While the Clippers got within 6 yards of tying United South Central in the second round of the section playoff and having the chance to score a go-ahead PAT with under a minute remaining, the Rebels came up with a big sack before deflecting a fourth-and-14 pass in the end zone.
Afterwards, with 20 seconds left, all the Clippers could do was watch the opposing quarterback perform the perfunctory knee ritual to close out the 16-10 win in Wells on Saturday.
“They couldn’t stop us,” said head coach Erik Hermanson. “We just ran out of time.”
The irony of advancing in the playoffs is that injuries tend to mount, and often the team less affected, typically the one with more depth, has the upper hand.
Unfortunately, the Clippers had more than their fair share of players sidelined, including QB and middle linebacker Blake Lyons, who was hurt in the second game of the season, offensive lineman/defensive end David Draheim, who was injured in the game against GFW and wasn’t quite healed up enough to get back on the field, and the more recently hurt as well.
“We had fewer and fewer options,” Hermanson said. “(Caleb) Possin is banged up, and he is one of our best defensive players. Nick Simonette could only play one way. Bode (Bartell) (injured during the first playoff game) couldn’t play at all. He’s an offensive weapon, and that makes it harder for everyone else.”
Despite the win, the Clippers had several opportunities that, had they capitalized upon, would have won the game.
Clippers score in Q1, Rebels score in Q2, Clippers score in Q3, Rebels score in Q4
On the game’s opening drive, the Rebels drove to the Cleveland 25, but a holding penalty backed them up, and after an incomplete fourth-and-8 pass, the Clippers took over on their 32.
But they went three and out as did USC with Possin making a tackle in the backfield in that series.
The Rebels’ punt didn’t go far, rolling to a stop on their 46. After a false start penalty and a 4-yard Kale Kelley run, quarterback Carson Lyons hooked up with Brennan Kortuem for a 33-yard pass that put the Clippers on the Rebel 14. Kortuem caught a 7-yard pass from there, but the Clippers lost yards after and settled on a 23-yard Possin field goal.
Returning the kickoff to their 29, the Rebels took advantage of a facemask penalty, short runs and an 8-yard pass for a couple of first downs, but Braeden Smith made a tackle in the backfield for a four-yard loss and then broke up the halfback’s pass back on a fourth-and-9 reverse flee flicker, and the Clippers took over on their 28.
The Clippers moved the ball on the next series, but an interception thwarted a score, and instead USC came away with seven points.
Rewarding Smith for his work on the defense, Lyons connected with the 6-1 sophomore for a 31-yard completion, but the Clippers suffered a holding penalty, and, on third and 21, the Rebels intercepted a Lyons pass and returned it all the way to the Cleveland 17.
Six plays later, the Rebels ran 3-yards for a touchdown that, with the PAT run tacked on, put them in front 8-3 with a minute left to the break.
But Cleveland went in front 10-8 in the third quarter.
The Clippers started the campaign on their 36 when the kickoff went out of bounds. A false start infraction backed them up, but Lyons swung a pass to Tanner Simonette for a dozen yards. They lost a yard on the ground, but on third-and-4, Lyons legged 10 yards for the first down.
On third-and-10, Kortuem hauled in a 13-yard pass, and Lyons scrambled for 10 yards. The Clippers lost 10 yards on a holding penalty, but Simonette caught an 8-yard pass before Lyons hit Brennan Kortuem, who dodged and broke through USC tacklers for a 31-yard catch and run to the end zone.
With Possin’s PAT boot, the Clippers were in front 10-8 with eight minutes left until the final frame
But putting their T formation to work from their 22-yard line, the Rebels ran the ball 21 times before scoring on a 5-yard run. They converted the PAT on a pass for a 16-10 lead with 6:41 left in Q4.
The Rebels averaged 6-2, 240 lbs. across the entire offensive line, Hermanson said, while the Clippers didn’t have a lineman over 200.
“If they don’t run it every play, they’re crazy.”
After Kortuem returned the ensuing kickoff to the USC 25, Lyons scrambled for 11 yards. On fourth-and-8, he hooked up with Kortuem for 10 yards that put the Clippers at midfield. After advancing 6 yards on the ground, the Clippers were faced with fourth-and-15, but Lyons went with his go-to, Kortuem, who sprung for a 29-yard catch that put the Clippers on the USC 27.
