Patriots Fall Short in Season Opener
On Friday, August 29, the Clarkson-Leigh Patriots traveled to Friend, Nebraska, to take on the Exeter/Milligan/Friend Bobcats in their season opener. The Patriots entered this game with high hopes, returning a lot of experience.
Clarkson-Leigh started the game with nerves, fumbling twice in the first quarter. This resulted in the Bobcats having excellent field position for most of the half. The Patriots offensive miscues led to the Bobcats taking a 14-0 lead at halftime.
After half, the Patriots still struggled to get anything going on offense. Clarkson-Leigh held EMF to only 6 points in the third quarter, but the Patriots were still struggling offensively. Early in the fourth quarter sophomore Easton Brabec provided a spark for the Patriots, scoring a 50-yard receiving touchdown to make the score 20-6. The Bobcats answered right back, scoring on the ensuing possession.
The Patriots were unable to bounce back from the deficit, with the final score ending 6-32.
Sophomore Easton Brabec said, “I feel we started off slow and not ready, which caused us to have low energy. I had a lot of effort but not enough energy. If we would have had energy the game would have gone a lot different and would have been an amazing game.”
Head Coach Jim Clarkson said, ““We did not execute well enough to win the game, missing a couple key starters did not help the cause, but we will keep looking to improve as we move forward with our schedule and district. We feel like this team has great potential.”
This year’s team is made up of freshmen Wyatt Eisenmann, Layton Held, Trent Olson, Xavier Ross, and Noah Hake; sophomores Cole Vodehnal, Easton Brabec, Cade Hoesly, Logan Sayers, Tyce Larson, Hunter Gall, and Michael Wemhoff; juniors Jeryn Struebing, Blake Loseke, and Wyatt Langhorst; and seniors Luke Eisenmann, Kyle McMullin, Corey Steffensmeier, Tucker Matthies, Levi Gall, and Wyatt Crosley.
The Patriots are coached by Jim Clarkson and assisted by Bob McEvoy, Jon Bos, Ben Tasa, Tommy McEvoy, Jarrod Bazata, and Jorge Gomez.
Game Stats:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson/Leigh 0 0 0 6 6
EMF 8 6 0 18 32
Rushing: Attempts, Total Yards: Wyatt Crosley—15, 16; Blake Loseke—9, 43; Jeryn Struebing–12, 43
Receiving: Receptions, Total Yards: Easton Brabec—1, 50; Luke Eisenmann—1, 18
Touchdowns: Brabec—1
Tackles: Crosley—5, Corey Steffensmeier—1, Levi Gall—6, Struebing—10, Loseke—10, Brett Wemhoff—5, Hunter Gall—9, Wyatt Langhorst—3, Eisenmann—5, Jacob Kroeger—5