BURLINGAME – After trailing 20-0 in the second quarter, Burlingame was about to pull within a score of Clifton-Clyde during the opening moments of the second half of Friday’s critical Eight-Man I district game. The Bearcats had all the momentum after driving into the red zone, but that changed on one back-breaking play.
On second-and-three, the Eagles’ Maison Slater intercepted a pass on the far sideline, cut across the field and raced 70 yards for a touchdown. Clifton-Clyde (2-1) held Burlingame (1-2) scoreless in the final two quarters for a 30-6 win.
“That one is on me,” said Burlingame coach Jeff Slater. “As a coach, that’s a play call I’d like to have back. We shouldn’t have thrown there.”
Going into the game, the Bearcats’ goal was to match the Eagles’ physicality, the distinguishing trait of a program that has played in the state semifinals 15 times and won two state championships. Burlingame didn’t get pushed around, outgaining Clifton-Clyde 215 yards to 176 and picking up seven more first downs, but the Bearcats had five turnovers, including the pick-six and a couple of critical fumbles.
“They are so physical, and that’s where we want to get as a program, so it was a good measuring stick in that regard,” Jeff Slater said. “I thought we matched their physicality, and were more physical at times. But you cannot turn the ball over that many times against a team that good. We had so many self-inflicted wounds tonight.”
The mistakes started early with a dropped pass that might have been a touchdown on Burlingame’s first possession. On their second series, the Bearcats lost a fumble at midfield on a second-down play from Clifton-Clyde’s 35. Early in the second quarter, the first interception of the night flipped field position, and the Eagles went up 14-0 on a 25-yard pass from Jett Skocny to James Nobert.
After a three-and-out midway through the second quarter, Clifton-Clyde capitalized on a long punt return and personal foul, needing just one play, a 13-yard run from Skocny, to build a 20-0 lead.
“I thought we moved the ball, but we didn’t finish, and our drives just stalled,” Jeff Slater said.
Burlingame answered quickly after Skocny’s touchdown, driving 59 yards in less than two minutes, in large part due to a pair of personal fouls on the Eagles. Colby Middleton connected with Lance Noonan, who leaped over two defenders to pull in a 22-yard pass in the end zone.
“I told the kids we had to go score in the second half, and they came out with a ton of energy and went right down the field,” Jeff Slater said. “Then, I made a bad call.”
The Bearcats marched from their own 23 to Clifton-Clyde’s 18 before Maison Slater’s interception pushed the Eagles’ advantage to 28-6 three minutes into the third quarter. The only other points in the second half came on a safety with a tackle in Burlingame’s end zone.
“At 1-2, we are not where we expected to be,” Jeff Slater said. “But I was proud of our defense tonight. That is as good as the defense has played since I’ve coached here.”
Middleton was 14 of 19 for 130 yards and rushed for 68 yards on 19 carries. Noonan had nine catches for 96 yards. Tee Koch led Clifton-Clyde with 54 yards rushing on 14 carries.
CLIFTON-CLYDE 30, BURLINGAME 6
Clifton-Clyde 6 14 10 0 — 30
Burlingame 0 6 0 0 — 6
CC – Tee Koch 4 run (Pass failed)
CC – James Nobert 25 pass from Jett Skocny (Payton Fahey run)
CC – Skocny 13 run (Run failed)
BG – Lance Noonan 22 pass from Colby Middleton (Run failed)
CC – Maison Slater 70 interception return (Trent Long run)
CC – Seth LeClair tackle in end zone
CC BG
First Downs 10 17
Rushes-Yds 35-113 31-85
Passing Yds 63 130
Passing 5-8-0 14-19-3
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 3-2
Penalties 10-90 4-45
Punts 2-44.0 2-36.5
RUSHING – Clifton-Clyde: Koch 14-54, Fahey 8-27, Skocny 9-19, Long 4-13; Burlingame: Middleton 19-68, Hovestadt 10-24, Tyson 2-(-7).
RECEVING – Clifton-Clyde: Nobert 2-51, Slater 2-6, Garrison 1-6; Burlingame: Noonan 9-96, Hovestadt 3-19, Quaney 2-11.
PASSING – Clifton-Clyde: Koch 1-2-0 26, Skocny 1-2-0 25, Fahey 2-2-0 6, Long 1-2-0 6; Burlingame: Middleton 14-19-3 130.