Yet another false start pushed them back, but with a Possin 9-yard catch and a Smith 13-yard grab the Clippers found themselves on the USC 10. After offsetting penalties, Lyons ran a 4-yard keeper, and the Clippers were 6-yards away from a touchdown. Lyons spiked the ball, putting the Clippers at third down with 50 seconds left.
From there, the Rebels sacked Lyons for a 9-yard loss and delivered a knock-down punch when they deflected Lyons’ fourth-down throw to the end zone.
Stats
The Clippers picked up a dozen first downs, one less than the Rebels. They suffered nine penalties for 66 yards compared to USC's four penalties for 27 yards.
Lyons completed 21 of 36 passes for 251 yards and one touchdown. He threw two interceptions, the game’s only turnovers. It was the first game this season that the turnover ratio didn’t favor the Clippers.
With 10 catches for 148 yards and the TD, Kortuem was Lyons’ favorite receiver. Tanner Simonette clutched four passes for 23 yards. Smith had three catches for 41 yards, Kelley had four catches for 30 yards, and Possin had one catch for 9 yards.
The Clippers didn’t establish much of a ground game. Kelley ran three times for three total yards. Lyons had five keepers for 34 yards, and Possin carried the ball one time for 1 yard.
Besides his field goal, Possin booted a 49-yard punt.
Kortuem returned one kickoff for 16 yards while Kelley returned another one for 13 yards.
For the undersized and depleted Clippers to limit USC to just a pair of touchdowns was a heroic hate-to-lose, set-the-tone, never-give-up effort.
Possin made seven solo tackles and helped with two tackles with two tackles in the USC backfield. Jackson Shouler had three solo tackles and two assists. Lyons had seven solos and four assists and deflected one pass. Nick Simonette had two solo tackles. Kelley had one solo tackle and one assist. Mason Kluntz had two solos and two assists. Smith had three solos and three assists with one tackle behind the line and one deflected pass. Tanner Simonette had three solos and one assist. Carsyn Ryg had four solos and two assists. Kortuem had four solos and one assist. Max Esser had two solos. Gavin Karels had one solo. Alex Johnson had two solos and one assist.
Winning season
Despite the loss, the Clippers had a solid season. They finish with a respectable 6-4 record. It was the first time since 2017, when they were 9-2, that they have won more than five games and won a playoff game. The last time the Clippers had a winning record was in 2018, their final year of nine-man, when they went 5-4.
With only NYA beating the Clippers decisively, they proved they were at least as good as the other 10 teams in the district. Time also ran out on a Clipper drive in their 18-13 loss to WEM, and their 41-35 loss to Randolph was in double overtime.
It was the last game for seniors Johnson, Kelley, Kortuem, Nick Simonette, Hunter Plafcan, Noah Hermel and the injured Blake Lyons.
“Lifting was everything,” said Johnson, who plays on both the offensive and defensive line. “I started out on defense but had to be taken out because I didn’t get the job done, but I had the chance to play it today. Everyone out there was in the weight room with me each day pushing me to be better. The season was a blessing. It’s disappointing we couldn’t get this one done. Injuries hurt us a little bit. But I will never forget we came from a 1-8 season and then winning our first playoff game in five years.”
Hermel, who played center, will also remember how much the weight room changed the team between his junior season and this year. A boost in attitude also made a difference, he said, and that lesson he will take with him beyond football.
“This year, my teammates stayed positive, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you’re losing. There'll always be a next game until the last one.”
Lester Prairie rolled over GFW 39-6 and will take on USC tonight (Friday) in the section championship. Lester Prairie beat GFW 39-6 on Saturday. GFW had topped Mayer Lutheran 44-15 in round one.
In Section 2AA, Waterville edged Maple River 14-12 and will take on Triton in the championship tonight (Friday) in Janesville. Triton beat JWP 66-7 to get there. JWP edged NRHEG 25-22 in the first round.
In the first round of the Section 4AA tournament Randoph got whipped up by Cannon Falls 50-6. Cannon Falls went on to beat Rush City 42-12 for the right to take on NYA for the section championship. NYA rolled over Maple Lake and then St. Agnes to get to the championship.
Above: Carson Lyons gets set to throw on the run.
