September 2020 - page 2

Never losing faith, the Clifton Cubs rally with 29 fourth quarter points to snap three-game losing streak against powerhouse Tenaha

CLIFTON – Playing against a fourth straight playoff-caliber opponent to wrap up the gauntlet of a non-district schedule, the Class 3A, Division II Clifton Cubs appeared on the brink of their first winless start to the season since 2016.

Not so fast.

Finally getting over the hump in a big way, the Cubs made an dramatic statement before opening District 13-3A, DII play with a thrilling 43-26 come-from-behind victory over the Class 2A, DII perennial powerhouse Tenaha Tigers Friday night at Cub Stadium.

Trailing 20-7 at halftime, senior running back Devin Byrd and sophomore Joe Taylor ran for two touchdowns as Clifton scored 29 fourth quarter points to not only win the game, but put an emphatic exclamation mark on the victory.

“I’m really proud of the fight the kids have shown, not just on Friday night but throughout the first four weeks of the season,” Clifton football head coach Chuck Caniford said. “We’ve played some very quality opponents, and they’ve never given up. Friday night was a great example of that. It would have been very easy for them to throw in the towel, down 20-7 at half. But they never lost their faith and kept fighting, and it paid off in a big way.”

When Tenaha junior running back Jeremy Patton scored on the first play from scrimmage, it looked like the beginning of a rough night for the Cubs. But despite trailing 20-7 at halftime, the Clifton defense came up with some important first half stops, then turned up the heat in the second half.

In fact, the defensive unit provided the turning point in the game with only 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Byrd forced a fumble on a pitch and sophomore Larrett Thomas scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 61 yards for the score to pull Clifton to within six.

Then on Tenaha’s next play from scrimmage, the Tigers fumbled the handoff and Cub junior Jacob Rogers fell on the loose ball at the Tenaha 25-yard line. Clifton capitalized once again on Byrd’s one-yard run untouched into the end zone.  Senior placekicker Jose Ramirez nailed the extra point to give the Cubs a 21-20 lead with 10:38 remaining in the game.

“We knew it would take some time to adjust to their speed,” Caniford said. “They were clearly the fastest team we have seen this year. Our defensive staff made some adjustments, and after that initial storm, our guys settled in and played great. They have some dynamic playmakers, and once we got going on defense, we did a very good job of shutting them down.”

But Tenaha refused to be done yet, responding with a resounding scoring drive, culminating with Patton’s 25-yard touchdown run with 8:25 left on the clock. But when the Tigers decided to go for the two-point conversion, they drew a motion penalty to push them back five yards before junior Will Simmons stopped the Tigers short on a quarterback keeper.

Defensively, Byrd led Clifton with 12 tackles, followed by junior Griffin Phillips with seven tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery, while Thomas and Simmons finished with six takedowns apiece.

Grinding it out on the ground and mixing in timely passes, the Cub offensive attack became unstoppable in the fourth quarter. With freshman quarterback Riley Finney at the helm, the Cubs answered with a scoring drive of their own to reclaim the lead they would never relinquish. After marching into the red zone, Finney connected with senior wide receiver Tyler Anderson on a 17-yard touchdown pass. Going for the two-point conversion, Finney rifled one to Simmons just across the goal line to give Clifton a 29-26 advantage with 4:06 remaining in the game.

“We felt really good even in the first half about how we were moving the ball on offense,” Caniford said. “We had just a few plays in the first half that killed drives, but found our groove in the second half. We felt like we could eventually wear them down, and that’s what we were able to do in the fourth quarter.”

Indeed, they were, and the Cubs were just getting started. But first, the Clifton defense came up with a big stop as Tenaha turned the ball over on downs at their own 31-yard line with 1:55 left on the clock. On the first play from scrimmage, Byrd turned the corner around the right side and outraced the Tigers for a 31-yard scoring scamper to give the Cubs a 10-point cushion.

Then on the ensuing kickoff, Ramirez perfectly placed a pooch kick on no-man’s land, and Cub sophomore Westen Urbanovsky recovered ball at the Teneha 39-yard line. On the next play, Taylor broke through up the middle and thundered 39 yards for the game-clinching score.

