A remarkable season for the Cleveland football team ended abruptly on Dave Krenik Field Saturday afternoon in the second round of the section playoffs when the Clippers suffered a bitter 26-7 upset loss to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop.
The Clippers, who had beaten the host Firebirds 29-8 in the regular season, were the top seed. Fourth-ranked GFW beat fifth-seeded Mayer Lutheran 50-14 in the first round.
Three Clipper turnovers: two fumbles and an interception, and a couple of breakaway GFW runs to the house were the downfall for the Clippers. With the lead, the Firebirds, running out of their signature T backfield, picked up enough first downs—11, four more than the Clippers had—to keep the clock in their favor.
The Clippers had a first-round bye in the section tournament, a double-edged sword. While a game off gives hurts a longer time to mend, it also makes keeping momentum more difficult.
“We had three crazy turnovers today,” said head coach Erik Hermanson. “It’s a tough mental thing to have that many days off, and you have to be disciplined to stop them. We have a lot of guys who want to make big plays, and sometimes you cheat. If you cheat and try to make a big play, you give up and don’t want to give. We also had a couple of four-sure touchdown drops. We have to realize that we can win.”
Carson Lyons and the receiving team connected on nine of 23 attempts for 113 yards and the Clippers’ only touchdown, a 13-yard pass to Braeden Smith in the third quarter.
That touchdown and Caleb Possin’s PAT kick put the Clippers back in business, 12-7, but three plays later the Firebirds broke through the Clipper defense with a 76-yard scoring run.
From there, the Clippers punted twice, and the Firebirds once. Towards the end of a scoreless first quarter, the Firebirds legged 71 yards in 15 plays with the touchdown coming on a quarterback 4-yard keeper. The Clippers stopped the PAT run, but they trailed the rest of the game.
It looked like the Clippers might respond though, but a fumble on the GFW 22 ended the threat, and five plays later, the Firebirds were back in the end zone on a 55-yard run with 1:32 left until the break.
Again, the Clippers stopped the PAT run, but the Thunderbirds recovered the kickoff on the Clipper 43. This time, the defense held, and the Clippers managed to get the ball back on downs at their 38 with a little clock left.
Smith hauled in a 27-yard Lyons pass, and after two incomplete passes, the Clipper had 8.1 seconds to score. Lyons saw a big gap and sprinted down the field, but he was stopped at the one with no time left, and the Clippers went into the locker room trailing 12-0.
The second half started out well for the Clippers as they forced a three-and-out after the opening kickoff and scored after Lyons returned the punt to the GFW 45. The drive featured Caleb Possin runs for 4, 16 and 9 yards and Lyons 3-yard keeper for a first down at the 13 before Lyons hooked up with Smith in the end zone.
But after the Possin PAT kick and kickoff, the Firebirds ran 2 yards before the 76- sprint for a TD. The Clippers stopped the PAT run, but having their first touchdown quickly canceled took the wind out of the Clippers sail.
Each team punted from there, and the Clippers suffered another fumble, this time giving up the ball on the Cleveland 25. The defense stepped up though and forced a turnover on downs, but after Simonette hauled in a 26-yard pass, the Firebirds snared a Lyons pass on their 12 and drove the rest of the way for another touchdown. This time their PAT run crossed the goal line for a 26-7 advantage.
The final dagger for the Clippers was when the Firebirds recovered the ensuing kickoff before they lined up in V formation.
Smith caught six passes for 81 total yards. Tanner Simonette made two catches for 28 yards. Possin caught one pass for 4 yards. Possin took seven handoffs for 27 yards. Simonette ran the ball twice for 28 yards, and Lyons called his own number five times for 38 yards.
Possin punted three times for 99 yards with a long of 40 yards. Lyons returned a punt for 19 yards and a punt for 15 yards. Simonette returned kickoffs for 23 yards and 1 yard. Wyatt Krenik returned a kickoff 6 yards.
With six solo tackles and eight assisted tackles, Jackson Shouler led the defense. Mason Kluntz made three solos and nine assists. Lyons had six solos and four assists. David Draheim had four solos and three assists. Alex Kortuem had three solos and one assist. Possin made two solos and one assist. Simonette made four solo tackles with one of them behind the line. Carsyn Ryg made one assisted tackle. Garet Peterson had one solo and seven assists. Smith made three solo tackles and three assists with one tackle behind the line. He also deflected one pass. Sam Ternes had one solo tackle and four assists with one tackle behind the line. Kiptyn Coon made three assisted tackles. Garrett Heldberg made a solo tackle.
It was the end of a high school football career for seniors Draheim, Kluntz, Possin, Kortuem, Nathan Seeman and injured Max Esser and Bode Bartell.
The Clippers’ record improved as the seniors played: 1-8 in 2021 and again in 2022 and 6-4 last year.
In other section action, second-ranked St James Area rolled over seventh-seeded Madelia 61-0 in the opening round but was upset 22-0 by third-seeded Lester Prairie on Saturday. The Bulldogs beat sixth-ranked Martin County West 32-6 in the opening round.
Above: Senior running back Caleb Possin attempts to slip between two GFW defenders after catching a screen pass.
Carson Lyons drops back for a pass.
A GFW defender tugs on the sleeve of Braeden Smith.
The Clipper defense wraps up a GFW runner.
Ticket takers on the top of the hill
Jess Shouler sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Beside her is announcer Doug Schweim.
The Clipper coaches will have a strong nucleus of players returning next year. They are, from L-R, Matt Miller, Dustin Bosshart, Kyle Atherton, Larry Walechka, Garrett Mensing and Erik Hermanson.