The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Clippers advance to face Clear Fork
It was a party 15 years in the making as Clearview won its first postseason game since 2003 with a 30-16 victory over Marengo Highland on Nov. 3 in a Division 4, Region 14 regional quarterfinal.
Clearview will play Bellville Clearfork Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at a site yet to be determined.
Overcoming a quick start by the Fighting Scots, the Clippers never faltered as Highland gave them one of their toughest tests all season. Trailing, 8-0, after the opening drive and turning the ball over with its first possession, the Clearview players kept trust in one another and played into head coach Mike Collier’s game plan when things started off rocky.
“That’s been a big part of this team, they just have resiliency, mental and physical toughness, and we’ve been in that situation this year,” Collier said. “We’ve been down early on and say, ‘We’re going to be fine.’ The kids, they have our motto of this year of ‘all in’ and they’ve been all in, they have each other’s back all season long and if somebody makes a mistake, they pick each other up. Somebody goes down, someone steps up, it’s just a great honor to be the head coach of this team.”
“They were too weak. They need to get in the gym more. That’s what we wanted. We knew our class, our group, we were going to be special.”
— David Renftle
Answering back after turning the ball over, the Clippers navigated a 16-play touchdown drive capped off by a David Renftle touchdown from a yard out.
Highland gained some luck after pinning Clearview down deep and forcing a punt out of the Clippers’ end zone that went off a lineman and set up a 3-yard score.
That was the last time
the Fighting Scots saw the end zone.
Taking the next possession, quarterback Chase Christensen hooked up with his top target on the night in Dustyn Smith for a crowd-erupting 58-yard score to bring the game back in control.
Failing to convert the 2-point conversion, the Clippers lined up for the kickoff when a short kick looking to roll out of bounds landed and bounced right into the hands of sophomore Mason Argenti. With the ball in Highland territory, Renftle
once again hit pay dirt as he carried a squadron of Scots in his back and would not be denied to take a 2216 lead into halftime.
“They were too weak. They need to get in the gym more,” an ecstatic Renftle said after the game. “That’s what we wanted. We knew our class, our group, we were going to be special. Started it last year and we’re going to continue to finish it this year.”
Getting the huge turnover may not have been what the script read, but in the end the takeaway might
have been the biggest moment of the night before the celebration started.
“You mean we didn’t plan that?” A joking Collier said. “No, not exactly, kinda came off the foot wrong, but to our guys’ credit, they sprint down and they were on the spot and made a great job of jumping on it.”
Despite a slow start to the passing game, Christensen’s night just kept getting better once he found Smith on the quick slant routes. Adding the icing to the cake on the first drive of the second quarter, Christensen found
smith on a 38-yard touchdown pass to push it to a two score game and keep the triple option game of the Fighting Scots slowed down against a stout Clippers’ defense.
“He’s doing a great job of hitting Dustyn Smith tonight,” Collier said. “Our offensive line did a great job of providing the protection and giving him time and I just keep saying I’m proud, but I am so proud of these young men.”
Getting the connection rolling, Smith contributes the big play to all the hard
work and coaching that has gone into this season even after a couple of mosques as the Clippers have now won 10 in a row.
“I just thank my coaching staff and my teammates for believing in me, I know I messed up on an important play where we had to get a first down, but they believed in me right after that and we found a way to get in the end zone,” Smith said. “This feeling is so surreal, I didn’t get a chance to play last year, but this moment I can’t quite put into words.”