Extending their winning streak to five games and finishing their 6-4 season on a high note, the junior high Clippers rolled over visiting Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop on Monday.
Despite a lackluster start to their season, the fledgling Clippers stuck together and bought into the program, said Charlie Haugen, who, along with Rich Kern, coached the seventh and eighth graders, and that paid big dividends.
“We worked hard in practice, focused on doing things the right way and executed in games. All the hard work those guys put in paid off for them. You can’t really ask for more. It was a super fun group of kids to coach, and just to see them have that kind of success was awesome, and they deserved it.”
The Clippers got on the board in the first quarter after eighth grader Austin Tarkey intercepted a GFW pass at the Clipper 46.
From there, eighth-grade speedster Tony Hollerich rushed for 20 yards, and eighth-grade quarterback Pierce Lyons connected with classmate Gauge Bock for a 24-yard catch and run. On a blown pass play, Lyons ran the final 10 yards to the end zone before hooking up with Hollerich for the 2-point conversion, and the Clippers led 8-0.
After the Thunderbirds turned the ball over on downs, the Clippers scored again when Lyons handed off to Bock for a 40-yard touchdown. Lyons’ pass to seventh grader Jonathan Cink for extra points fell incomplete, but the Clippers led 14-0.
With another fourth-down stop, Cleveland took over at their 46. Adding some trickery in the mix, Lyons pitched to his classmate Jack Mons, who in turn threw the ball downfield to Hollerich for a 45-yard reception to place the Clippers just a foot and a half from the goal line.
After a 2-yard loss on the ground and an incomplete pass in the end zone, Lyons handed off to Hollerich for the TD. Hollerich got the call on the 2-point conversion run, made it to the end zone, and the Clippers had a cozy 21-0 lead early in the second frame.
The Clippers didn’t let up on the throttle. Eighth grader Jake Mueller intercepted a T-Bird pass at the Clipper 45 and ran for a pick six. With a successful 2-point Lyons-to-Mons conversion pass, the Clippers were dominating 29 to zilch still in the second half.
GFW managed to get on the scoreboard on a 47-yard quarterback keeper, but the PAT kick missed, and the Clippers were out front 29-6 at the intermission.
After the break, Mueller ran for 15 yards to the 30-yard line, and Mons dashed to the end zone from there, but the play got called back for holding. It didn’t really matter though because, on a reverse, Hollerich, shrugging off tacklers, negotiated a path to a 39-yard touchdown. Hollerich’s extra point boot missed wide left, but the Clippers led 35-6 early in the third quarter.
Later in Q3, the T-Birds scored on another 38-yard QB keeper. Their extra point kick was no good, and Cleveland led 35 to 12
After the ensuing kickoff, Lyons ran a 12-yard QB keeper to GFW’s 42 before handing off to Hollerich for a 58-yard dash to the house. The Clippers’ PAT was no good, but they were ahead 41-12 still in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, defensive end Urijah Hoheisel, also an eighth grader, recovered a T-Bird fumble on GFW’s 25 to seal the decisive triumph.
Haugen said the junior high Clippers set the stage for solid Clipper teams in 2025 and beyond.
“We will still have some now seventh graders next year, and the eighth graders on the team will move up and have real bright future here for the next four years.”
Above: Pierce Lyons on the run
Information courtesy of Sandi Hollerich
