The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Clearview claims share of PAC Stripes title
Donning its flashy, new black and yellow jerseys for senior night, Clearview continued its Patriot Athletic Conference dominance as it defeated Lutheran West, 36-14.
Donning its flashy, new black and yellow jerseys for senior night, Clearview continued its Patriot Athletic Conference dominance as it defeated Lutheran West, 36-14, on a chilly night at Tom Hoch Field on Oct. 19.
The win marks the second year in a row that the Clippers (8-1, 4-0) will grab at least a share of the PAC title, and they did so in true Clipper fashion with a ground-and-pound attack and some very physical defense.
“It was a great effort by our guys,” Clearview coach Mike Collier said. “It wasn’t pretty at times, but you know we will take the win for sure. Our division has been much tougher this year, and I’m proud of our guys for battling. We knew Lutheran West wasn’t going to lay down. They came out in the second half and made it a game.”
Though it sprinkled in a few surprising aerial plays, Clearview stuck to its bread and butter, overwhelming the Longhorns with a rough and tough ground game that has left many opponents reeling this season.
Clearview notched 234 yards rushing, receiving a dual-workhorse performance from seniors Drew Engle and David Renftle. The duo terrorized the Lutheran West defense throughout the night, extending drives with their
physical play and agility.
“Yeah, our offense is a ground-and-pound team,” Engle said. “We can run, based on what the other team is showing us, and our defense can be great. It is somewhere that we knew we would be strong at coming into the year.”
A week after breaking the Clearview all-time leading rushing record, Engle continued to pile up the yards, tallying three touchdowns and 126 yards on 21 carries.
Meanwhile, Renftle was all over the field, tallying nine carries for 114 yards and one touchdown, snagging an interception in the third quarter and also adding a late 25-yard touchdown run to ice the game away as the Clippers extended the lead to 36-14.
The interception was his second in as many games as the Clipper defense clamped down once again, causing Lutheran West four turnovers on the night.
“The mentality was to be loud and to play like we are the best in the conference, because we know we are,” Renftle said. “So we are going to play the game as hard as we can and as loud as we can.”
Clearview came out with a pair of surprising heaves through the air, including seven yard touchdown pass from Chase Christensen to Julian Colbert with 9:22 left in the first quarter as the Clippers quickly jumped out on top, 8-0.
Collier believes the big play was all part of the growing process for Christensen and the passing game.
“It’s big. They were obviously crowding the box and we saw some one-on-one matchups out there,” Collier said. “Chase did a good job of putting it out there and then, you know, we went up and grabbed it.”
Christensen finished 8-for-14 with 83 yards and one touchdown.
Clearview added another score with one minute left in the first quarter as Engle zig-zagged his way around defenders finding a whole down the sideline for the 49-yard touchdown run.
Engle talked about the flashy play.
“I knew there was a hole, my guys just kind of helped me get open and I just took it and ran for it,” Engle said.
He added another touchdown in the opening minutes of the third, giving Clearview a 22-0 lead after a missed two-point conversion attempt.
Lutheran West made a quarterback change midway through the second quarter as they went away from Austin Kim, in favor of the dual-threat senior DeAnte Furry. The adjustment paid off as the Longhorns (6-3, 2-2 PAC) began to garner offensive momentum, pushing the ball down field for a handful of first downs in the second half.
Furry broke through with a two-yard touchdown rush in the third quarter after getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage, cutting the lead to 22-6.
Furry finished with 18 carries for 56 yards and one touchdown.
After seeing Lutheran West show some fight, that’s when Clearview’s calling card defense hit back with a pair of picks, snatching away any late-quarter magic the Longhorns were trying to create.
Renftle and Engle were all smiles as their team celebrated the back-to-back PAC titles.
“It feels great,” Renftle said. “We went back-to-back ,and that’s what we were trying to do at the beginning of the season. That’s what we were working for, and now we are trying to move on to bigger things and go to the playoffs.”
Clearview entered the night No. 9 in the latest playoff computer rankings.
Regardless of a playoff berth, Engle believes the repeat solidifies his team as a special one.
“It feels great even though the PAC is splitting up,” Engle said. “Being back-to-back champs just proves how strong our teams have been over these past two years. I couldn’t be happier for our guys. There is a lot of teamwork and comradery in this room.”