DOWN TO THE WIRE

Coming up short in a defensive struggle, Clifton Cubs fall to Rogers Eagles on big plays in District 13-3A, DII opener; Cubs hit the road against Buffalo Bison Friday

Although finally playing at home again didn’t turn out like they planned, the Clifton Cubs will go right back on the road again this week. And despite playing on foreign ground, the Cubs will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak to surge into the middle of the District 13-3A, Division II chase for playoff berths.

On the strength of two big, game-breaking plays in the second half, the Rogers Eagles ran away with a hard-fought 18-10 victory over Clifton in the District 13-3A, DII opener last Friday night at Cub Stadium.

“We knew that Rogers would be a tough game,” Clifton football head coach Brent Finney said. “We were very proud of the effort and physicality that we played with all night.”

Coming off the district opening loss this week, the Cubs (0-1 in district, 2-4 overall) will battle for a much-needed district win on the road against the Buffalo Bison (1-0, 2-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Brewer Field.

Despite struggling during their non-district schedule, the Bison opened district with a convincing 30-12 victory on the road over the Elkhart Elks (0-1, 3-3) last Friday night. In last season’s matchup, Buffalo won a hard-fought 21-13 clash in Clifton.

“We have played well against two really good teams in Millsap and Rogers the past two games,” Finney said. “We just have to focus on Buffalo and put it all together. We have been on the road a lot this year, so we just have to go out to Buffalo and take care of business.”

Against Rogers (1-0, 3-3), the Clifton offense proved to be its own worst enemy, starting with the first play of the game as a huge run by senior fullback Riley Finney was called back on a holding penalty. Throughout the game, untimely penalties, mishandling of the football and taking sacks shut down the offensive attack by putting it behind the chains.

“We have to eliminate the pre-snap penalties,” Finney said. “Offensively, we can’t afford to get behind the chains and consistently move the ball like we want to. We have been improving weekly in our blocking and must continue to do so.”

While senior running back Parker Tunnell finished with a solid 74 yards rushing on 15 carries, the Cubs struggled to get the running game going against Rogers, managing only 130 yards on 44 attempts for a 3.0-yard per carry average. Forced to turn to the passing game, junior Joaquin De la Hoya – who ran for Clifton’s only touchdown – completed eight of 20 passes for 129 yards, connecting with senior Andres Devora three times for 74 yards.

Despite an outstanding performance throughout the entire game, two defensive breakdowns in the second half proved to be the difference – senior Abraham Hernandez with a 63-yard touchdown run up the middle, then junior Bryce Watson turning the corner on a pitch right for a 69-yard touchdown run.

But the defense came up with a big turnover to give the Cubs one last chance to tie the game. And after coming into the game allowing the fewest points per game in the district, the Cubs surrendered 202 yards on four big plays, but shut down the Eagles for only 127 yards on 35 plays from scrimmage otherwise.

“Defensively, our kids have been playing at a very high level,” Finney said. “We just have to eliminate giving up the big play.”