Using its powerful backfield for two and a half quarters, Lester Prairie beat the visiting Clippers 31-8 on Wednesday.
It was the last game of the regular season. The Clippers will have a rematch with Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop in Winthrop on Tuesday.
“We struggled plugging the holes,” said senior linebacker Gabe Sullivan. “But we did a lot of good things. We just need to keep bringing it for our playoff game.”
The Clippers’ touchdown came with 7:37 left in Q3 when Caleb Possin forced a quarterback fumble, scooped the ball and ran it 42 yards into the end zone. On a fake PAT kick, Carson Lyons threw to Tanner Simonette in the end zone corner for two points.
Starting on their 30 after each team punted, the Bulldogs rattled off nine running plays in their second series before scoring from the 4-yard line. With the PAT run, they led 8-0 with 3:56 left in Q1.
With an 18-yard Blake Lyons keeper in the mix, the Clippers took the ball to the LP 35 but turned the ball over on downs. The Bulldogs legged eight running plays to take the ball downfield and score from the Cleveland 5. With the PAT run, the Bulldogs went up front 16-0 with 7:36 left in the half.
The Clippers were close to getting out of the half only behind by two touchdowns, but the Bulldogs mixed a 20-yard pass into their rushing regime to drive 60 yards and score from the Clipper 4. With another point-after run, they led 24-0 at the 2:38 mark.
In their first possession after the break, LP scored again, this time with an 83-yard crusade and a 3-yard dive for a TD. With the PAT kick, the Bulldogs were comfortably in front 31-0 with 2:15 left in Q3.
Blake Lyons completed 15 of 27 passes for 54 yards and kept the ball seven times for 51 yards. Carson Lyons had five catches for a total of 28 yards. Kale Kelley had six catches for 24 yards and ran the ball one time for one yard. Simonette had two caches for two yards. Sullivan carried the ball three times for eight yards.
Possin punted the ball five times for 161 yards. His longest punt was 38 yards. Kelley returned three kickoffs for 71 yards with his longest return 37 yards. Simonette returned one kickoff for 10 yards, and Braden Smith returned one kickoff for five yards.
Sullivan had four solo tackles and four assists. Brady Bostic had two solo tackles and two assists. Ian Vlasak had one solo and four assists.
Blake Lyons had three solo tackles and three assists. Kelley had four solos and two assists and deflected a pair of Bulldog passes. Nick Simonette had one solo tackle and one assist. Alex Johnson had three solos and one assist.
David Draheim had four solo tackles and four assists. Tanner Simonette had seven solo tackles with one behind the line. Smith had three solos and one assist. Mason Kluntz had two solos and one assist and one sack. Possin had one solo and recovered a fumble. Carson Lyons had two solo tackles and four assists and deflected one pass. Nathan Seeman had one solo tackle.
Last year, the Clippers lost to Lester Prairie twice: 33-0 in the regular season and 37-0 in the playoffs.
Also in the district, NYA edged GFW 49-48 to allow Lester Prairie a bye in the first round of the six-team Section 2A tournament. Mayer Lutheran also has a bye.
WEM fell to host St. Clair/Loyola 47-0. JWP beat Medford 21-0. NRHEG narrowly downed visiting USC 27-26. Mayer Lutheran topped visiting Randolph 35-14.
The winner of Cleveland-GFW will take on Lester Prairie on Saturday. On the other side of the section tournament, the winner of USC vs. St. James will play Mayer Lutheran.
Above: Freshman Sam Ternes looks for some space after a catch.
Tanner Simonette had seven solo tackles.
Blake Lyons gets tackled during a QB keeper.
Kale Kelley on the run.
Braeden Smith wraps up a Bulldog runner.
David Draheim did the kicking.
Blake Lyons releases a throw.