Lions will wrap up the regular season on the road this Friday, Oct. 19, at Iowa Falls-Alden.  New this year, only the district champion or teams tying for a district championship receive automatic qualification for post-season play-offs.  For the first time since the debut of district football, all nine games will count toward postseason qualification. Remaining at-large qualifiers will be determined by a Ratings Percentage Index formula. The RPI will use three criteria to determine postseason qualification: a team’s overall win-loss percentage (accounting for 37.5 percent of the index); team’s opponent’s win-loss percentage (37.5 percent); and team’s opponent’s opponent’s win-loss percentage (25 percent).  Clear Lake currently sits in good shape in terms of RPI, ranking 14th.

Friday night’s game started off with all the expected fireworks, as touchdowns were scored on the first three possessions.

Clear Lake started the action when Drew Enke returned the opening kick-off 55-yards, all the way to the Chickasaw 36.  Four plays later quarterback Jaylen DeVries found Enke on a 22-yard TD pass.  Hunter Nielsen nailed the PAT and the Lions were ahead 7-0.

New Hampton’s Tristan Sweitzer was hard for the Lion defense to contain in the early going.  He provided the bulk of the Chickasaw’s seven play, 60-yard drive that ended with a TD and tie score.

The Lion air attack continued on the next series, as DeVries hit Kody Kearns on a dead run down the sideline.  The 89-yard TD play was the longest of the season for the Lions and made the score 14-7.

The Lions had another TD pass to Enke called back on a penalty, as well as a 26-yard QB scramble into the end zone, but the team rallied to overcome their own setbacks.  They turned a drive which included a second-and-44 situation into a 20-7 lead in the first quarter.  DeVries scored the touchdown on a three-yard run.

The score was pushed to 28-7 after Kearns intercepted Wyatt Stochi and Jaden O-Brien-Green took the ball in from 13-yards out.  Kearns grabbed his second interception on the next series and the Lions made the score 35-7 at halftime with a touchdown pass to Nick Danielson with :26 left on the clock.

The Chickasaws started the second half with a new quarterback, but the results were the same.  The Lion defense forced a three-and-out on the visitor’s first series and the offense followed with a four-play touchdown drive.  Enke made a juggling 19-yard catch and the PAT was good for a 42-7 score and running clock.

“It was one of Enke’s better nights and you can’t help but think about what could have been,” said Coach DeVries.  We couldn’t get our running game going, but if we had combined it with the potent air attack it could have, should have been a really great night.”

The coach also called the return of senior Kade Hambly to the line-up a difference maker.

“He stuck it out seven weeks and showed a lot of growth and played inspired,” said the coach.

“All the kids can be proud of this game,” added DeVries.  “The

effort and focus was where it

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needed to be.”

The Clear Lake offense accumulated 461-yards in the game, compared to 136 for New Hampton.  DeVries completed 13 of 18 passes for 294-yards and four touchdowns. Enke caught two passes for TDs.  Danielson and Kearns each had one.

The Lions were balanced in their ground game, with O’Brien-Green picking up 68-yards on 17 carries.  DeVries finished with 63-yards on eight rushes and Danielson had 23 on two totes.  Landon Lovsted came in to get 10-yards on two carries.  Alex Snelling had three-yards on one touch.

Defensively, the Lions’ Tate Storbeck led the way with four solo and four assisted tackles.  Jagger Schmitt had three solo and three assists, as well as an interception.  Kearns finished with three solo and two assists.  Hambly made two solo tackles, both for losses, as well as two assists, one for a loss.  Hambly was also credited with a solo sack and sack assist.  Austin Larson also had a sack assist to go along with his one solo and three assisted tackles.  Chase Stuver was credited with two solo tackles, one for a loss, and two tackle assists.

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