It was a tale of two halves Friday night as the cold and wind rolled in and the Bishop Heelan (8-1) Crusaders made the long trip to Clear Lake.
The Lions started off strong after the Crusaders won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
Starting with the ball, the Lions marched down the field to score in just under three minutes.
Kinnick Clabaugh missed his first point after field goal of the season after it looked good but a strong wind stopped it dead in the air and it just missed the uprights.
The Lions, however, led the Crusaders, 6-0.
Bishop Heelan struck quick as they leaned into their passing game behind senior Quinn Olson who made connections with Kasen Thomas down to the Lion 10-yard line and Kannon Bork who scored the first touchdown for the visitors.
Things would start to unravel for Clear Lake and it was three and out, followed by a punt that didn’t come off the foot of the Lion punter correctly and landed at the Lion 34 to put the Crusaders in great position.
The Lions showed resilience, forcing a 4th and 18 but would see the punt downed at the two. The first quarter ended with the Lions down by one.
The second quarter saw the Lions fall behind further as halfway through Bishop Heelan scored on an Olson keeper and a two-point conversion. The Lions now trailed by eight.
It would be another punt for the Lions on their next drive and the Crusaders marched down the field and were able to get into the endzone with 1:14 to go in the first half.
The Lions were down 22-6 as the horn sounded at the half. They came back out and rallied, but ultimately ran out of time and came up just short.
Thomas Meyer had a big sack to bring up 3rd and 20 and the Lions held the Crusaders on their first drive to a 4th and 25.
The Crusader offense stayed on the field and Meyers found himself again in the mix of a big play, hitting Olson for a fumble. The Lions recovered at their own 28.
Coach Aaron Stensland and company weren’t about to lie down in the second half and facing a 4th and 10, looked to punt. It was a fake, however, and Trevor Theobald found Dontrel Johnson for a pass to the Bishop Heelan 19.
Cael Stephany would go on to find Meyer for six points. The two-point conversion came up short and the Lions were down by 10 to end the third quarter.
With 12 minutes to play, the Lions needed 10 points to tie the game and with 4:35 to go in the game, Clear Lake saw Stephany find Sam Dodge for six andClabaugh cleared the uprights for the PAT and the Lions were down by three.
The Crusaders ran the clock down after picking up a couple of first downs. The Lions ran out of time and fell in the Round of 16 playoff game to end the season with an overall record of 8-2.
Coach Aaron Stensland was proud of the season the team put together but would have, understandably, liked to have taken it further.
“We gave them a hard talking to at half and challenged them probably harder than we ever had this season to leave a legacy,” said coach Stensland. “It almost felt like a win that half. It felt like if we could just get the ball one more time we could win that game.”
Coach Stensland was happy with the seniors and everything they overcame this season.
“I think they gave the community something to be proud of for 10 nights in a row,” said Stensland. “The first time we talked to them, it was telling them we wanted to get our feet in the carpet at the Dome. I think we are a good enough team to play at the UNI-Dome and I think, this district, you will see a champion come out of here.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
BH 7 15 0 0 22
CL 6 0 6 7 19
Team Stats
BH CL
Passing 6-8 7-13
Pass Yards 61 101
Pass TDs 1 2
Rushing 48 28
Rush Yards 291 154
Rush TDs 2 1
Tackles 31 56
Sacks 1 1
PAT 2-2 1-2
2-pt 1 0
FG 0 0
Individual Stats
Passing
Att Yds TDs
Stephany 6-12 71 2
Theobald 1-1 39 0
Rushing
Att Yds TDs
Dodge 4 72 0
Schmitt 15 53 1
Stephany 9 29 0
Receiving
Rec Yds TDs
Dodge 2 27 1
Schmitt 2 24 0
Johnson 1 30 0
Meyer 2 20 1
Tackles
Total Sacks TFL
Dodge 5.5 0 0
Hartl 7 0 0
LeFevre 3 0 0
Cavett 1.5 0 0
Schmitt 1 0 0
Larson 5.5 0 0
Allsbrook 3.5 0 0
Bunn 3.5 0 1
Richtsmeier 1 0 0
Trenary 12.5 0 2
Litzel 4.5 0 0
Meyer 7.5 1 5
Kick Returns
Ret Yds Avg
Hartl 1 9 9
Johnson 1 13 13
Field Goals
FG PAT
Clabaugh 0-0 1-2