Taylor led Clifton with 101 yards rushing on 17 carries, followed by Finney with 65 yards and Byrd with 58 as the Cubs piled up 259 yards on the ground. Through the air, Finney completed seven of 10 passes for 99 yards, hooking up with junior Luis Rodriguez twice for 47 yards, and Anderson three times for 33.

“We talked all week about perspective and understanding that this is all part of the process of growing as a team,” Caniford said. “Obviously, it was great to end the non-district schedule with a win, but it was even more important that we played well against a good opponent.

Playing tough non-district schedules have paid off for Cubs in the past under Caniford’s watch. After winning their last non-district game, Clifton will carry the momentum of the dramatic win into their District 13-3A, DII opener against the Riesel Indians this Friday night at Cub Stadium.

“We feel good about where we are at,” Caniford said. “But we also understand that we have to continue to get better, and that everything we want will be earned on the field over the next seven weeks.”

Photos by DAVID HARDING

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The road through the non-district schedule remains tough as the Class 3A, DII Clifton Cubs return home still looking for first win

CLIFTON — Entering the 2020 Texas high school football season in search for their seventh straight postseason berth, the Clifton Cubs have been down this road before. And in the past, running the gauntlet of tough non-district opponents has always proved to be the formula for success in district play.

Clifton might not be playing a larger school this week, but the Class 3A, Division II Cubs (0-3) will be facing the Class 2A, DII’s pre-season 11th-ranked Tenaha Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cub Stadium. Not originally on the schedule, Tenaha (1-1) represents yet another perennial postseason powerhouse to challenge Clifton in non-district.

“This is another opportunity for us to get better against a very talented opponent,” Clifton football head coach Chuck Caniford said. “Tenaha is no stranger to playoff success, and they will have a lot of speed, which we need to see because we will see plenty of it in district play.”

Upon his arrival over six years ago, Caniford has always challenged his teams with tough non-district schedules. Never has that proven to be more true than this season. Last week, the Class 3A, Division II Cubs took on its third straight team from a larger classification, dropping a hard-fought decision to the Class 3A, DI Maypearl Panthers, 17-7.

Despite being in a position to win in the fourth quarter during all three games, the young and inexperienced Cubs have fallen victim to turnovers in losses to Class 4A, DII Sanger, 25-14, and Class 3A, DI Little River-Academy, 17-0, to open the 2020 campaign.

Overall, the Cub defense has played well enough to win, and they have gotten the job done as a unit. Seniors Devin Byrd and Griffin Phillips lead Clifton with 19 tackles each, followed by senior Elias Tebo with 16 as well as sophomore Larrett Thomas and freshman Riley Finney with 15 apiece and junior Jimmie Taylor with 14.

Despite playing larger schools, Clifton has had a chance to win all three games late, but mistakes — turnovers and penalties — have hurt. In fact, during the first three games of the season, the Cubs have turned the ball over nine times. Last week against Maypearl, untimely penalties brought back potential scoring opportunities.

“Our first three opponents are a combined 9-0, and you aren’t going to beat that caliber of opponent without eliminating those mistakes,” Caniford said. “Most of those mistakes are correctable and usually tie back to focusing on fundamentals and situational awareness.”

With the turnovers and penalities, the Clifton offensive attack has struggled to find consistency. While the running game has shown potential, the passing game has failed to take flight. But after making some offensive personnel changes in the second half against Maypearl, the Cubs showed some signs of a spark after spending most of the first half in hibernation.

“We made a couple of personnel changes in the second half against Maypearl, and some of those will remain due to injuries, etc.,” Caniford said. “With our open week not scheduled until the next to last week of the season, it is critical that we do a good job of managing injuries at this point in the year so that they don’t linger into district play.”

After missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006, Tenaha appears poised to get back to where they belong, selected by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football as the favorite to win District 11-2A, DII. The Tigers opened the season with a 42-29 loss to Class 2A, DI Honey Grove, had their Week 2 game against Arp cancelled, then knocked off Class 3A, DII Kountze, 49-0 last week.

