ADAMS TOWNSHIP – After a win over Coldwater in Week 2, Clinton-Massie pretty much had its way with the rest of the 2017 football schedule.

Well, except for Goshen.

And boy was that a splash of cold water in the face of the Mighty Men of McSurley.

“You hate to lose but when we lost that game, I thought it really woke us up,” said senior defensive end Weston Trampler. “We thought we were better than we were. Mentally that was our mindset.

“We were playing well and they smacked us in the mouth.”

Even though both the Falcons and the Warriors were unbeaten at the time, the loss provided plenty of sting. Clinton-Massie had not tasted defeat in a league game in 10 years … almost 10 years to the exact day. It had been 61 games since Washington knocked off Massie in a South Central Ohio League contest on Oct. 12, 2007.

“They (Goshen) were a lot better than we were; it humbled us,” said Trey Uetrecht, a CMHS senior linebacker.

Goshen defeated Massie 33-31 on a last-second field goal. It is the only blemish on an otherwise stellar resume for Massie. And Goshen is no slouch. The Warriors are a No. 3 seed in Division III Region 12.

“That (loss) made us a much better team,” said Luke Richardson, the pass-catching, touchdown-making senior wideout. “We had that taste of losing and didn’t like it.”

The last two games – against a playoff-bound New Richmond team and arch rival Wilmington – were all Clinton-Massie. The red, white and blue juggernaut steamrolled the Lions 44-14 then calmed the Hurricane 48-0.

“This team started playing angry,” said Uetrecht. “If we can continue to play angry and fast, then that will be good for us going on.”

To put it simply, before the Goshen game, Trampler said, “We maybe got a little lackadaisical.”

But after the loss to the Warriors, Richardson said, “That lit a fire under our butts.”

That flame is still burning.

NOTEBOOK

• Clinton-Massie, like any team, would rather play with the lead. But the Falcons, given their run-oriented offense, play better ahead than from behind.

Jonathan Alder has rallied late in several games this year and won two games in overtime.

“We’ve played a lot of really close games and our seniors have found a way to always pull us through in the end,” said Alder head coach Brett Glass. “We have come back numerous times at the end of games. Our resiliency has been the story all year long. Our kids just don’t quit.”

• Glass said Clinton-Massie is three things.

“Big. Physical. Well-coached. That says it all,” Glass said, who would like nothing more than to erase the memory of the last meeting between these two schools with a win Friday night. Massie won the 2014 game 49-0.

Glass continued on the 2017 version of the Falcons.

“They obviously center their offense around their running attack but they can also hurt you by throwing the ball over the top,” he said. “They are extremely fast on defense and they also make plays on special teams.”