Clear Lake holds off second half Crestwood charge to win, 14-7
With the game on the line, Clear Lake Coach Fred Wieck called upon experience to win the game. And experienced seniors delivered.
Faced with third and seven at their own 27-yard line in the fourth quarter, the Lions completely fooled Crestwood of Cresco with a halfback pass delivered from senior Sean McChesney to classmate Charlie Peterson. The 17-yard gain gave the Lions a much-needed first down to thwart a Crestwood comeback.
The Lions went on to win the game 14-7, setting up a big battle this Friday in Waukon. Clear Lake, 6-2 overall and 5-1 in Class 3A, District 3, needs the win for a State playoff berth. No. 7 ranked Waukon is also 5-1 in the district and 7-1 overall. The third team tied for the district lead is Waverly-Shell Rock (5-1, 6-2). W-SR, which beat the Lions in Week 4 of the season, plays Charles City (2-4, 2-6).
Coach Wieck said his team will need to eliminate mistakes to post a win against Waukon. The coach was frustrated by his teams’ five fumbles and six penalties for 50-yards against Crestwood.
“You can’t win football games fumbling the ball,” said Wieck. “We’ve got to play better.”
The Lions committed two fumbles early in the game, both inside their own 20. Both times the Lion defense stepped up and effectively stopped Crestwood.
Clear Lake got its first touchdown early in the second quarter when quarterback Justin Uhlenhopp ran the ball in from 11-yards out. DJ Wilhelm’s kick was good to put the Lions on top, 7-0.
Another fumble, this time by the Cadets, led to the second Clear Lake score. Ethan Tindall was able to strip the ball from a Cadet and returned the fumble 31 yards for a score. It was the third fumble recovery for the sophomore this season.
Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter, but in the fourth with 3:20 to go, quarterback Mark Lueschow connected on a 50-yard pass to Logan Smith. The PAT made the score 14-7.
The Lions appeared to be in control on the next possession, but the drive nearly stalled at the Cadet 27. That’s when McChesney and Peterson executed the halfback pass to perfection, allowing the Lions to retain possession and run the clock out.
Uhlenhopp finished the game with six completed passes for 81 yards on 12 attempts. He also was the leading ground-gainer for the Lions with 89 yards on 15 carries.
Josh Carlson ran the ball 11 times for 73 yards, while McChesney finished with 33 yards on nine carries. He caught two passes for 13 yards. Drew Dickson ran the ball seven times for eight yards and had one reception for 23.
Charlie Peterson was Uhlenhopp’s receiver of choice, catching four balls for 62 yards.
McChesney and Tindall led the Lions’ defensive stats with 14 and 10 tackles respectively. Tindall also had two sacks. Senior Jared Sholly sacked Lueschow four times, while Ryan Brattrud and Zach Kruger each had one sack. Sholly and Brattrud also had six tackles apiece. Kruger had one.
Jake Kopriva and Ryan Williamson also had six tackles, Josh Carlson four, and Patrick Kolker, Rudy Wieck, Joe Bieber and Lukas Matheson all had one.
Friday night the Lions will be in Waukon for the final game of the regular season, with District 3 playoff teams still to be determined. Play-off pairings will be announced after Friday’s contests. The first round of the playoffs begins Wednesday, Oct. 31.