The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CLIPPER CHARGE
Clearview takes the field for its homecoming game against Columbia on Oct. 5. The Clippers won a hard-fought game, 28-22. Clearview ups its record to 6-1 with the victory.
On a night many observers thought Clearview was the underdog on its own field, the Clippers pulled off what Coach Mike Collier called a signature win when his team came back in the second half to beat rival Columbia, 28-22, Oct. 5 to remain atop the PAC Stripes Division.
Clearview (6-1, 2-0) had all the momentum heading into the locker room at halftime despite being down, 15-12, when quarterback Chase Christensen ran for a 10-yard touchdown with 10 seconds on the clock.
The Clippers were no stranger to the talk around the league after many put an asterisk next to last season’s win over Columbia. Raiders standout running back Brandon Coleman was sidelined with a knee injury, begging the question of what could have been had the then-junior been healthy.
“We relied on our veteran O-line, our blockers. That was all them. I read the hole, and we got a touchdown. That O-line, they’re one heck of an O-line.”
– Clippers senior Drew Engle
But the Clearview defense put to rest any notions it couldn’t hang with Coleman and Co. and held Columbia (4-3, 1-1) scoreless in the third quarter while dominating time of possession in the second half to stall one of Northeast Ohio’s most dynamic rushing attacks.
“I think the kids had a little chip on their shoulder,” Collier said. “They heard those things last year, the ‘Oh, you guys won because Coleman wasn’t playing,’ and he is, he’s such a great football player. We knew it was hard to stop him, but you’ve got to try to contain their offense and our kids just really came to battle tonight.”
Clearview didn’t so much stop Coleman as it did contain him, and the 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior made up the entirety of Columbia’s offense. He finished with 17 carries for 128 yards and three touchdowns in a performance likely lost among the overall success the Clippers had on defense.
“He’s not going to care (about his performance),” Columbia coach Jason Ward said of Coleman. “He’s not going to care. We all wanted this win pretty bad, but all the credit goes to (Clearview).
“We just sputtered, really, when it counted, except for that last touchdown there. All the credit goes to Coach Collier and a really, really tough Clearview team.”
Despite being a runfirst team, Clearview had incredible success in the passing game against the Raiders.
First-year quarterback Chase Christensen finished 12-for-14 with 226 yards and spread the ball among six receivers while taking advantage of an offensive line that allowed the junior to extend plays and find the open looks.
The Clippers didn’t completely abandon what they know best, however, and rushed for four touchdowns with senior Drew Engle running for the eventual game-winner early in the fourth quarter.
“We relied on our veteran O-line, our blockers. That was all them,” Engle said. “I read the hole and we got a touchdown.
“That O-line, they’re one heck of an O-line. I rely on them so much and I’m able to do what I can off of them . ... I don’t think a lot of people thought we could win that game, but we proved them wrong.”
The win not only has conference title implications but likely puts Clearview in a good spot in terms of playoff position heading into Week 8, and Collier isn’t shy in admitting that lingers heavy on the team’s mind.
“We talk about it,” Collier said. “We’re not afraid to talk about our goals… and our kids, they run straight to Joe Eitel on Saturday morning and, hey, it will be good for them to see but they have to stay focused.”