When it came to the Clipper’s eight regular season games, Lewiston-Altura was the biggest wildcard.
As a 2A school last season, the Cardinals compiled a respectable 6-2 regular season record before falling to Caledonia 20-12 in the second round of section play. As a Class A school this year, they began their season with a 21-8 win over Blooming Prairie before falling 42-14 to host Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.
So, when they came to town on Friday for their first ever game against the Clippers, no one was quite sure what to expect. And, while they executed well with quick counters, deceptive handoffs and reverses, often for sizable gains, the Clipper defense, getting better as the game went along, made the stops when they were needed.
Meanwhile, on offense, the Clippers found a comfortable mix of passing and rushing for a 26-13 triumph.
“It helped that we were in better shape than they were,” said defensive coach Kyle Atherton, “so we could wear them down by the end of the game. There are things we need to get better at, but this is the best game that could happen to our guys because it was a tight game, and they had to think and actually play, and that was great for them.”
Cardinals fight to the end
Starting on their 38, the Cardinals took their first possession all the way down to the Clipper 24, but Carson Lyons intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart that drive.
Starting on their 20, the Clippers were driving two, but when Lyons’ pass caromed off the hands of Braeden Smith and into those of a defender, that put the kibosh on that drive too, and the Cardinals took over on their 18.
After each team punted once, the Cardinals, mixing up gains on the ground and in the air, drew first blood when they capped off an 89-yard drive with a 15-yard pass. With a successful PAT kick, Lewiston-Altura led 7-0 with 8:32 to go before halftime.
Smith ran the ensuing kick return back to the Clipper 44, From there, Garrett Heldberg grabbed a Lyons pass and took it down the sideline 28 yards. The Clippers managed to pick up six more yards after, but Lyons’ fourth-and-7 throw fell incomplete, and LA got the ball back on downs.
The Cardinals were moving the ball in their following possession, but Caleb Possin fell on a fumble, and the Clippers found themselves on their 35.
From there, the Clippers mixed up Possin runs and passes to Bode Bartell as well as a Lyons keeper to get to the Cardinal 12 before Lyons connected with Smith, who, dragging defenders 5 yards with him, bulled his way across the goal line. Possin’s PAT boot split the uprights, and it was all even with a minute left in the half.
The Cardinals campaigned to the Clipper 29 after, but their fourth-and-2 pass fell incomplete, the Clipper got the ball back with about a dozen seconds remaining, and Hermanson and company decided to use it.
Possin reeled in a Lyons pass for 10 yards, and, down the middle of the field, Nathan Seeman grabbed a Lyons throw for 27 more. Quick on the trigger, even after all of these years, Greg Davis in the crow’s nest stopped the clock with one final 0.1-second tick, and Lyons used it on a throw to Smith. The junior hauled it in, was corralled by a defender, and lateraled the ball back, but the Cardinals ultimately kept the Clippers out of the end zone, and the contest was stalemated 7-7 at the break.
The Clippers took the lead in their first possession after receiving the second-half kickoff. Smith returned it to the Clipper 40. Out of the backfield, Possin took a Lyons pass 16 yards. Following up, Smith caught a pass for 13 more and a screen pass for 12 yards with five of them again dragging Cardinal defenders.
“I’m really glad I had some linemen to help me push them.” Smith said. “It was kind of fun. It was a slow game at first, but after that it got better and better,”
After Possin ran for 10 yards, a facemask penalty on the play put the Clippers on the LA 4. From there, Possin burst up the middle for the score. Possin’s kick was slightly left of the goal post, but the Clippers had their first lead of the game, 13-7.
Later, after the Cardinals punted, Lyons threw an interception, but the Cardinals punted again, the Clippers, taking over on the LA 43, added another six points. A Tanner Simonette catch and run put the Clippers on the LA 8. They lost 2 yards from there, but Lyons found Simonette again, this time in the corner of the end zone. After a 5-yard penalty on the PAT, the Clippers’ pass was incomplete, but they led 19-7 with 11:53 left in the game.
Atherton said in the second half, the Clippers got more fisty, wore out the Cardinals, and the linebackers read their “keys” better.
“At first, the linebackers weren’t going with the guards. They were watching the running backs, and they were gaining a lot on counters on us, and the linemen weren’t firing off the way we should. We also got a little ornerier, but at the same time, they started to wear down—note all the holding penalties they had—and we didn’t. Also, when our offense started methodically moving down field, that gave our defense a rest and us time to talk about Xs and Os.”
