Friday night game unravels for the Lions

(Above) Travaughn Luyobya caught a 19-yard pass from Carson Toebe that resulted in a touchdown.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

A competitive first half quickly unraveled in the second Friday night for the Clear Lake football team.  Dike-New Hartford used a quick strike and a fumble recovery to roll past the Lions, 48-17.  The loss dropped the Lions to 1-2, while the Wolverines improved to 3-0 and moved up one spot in the rankings this week to number 6 in Class 1A.

“They are a good, physical football team that played extremely hard.  Playing them will definitely make us better,” said Lions Head Coach Jared DeVries.

The Lions had the Wolverines on their heels early on, as they took the opening kickoff 77-yards for a score.  They efficiently moved the ball down the field, collecting four first downs on an eight-play drive capped by a 19-yard Carson Toebe to Travaughn Luyobya touchdown pass.  Kinnick Clabaugh’s PAT was good for a 7-0 score.

The Lion defense was just as stellar when it took the field.  Hunter Rieck intercepted a  Jacob Stockdale pass to give the ball back to Toebe and company.

After the Lion drive stalled on the 21, the Wolverines marched 79-yards to even the score.  The 7-7 score held until Clabaugh booted a 31-yard field goal with 7:32 left in the first half to put the Lions back on top, 10-7.

Less than two-minutes later, the Wolverines snatched the lead and momentum.

A 45-yard kickoff return set the stage for a five-play scoring drive and gave the home team a 14-10 advantage.

With time ticking away in the half the Lions looked to go back on top and took the ball to the Wolverine 42, but an interception ended the threat.  Stockdale came out firing and completed a 42-yard pass to put his team on the 10-yard line with 2:45 remaining. A holding call and fumbled snap backed the ball up to the 32, but it was the Lion defense that shut down the Wolverines. Derek Erpelding intercepted the ball at the 10-yard line, keeping the score at 14-10 as the teams headed into halftime.

A balanced first half gave way to a runaway second half.

A quick strike early in the third quarter put the Wolverines ahead, 21-10, and a Lion fumble on the ensuing kickoff led to another score soon after.  By the time the Wolverines had extended their lead to 35-10, they had outgained the Lions 175 to -5 in the third quarter.

The Lions added one TD to their score in the fourth quarter on a 16-play drive that covered 71-yards. The drive included a 31-yard completion to Jagger Schmitt on fourth and five at the 46 and ended with a two-yard pass to the end zone to Ben Loge.

Dike-New Hartford tacked on two more fourth quarter scores for the final, 48-17.

Toebe ended the game with 128-yards on 11/33 passing.  Luyobya caught three passes for 68-yards to lead the team. Toebe rushed for a team-high 89-yards on 16 carries.  Schmitt carried 14 times for 19..

Jett Neuberger topped the Lion defense with five tackles.  Hunter Rieck was next with four and Schmitt, Alex Brcka and Jacob Myers had three apiece.  Schmitt and Max Deike were also credited with a tackle for loss and Deike recorded a sack.

After two tough losses to quality opponents, the Lions will be looking to assert themselves against Osage (1-2) as Class 2A District 3 play begins Friday night.  After winning their opener against St. Ansgar, the Green Devils dropped games to Aplington-Parkersburg and MFL-Mar-Mac.    Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.