ADAMS TOWNSHIP — It was an offensive onslaught for Clinton-Massie on Friday night as the Falcons erupted for 42 first half points, en route to a 56-0 whitewash of county rival East Clinton at Frank Irelan Field.
The Falcons scored on the opening possession, with senior Grant Rudy capping a six-play, 62-yard drive at the 7:32 mark. Senior place kicker Derick Carlisle drilled the point after touchdown, his first of what would be eight converted PAT kicks on the night.
Leading the Falcon attack was senior Christian Poynter, who rushed for four touchdowns, including three in the opening half.
Clinton-Massie also put together a 47-yard pass play resulting in a touchdown as junior quarterback Corey Stulz connected with junior wide receiver Luke Richardson mid-way through the second quarter (7:21 remaining), giving the Falcons an insurmountable 35-0 lead.
Due to the margin of more than 30 points, the entire second half was played with a running clock, according to rules established by the OHSAA.
Falcons head coach Dan McSurley was pleased with most aspects of his teams’ performance but cautioned there must be improvements in some areas before the Falcons tee it up against state power Coldwater.
“We did some things well and we basically kept it on the ground for nearly the entire game,” McSurley said. “We need to improve the center to quarterback exchanges because some of them tonight weren’t smooth. I thought out special teams play was really good. Our kicker (Derick) Carlisle made all of his PATs and his directional kicking was very good.”
McSurley said his team must keep things in perspective as the competition will get tougher as the season progresses.
“Games like this are not that fun. We’re not going to gloat because we won by a big margin. It’s a great start for our seniors because they bring the energy and we’re gonna need it next week against Coldwater. It’s gonna be an electric-type atmosphere here next week. People here in Clinton County maybe have never seen a team with such tradition like Coldwater. We’re going to need an all-out effort from our entire team next Friday night.”
On the opposite end of the field, East Clinton head coach Jeremy Yankey did not mince words regarding the Falcons, calling them an extremely tough team, but he was pleased his kids did not give up despite the lopsided score.
“Like I told the kids at halftime, we were down by a big margin, and all we had to play for was our pride,” said Yankey. “I saw some of that (pride) tonight from these kids. Tonight, there was a much better attitude on the field and fight from our kids. Last year, there were times we simply hung our heads and played out the string. We were clearly outmatched against Massie, and we are definitely small in numbers. We ended the season against this powerhouse last year, and then had to face them right off the bat to start this season. But, I can’t fault their effort tonight, even though it did not show on the scoreboard.”
Next Friday night will be the Astros home opener against the Batavia Bulldogs at Lees Creek.
SUMMARY
Aug 25, 2017
@Frank Irelan Field
Clinton-Massie 56 East Clinton 0
EC 00.00.00.00…..00
CM 21.21.14.00…..56
First Quarter
CM-Grant Rudy 17 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 7:32
CM-Christian Poynter 7 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 4:20
CM-Christian Poynter 5 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 2:25
Second Quarter
CM-Christian Poynter 29 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 10:46
CM-Luke Richardson 47 yard pass from Corey Stolz (Derick Carlisle PAT) 7:21
CM-Cody Collingham 24 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 3:45
Third Quarter
CM-Christian Poynter 37 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 8:40
CM-Robbie Frederick 7 yard run (Derick Carlisle PAT) 0:00
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
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