Tough Start to 2018 Patriot Football Season
Patriots Fall to Highway 91 Rivals HD and HSF in Opening Games
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThe Patriot football team had a tough start to their season, losing their first two opening games to Howells-Dodge and Humphrey St. Francis respectively.
On Friday, August 24th the Howells-Dodge Jaguars traveled to Leigh to face the Leigh Patriots in the season opener, and also the second-annual Bacon Bowl. The Bacon Bowl, coined for the season opener game between the two rival programs, was complete with a traveling trophy and bacon cheeseburgers for both sides after the game.
This game also saw Citizens Bank host a Burger Bash, with all proceeds donated to the Patriot Booster Club.
The Patriots came out fighting in the first quarter and were able to hold the Jags to only one touchdown, that being a 54 yard long pass.
The second quarter proved to be a tough one for the Patriots, as the Jags broke for a 68-yard rushing touchdown and another passing touchdown to lead the first half 20-0.
The third quarter was a better quarter for the Patriots as they put their first numbers on the scoreboard with a pass completion from quarterback Lance Paprocki to senior Travis Stanley for 27 yards. Tommy McEvoy ran in the two-point conversion.
Unfortunately, after this touchdown, the Jags were able to return the kickoff for another touchdown, and also completed a 55-yard run near the end of the quarter to add to their lead.
The 4th quarter saw the Jags scoreless and brought one more touchdown for the Patriots on a six-yard run from Isaak Wiese. This was followed by a successful two-point conversion pass from Paprocki to Carter Hanel. But it wasn’t enough to forge any sort of a comeback. The Jags took home the Bacon Bowl trophy for the second year in a row, defeating the Patriots 34-16.
Head Coach Jim Clarkson had this to say after the Bacon Bowl:
“Tough loss. We had our chances, but some self-inflicted mistakes cost us. We played with good effort, and there were a lot of positives to take away from the game. Hopefully we will learn from our mistakes and be a better team moving forward.”
After a bye-week, the Patriots next took to the field in Humphrey against the St. Francis Flyers on September 7.
The undefeated Flyers were too tough for the Patriots to handle right from the get-go. St. Francis jumped out to a 30-0 lead after the first quarter. They added 16 more points to the board in the second half.
The Patriots could only manage one fourth-quarter touchdown from McEvoy to put the final score at 6-46.
Despite starting the season with two tough losses, senior John Langhorst was pleased with the effort his team showed. “We are low on numbers this year, but we put up a good effort and fought hard in both of our opening games. We have a lot of mistakes that we need to get fixed. We need to get things tightened up for the rest of the season. Overall, we are still looking for a fun season.”
Clarkson-Leigh vs. Howells-Dodge:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh: 0 0 8 8 16
Howells Dodge: 6 14 14 0 34
*Player stats for this game not available.
Clarkson-Leigh @ Humphrey St. Francis:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh: 0 0 0 6 6
St. Francis: 30 0 8 8 46
Passing: Lance Paprocki—1-4, 0 yards
Rushing: Travis Stanley—17 carries, 54 yards; Lance Paprocki—13 carries, 21 yards; Tommy McEvoy—9 carries, 22 yards
Total Tackles: Travis Stanley—5, Lance Paprocki—2, Carter Hanel—3, Logan Schroeder—2, Isaak Wiese—3, Trevor Zulkoski—2, Tommy McEvoy—6, Kobe Indra—3, Cort Pokorney—6