Sturgeon scores field goal late; Cardinals win

FARMINGTON — Senior Drew Sturgeon’s high-arching 42-yard field goal attempt split the uprights with 1 minute, 27 seconds left on the clock Friday night, as Farmington overcame a 9-point fourth-quarter deficit to topple 5A-West foe Clarksville 22-21 in the new Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals (4-0, 1-0 5A-West) remained unbeaten while the loss was Clarksville’s first of the season.

“With nine minutes left and we’re down nine points and they’ve got the ball deep in our end, it wasn’t looking good,” said a relieved Farmington coach Mike Adams. “But we got that big stop on fourth down and that was the turning point in the game.”

That big stop came at the Farmington 16, when the Cardinals’ defense stuffed Clarksville on fourth and 1.

Then Cardinals quarterback Marqwaveon Watson connected on consecutive passes. The first a 12-yarder to Caden Elsik, then a 51-yard scoring strike to Sturgeon to cut the lead to 21-19 with 6:55 to play.

Farmington got the ball back at the Clarksville 44 with 3:41 left. A personal foul against the Panthers moved it to the 25, which set the stage for Sturgeon’s career-long, game-winning kick.

“It was really nerve-racking, to be honest,” Sturgeon said. “But I knew with the wind going that way, I just stayed positive and it turned out really well.

Sturgeon also caught four passes for 69 yards and ran the ball twice for 28 yards.

“This is an unbelievable win,” he added. “This team overcame adversity tonight and I’m just so proud of everyone.”

Clarksville (3-1, 0-1) halted Farmington’s first drive of the game when Cole Chrisman picked off a Cardinal pass at the Panther 16.

But Farmington was still able to strike first. After an errant Clarksville punt snap sailed over the punter’s head, the Cardinals set up shop at the Panther 11.

On the first play of the drive, bruising fullback Josh Stettmeier rambled around the left end for the end zone. After a blocked extra point kick, Farmington led 6-0 with 2:13 left in the opening period.

A Cardinals punt pinned the Panthers inside their own 5-yard line midway through the second quarter. Nicholas Buckner gave Clarksville some breathing room with a 25-yard run. Three plays later, Bryce Buckner connected with a wide-open Jace Donaldson across the middle of the field for a 74-yard score to put Clarksville up 7-6 with 5:55 to play in the half.

A 47-yard run up the middle by Shane Edgmon on the next Panther drive took the ball to the Farmington 9. Bryce Buckner completed the drive three plays later with a 1-yard blast up the middle to extend the lead to 14-6 at the intermission.

The Panther’s spinning single-wing offense seems to give Farmington fits throughout the game, as Clarksville rushed for 230 yards on 39 carries.

“We missed a lot of tackles tonight, but a lot of that was because of their backs,” Adams said. “Those Buckner boys run hard. Two of their long touchdowns we hit the guy in the back, but he bounces off and goes and scores. Clarksville is a really good football team. They’re for real.

Nicholas Buckner ran the ball 18 times for 97 yards, while his brother Bryce Buckner had 11 carries for 65 yards. They are the sons of Panther head coach Khris Buckner

Farmington opened the second half with a 14-play drive that covered 96 yards Jaden Schader did the honors with a 3-yard touchdown run to trim the lead to 14-12.

Clarksville quickly responded on the ensuing drive as Bryce Buckner broke loose for a 42-yard scoring jaunt to extend the lead to nine late in the third quarter.

“We inflicted a lot of wounds on ourselves tonight, particularly in the first half,” Adams said. “But also, the mark of a good team is finding a way to win, and our guys found a way.

“A 4-0 start is all you can ask for,” Adams said. “The thing we got to do now is learn from our mistakes.”

FOUR DOWNS

• Clarksville outgained Farmington 320-255 in total offense. • Farmington is now 2-0 in the new Cardinal Stadium after opening the facility with a 27-7 win over Prairie Grove on Sept. 6.

• Clarksville last beat Farmington 21-20 in 2010, but the Cardinals have now won eight straight against the Panthers. • Farmington will travel to Alma next Friday night for another 5A-West clash, while Clarksville will host Harrison.