CLASH IN THE COLISEUM

Class 3A, DII Clifton Cubs fall on the road to Italy Gladiators, return home to host undefeated Hamilton Bulldogs on Homecoming Night at Cub Stadium Friday

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And for the Class 3A, Division II Clifton Cubs, their best start since 2018 hit a speed bump on the road against Class 2A, DI’s 25th-ranked Italy.

After Clifton took an early 7-0 lead, the Gladiators scored 19 unanswered points to run away with the 19-7 win over the Cubs to celebrate Homecoming at Gladiator Coliseum last Friday night.

“We knew Italy was a good football team and that we would have to play well on the road to beat them on their homecoming,” Clifton third-year head coach Brent Finney said. “We did some good things on both sides of the ball, but ultimately, not enough to win a close game.”

Hoping to give the Clifton faithful plenty to cheer about this week, the Cubs (2-1) return home to host the undefeated Class 2A, DI Hamilton Bulldogs (3-0) on Homecoming Night at 7 p.m. Friday. After opening the season with a 33-18 victory at home over Class 3A, DII Millsap, Hamilton kept rolling by knocking off Class 3A, DII Early, 41-21, on the road before posting a 38-22 home victory over Class 2A, DI Crawford last Friday night.

“Hamilton will be another big test for us,” Finney said. “They are a very good football team. They have a very dynamic offense and very solid defense. We will have to continue to improve, tackle well and score in the red zone.”

After a defensive struggle produced a scoreless first quarter on the road at Italy (2-1), the Cubs struck first by mounting a 57-yard scoring march. Sophomore Jackson Ritz pulled down a clutch 27-yard reception from senior quarterback Joaquin De la Hoya to convert a fourth down situation before Ritz cashed it in for a four-yard touchdown run. Senior Kanin Bearden nailed the extra point to give Clifton a 7-0 lead with 5:39 left before halftime.

Although the Cubs were held to only 125 yards rushing on 45 carries for 2.8 yards per attempt, Ritz led Clifton with 58 yards on 23 totes followed by De la Hoya with 31 yards on 15 scrambles.

“We came out to start the game and did what we wanted to do most of the first half,” Finney said. “We did a good job of keeping the ball offensively, and we limited their explosive plays defensively. But they were able to get a couple scores at the end of the second quarter to take the lead at half time.”

After Clifton scored its lone touchdown of the game, the Cub defense surrendered a big scoring play on Italy’s first play from scrimmage. Enjoying the lead for just 19 seconds, Italy tied the score as senior quarterback Gared Wood weaved his way to a 61-yard scoring romp. Other than that big play, the defense did a solid job of slowing down Italy’s quarterback-led offensive attack.

After the Gladiators took a 14-7 lead into intermission, Clifton continued to move the ball effectively the third quarter, but the Cubs were unable to convert a couple of opportunities into points.

With the Gladiators making running room hard to come by, Clifton went to the passing game as De la Hoya completed six for 15 passes for 80 yards, connecting with five different receivers, led by senior Diego Rodriguez with an 18-yard reception and junior Judd New with a 12-yard gain.

“We came out and got a stop to start the third quarter and moved the ball well into the red zone,” Finney said. “But were unable to capitalize, missing a chance to retake the lead. We held onto the ball much better but we still had a couple very costly penalties that hurt.”

Defensively, junior Gavin Tatterhall and senior Landon Knox led the Cubs with seven tackles each, followed by senior James Liardon with six and De la Hoya with four, while senior Tristan Hammond pulled down an interception.

“We didn’t create as many turnovers as we have the first couple weeks,” Finney said. “And we were unable to score on a couple trips in the red zone. And that was the difference in a close game like this one.”