Winning their last two games, the junior high boys finished their season on a high note and a 5-4 record.
On Monday, the Clippers downed Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 16-6 to finish their season. A week earlier, they beat visiting Tri-City United 36-16.
On a QB keeper, Miles Tomaszewski rolled left from a couple yards out for a TD and a 30-8 lead against TCU. The Titans responded with a touchdown and 2-point conversion, but Jeremy Miller swept left for six points that put the finishing touches on the win.
Hauling in a Jack Mons 35-yard pass, Jeremy Miller scored the first touchdown in Winthrop. Eighth grader Richard Jordan bulled in the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 Clipper advantage in the first quarter.
But wasting no time after the ensuing kickoff, the Thunderbirds marched down the field and into the end zone. The Clippers stopped the 2-point conversion, but their lead narrowed to 2 points.
Late in the half, the Clippers scored the only other touchdown in the ball game in dramatic fashion.
With 25 seconds left, the Clippers had stopped the T-Birds on their 40. They ran the first down for a couple of yards, but Mons’ passes on second and third down fell to the turf.
With 4 seconds left on 4th down, coaches Rich Kern and Charlie Haugen took the Clippers’ last timeout and dug deep into their bag of tricks.
“We huddled up and decided to run our hook and ladder that we have practiced all season but never tried,” Kern said.
Mons, a seventh grader, dropped back to pass and hit eighth-grader Wyatt Krenik on a 10-yard button hook. As soon as Krenik caught the ball and was getting tackled from behind, he pitched to back Kypton Coon, who was running near the sideline. Coon caught the pitch from his classmate and dashed 35 yards untouched down the sideline for the TD as time expired.
With another Jordan PAT run, the Clippers led 16-6 at the break.
In the second half, the Clippers controlled the ball and ran out most of the clock.
“Our defense did a great job on stopping their wing T run game,” Kern said.
To celebrate the victory and end of the season, the team went to Dairy Queen during the bus ride back to Cleveland.
Above: Miles Tomaszewski on the catch and run of a Jonathan Cink pass. After a stint at quarterback, Tomaszewski switched to receiver in the game against TCU.
Ethan Hoehn on the run against TCU. (Photo courtesy of Patty Sullivan)
Jonathan Cink coils for a throw deep into TCU territory.