Above: Defensive back Carson Lyons reaches into the hands of an Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons receiver to break up a pass play.
With a 26-8 win over Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Dave Krenik Field on Tuesday, the junior high Clipper football team finished a perfect 8-0 season, a major turnaround from no wins a year ago.
The Knights outsized Cleveland, but the Clippers unleashed their air force to come out on top.
“Carson (Lyons) is just too good of a quarterback,” said Tanner Simonette, a seventh grader, who is typically good for a touchdown catch or two each outing. “And the wide receiver corps…nobody can guard us. This team’s the best…good chemistry.”
With a catch by seventh grader Caleb Connor on a throw from his classmate Lyons, the Clippers got in the red zone on their first possession. A few plays later, Lyons plunged in from 2.5 yards out. The Knights thwarted the PAT run, but the Clippers were up 6-0 early.
The Clippers scored again in the second quarter when Lyons hooked up with Simonette for a 45-yard catch and run to the end zone. The PAT pass fell to the turf.
Later in Q2, eighth grader Max Esser intercepted a pass at the Clipper 44. With a run by eighth grader Caleb Possin and another Connor catch, the Clippers moved down field, but the Knights intercepted the ball in front of the goal line as time ran out.
On a 17-yard Lyons scramble for a touchdown, the Clippers padded their lead late in the third quarter. The PAT toss was short.
Conner intercepted a pass on the Knight’s next possession. From there, just into the fourth quarter, Simonette hauled in a 20-yard Lyons throw that put the Clippers on their opponent’s 2.
After Lyons gained a yard on a sneak, Possin took a handoff in for a touchdown. Connor grabbed the point-after pass, and the Clippers were comfortably in front 26-0.
The Knights managed a score later in the fourth quarter when they returned a Clipper punt 70 yards for a touchdown and ran in the PAT.
Head coach Tray Jones said some kids will move up a level next season, so it will be a different landscape for the junior high Clippers in 2022.
“Some of the guys who didn’t get to play a lot this will be the ones stepping up to fill their roles. I am not sure what next season holds, but I hope I get a chance to coach these boys again.”
Quarterback Carson Lyons on the keeper.
Caleb Possin cuts around blocker Nathan Seeman.
Under heavy pressure, Caleb Connor reaches up for a grab.
Eighth grader Mason Kluntz and seventh grader Braeden Smith wrap up a Knight runner while eighth grader David Draheim readies to move in.
Tanner Simonette slips through a pair of defenders.
Gavin Karels, Caleb Possin, David Draheim and Daniel McClune take a break as younger players take the field.
Coaches Rich Kern and Tray Jones talk to their troops during a time out.
Seventh grader Sam Ternes got in a couple of series behind center in the fourth quarter.