Toebe scores five touchdowns on way to 56-43 victory

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake’s big play offensive machine kept rolling along Friday night in Cresco.  Quarterback Carson Toebe scored five touchdowns for the Lions on the way to a 56-43 Lion victory.  The win sets up a Class 3A District title game Friday in New Hampton.  The 5-2 Lions come into the game with a perfect 4-0 district record; the Chickasaws are 3-1 in the district and 4-3 overall. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

“We’ll be concentrating on ourselves this week,” said Head Coach Jared DeVries when asked about preparation for the upcoming game.  “We’ve got to be better and clean up some mistakes.  We have been handling the road trips well and I think we have the right approach.  We just need to pay attention to details.”

Against Crestwood, the Lions used their speed to get past the size of the Cadets.  

Crestwood put up their first score with an 82-yard touchdown drive near the halfway point of the first quarter.  The PAT was no good.

On the next possession the Lions jumped ahead with a quick drive that covered 83-yards on just five plays.  The Lions found they could beat the Cadets if they got to the outside.  Jagger Schmitt took a screen pass from Toebe and with good blocking raced down the sideline to even the score.  Kinnick Clabaugh proved the team could count on him, as he was perfect on all eight of his PATs in the game and the Lions had a 7-6 lead with 4:20 remaining in the quarter.

Toebe began his scoring onslaught on Clear Lake’s next possession. After two short gains by Schmitt, Toebe called his own number and raced 72-yards to pay dirt.

The Lion defense fueled the momentum by stopping the Cadets in their own territory.  A sack by Thomas Meyer forced the home team to punt from their own 27.

“Thomas played one of the best defensive games I’ve witnessed.  He is a true talent with a bright future,” raved Coach DeVries.  The freshman topped the team with eight tackles, one for a loss, and the sack.

A shanked punt gave the Lions the ball on the 50, which was perfect for another Toebe breakaway, making the score 21-6.

An onside kick after the score gave the Cadets the ball at their own 49 with plenty of time to drive.  Quarterback Cole Butikofer  carried his team on his back the majority of an 11 play drive which ended with a four-yard scoring run. A two-point try failed and the score was 21-12 with 7:55 remaining in the first half.  Butikofer finished with 233-yards rushing on 19 carries and completed three of 12 passes for 63-yards.

The Lions struck two more times before the break.  Toebe added to his total with an eight-yard TD run and Schmitt cushioned the lead with a 43-yard touchdown run.

The Lions picked up right where they left off to start the second half.  On the first play from scrimmage Toebe scored his fourth TD, this time on a 63-yard run.

Crestwood responded with a 62-yard scoring drive, but the celebration was short lived as Toebe raced to the end zone for the fifth time — this time racing 67-yards to give the Lions a 49-19 lead.  The senior quarterback finished the game with an astounding 303-yards rushing on 13 carries.  He also completed four of 12 pass attempts for 74-yards.

“He had a heck of a night — a lot of guys did. He’s an explosive athlete,” said Coach DeVries.  “Now we need to get our passing game going.  We talked at halftime about trusting the design of the play.  It was a little street ball at times.”

It was a pass play that scored Clear Lake’s final touchdown. Toebe found Titan Schmitt on a 17-yard pass play for a 56-19 Lion lead. With the help of a rolling clock, the score stood until early in the fourth quarter when Jayden Teslow scored three consecutive touchdowns against Lion reserves for the final score of 56-43.  

The two teams finished with nearly identical yardage in the high scoring affair.  The Lions amassed 493-yards of offense while the Cadets had 469.  In addition to Toebe’s effort, Clear Lake’s rushing total was also boosted by Jagger Schmitt’s 74-yards on 12 carries. 

Schmitt was also a key defensively for the Lions with an interception and five tackles. Hunter Rieck and Jacob Schoby were also credited with five tackles, Jett Neuberger had four and Mateo Gonzalez three. Max Deike had a fumble recovery and took it to the end zone, but the score was waved off on a Lion penalty post-possession. A host of Lions got in the scorebook with one and two tackles in the game.

Coach DeVries said his team heads into Friday night’s game relatively healthy and determined to finish the regular season with a win.