READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS?

With first overall winning record since 2019, Clifton Cubs make third straight trip to Class 3A, DII postseason to face Wichita Falls City View in Bi-District at Mineral Wells

While the Texas high school football regular season finale may have not turned out quite the way they hoped, the Clifton Cubs ride the momentum of their best season in five years into the Class 3A, Division II playoffs.

With their third straight trip to the postseason and the first winning record since 2019 already secured, the Cubs came up short in their head-to-head battle for second place in District 5-3A, DII as the Brady Bulldogs pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 28-0 victory last Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

“As a program, our goal is to win championships,” Clifton third-year head coach Brent Finney said. “Making the playoffs is the standard, not a goal, and these guys know that. They have really bought in over the past couple years and worked to ensure Cub football is back to where it belongs.

“With such a young team and many first-year players, ensuring a winning record and continuing to improve was great. But these guys are now focused on winning a Bi-District championship and making a playoff run.”

In the Class 3A, DII Bi-District playoff matchup this week, the Cubs (3-2, 3rd in District 5-3A, DII, 6-4 overall) will be looking for their first postseason win since 2019 when they travel to a neutral site to face the Wichita Falls City View Mustangs (4-1, 2nd in District 6-3A, DII, 8-2 overall) at 7 p.m. Friday at Mineral Wells High School’s Ram Stadium.

While scoring 37.7 points per game, the Mustangs have only allowed opponents 14.0 points per game. City View comes into the playoffs having won seven of their last eight games, the only loss to district champion and 10th-ranked Holliday, 41-14, three weeks ago.

“Every team coming out of District 6 is a solid football team,” Finney said. “City View is no exception. They have a ton of speed on both sides of the ball and play very hard. They will not have the overall size that Brady had last week, but will have speed all over the field.”

After posting their biggest offensive game of the season against Dublin, the Cubs struggled to move the ball against Brady, suffering their second shutout of the season while producing only 105 yards of total offense. The Clifton ground attack never got on track, fighting for only 30 yards on 28 attempts.

With the Bulldogs completely shutting down the Clifton running game, senior quarterback Joaquin De la Hoya went to the air, completing nine of 17 passes for 75 yards and an interception, connecting junior running back Judd New three times for 25 yards, while senior wide receiver Diego Rodriguez made two catches for 29 yards.

With Brady running 59 plays to Clifton’s 45, the Cub defense spent a lot of time on the field against the Bulldogs. Led by junior Ashton Taylor and junior Alijah Stark, Brady controlled the ball on the ground, rushing for 288 yards on 46 carries. Stark ran for two touchdowns along with 106 yards rushing while Taylor led the ground assault with 125 yards and another score.

Junior quarterback Sean Jacoby kept the Cub defense honest by completing eight of 13 passes for 79 yards while scrambling for another 57 yards and a touchdown.

All things considered, the Cub defense did a great job of keeping Clifton in the game until surrendering 14 points in the fourth quarter. Junior Gavin Tattershall led the Cubs with a season-high 15 tackles, followed by De la Hoya and junior Jared Ramirez with five each, as well as senior James Liardon and junior Elyjah Rodriguez with four apiece. Junior Deacon Williams crashed in for a sack, while junior Victor Andrade Flores came up with a fumble recovery.

“We missed some opportunities to score and get off the field defensively in the first half,” Finney said. “And then, they were able to wear us down and pull away in the second half.”