Article published November 10, 2007
Clyde defense holds off Napoleon
Fliers strike on their first 2 drives
Clyde's Kyle Birkholz (13) is tackled by Napoleon's Nick
Rettig. The Fliers improved to 11-1. The Wildcats finish 10-2.
(
THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
)
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Clyde got off to a fast start last night, then held on late to take a 19-13 victory over Napoleon in a Division III regional football playoff contest at Central Catholic's Gallagher Stadium.
The Sandusky Bay Conference champion Fliers (11-1) scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game and three of five drives in the first half, all on passes from quarterback Alex Gillett.
Then Clyde let its defense close the deal to advance to the Region 10 finals.
"It came down to whoever was going to make the biggest play at the end," Clyde coach Marc Gibson said. "We haven't been in a close ballgame like this since Week 1, so it was different. But it was nice to see that our kids had the fortitude to get through it and win it when they had to win it."
The Fliers, who reached the D-III state semifinals in 2005, will face top-seeded Sunbury Big Walnut (11-1) Friday night at a site to be determined.
In defeat, Greater Buckeye Conference Napoleon (10-2) and coach John Snoad were left to ponder what might have been had they closed a few deals of their own offensively.There was the fourth-and-3 pass overthrown by quarterback Andrew Keller intended for a wide-open Rob Meyers that looked like a sure 20-yard touchdown on the Wildcats' first possession of the game.
Early in the second quarter, on fourth-and-2 from the Clyde 3, running back Jason Brown was stopped a yard short of the first down.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, on third-and-9, Keller completed a 10-yard pass to the 9 to Ryan Fleck, but the potential first-and-goal opportunity was erased by a holding penalty that instead pushed the 'Cats backward 17 yards.
On the next play, Keller threw the first of his two interceptions.
The final pick came on Napoleon's final chance of the game after it had advanced to the Clyde 40 on a 26-yard Keller-to-Mike Hesselschwardt completion with 2:05 remaining.
"We had chances all night long," Napoleon's Snoad said. "Give credit to Clyde because they didn't make as many mistakes as we did. But we forced some things tonight.
"We set ourselves up for a win, and we didn't capitalize. We didn't get it in the end zone when we needed to. We could have easily walked out of here a victor tonight if had we just executed on a couple of plays. But the Clyde defense did come up big at the end, and you've got to give them credit for that."
Clyde covered 80 yards on each of its first two TD drives. Gillett, who was 11-of-17 passing for 165 yards, found Justin Cook on a 31-yard scoring pass 3:37 into the game, and hit Nate Caudill from 20 yards with
1:34 left in the first quarter.
The third Flier TD drive needed to cover just 41 yards following Fleck's punt, which went almost straight up and rolled backward for minus-2 yards a minute before halftime.
Gillett passed 15 yards to Caudill, then the remaining 26 to Cook for the score 35.3 seconds before the break.
Napoleon had scored with
3:12 left in the half when Tyler Flory capped a 49-yard drive on a one-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal.
The Wildcats' other score came via their defense, when Matt Niese blocked Jerry Phillips' punt and Derek Dulaney ran it in from the 1 with 8:59 left in the game.
"We don't like to put ourselves in that position," said Clyde defensive end Aric Thurn, who had three of his team's four sacks. "But our defense lives for those situations to make the plays. It's just a lot of fun."
Clyde did not escape the missed-opportunity bug, squandering a chance to take a three touchdown lead late in the third quarter. On second-and-goal from the Napoleon 3, Kyle Birkholz was tackled at the 1 and fumbled into the end zone, where Napoleon recovered for a touchback.
"I'm a little disappointed that we didn't take care of business when we had the opportunity," Gibson said. "Obviously, inside the goal line there, we could have had the score and put the game out of reach and we kept them close. When you do that against a very good team like Napoleon, it's never over 'til it's over."
- Steve Junga
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