Third ranked and undefeated Spirit Lake overpowered Clear Lake in Round 2 of the Class 2A State Playoffs Friday night. The Indians took a 22-0 first half lead and pushed it to 36-0 before the Lions were able to get on the scoreboard in the third quarter. The final was 43-21.
“They were a definitely a good football team, but we made some mistakes and they were able to grab momentum,” said Clear Lake Head Coach Jared DeVries.
The Lions ended their 2022 season with a record of 5-5.
Despite putting themselves in a deep hole early, the turning point in the game happened just before halftime.
Trailing 22-0 early in the second quarter, the Lion defense executed back-to-back stops, sparking the Clear Lake offense. The Lions marched from their own 23 to within inches of the goal line with one-minute remaining in the half. On four consecutive run plays, Spirit Lake held strong and turned the Lions away, scoreless.
“We were disappointed we didn’t get it in,” said DeVries. “It was not a productive half. If we could have converted we could have grabbed momentum, and with a defensive stop coming out of the half it could have been a different game.”
Instead, the Indians used the defensive stand to solidify their hold on the score. They took the second half kickoff and tacked on another touchdown, then intercepted quarterback Cael Stephany and went up 36-0 on the turnover.
The Lions refused to go down without a fight and on their first possession of the half a 76-yard touchdown pass from Stephany to Travaughn Luyobya put points on the board. Kinnick Clabaugh converted the PAT for a 36-7 score.
A fumble recovery by Caden Cavett on the Indian 30 gave Lions the ball right back. Five straight completions helped to move the ball to the 19, but penalties and a sack ended left the Lions empty handed as the third quarter ticked away.
Following another Lion defensive stop, the offense continued to find success with its passing game. Clear Lake put together an 11-play, 52-yard drive that cut the score to 36-13. Clabaugh split the uprights for his 27th consecutive PAT and then delivered a perfect onside kick which the Lions recovered on the 45 to keep hope alive.
The Indians’ third interception of the night dashed hopes of a late recovery. Spirit Lake’s Jake Cornwall capped off his night with the pick and set his team up at the Lion 13. Two plays later they scored their final TD.
Looking back on the season, DeVries said his 202 squad was a team that practiced hard and “retained a ton” of what was taught. “The team chemistry was as good as its been since I’ve been with the program. I think that was a bright spot in the opinion of all the coaches. That’s probably what pleased me the most,” he said.
The coach noted the program will miss the 11 seniors who were playing in their final high school game: Travaughn Luyobya, Zeke Nelson, Nick Brcka, Alex Brcka, Cabot Neuberger, Ben Loge, Kaleb Hambly, Hayden Rieck, Blake Schwenn, David DeJesus and Marcus Sumlin.
“You never want it to end, but only one team goes home happy at the end and it wasn’t us this time.”
Lion quarterback Cael Stephany finished the game with 324 passing yards. He completed 29 of 44 passing attempts, with Loge and Luyobya each catching eight for 118 and 111-yards respectively. Zeke Nelson caught six passes for 48, Thomas Meyer four for 32, and Titan Schmitt four for 26-yards. Nelson also threw one pass for 11-yards.
Schmitt was the leading rusher with 50-yards gained on 17 carries. Loge had one for 33 and Stephany kept the ball nine times for 13-yards.
As they did all season, seniors Hayden Rieck and Kaleb Hambly led the defensive unit. Rieck was credited with seven solo and 10 total tackles, along with a fumble recovery, while Hambly had six tackles, four of them solo. Senior Cabot Neuberger had five tackles, three solo, and seniors Zeke Nelson and Nick Brcka each finished with four tackles, all solo. Sophomore Thomas Meyer was also among the defensive leaders with five and one-half tackles, five solo.
Spirit Lake finished with 161 yards passing and 142 on the ground. Cornwall collected 75 yards on the ground with a TD and caught two passes for 48-yards. Tyler Voss was a nightmare for the Lion offense, making 11 and one-half tackles, seven for loss, and recording three sacks.
Spirit Lake (10-0) moves on to the Class 2A quarterfinals and will host OABCIG (9-1) Friday, Nov. 4. Crestwood (7-3), which finished second in District 2 behind Osage, remains the only District 2 team still competing in the post-season.