“They have a lot of team speed with several dynamic playmakers on offense,” Caniford said. “They are very solid in the kicking game with some dangerous returners. Defensively, they get to the ball well and will press our receivers in man coverage. 

“We just have to continue to get better and play more consistently. We have shown flashes of what we are capable of, but have to find a way to put it all together for four quarters.”

Photos by DAVID HARDING

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In winning their second straight game, the Meridian Yellowjackets put 13-game losing streak firmly in the rear view mirror

MERIDIAN — Proving their first win since the 2018 season wasn’t a fluke, the Meridian Yellowjackets made it two in a row by surviving a defensive struggle laced with adversity to blank the Bartlett Bulldogs, 7-0, on Homecoming Night last Friday at Jacket Stadium.

Jacket senior quarterback Dylan Poole connected with wide open sophomore receiver Brady Taylor for a 25-yard scoring strike with 5:16 left in the first quarter, and that proved to be all the points Meridian (2-1) needed to provide the hometown crowd more than one reason to celebrate.

“The win just shows that our kids want to get better and continue to have a mindset of getting better each and every day,” Meridian football second-year head coach Wade Morton said. “Our defense has been the strength of our team for sure the past three weeks. It’s so important to line up correctly and to play fundamental. We will continue to get better on both sides of the ball.”

Just a week after snapping a 13-game losing streak dating back to Oct. 26, 2018, the Jackets established a winning streak thanks to their second consecutive defensive shutout.

But this win against Bartlett (1-2) did not come easy. After Meridian scored early, the Jacket defense took away the Bulldogs’ only serious scoring threat of the first half on an interception by freshman defensive back Brayden Wehmeyer. Then late in the fourth quarter, Meridian ended Bartlett’s last possession as sophomore Gage Edwards stripped the ball and freshman Noah Alvizo recovered the fumble.

In a dominating performance, the Jacket defense limited Bartlett to only 79 total yards of offense, shutting down the running game with 64 yards on 32 carries. Senior linebacker Anthony Gonzalez and senior defensive end Teagan Smith led the Jackets with 11 tackles, sophomore Michael Crawford and Edwards collected 10 takedowns apiece, while Taylor added seven tackles and senior Victor Orozco contributed six

After scoring early, it appeared as if the Jacket offense would be able to move the ball like it did the previous week again Frost. But then adversity set in as Poole went down with an injury, the second team quarterback left the game, and an offensive lineman went out with an unsportsmanship ejection.

As a result, the offensive attack stalled, finishing with 178 total yards. Poole completed five of six passes for 63 yards and rushed for 25 more before getting injured in the second quarter. Gonzales led the Jackets in rushing with 78 yards on 21 carries and caught two passes for 21.

“Adversity is just part of the game, as many know,” Morton said. “We need leaders on both sides of the ball to realize that leading doesn’t look like swag, ego or attention, but being together as a team, going in the same direction towards the same goal.”

With a two-game win streak and a winning record, the Jackets appear to be heading in the right direction. And despite the adversity, Meridian figured out a way to win again, even if it turned out to be the hard way.

“Doing the right thing and holding each other accountable isn’t easy,” Morton said. “If it was, then everything would be easy. We’re not going to make easy unaccountable choices. We’re going to do things right.

“We showed we can have adversity and overcome while coming out on top. That’s huge for our program and the younger Yellowjackets that see it.”

Photos by WENDY OROZCO

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Facing gauntlet of undefeated, larger teams, Class 3A, DII Clifton Cubs still searching for first thrill of victory in the 2020 season

MAYPEARL – While maintaining the standard of setting up a tough non-district schedule to get ready for district competition, no one imagined the Class 3A, Division II Clifton Cubs would be taking on a murder’s row of opponents to open the 2020 Texas high school football season.

But that has proven to be exactly the case.

Playing Class 3A, DI Maypearl for the fifth straight season in a non-district game, the Cub defense delivered another performance worthy of winning. But the Panthers scored just enough to remain undefeated as they handed Clifton a hard-fought, but disappointing 17-7 loss on the road last Friday night.