There was plenty of drama to go though. Smith kicked an onside, and the Cardinals recovered. Supposed to be a line drive, the Clippers had a miscommunication, head coach Erik Hermanson said. A late hit on the first play of the series put the Cardinals on the Clipper 38. From there, the Cardinals threw for 18 yards before scoring on a 28-yard run. Their PAT pass was incomplete, but the Clipper lead dwindled to six, 19-13 with 10:48 remaining.
Shrugging off the series, the Clippers went right back to work though after Heldberg returned the kickoff to the Cleveland 41. Finding a rhythm between the ground and the air and featuring Lyons runs too, the Clippers drove the remainder of the field with the touchdown coming on a 6-yard Lyons-to-Bartell pass in the end zone.
“The process that we preached at the beginning of lifting through the pre-season to now really pays off,” said Hermanson. “And that’s playing one play at a time and resetting if you made a mistake. You trust the process and don’t think about wins and a great season. If you play one play at a time, you’re going to be successful.”
“We watched a lot of films, and the coaches drew up a game plan for us,” said Lyons. “The linemen picked up the blitzes pretty well, so that was really helpful to have a clean pocket back there. The lineman did a great job blocking too, and the running backs just stayed in the holes, and it all worked out perfectly.”
This time, Possin’s point-after kick made it through the uprights, and the Clippers led 26-13 with three minutes remaining.
“Everyone just got hyped and started locking in to win the game,” explained junior center and linebacker Jack Shouler.
A poster boy for the benefits of the weight room, Shouler knew he would take the very difficult yet all-important center spot this year as well as have a bigger role at linebacker. In preparation, he put on 25 pounds since last season.
“I lifted a lot and ate a lot.”
While the Cardinals needed quick yards, the Clippers sacked the quarterback three times. After Bartell intercepted to thwart the drive, with a minute remaining, they lined up in the perfunctory V formation.
Stats and section roundup
Each team collected 14 first downs. Lyons completed 25 of 33 passes for 282 yards and three TDs. He got intercepted twice, with one of them a hard luck deflection.
With eight catches for 108 yards and a score, Smith was his go-to receiver. Bartell grabbed five passes for 33 yards and one TD. Simonette hauled in five passes for 36 yards and a TD. Possin had three catches for 28 yards. Seeman had to catches for 42 yards. Heldberg had one catch for 28 yards, and Alex Kortuem had one catch for 7 yards.
With 22 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown, Possin had most of the Clipper running duties. Lyons kept the ball seven times for 32 yards.
Possin’s foot was good for two of three PAT attempts. Smith and David Draheim shared kickoff duties. Smith booted the Clippers’ only punt, and it went 58 yards.
Smith ran three kickoff returns for a total of 39 yards, while Heldberg ran one and traveled 16 yards.
Smith had three solo tackles with one of them behind the line. He recovered one fumble and deflected one pass. Mason Kluntz had two solo tackles and three assists with two of them sacs and two of them behind the line. ]Shouler had three solo tackles and four assists. Lyons had five solos and one assist, one interception and one pass deflection. Max Esser had four assists. Kortuem had four solos and one assist with one tackle taking place behind the scrimmage line. He also deflected one pass. Bartell had two solos and one assist and one interception. Draheim had one solo and one assist with one of them a sack. Garet Peterson had three solos and one assist, with two of them sacks and one behind the line. Possin assisted two tackles. Simonette had two solos and two assists. Jeremy Miller had one solo tackle. Sam Ternes assisted one tackle.
The Clippers travel to GFW’s new field in Gibbon on Friday for a 7:30 contest. The Thunderbirds are coming off a 20-0 win over Mayer Lutheran in Winthrop.
Also in the Clipper district and section, USC whipped up on host Hayfield 36-6 in a crossover game. Martin County West beat Madelia in Trimont 48-6. St. James Area topped visiting Lester Prairie 7-0.
Above: Braden Smith hands the ball back with no time on the clock at the end of the second half. The Cardinals made the stop, and the game was stalemated 7-7 at the intermission.
Max Esser and Jack Shouler move in on a Cardinal runner. Note the holding, which plagued the Cardinals all night.
Tanner Simonette gets wrapped up by a LA defender.
Carson Lyons reaches up to stop a Cardinal pass.
After a brief cold snap, the temperatures warmed back up on Friday, and it was a good crowd on the hill.
Working on the chain gang were Jack Voit, Dan Flowers, Joe Hollerich and Chris Roemhildt.
The pep band played before the game. In this photo are Elijah Mons, Liviana Lee, Vivian Hilfer and Clara Hilfer.
Before the game, there was a moment of silence to honor former coach and field namesake Dave Krenik, who recently passed away after a long bout with cancer.