BOUNCING BALL BLUES

After dropping Homecoming game to Hamilton, Class 3A, DII Clifton Cubs look to snap two-game skid at Blooming Grove in final non-district matchup Friday

Sometimes, the ball just bounces the wrong way – especially in football. And for the Class 3A, Division II Clifton Cubs, nothing could have been more true as the Class 2A, DI’s undefeated and 13th-ranked Hamilton Bulldogs handed the Cubs a disappointing 27-7 non-district loss on Homecoming last Friday night in Cub Stadium.

After Hamilton capitalized on a turnover on the opening possession of the game, the Cubs found themselves in a hole they could never climb out of against a talented Bulldog squad.

“We knew Hamilton was a very good football team,” Finney said. “We certainly didn’t need to help them any with a fumbled snap on that first possession.”

In their final tune-up before opening District 5-3A competition, the Cubs (2-2) will hit the road to take on the Blooming Grove Lions in Clifton’s final non-district game at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lions (0-4) come into the game looking for their first win of the season after falling to the Valley Mills Eagles 23-16 last Friday. In the first four games of the season, Blooming Grove has surrendered 34.5 points per game while scoring only 9.0 each contest.

“Blooming Grove has some good size on their O-line and D-line,” Finney said. “They will definitely be a challenge for us up front. We will have to continue to work on scoring in the red zone and tackling.”

Despite turning the ball over on the opening possession of the game against Hamilton (4-0), the Cub offense moved into the red zone for several scoring opportunities, but could not cash in. For the most part, the Cubs found yardage hard to come by, accumulating 173 yards of total offense. Senior Joaquin De la Hoya led Clifton with 83 yards rushing on 15 carries, while completing four of nine passes for 15 yards.

Sophomore running back Jackson Ritz connected with junior Deacon Williams for a 36-yard gain on a halfback pass, setting up Clifton’s lone score on a 15-yard touchdown run by Ritz filling in at quarterback for the temporarily injured De la Hoya in the second quarter. But overall, the Bulldogs limited Ritz to only 39 yards rushing on 10 carries.

“We settled down and had a nice scoring drive to make it, 13-7,” Finney said. “But we missed a scoring opportunity earlier in the half that hurt us. We didn’t have the ball very many times in the second half as they did a good job grinding out long possessions.”

For the first time this season, the Clifton defense struggled to slow down the Hamilton offensive attack, which mixed in the pass with the run effectively. After grabbing an early lead by capitalizing on the Cub turnover, the Bulldogs mounted a scoring drive to take a 13-0 lead.

After Clifton scored its lone touchdown to pull within 13-7 with 7:06 left in the first half, Hamilton immediately responded with a 10-play, 69-yard scoring march to rebuild the lead the Bulldogs never relinquished.

Then late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs struck quickly with a long touchdown through the air before battling through a scoreless second half. Senior linebacker James Liardon led Clifton with 14 tackles, followed by Ritz with nine and senior Landon Knox with seven.

“The defense did a good job keeping them out of the endzone in the second half,” Finney said. “But another fumble on the end of a nice run hurt us offensively. I’m really proud of our kids for never giving up and continuing to fight the entire game. Those are the kinds of games that help prepare you for district and the playoffs.”