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Clovers topple Tiger Cubs for first time since 2010
It was likely that none of the Cloverdale players participating in Friday night’s game at Greencastle had any recollection of the last time those wearing green and white bettered those in purple and gray.
They certainly will have memories of the latest win.
The Clovers struck first, took a 13-7 lead into halftime and controlled the tempo of the second half, getting a key fumble recovery that lead to the winning score in a 26-21 win over the Tiger Cubs Friday night.
“It felt really good to get this win for our program, for the people behind us, even when the times weren’t great and we’re so happy for the kids,” Cloverdale head coach Tyler Lotz said. “We haven’t beaten a county opponent, so to be able to do that is great for the kids, the program and the younger generations, showing that we can do it if everyone keeps buying in and working hard. Things will work out.”
“You have to give credit to the Clovers as they made enough plays to win,” Greencastle head coach Dave Stephens said. “We had some thing on our end where we had an interception that was instead ruled a pass interference, a drive they scored on, a punt with a penalty that turned into another score for them and had chances to get off the field but didn’t.
“Cloverdale did a good job with its defense front, made it difficult for us to run and executed their gameplan well.”
Greencastle started the game with a first down but lost possession after failing to convert fourth-and-nine near midfield.
Both teams punted before Cloverdale got on the board with a minute left in the opening quarter.
A holding penalty looked to derail the drive early and Ian Williamson had intercepted Landon Duncan on third down but interfered with the receiver to do so, leaving the visitors a third-and-one conversion to make.
Duncan instead went over the top to Marcus Boyd for 44 yards for a first down and later hit Jace Gardner on a flare out for a nine-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
“It was huge just to be able to prove we could score,” Lotz said about the early lead. “We knew (Greencastle’s) offense was good and we had to put up points, so to be able to come up with the first score was huge.
“The third-down conversion was one of the few times we went over the top on short distance. We ran a lot in those spots and did well in key situations.”
The Tiger Cubs proved how fast they could score, striking back in two plays as Cole Stephens tossed a screen pass to Cayden Blodgett, who raced 59 yards for a score, tying the game at 7-7 with 23 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Following a trade of punts, Cloverdale took the lead for good when Duncan hit Tayt Jackson on a long throw and the senior receiver broke two open field tackles to finish off an 81-yard score, though his extra point was blocked, leaving the visitors with a 13-7 lead with 8:24 until halftime.
After forcing a punt, the Clovers began to march again as Duncan hit Ben Campbell for 33 yards but led a receiver too far and Trevin Long intercepted the ball at the Greencastle three-yard line to end the threat.
The Tiger Cubs couldn’t do anything with the possession but got the ball back right away when Duncan was intercepted by Anthony Adams, though several missed passes resulted in the half ending with the score still 13-7.
Cloverdale came out of halftime with possession and picked up a pair of first downs before facing fourth-and-five, opting for a pooch kick.
A personal foul penalty against Greencastle instead extended the drive and, after another first down, the Clovers found the endzone as Jackson took a jet sweep 15 yards for the score and a 20-7 lead, eating up 6:28 of game time on the drive.
“It was good for us to start the second half by setting the tone,” Lotz said. “The kids kept the momentum going from the first half.
“We had to come out like it was 0-0 and had to keep playing.”
“It’s not uncommon for teams to gameplan around keeping our offense on the sideline as, even though we’ve struggled, we’ve shown we can score in a minute,” Stephens said. “Cloverdale ran the ball, kept control of the clock and executed the gameplan.
“We didn’t make enough plays on third down. Our coordinators made good calls but (Cloverdale) executed better than we executed.”
The Tiger Cubs went three-and-out but forced a punt and got back into the game after Stephens hit Williamson for 21 yards and fired a 52-yard bomb to Long, cutting the deficit to 20-14 with 1:33 left in the third quarter.
Cloverdale again worked the clock and the hosts’ defense, picking up three first downs before missing a second fourth down conversion but not before knocking six more minutes off the clock.
Brayden Monroe carried the ball twice for Greencastle on the next possession, fumbling on the second fighting for extra yards, and Ashton Evans recovered for the visitors.
“We just have to control the controllables,” Stephens said about handling some of the struggles the team had in the game and throughout the season. “With Cole, its about going through his progression, keep good mechanics, put the ball where you need to put it and trust your teammates to do their job.
“I believe in process over results. If you’re true to that, you’ll get the results you want in time. We tell everyone to do their best, worry about their piece of the puzzle and do everything to the best of their ability.”
Cloverdale picked up two more first downs and another fourth down conversion before being faced with fourth-and-17 from the Tiger Cub 21-yard line.
The call would be a screen pass to Jackson, who evaded the defense on the way to a 21-yard score and a 26-14 lead with 2:40 left in the game.
“It was huge to keep a keep a bugger in the second half,” Lotz said about reestablishing the two-score lead. “There have been games where we messed around or did something not smart that cost us and put the pressure back on ourselves.”
Greencastle crossed midfield quickly and got to the Clover two-yard line after a 37-yard pass to Parker Welker but it took the home team two plays to punch the ball in from there, Stephens scoring on a one-yard sneak, to bring the deficit down to 26-21 with 1:25 remaining.
Campbell recovered the onside kick attempt and after Levi Johnson rumbled for seven yards, Jackson took a jet sweep 16 yards for a first down that iced the game for Cloverdale.
“We talked to the offensive line before the final possession that we had a chance to seal the deal against Riverton Parke but didn’t do it,” Lotz said. “We reminded them of that and they did a great job finishing the game off.
“I’m super proud of how we played all four quarters and kept digging away.”
| Cloverdale | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
| Greencastle | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Scoring
1st Quarter
C — Gardner 9-yard pass from Duncan (Jackson kick) 1:13 0-7
G — Blodgett 59-yard pass from Stephens (Williamson kick) 0:23 7-7
2nd Quarter
C — Jackson 81-yard pass from Duncan (XP blocked) 8:24 7-13
3rd Quarter
C — Jackson 15-yard run (Jackson kick) 5:32 7-20
G — Long 52-yard pass from Stephens (Williamson kick) 1:33 14-20
4th Quarter
C — Jackson 21-yard pass from Duncan (XP no good) 2:40 14-26
G — Stephens 1-yard run (Williamson kick) 1:25 21-26
Statistics
| … | Cloverdale | Greencastle |
| Total Offense | 67-386 | 48-279 |
| Rushing | 147 | 82 |
| Passing | 239 | 197 |
| 1st Downs | 13 | 8 |
| 4th Downs | 4-5 | 0-2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Penalties | 4-40 | 3-35 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Cloverdale — 42-147, TD — Johnson 28-102; Jackson 7-55, TD; Duncan 7-(-10)
Greencastle — 26-82, TD — Blodgett 17-64; Stephens 4-(-1), TD; Monroe 2-18; Williamson 1-4; Welker 1-1; Adams 1-(-6)
Passing
Cloverdale — Duncan 13-25-239, 3 TD, 2 INT
Greencastle — Stephens 10-22-197, 2 TD
Receiving
Cloverdale — Jackson 4-122, 2 TD; Boyd 3-63; Campbell 2-34; Hoffa 2-14; Gardner 2-8, TD
Greencastle — Williamson 3-40; Blodgett 2-59, TD; Long 2-49, TD; Adams 2-18; Welker 1-37
