Clippers happy with campaign despite quick playoff exit
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BROOKFIELD - It’s been 20 years since the Columbiana Clippers last won a postseason game. On Friday night, they looked to snap their 10-game losing streak with a win in their Division VI, Region 21 first-round playoff contest at Brookfield.
Unfortunately, the Brookfield Warriors overwhelmed the Clippers with their quickness and big plays with a 49-0 victory to snap the Clippers’ 5-game winning streak on the season. The last post-season victory for the Clippers (8-3) was in 2006 with a 14-9 win over Western Reserve.
"This year didn't go exactly how we wanted it to go, but it went pretty stinking well. Eight and two, I feel like, is a good record. Three and seven three years ago, to seven and three last year, to eight and two this year, this team means something to me," Clippers senior lineman Kolin Pasco said.
"These guys left their mark," Clippers head coach Bob Spaite said. "I'm proud of these guys, I'm really, really proud of them. They are a great group of kids. A great group of seniors who worked their tails off in the offseason. They have nothing to hang their heads about."
With the victory, the Warriors improved to 8-3 on the season and advanced to the second round of the OHSAA playoffs. They will travel to Kirtland to face the defending Division VI state champions next Friday.
The final score is a bit misleading, as the Warriors fumbled the ball twice in the first half, giving the Clippers opportunities to grab the early momentum. However, the Warriors scored on an 8-yard pass on a fourth-and-goal play from Blake Hammond to Cruz Torres at the 6:33 mark of the first quarter. The extra point failed to make it 6-0 in favor of the Warriors.
The score was set up following an exchange of turnovers. The Warriors fumbled a Clippers punt to provide the Clippers with a golden opportunity to score at the Warriors’ 13. However, three plays later, the Warriors intercepted a Hayes McCoy pass and returned it to the Clippers ‘ 10-yard line.
"They gave us a chance, but we didn't take advantage of it. That is on us," Spaite said. "That's on me. Before anyone blames any of these guys, they need to talk to me. They (players) played hard; they played their tails off."
Following that opening touchdown, the Warriors’ big plays began to occur. With 6:28 remaining in the second quarter, Rico Smith took a screen pass from Hammond on a second-and-32 play from the Warriors’ own 24, and raced 76 yards for a touchdown.
Then just before halftime, the Warriors struck again, this time on a 33-yard pass from Hammond to Torres to provide them with a 20-0 advantage. The score came at the close of a 77-yard play drive.
While the Warriors were hitting big plays on offense, the Clippers offense was having a hard time finding any traction. The Clippers went away from their stacked I formation and looked to try to get the ball on the edges without much success. Adding insult to injury, quarterback Hayes McCoy received a hard hit that knocked him out of the game midway through the second quarter.
"They did a great job. They had 10 in the box, and they weren't going to let us do what we do, Spaite said. "We tried early, and we tried a couple gimmicks and tried to put a couple new wrinkles in."
"They had a good game plan," Pasco said. "They stopped us. That (Brookfield) is a good football team."
But as frustrating as the first half was for the Clippers, an avalanche began in the second half that they couldn't overcome. The Warriors would score on a kickoff return, a fumble return, and two long scoring runs.
"For me, their line is what I expected it to be," Pasco said. I know that when I was on the sideline, and they break a 30-yard run, I'm like, 'Here we go'. Now we have to respond. Then we got stuffed."
The Warriors’ Keithen Flynn raced through the Clippers’ kickoff team to start the second half with an 82-yard return. Following a two-point conversion, the Warriors held a commanding 28-0 lead. But perhaps more importantly, they fully seized the momentum in the contest.
When Hammond scored on a 48-yard run at the 9:40 mark of the third quarter on their next possession, the Warriors held a 35-0 lead and activated the running clock. They padded their advantage with a 20-yard run by Tillman Douglass with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter, and the Warriors’ Robbie Flynn scooped up a fumble with just 9:34 left in the game and raced 30 yards to push their lead to the 49-0 final score.
"Their quickness got us. There is no question about that. Defensively, we missed some tackles; that was the big thing. And give (Brookfield) the credit, their backs run hard. They are very good backs, and we knew that coming in. We had some things we thought we could do, but we couldn't execute them," Spaite said.
The Clippers made one final desperate offensive drive with them driving from their own 22 to the Warriors 5 before turning the ball over on downs with only a few seconds remaining in the contest.
"This group of seniors has left a good mark, and the kids under us have a lot of hard workers, and I'm excited to see what they do next year," Pasco remarked about the future of the Clippers football program. "I know that there are a lot of kids that are going to do some good things for us."
CO:0-0-0-0 -- 0
BR:6-14-22-7 -- 49
SCORING
B - Cruz Torres 8 pass from Blake Hammond (Run Failed)
B - Rico Smith 76 pass from Hammond (Hammond Run)
B - Torres 33 pass from Hammond (Run Failed)
B - Keithen Flynn 82 kickoff return (Hammond Run)
B - Hammond 48 run (Body Smith Kick)
B - Torres 20 run (Smith Kick)
B - Robbie Flynn 30 fumble return (Smith Kick)
TEAM STATS
COLUMBIANA
First downs: 13; Total yards: 158; Rushes-yards: 29-140, Passing: 18; Comp-Att-Int. 5-18-1; Punts 0-0; Fumbles-Lost 1-1; Penalties-Yards 1-10
BROOKFIELD
First downs: 16, Total yards: 344, Rushes-yards: 25-179, Passing: 165; Comp-Att-Int. 6-0-0; Punts 0-0; Fumbles-Lost 2-2; Penalties-Yards 3-30
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING--Columbiana, Danny Mangiarelli 11-51, Jensen Nordquist 5-42, Devin Brode 5-25; Brookfield, Rico Smith 11-89, Blake Hammond 7-98
PASSING--Columbiana, Hayes McCoy 1-6-1, Carter Griffin 4-12-0; Brookfield, Blake Hammond 6-6-0
RECEIVING--Columbiana, Kaden Smith 1-10, Cameron Conkle 2-5; Brookfield, Rico Smith 1-76, Cruz Torres 2-41
INTERCEPTIONS--Brookfield, Cruz Torres
FUMBLE RECOVERIES--Columbiana, Race Mediate; Brookfield, Robbie Flynn