Clear Lake gives it their all against South Tama
South Tama dashed the Clear Lake football team’s hopes of another trip to the UNI-Dome, as they posted a 21-19 win against the Lions in the opening round of the State Playoffs. The Lions traveled to Tama on Wednesday, Oct. 31, for the match-up.
Number three Tama scored first on a six yard run in the first quarter. The Lions answered in the second quarter with a 50 yard run by Sean McChesney, only to have the PAT attempt blocked.
McChesney scored again in the second quarter, but the two-point conversion attempt failed, giving the Lions a brief 12-7. The Lion defense was unable to hold off the potent STC offense and the Trojans scored with just over two minutes left in the first half for a 14-12 halftime score.
“We did anticipate their quickness and we made some adjustments for that,” said Coach Fred Wieck.
STC picked up the first touchdown in the second half on a 52 yard interception return. The PAT was good to give the Trojans a 21-12 edge. The Lions, however, weren’t to be denied and they scored in the fourth quarter on a 12 yard run by quarterback Justin Uhlenhopp. The kick by D.J. Wilhelm was good for a 21-19 score. Clear Lake had two more possessions in the fourth quarter, but turned the ball over on downs and had a pass intercepted with 36 seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Trojans.
South Tama was the Class 3A District 4 champions. They entered the game with a 10-0 record. STC averaged 37 points per game, while allowing only 12.1.
Statistically, Clear Lake had the upper hand. The Lions led in both passing and rushing yards. Clear Lake passed for 100 yards, while STC had 24. In the rushing department, Clear Lake had 223 yards to Tama’s 183. Clear Lake also led in first downs with 16 compared to Tama’s 11.
“We fought back like we have all season,” said Wieck. “I’m so proud of these kids.”
McChesney led the team in rushing with 99 yards on 16 attempts. Josh Carlson picked up 74 yards on 17 carries and Drew Dickson had 24 yards on eight attempts. Uhlenhopp had 26 yards on six carries.
Charlie Peterson and McChesney were Uhlenhopp’s receivers of choice. McChesney hauled in three catches for 46 yards, while Peterson collected 38 yards on three receptions. Carlson had one catch for 16 yards.
Uhlenhopp completed seven passes on 18 attempts for an even 100 yards with one interception.
Leading the team in tackles was Ethan Tindall with eight solo hits and six assisted tackles. McChesney was right behind him with eight solo tackles and one assisted tackle. Jared Sholly had seven solo tackles and one assisted tackle, while Zach Kruger had seven solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Patrick Kolker had six solo hits and four assisted tackles. Ryan Williamson collected six solo and one assisted tackles. Jake Kopriva and Ryan Brattrud had three solo tackles and two assisted tackles apiece. Rudy Wieck and Joe Bieber had five and four solo tackles respectively. Lukas Matheson had one solo and two assisted tackles, while Drew Dickson had two solo tackles. Peterson and Drew Bieber each had one solo tackle, while Zach Lindquist and Christian Trebil each lent a hand on one tackle.
South Tama advanced to the quarterfinal match-up with Waverly-Shell Rock on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Waverly-Shell Rock topped Benton, 10-7, last Wednesday.
Clear Lake finished their season with a 7-3 record.