The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Pass gives Clearview last-minute triumph
Clippers rally to defeat Columbia for first time in seven years
It is time to start taking Clearview seriously.
The Clippers (6-1, 4-0 PAC) used a steady dose of running back Drew Engle and a lastminute touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Terry to Jordan Reed to ruin Columbia’s homecoming, 26-21, in a Patriot Athletic Conference matchup on Oct. 6.
With around three minutes left, the last-minute touchdown drive began after the Raiders were dealt two costly chop-blocking penalties, giving Clearview a shorter field on the ensuing punt. Running
back Engle tallied a pair of runs, but it was Terry’s pass in the corner of the end zone to Reed that sealed the deal with 36 seconds left.
It was Reed’s first touchdown of the season.
“You got to make the play at the right time,” Reed said. “We were down so I just had to go up and hope for the best and I just got the ball.”
With Clearview’s first victory over Columbia in seven years, Clippers coach Mike Collier was emotional after the win.
“I’m just really proud of our kids there. They just stuck in and stayed the course,” Collier said. “Their backs were up against the wall there, and a lot of people were like, ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ but our kids stayed the course. We told them to stay focused and good things were going to happen, and they did.”
The Clippers’ Anthony Terry finished 12-of-21 for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Terry came out of the gate with a first quarter 49-yard touchdown pass to Warren Kash.
Kash, who finished with five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, was among a handful of receivers who had their way with the Raiders (4-3, 2-2 PAC) secondary.
During the first play of the second quarter, the Clippers caught the Raiders defenders napping, as Terry connected with Gee Newton for a 76-yard touchdown pass, giving the Clippers a 14-0 lead.
Columbia found some much needed momentum in the waning seconds of the first half, after a pair of completions from quarterback Jared Byczynski to Bailey Coleman set them up for success. Byczynski finished the half with an 8-yard completion to Adam Ross for the score.
Trailing 14-6, the Raiders continued to fight back in the second half as Byczynski connected on a pair of completions to Coleman.
Byczynski finished 13of-24 for 166 yards and one touchdown, while Coleman had three catches for 52 yards.
The Raiders’ Adam Alten finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, evening the score at 14.
Alten toted the load often, tallying 15 carries for 47 yards and one touchdown.
Columbia kept the momentum going as Cole Schwartz broke a 32-yard touchdown run, giving the Raiders their first lead of the game.
The Clippers called upon Engle early and often, as the junior came through with a three-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, but his team could not convert the extra point as Terry’s pass was incomplete in the end zone, leaving the score 2120, Columbia.
Engle finished with 24 carries for 93 yards and one touchdown.
The tumultuous fourth quarter then played itself out in frustrating manner for the Raiders as their fans left shocked on homecoming night.
Raiders coach Jason Ward was displeased with how the final minutes unfolded.
“I was hoping to not get two chop-blocks, that’s what I was hoping for. Yeah, obviously I was hoping to get that first down,” Ward said. “It’s extremely frustrating. You go down 14-0 and they have all the momentum in the world, and these guys fight their tails off, rip off three touchdowns in a row.”