UNION CITY — With every reason to buckle under the pressure, East Clinton stood tall in the face adversity and escaped Mississinawa Valley with a 26-22 win Friday night.
The Week 7 opponent was originally Fayetteville-Perry but that school dropped football prior to the start of the current season.
So the Astros found a playing partner and made the long bus ride to near the Indiana border.
The win gives the Astros a 2-5 record while the Blackhawks drop to 1-6.
“It feels good to get a win,” EC head coach Steve Olds said. “We had big contributions from a lot of people. We played well on both offense and defense.”
East Clinton, who hadn’t led in a game this season since the fourth quarter of Week 1, struck early when Isaiah Conger found the end zone. With Dameon Williams two-point conversion, the Astros were up 8-0.
The Blackhawks rallied, converting a fourth down and 15 play to get on the scoreboard.
East Clinton took a 14-6 lead into the intermission when Glenn Peacock scored from two yards out with 1:40 to go til halftime.
Conger made it a two touchdown night in the third quarter but East Clinton misfired on the extra point. The score was setup by Williams, who had a big punt return to put EC at first and goal from the six.
After Mississinawa Valley made it 20-14, Williams scored a touchdown of his own to give East Clinton a 26-14 cushion with 9:42 to play in the game.
But the Blackhawks came right back with a long pass for a touchdown with 8:52 to play. EC’s lead was down to 26-22.
The snowball kept rolling as East Clinton fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Mississinawa Valley recovered.
“The momentum had swung pretty significantly,” Olds admitted.
So here is where a team that has lost five in a row by fairly big margins could easily have said, “Here we go again.”
But East Clinton did not. The Astros held on fourth down and did just enough to secure the win and halt the losing streak at five.
”We had some kids step up,” Olds said. “Big tackle by Grady Boggs to keep them behind the chains. Jade Griffith makes a big play on that drive. That was probably as big a stop as we’ve had all year given the circumstances.”
Instead the Astros came up big on defense then the offense made certain the Blackhawks did not have a chance.
”We ran the last 6 minutes off the clock,” said Olds. “Offensively it was like that all night. We only had three possessions in the first half, just one punt and it was after the break. They’re kinda like us. Only had 24 guys dressed. They battled hard. Good football game for a couple of teams that were struggling.”
SUMMARY
Sept 30, 2022
@Mississinawa Valley High School
East Clinton 26, Miss Valley 22
SCORING
EC^8^6^6^6^^26
MV^0^6^8^8^^22
First Quarter
EC-Isaiah Conger 6 yard run (Dameon Williams run)
Second Quarter
EC-Isaiah Conger 2 yard run (PAT Failed)
Third Quarter
EC-Isaiah Conger 2 yard run (PAT Failed)
Fourth Quarter
EC-Dameon Williams 3 yard run (PAT Failed)
STATISTICS
Passing: EC-Lukas Runk 0-1
Rushing: EC (53-310) Dameon Williams 20-124-1, Isaiah Conger 18-73-3, Glenn Peacock 15-113-0
Interceptions: EC- Dameon Williams 1
Tackles: EC-Clayton Kimmey 5, Isaiah Conger 6, Adran Baker 4, Jade Griffith 4, Dameon Williams 3, Glenn Peacock 3, Landen Dunn 2, Denver Day 2, Noah Mess 2, Grady Boggs 1, Curtis Singleton 1