For the third straight week to open the season, the Cubs (0-3) took on a team from a higher classification. Despite playing three bigger schools in Class 4A, DII Sanger, Class 3A, DI Little River-Academy and Maypearl, the Cubs have played well enough to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter in all three games. But in part at the expense of Clifton, all three non-district opponents own undefeated records after three weeks of the season.

“Again, we played well enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win a ball game,” Clifton football head coach Chuck Caniford said. “We did a better job taking care of the football, but this week it was penalties that were our downfall offensively. We had multiple big plays that were called back due to penalties and put us in long yardage situations.

“I was proud of the fight our kids continued to show that gave us a chance in the fourth quarter. But we have to continue to clean up those mistakes that are drive killers.”

With experience of 13 returning starters and the confidence of winning back-to-back games to open the season, Maypearl (3-0) jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead. Then after the Panther held Clifton on their end of the field, Maypearl capitalized on a short Cub punt to score again. But thanks to a Clifton defensive stand, the Panthers settled for a field goal to take a 10-0 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

“We are doing some really good things defensively, and have been all year,” Caniford said. “I think that our effort is what is allowing us to overcome some adverse situations in these first three games. Our kids are playing with tremendous effort defensively.”

Trying to breathe some life into the Cub offensive unit, Caniford shook the lineup up in the second half and it appeared to be paying off. Freshman quarterback Riley Finney completed six of 13 passes for 94 yards, spreading the ball around to senior Tyler Anderson as well as juniors Luis Rodriguez and Will Simmons.

But the Panthers sacked Clifton eight times, picking off two passes and recovering a fumble, to stall any potential scoring threats.

“We made a couple of personnel changes in the second half that gave us a spark,” Caniford said. “Riley came in and gave us a little spark. Shawn Barnett did a nice job at right tackle in his first varsity action. Both Devin Byrd and Joe Taylor ran the ball really well in the second half.

Sophomore Joe Taylor finished as Clifton leading rusher with 71 yards on 13 carries, while Byrd added 20 yards on six attempts. But it proved to be the Cub special teams that finally put points on the board as sophomore Larrett Thomas blocked a Maypearl punt, and sophomore Weston Urbanovsky returned it for the touchdown. Senior Jose Ramirez nailed the extra points to make it a three-point game in the third quarter.

The Panthers promptly responded by mounting a scoring drive to build their 10-point advantage, and Clifton could not answer. Byrd led the Cub defensive unit with 11 tackles, followed by Finney with six while senior Elias Tebo and Thomas collected five takedowns apiece.

Playing tough non-district schedules have paid off for Cubs in the past under Caniford’s watch. The Cubs lost three of their first four games in 2016, and two of the first three in 2017, but made the playoffs both seasons. In fact, Clifton has qualified for the postseason six consecutive seasons during Caniford’s tenure.

“Our philosophy has always been to challenge our team in non-district in order to prepare us for the district schedule,” Caniford said. “That has never been more important this year, as we have more quality teams in our district this year than we have in recent years. We have to find out now what needs attention, and the only way to do that is by playing good teams. 

“Our first three opponents, all from bigger classifications, are a combined 9-0 at this point. We have certainly had our struggles, but we have also been in a position to win all three of those games.

“The key to that philosophy is keeping your perspective. They don’t give out gold footballs for non-district champions. You earn those in October and November. We just have to keep working to get better every day. And if we can do that and keep our faith, we will be able to meet our standards in district play.”

Photos by DAVID HARDING

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Friday Night’s Heart of Texas high school football scores

UPDATED: 9:45 a.m., Saturday, September 12, 2020

Here are all of the Class 3A, 2A and 1A Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Friday and Saturday from around the Heart of Texas region.

On location for three games this weekend, THE SPORTS BUZZ provides award-winning coverage of the 2020 Texas high school football season every week, focusing on Class 3A, 2A and 1A schools in the 10-county Heart of Texas region — which includes Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, Johnson, McLennan and Somervell counties.

Be sure to check in with THE SPORTS BUZZ every Friday night for the complete scoreboard from games across the Heart of Texas region.

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