With 13 first downs compared to Cleveland’s seven, host Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop racked up more yards than the visiting Clippers did on Thursday, but grabbing a pair of GFW fumbles as well as a live ball after a Clipper punt, Braeden Smith was everywhere he needed to be, and the Clippers beat the Thunderbirds for the first time ever, 17-10.
GFW’s usual T formation, where three running backs line up in a row behind the quarterback, challenged Cleveland, but, with Jackson Shouler and Max Esser moved from linebacker to the line, freshman Carsyn Ryg in and out on the line and Tanner Simonette playing linebacker for the first time, the Clippers bent but didn't break, and that set up the big turnovers, explained head coach Erik Hermanson.
“Coaches Kyle Atherton, Matt Miller and Larry Walechka formulated a defensive game plan that helped slow GFW down. They had to earn every inch, and eventually, when you make them earn everything, teams will make a mistake. It was difficult for our defensive front to go low every time and just take people on, especially when we haven't seen anything like GFW's offense all year, but our linemen played their hearts out. They were like seven blocks of granite out there when we needed them to be.”
Defensive battle
The Clippers took advantage of a snap that went over the punter’s head during GFW's first possession to start on T-Bird 40. Brennan Kortuem caught a 6-yard Carson Lyons pass, and Caleb Possin ran for 13 and then 5 yards, but after a 1-yard Kortuem run, Lyons’ next two passes fell to the grass, and the T-Birds took over on downs.
GFW, 2-5 coming in—with losses to district leaders Lester Prairie, WEM and Randolph and a hard luck loss to Mayer Lutheran—rattled off runs that took the game into the second quarter, but after they picked up three first downs, the Clippers stopped a fourth-and-9 pass play just short of the stick and got the ball back on their 29.
“GFW has given everyone a tough game,” Hermanson said. “We came out a little flat. I don’t know if we were a little nervous or if it was because it was eerily quiet here since there was a volleyball game (in Cleveland).”
The Clippers went three and out, but Possin’s punt caromed off a returner, Smith recovered, and the Clipper offense went right back onto the field.
Starting at the GFW 43, Kortuem, streaking down the sideline, caught a Lyons toss for 22 yards. An offside penalty gave the Clippers 5 more. Possin ran for 8 yards and then 2 yards before Lyons found Bode Bartell in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown pass. With the Possin PAT boot, the Clippers were in front 7-0 with 7:53 left before the intermission.
But starting on their 32 after the kickoff, the T-Birds assembled a 15-play drive for a touchdown, which came on a 2-yard run. With a PAT run tacked on, they pulled in front 8-7 with 1:16 left in the half.
After a 10-yard holding penalty and four incomplete passes, the Clippers punted on the ensuing series. Taking over at midfield and aided by a questionable pass interference call, GFW found themselves on the Clipper 20, but David Draheim recovered a fumble (above) to put the kibosh on the rally.
The Clippers had to punt after the second-half kickoff, but Smith recovered a GFW fumble on the Clipper 44. From there, Lyons connected with Kortuem for 47 yards, but the Clippers settled for a 20-yard Possin field goal that put them ahead 10-8 with 4:34 left in the third quarter.
Smith struck again when he recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff at the GFW 3. From there, Lyons found Kortuem deep in the back of the end zone. The senior got hit hard when he went up for the grab but hung on, and with the Possin PAT kick, the Clippers led 17-8 with 4:23 left in Q3.
“The fact that we have players who are good enough to give us breaks makes all the difference,” Hermanson said. “Those are just hustle, I’ve-been-in-the-weight room, aggressive athlete plays.”
In the fourth quarter, the T-Birds brought back a punt to the Clipper 26. After five runs, the Clippers stopped them on fourth and goal at the 2-yard line. Deep in their own territory, the Clippers gave up a safety when Kale Kelley caught a Lyons parallel-to-the scrimmage line pass and got tackled in the end zone.
After the free kick, the T-Birds drove to the Clipper 26, but on a fourth-and-17 after a holding penalty, Smith and Simonette’s pressure on the GFW quarterback resulted in an incomplete pass with 1:41 remaining.
The Clippers picked up the first down they needed to knee out the clock when Lyons connected with Kortuem for a dozen yards.
The win breaks a four-game reign that GFW had over the Clippers, who lost to the Thunderbirds twice last year: 28-0 during the regular season and 30-6 in a soaking wet playoff game. The year before, the T-Birds beat the Clippers 36-6. In 2021, Cleveland’s third year back to 11-man, they rolled over the Clippers 48-6.
“You cannot question our effort or our guts and the fact that we never gave up,” Hermanson said.
Stats and today’s matchup
Lyons completed 14 of 27 pass attempts for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Kortuem hauled in nine of them for 115 yards and a TD. Bartell grabbed one catch for a TD. Kale Kelley had two catches for 10 total yards. Simonette and Smith each caught one pass but were tackled at the line of scrimmage.
The Clippers gained just 46 ground yards. Lyons kept the ball after three snaps for a total of 7 yards. Possin had 10 carriers for 41 total yards.
Each team lost 40 yards due to penalties.
Possin punted three times for a total of 99 yards with his longest 40 yards. Kelley returned a kickoff for 9 yards, and the Clippers didn’t gain anything on the other GFW kickoff.
Dialing in against the deceptive T, Nick Simonette led the defense with seven solo tackles and two assists.
“It’s definitely something different,” said the 240-lb senior. “It’s all up the middle, and it looks like the ball is going one way, but then it goes the other way. They were double teaming and triple teaming. We started slowly, but we still locked it up pretty well.”
Possin had six solo tackles and one assist with one tackle behind the lines. Jackson Shouler had four tackles and one assist. Lyons had six solo tackles and one assist and deflected away one pass.
Kelley had one solo and two assisted tackles. Mason Kluntz had a pair of solo tackles. Smith made five solo tackles and one assist with one tackle behind the line. He also forced three fumbles and recovered two of them. Tanner Simonette also had five solo tackles and one assist. Ryg had one solo tackle.
“Carsyn Ryg has been incredible in JV games, dominant actually,” Hermanson said. “We have wanted to get him in here. He played great.”
Draheim had three solo tackles, three assists and one fumble recovery. Kortuem had four solos and one assist. Esser, who was back on the field after several weeks recovering from ankle injury, had three solos and one assist and one pass deflection. Kiptyn Coon and Garrett Heldberg each had one solo tackle.
The Clippers close out their regular season today (Wednesday) when they host Lester Prairie. The Bulldogs are coming off a 20-12 home loss to Randolph. Their only other loss was to NYA, but they squeezed by WEM in three overtimes.
Elsewhere in the district, Medford fell to visiting WEM 54-8. USC beat host St. Clair/Loyola 38-7, JWP beat host NRHEG 21-14, and NYA demolished host Mayer Lutheran 50-0
Above: David Draheim recovered a fumble to stop a GFW drive just before the break. Later, the junior left the game with a knee injury. He will not play against Lester Prairie.
